Gytha of Wessex
Gytha of Wessex (died 1098 or 1107) (Old English: Gȳð) was one of several daughters of Edith Swanneck by Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England.
According to Saxo Grammaticus, Gytha and two of her brothers escaped to the court of their uncle, king Sweyn Estridsson of Denmark. The two brothers were treated by Sweyn with hospitality, while their sister was married to Waldemar, king of Ruthenia, i.e. Vladimir II Monomakh, one of the most famous rulers of Kievan Rus.
Gytha was the mother of Mstislav the Great, the last ruler of united Kievan Rus. In the Norse sagas, Mstislav is called Harald after his grandfather. The pateric of St Pantaleon Cloister in Cologne says that "Gytha the Queen" died as a nun on 10 March. A year later Vladimir Monomakh married another woman.
Children
Their children were:
- Mstislav the Great (1076–1132)
- Izyaslav Vladimirovich, Prince of Kursk (†September 6, 1096)
- Svyatoslav Vladimirovich, Prince of Smolensk and Pereyaslav (†March 16, 1114)
- Yaropolk II of Kiev (†February 18, 1139)
- Viacheslav I of Kiev (†February 2, 1154)
Family Trees
References
- Alexander Nazarenko. Древняя Русь на международных путях. Moscow, 2001. ISBN 5-7859-0085-8.