Royal kin and queens · The Chernigov land of the Olgovichi · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Rostislav of Snovsk

The sons of the senior prince who died in 1198 lost the rank their father held, since Chernigov passes by seniority.

Rostislav holds Snovsk, the old fort on the Snov just north-east of Chernigov, and is Vsevolod III's son-in-law, the Olgovichi's closest tie to Vladimir. Yaropolk was invited to Novgorod in the autumn of 1196 under his father's peace with Vsevolod and lasted about half a year; his seat in 1200 is not pinned.

Who he is

Name
Rostislav Yaroslavich (baptised Ioann); Yaropolk Yaroslavich (baptised Gavriil)
Title
Prince of Snovsk (Rostislav); his brother Yaropolk without a pinned seat
Since
Snovsk: not dated
Born
Not pinned
Family
Sons of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, prince of Chernigov (d. 1198), and Irina; Rostislav married in 1186 Vseslava, daughter of Vsevolod III (en.wikipedia; 'Vsevolka' in ru.wikipedia); a sister married Vladimir Glebovich of Pereyaslavl in 1179
Confidence
medium

ru.wikipedia (Yaroslav Vsevolodovich): Rostislav appanage prince of Snovsk; Yaropolk prince of Novgorod for about half a year from the autumn of 1196.

Overlord

Igor, as senior prince.

What it holds

  • Snovsk and its district on the Snov (Rostislav)
  • No seat pinned for Yaropolk

How it was acquired

From their father.

Allies and rivals

Vsevolod III (Rostislav's father-in-law); the senior line of the Olgovichi.

How things stand that morning

Rostislav at Snovsk; Yaropolk not pinned.

Wealth

The Snovsk district: farmland and forest close to Chernigov.

Military

Rostislav's retinue.

Places of note

  • Snovsk (Sednev): Rostislav's seat.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Marriage and Novgorod tenure in the chronicle as summarised by ru.wikipedia; the Snovsk tenure is not dated.

On the map: District limits not recorded; a disc round the fort.

Primary sources for Chernigov (the Olgovichi)

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
  • The Laurentian Chronicle (the Suzdal continuation kept in the late 12th and 13th centuries; manuscript 1377). The court record of Vsevolod III of Vladimir. 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

Sources and studies

  1. Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, prince of Chernigov (ru.wikipedia)
  2. Vsevolod the Big Nest (en.wikipedia)
  3. Sednev (Snovsk) (ru.wikipedia)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.