Town · Principality of Smolensk · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Roslavl

Rostislavl was founded about 1137 by Rostislav Mstislavich as a stronghold on newly won Radimichi land. ru.wikipedia says a Rostislavl appanage may have existed from 1197 to the 1230s and that a prince sat there in 1197-1206, without naming him.

Who holds it

Name
not pinned: a prince sat at Rostislavl in 1197-1206 by ru.wikipedia, unnamed
Title
prince
Since
1197?
Confidence
low

ru.wikipedia (Рославль)

Lord in 1200

Either an appanage prince of the Rostislavichi (unnamed) or the prince of Smolensk's governor.

How things stand that morning

Smolensk ground; holder not pinned.

Council

Not recorded.

Communities

Radimichi and Krivichi villagers.

Militia

Not recorded.

Walls and castle

Fort (not described).

Trade and crafts

Local market; the road from Smolensk to the Desna and the Chernigov land.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: One unsourced line in ru.wikipedia for the appanage.

Primary sources for Smolensk

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 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 birch-bark letters (11th to 15th centuries). Excavated letters and notes on birch bark, dated by the layer they lie in. 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. Wikipedia (ru): Рославль

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