Vsevolod 'Bui Tur', the 'wild bull' of the Tale of Igor's Campaign and 'of all the Olgovichi the boldest born', held Trubchevsk and Kursk and died on 17 May 1196.
His son Sviatoslav kept only Trubchevsk, on the Desna above Novgorod-Seversky; who took Kursk is not pinned. Sviatoslav is a shadowy figure: the genealogies make him live into the 1220s or 1230s.
Who he is
- Name
- Sviatoslav Vsevolodovich
- Title
- Prince of Trubchevsk
- Since
- After his father's death on 17 May 1196 (ru.wikipedia: he inherited only Trubchevsk); date not pinned
- Born
- Not pinned
- Family
- Son of Vsevolod Sviatoslavich 'Bui Tur' (Igor's brother, prince of Trubchevsk and Kursk, d. 17 May 1196) and Olga Glebovna; brothers Andrei, Igor and Mikhail are named by the genealogies with little else known; Igor's nephew
- Confidence
- low
ru.wikipedia (Trubchevsk principality); the chronicle gives Vsevolod's death on 17 May 1196 (Makhnovets).
Overlord
His uncle Igor.
What it holds
- Trubchevsk and its district on the upper Desna
How it was acquired
Inheritance from his father, 1196 (date of transfer not pinned).
Allies and rivals
His uncle Igor and cousins.
How things stand that morning
Holds Trubchevsk (low confidence).
Wealth
Furs, honey and wax of the Desna forests.
Military
His retinue; his father's Kursk men are praised in the Tale.
Places of note
- Trubchevsk: His seat.
Where the sources disagree
- The Makhnovets summary styles Vsevolod 'Chernigov prince', meaning a prince of the Chernigov house; he never held Chernigov.
Evidence: Genealogical; no chronicle names Sviatoslav at Trubchevsk in 1196-1200.
On the map: Holder low confidence.
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
- Trubchevsk principality (ru.wikipedia)
- Trubchevsk (ru.wikipedia)
- The Hypatian Chronicle (Kievan and Galician-Volhynian chronicles), 1196-1223, Ukrainian translation with dates and notes by L. Makhnovets (Litopys ruskyi, 1989)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.