Roman Mstislavich

Who he is

Name

Roman Mstislavich

Title

Prince of Vladimir and Galich

Since

Vladimir-Volynsky 1170; Galich 1199

Born

not pinned (about 1150 to after 1160)

Family

Son of Mstislav Izyaslavich (died 1170) and Agnes of Poland. First wife: Predslava, daughter of Rurik Rostislavich of Kiev (married by the 1180s; en.wikipedia says 1188); the Kievan chronicle has Roman wanting to put her away during his quarrel with Rurik in 1195-1196, and she is no longer his wife by the time Rurik's family is tonsured in 1203-1204. Second wife: Anna (Anna-Euphrosyne), of disputed origin (a Byzantine princess, niece of Alexios III, in the commonest view; a Volhynian boyar's daughter in Pashuto's), married between 1197 and about 1200 (not pinned). Children born by 1 January 1200: the daughters Feodora and Olena (Helena) named in the genealogies, whose mothers and birth years are not pinned; Daniel (1201) and Vasilko (1203) are not yet born. Brothers: Vsevolod of Belz (died 1195 or 1196), whose son Alexander holds Belz; his other brothers are dead or not pinned.

Confidence

medium

Wife that winter: Predslava is put away by 1196 in most accounts; whether Anna is already married to him on 1 January 1200 is not pinned (1197 in de.wikipedia; about 1199 in en.wikipedia's Anna-Euphrosyne; about 1200 in Maiorov). The household is therefore given with medium confidence.

Overlord

None (see Roman's Galicia and Volhynia).

What it holds

• Galich and its district (Galich)
• Przemyśl, Jarosław and Sanok on the San, with the Rus' land round Rzeszów (Przemyśl, Jarosław, Sanok)
• Zvenigorod, Busk and Plisnesk (Zvenigorod, Busk, Plisnesk)
• Terebovl (Terebovl)
• The Kolomyia salt district (Kolomyia)
• The Ponyzia: Ushytsia and the Dniester valley (Ushytsia, Bakota)
• Vladimir-Volynsky and its land (Vladimir-Volynsky)
• Berestye and its land (Berestye)
• Dorogichin, not pinned (Dorogichin)
• Kremenets, not pinned (Kremenets)
• Polonne in the Kiev land, granted by Rurik after a reconciliation in the 1190s (en.wikipedia, Roman the Great): whether Roman still holds it on 1 January 1200 is not pinned

How it was acquired

See Roman's Galicia and Volhynia: Volhynia 1170, Berestye about 1183, Galich 1199.

Allies and rivals

See Roman's Galicia and Volhynia. Personal ties: cousin and ally of Leszek the White and Konrad; estranged son-in-law of Rurik of Kiev; uncle and guardian of Alexander of Belz.

How things stand that morning

In possession of everything listed, with the Galician boyar opposition broken but resentful. No governor, tysyatsky or steward of his is named for 1199-1200; the Galician-Volhynian chronicle's later lists of boyars belong to 1205 and after. Where Roman himself spends the winter is not pinned: Galich was his main seat after 1199 (Magocsi).

Wealth

The salt springs and the tolls of Galich and Przemyśl; the tribute of both lands; the Bug and Dniester trade.

Military

His retinue (druzhina), the town hosts and allied Polish knights; strongholds at Galich, Przemyśl, Zvenigorod, Terebovl, Vladimir and Berestye.

Threats

• Boyar conspiracy in Galich in favour of the Igorevichi
• War with Rurik of Kiev and the Olgovichi
• A Hungarian bid for Galich

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1200, not pinnedMarriage to Anna, if not already done (see Roman's Galicia and Volhynia).Depends on: As there. Stopped by: As there.

Places of note

• Cathedral of the Dormition at Galich (Krylos), built in Yaroslav Osmomysl's time: Seat of the bishop of Galich; Roman's Galician capital.
• Dormition Cathedral of Vladimir-Volynsky, built by Roman's father Mstislav in 1160: Seat of the bishop of Vladimir; the dynastic church of Roman's house.

Where the sources disagree

• Roman's age: born about 1150 (de.wikipedia) against 'after 1160' (Encyclopedia of Ukraine).

Evidence: His lands are well established; his household and officers for this winter are not.

On the map: District bounds are reconstructed from the towns that later belonged to each land; the Rzeszów, Zamość and Bielsk edges are rough.

Primary sources for Roman's Galicia and Volhynia

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• The Hypatian Chronicle (the Kievan Chronicle compiled about 1200 at the Vydubichi monastery; the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle in the 13th century). The southern record. Read online
• Chronicle of the Poles, by Master Vincent (Wincenty Kadłubek), Wincenty Kadłubek (about 1190 to 1208). Book 4 is a contemporary's account of the fight for the senior throne of Kraków. Read online
• The Deeds of the Hungarians, by the Anonymous Notary of King Béla, Anonymus (P. magister) (about 1200 to 1210, the date disputed). Not a record of events but a picture of the kingdom's nobility and geography as a courtier of about 1200 wished to see it: the clans and their lands, the castles and counties, the Vlachs, Cumans and other peoples of the Carpathian basin, all projected back onto the conquest. Read online
• The Tale of Igor's Campaign (about 1187 to 1200 (disputed)). A poem on Igor Sviatoslavich's defeat by the Polovtsians in 1185 that addresses the princes of the day by name: Vsevolod of Vladimir, Rurik and David Rostislavich, Yaroslav of Galich, Roman of Volhynia and the Olgovichi of Chernigov, of whom Igor himself was prince from 1198. Read online