Vladimir of Polotsk

Who he is

Name

Vladimir

Title

prince of Polotsk ('rex de Ploceke' in Henry of Livonia)

Since

not pinned: prince by the mid-1180s on Henry's account; the usual lists give 1186

Born

not known

Family

a Vseslavich; father not named in any source (a son of Volodar Glebovich of Minsk is the most often proposed); wife and children not known

Confidence

medium

Henry of Livonia I.3 (Meinhard's licence from 'king Woldemar of Polotsk, to whom the Livs, still pagan, paid tribute'); pl.wikipedia and de.wikipedia princes' lists

What it holds

• Polotsk with the Upper Castle, the trading quarter (posad) and the Daugava crossing
• the Polotsk district on the Daugava from about Druya to the Ula and north to the Drissa lakes
• tribute from the Livs of Üxküll (Ikšķile) and Holme (Salaspils) (Henry of Livonia)
• overlordship of the Rus' princes of Koknese and Jersika (liv writes them; their tie to Polotsk in 1200 is not pinned)
• seniority over the sub-princes of Minsk, Vitebsk, Drutsk, Logoisk and the rest

How it was acquired

Not recorded. Some read the Smolensk-Novgorod march on Polotsk in 1186 as support for a Prince Vladimir against the Polotsk townsmen (ru.wikipedia, Давыд Ростиславич); the lists start his reign that year.

Allies and rivals

The Lithuanians (Polotsk men raided Luki with them in 1198); the Olgovichi, Polotsk's allies of 1180 and 1195-1196; rivals Smolensk and Novgorod; the Livs and the German mission on the lower river.

How things stand that morning

Holds Polotsk and its district; takes the Livs' tribute; no war in force. The German crusaders have left the Daugava and Bishop Albert has not yet come.

Wealth

Polotsk's tolls and market, the Daugava trade, the Livs' and Latgalians' tribute, his estates.

Military

His retinue and the Polotsk town host; in 1203 and 1206 he will field an army on the lower Daugava (Henry of Livonia). No figures.

Threats

• the German settlement on the lower Daugava (from 1200-1201)
• Smolensk and Novgorod
• the sub-princes and the veche

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.

In 1200

1. summer 1200Albert's crusaders and merchants reach the Daugava; the Livs of Üxküll and Holme come under German pressure.Depends on: Albert's voyage Stopped by: Albert's failure to sail

Later, on the likely course

1. 1203 (later)Vladimir's raid on the lower Daugava: the Üxküll Livs pay him tribute, Holme is besieged (Henry of Livonia).Depends on: the German presence Stopped by: a settlement with the bishop

Where the sources disagree

• See Polotsk on the 'Boris' tradition.

Evidence: Henry of Livonia is the only near-contemporary witness and writes in the 1220s; the Rus' chronicles barely name him.

On the map: The district is drawn round the modern places nearest the Polotsk core; no source fixes it.

Primary sources for Polotsk

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 Chronicle of Novgorod (kept year by year; the Synodal manuscript written in the 13th and 14th centuries). Novgorod's own record, kept at St Sophia. Read online
• 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 Livonian Chronicle of Henry, Henry of Livonia (1225 to 1227). The chief source for the Baltic mission. Read online
• Charter book of Livonia, Estonia and Courland, volume 1, 1093 to 1300 (documents of 1093 to 1300, edited 1853). The documents of the Livonian mission: Innocent III's bull of 5 October 1199 calling for a crusade to protect the Livonian church, the privileges for Bishop Albert, Archbishop Hartwig of Bremen's acts for the see of Üxküll, and the later charters that settle who held what on the Düna.
• 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