In Russia there were a lot of princes, descendants of Rurik. As a rule, all of them were large. Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko had 12 children, his son Yaroslav the Wise had 10, Yuri Dolgoruky had 11. It’s hard not to get confused in them, and it’s certainly impossible to remember their wives (unless you are a professional and do not deal with this issue specifically).
Yaroslavna - a real person
The ruling dynasties of Russia have big female names. They were in Ancient Russia - who does not know Princess Olga or Yaroslavna? The first of them ruled the country, and the second became widely known as a faithful, loving wife.
The image of Yaroslavna, a real historical person, was glorified in the work “The Word about Igor's Regiment”. It turned out so bright that it captured the imagination of more than one artist, sculptor, poet and composer. The heroine of the work in real life was quite generous - her mother Olga Yuryevna, Princess Suzdalskaya, was the daughter of the Grand Duke of Kiev, the founder of Moscow - Dolgoruky.
Great pedigree
Father Yaroslav Vladimirovich (Vladimirkovich) was a rather vivid personality, and Osmomysl had a nickname - wielding eight minds, that is, very smart. We can say that Yaroslavna is a girl from a noble family. Rurik's blood flowed in her veins - this is the first characteristic of Yaroslavna. Although in the “Word” the father is shown not as a completely positive hero, but rather as a family despot and a bastard. Origin Osmomysl was the most notable - his mother was the daughter of Kalman Knizhnik - the Hungarian king of the Arpad family. Her name was Sophia of Hungary. Osmomysl's father - Prince Galitsky Vladimir Volodaryevich - married his son in Yaroslavna, marking this marriage as an alliance with Yuri Dolgoruky in the fight against Prince of Kiev Izyaslav Mstislavovich.
The second birth of Yaroslavna
The marriage was dynastic, but successful, the image of Yaroslavna became a symbol of a loving and beloved wife. It should be noted that on the paternal side, our heroine was related to the Byzantine emperors. Despite the popularity of the image, neither the exact dates of birth and death of Yaroslavna, nor the information about whether she was Igor’s second wife (her children in this case were her stepsons), is not available. The name of the princess is disputed. Actually, it was not the biography of Yaroslavna that made her famous. She became famous for the strength of her longing for her husband, who was captured by the Polovtsians, for her “crying” for him, which became the most important element of the entire poetic system of the literary monument “The Word of Igor's Campaign”, the first edition of which was released in 1800.
The poetic peak of the work
Certainly, in the work itself, Yaroslavna's lament is the poetic peak. He so shocked his contemporaries that there are allegations that the crying himself belongs to another author. Prince Igor, with all his torment and shame ("Oh, give me freedom, I can redeem my shame ..."), faded into the background. His wife became the main character of the work - this is also a characteristic of Yaroslavna. The power of female love is not just that, and it’s reflected in the literature, saved the heroes from death and returned to their homeland. Pavel Antokolsky said very well in the poem "Yaroslavna": "Women have the right: in the floods of any weather to be a reliable crossing through troubles and through the years ...". the power of female love, like love itself is sa th greatest miracle in the world, which is also written millions of books and if this power and help add more pagan gods -. positive results achieved.
Many articles mention the fact that the Novgorod-Seversky Princess was a witch. And with this information, the characteristic of Yaroslavna takes on a new touch. She did not shed tears on the deceased on the highest site of the wall of Putivl grad, but turned for help and reproached to the pagan gods, under whose protection Russia had lived for centuries. Baptism happened at that time quite recently (1185 - Igor’s campaign, 988 - Russia converted to Christianity). Paganism still lives in us.
Everything is known about the prince
Igor returned, and even undertook another campaign against the Polovtsy. Born in 1151, he lived to 1202 (a pretty decent time by that standards), became Prince of Chernigov and was buried next to his uncle - Prince Igor - in the Transfiguration Cathedral of the city of Chernigov. About Yaroslavna - not a word.
The historian
Tatishchev Vasily Nikitich has a description of the meeting of the spouses after Igor’s escape from captivity. But there is no evidence to document this fact. Tatishchev also mentions the name of Yaroslavna - Efrosinya. But other historians claim that this is the church name of her mother.
The collective image of a Russian woman
But not for glory for centuries Yaroslavna conjured. She wanted to regain her beloved person, and the country - a defender. That is why she became famous. There are dozens of paintings depicting the beautiful princess at the climax of her life, when nature itself is imbued with her grief and in a hurry to help her. Many poets, starting with G.R.Derzhavin, turned to her image. However, an exact description of Yaroslavna is missing. The young wife of the prince is all. On all the canvases of artists Yaroslavna is a beauty. So, probably, it was. And the image itself is collective. The possibilities of Russian women even before Nekrasov were mentioned in Russian epics, including those dating to the 12th century, as well as the "Word".
Russia is rich in heroines
Bylina "Avdotya Ryazanochka" tells how a young woman from a ravaged and burned Ryazan went to Turkish Bakhmet with a request to release the captive residents of the city. Having overcome all the unimaginable difficulties of the journey, she reached Bakhmet, who, being an old man who had seen a lot, was so shocked by her feat that he not only released the prisoners, but also gave money from the treasury to restore the destroyed Ryazan. Avdotya restored the city. At the same time, Fevronia of Murom lived, famous for her love for her husband and ranked with him as a saint.
Obviously, the characterization of Yaroslavna contains the traits of all Russian women - those who “stop the galloping horse” and those who go to exile for husbands. The image of the Russian princess did not cause widespread interest among the public, because she was not known to anyone until the publication of the work in 1800. Then there was a surge of interest in this real woman, but the biography of Yaroslavna with the exact dates of birth, baptism, death was no longer available. It remained only known that connected her with her husband.