01 — Foundations
The dynastic and political ground on which the deaths of Boris and Gleb stand: their place among the many sons of Vladimir of Kiev, the appanages (Rostov and Murom) they held, the uncertainty surrounding their mothers and birth-order, and the succession crisis touched off by Vladimir’s death on 15 July 1015. These files establish what can be said of the brothers before the killings, and how securely, since almost all of it reaches us through sources written to venerate them.
Tradition: Russian Orthodox (Passion-Bearers; first canonized Rus saints)
Boris and Gleb were younger sons of Vladimir Sviatoslavich, the prince who in 988 brought Byzantine Christianity to the Rus’. They grew up in the first Christian generation of the dynasty, were assigned provincial seats — Boris at Rostov, Gleb at Murom — and on their father’s death were caught in the violent contest for Kiev among Vladimir’s surviving sons. This section sets the dynastic context: the sprawling family of Vladimir as the Primary Chronicle records it, the place of Boris and Gleb within it, and the crisis of 1015 from which their martyrdom emerged.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Sons of Vladimir | Vladimir’s many sons and the Primary Chronicle‘s list; Boris and Gleb’s place, the question of their mother (Bulgarian? Byzantine “Anna”?), and their appanages at Rostov and Murom. |
| The Succession Crisis of 1015 | Vladimir’s death on 15 July 1015 at Berestovo, the seizure of Kiev, and the scramble among the brothers — Svyatopolk, Yaroslav of Novgorod, Boris, Gleb, and the others — that set the stage for the killings. |
See Also
- The Killing of Boris — what followed the crisis on the river Alta
- The Primary Chronicle — the source that supplies most of the dynastic detail
- St. Vladimir of Kiev — the father, his reign and his sons
- The Baptism of Rus’ — the conversion that made this a Christian dynasty
References
- Cross, Samuel H., and Olgerd P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor, trans. The Russian Primary Chronicle: Laurentian Text. Cambridge, MA: Medieval Academy of America, 1953.
- Franklin, Simon, and Jonathan Shepard. The Emergence of Rus, 750–1200. London: Longman, 1996.
- Lenhoff, Gail. The Martyred Princes Boris and Gleb. Columbus, OH: Slavica, 1989.