Predslava Volodimerovna

Bolesław the Brave with Sviatopolk near The Golden Gate in Kyiv (Jan Matejko 1884). Predslava is the woman sitting in the chair on the left.

Predslava Volodimerovna (Ukrainian: Предслава Володимирівна, romanized: Predslava Volodymyrivna; Polish: Przedsława Włodzimierzówna; Russian: Предслава Владимировна, romanized: Predslava Vladimirovna 981/984 – c. 1040)  was a princess from Kievan Rus', daughter of Volodimer' I of Kiev and Rogned', concubine of Bolesław I the Brave, and sister of Yaroslav the Wise. She is one of the few named women who appear in the Primary Chronicle (PVL).

See also: Textual variants in the Primary Chronicle § 135–141.16

The two mentions are variations of the same account under the year 1015, in columns 135–136 and 140–141:

• "At this moment, Yaroslav received from Predslava the tidings of [their] father's death, and Yaroslav sent [someone] to Gleb, saying: 'Do not set out, your father (136) has died and your brother has been murdered by Svyatopolk."
• "The same night news came from Kiev sent by his sister Predslava: "Your father has died and Svyatopolk settled in Kiev. He has killed Boris, and has sent [men] against Gleb. (141) Be exceedingly on your guard against him." (In Ipa, Xle and Rad: "settled in Kiev, having sent [men] to kill Boris and Gleb.")

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Cross, Samuel Hazzard; Sherbowitz-Wetzor, Olgerd P. (1953). The Russian Primary Chronicle, Laurentian Text. Translated and edited by Samuel Hazzard Cross and Olgerd P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor (PDF). Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Mediaeval Academy of America. p. 325. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
• Thuis, Hans (2015). Nestorkroniek. De oudste geschiedenis van het Kievse Rijk (in Dutch). Nijmegen: Uitgeverij Vantilt. p. 304. ISBN 9789460042287.

Literature

• Raffensperger, Christian (2024). Name Unknown: The Life of a Rusian Queen. Routledge. p. 232. doi:10.4324/9781003325185. ISBN 978-1-04-003014-1.