STRUGGLES FOR THE THRONE OF KIEF
The death of Andrei, son of Monomach, brought many changes. Vsevolod
induced Vyacheslav, Yuri’s brother, to take Pereyaslavl, that city
which led to the Kief succession, and leave Turoff, where he put
Sviatoslav, his own son. “He has a principality for his son, but for us
he has nothing,” cried Vsevolod’s brothers. “It was heavy at their
hearts,” adds the chronicler.
Hereupon Vsevolod summoned his cousins and brothers to a council,
saying he wished to make peace with them if possible. Having no
confidence in Vsevolod, they would not enter the city, so the two
parties encamped on the Dnieper, near Kief, and held communication from
side to side of the river. Since the terms proposed by the Grand
Prince, one town to each of his relatives, were acceptable to none of
them, his brothers kissed the cross to each other and to their cousins,
then joined in a pact to resist the injustice of Vsevolod. Still he did
not increase his first offer. Thereupon they marched against
Vyacheslav, thinking to have as easy a victory over him as had
Vsevolod, when he took Kief from this simple-minded and interesting old
prince. But Pereyaslavl met them firmly, and, failing to take the city
by assault, they laid siege to it.
Vsevolod reënforced the place promptly, and Izyaslav of Volynia hurried
men to his uncle. The besiegers were defeated and driven off by
Vyacheslav.
Rostislav of Smolensk moved now from the west against Chernigoff
territory. Izyaslav attacked it on the east, and seizing many places
returned home with great honor. A new attack was made upon Vyacheslav
soon after by the malcontents, who fought a three days’ battle, in
which they were sorely defeated.
Vsevolod now summoned Sviatosha, his cousin, a monk renowned widely for
sanctity, to aid him in reasoning with his relatives, and he himself
sent them this message: “Dear brethren, take what I offer with good
feeling; fight with me no longer.” Discouraged by defeat and influenced
by the monk they accepted, and settled in Kief.
Vsevolod, who owed what he had to his own subtle cunning and to the
dissension among princes, was dissatisfied with the league between his
brothers and their cousins. So, to detach the sons of David from the
league, he said to them: “Leave my brothers; I will give you all
splendid places.” Tempted by this promise, they deserted their allies,
and received good places.
Vsevolod’s brothers were incensed at this open treachery, but were
silent for the time. They clamored later on, however, and very loudly,
when Vyacheslav, advised by Vsevolod, exchanged principalities with
Izyaslav, his nephew of Volynia, and then gave Volynia for Turoff, from
which Vsevolod recalled his own son, whom he sent to Volynia
straightway.
Pereyaslavl, as the stepping-stone to Kief, was acceptable to Izyaslav,
who wanted the succession most solemnly promised him. But Vsevolod’s
brothers and his cousins were greatly angered by this change, which
they understood not, and which they looked on as an act of monstrous
treason. “Our brother keeps at his side the worst foes of our family,”
complained they. “He leaves us without a chief, and without places,”
and they urged Vsevolod to act against Monomach’s descendants, and
demand the places which he had pledged to them earlier, but had not
given.
It would have been difficult, nay, quite impossible for Vsevolod to
keep those promises, and he made no real effort to do so. Izyaslav was
disquieted, however. He saw clearly what Vsevolod was doing. He knew
him to be an inveterate trickster, who would deceive all men, who ever
they might be, whenever the chance came and his interest required it,
so he resolved to change the position if possible, and try to win Yuri,
his uncle. He journeyed to Suzdal to see him, but he could make no
impression on Yuri. Next he went to Rostislav, his brother, in
Smolensk, and, last of all, to his brother in Novgorod, where he passed
the winter. Thus did the descendants of Monomach and Oleg stand toward
one another. How stood the other princes?
First among these were the descendants of Rostislav, whose sons,
Volodar and Vassilko, are well-known to us. Both died in 1124, the
first leaving two sons, Vladimirko and Rostislav; the second left two
also, Grigori and Ivan.
Of these four men, Vladimirko alone was remarkable. This prince not
only kept his own among others, but was able to leave a strong
principality to his son, whose friendship or enmity became highly
important. Being weaker at first than most of his neighbors Vladimirko
worked for success without reference to truthfulness or methods. In
1127 he called in the Hungarians and rose against Rostislav, his elder
brother. His cousins came to the aid of Rostislav, as did also
Mystislav, the Kief prince, and saved him. Rostislav died some years
later; his two cousins died also. Thereupon Vladimirko took all
Galitch, disregarding his nephew, Ivan, then ruling in Zvenigorod. The
wars which followed the death of Mystislav the Great left a free hand
to Vladimirko.
In Vsevolod’s struggle with Monomach’s descendants, Vladimirko helped
him, but matters changed altogether when the son of the Kief prince was
transferred to Volynia. Vsevolod might permit Vladimirko to snatch land
from a descendant of Monomach, but not from Sviatoslav, his son. Both
men were perfectly selfish, neither had scruples of any kind, and in
1144 Vsevolod quarreled with Vladimirko because of Volynia, and marched
against Galitch with a large army. Nine Russian princes went with him,
and the Polish prince Vladislav. Vladimirko had called in his friends,
the Hungarians, but his troops, outnumbered and cut off, would have
been forced to surrender had he not saved himself cunningly through
Igor, the Kief prince’s brother, to whom he sent this wily message:
“Reconcile me with thy brother, and I will make thee prince in Kief,
after Vsevolod.” Igor, influenced by this promise, set about making
peace, and succeeded.
Vladimirko went from his camp and bowed down before Vsevolod. He, “the
cunning-minded and word-rich,” as people called him, brought Vsevolod
to think it far better for him not to weaken Galitch too greatly, so
Vsevolod, after taking an oath from Vladimirko, and a large ransom,
restored all the towns which he had captured, and returned to his
capital.
Vladimirko’s enemies now grew more defiant, and the citizens of Galitch
installed in that city his nephew, Ivan, surnamed later Berladnik.
Vladimirko hastened with forces to Galitch, and besieged it for three
weeks unsuccessfully, till Ivan made a night attack, went too far out,
and was cut off from his capital. Unable to return, he broke through
the investing lines, made his way to the Danube, and through steppe
regions to Kief, where Vsevolod received him with kindness. Vladimirko
entered Galitch, and there met his opponents without mercy.
Vsevolod’s reception of Ivan was, beyond doubt, the cause of a second
war with Vladimirko. In 1146 Vsevolod led to Galitch large forces,
among which were Poles, men of Novgorod, and Polovtsi. Siege was laid
to Zvenigorod. When some of the citizens wished to surrender
Vladimirko’s commander slew three of their leaders, cut each of the
bodies in two, and hurled the six halves from the walls of the city.
After that, those inside fought with valor. Vsevolod, who tried to
storm the place, fought from daylight till evening. He fired the town
in three places, but the people extinguished the fires, and resisted
with desperation. The Kief prince at last raised the siege and returned
home, forced mainly by an illness of which he died somewhat later.
The position of Novgorod in Vsevolod’s day was most difficult; when
this prince drove Vyacheslav from Kief, Yuri Dolgoruki asked aid of
Novgorod against the usurper, but the city refused to help him. He
immediately recalled his son, who was then prince in Novgorod, and,
seizing Torjok, stopped Novgorod’s provisions. The city sent then to
Vsevolod for a prince, and was forced to accept from him Sviatoslav,
his brother, a second time. A riot was kindled by Monomach’s partisans,
and it was raging fiercely when the new prince arrived. Sviatoslav,
deposed recently for his failure at Pskoff, remembered his enemies and
punished them. They resented this, and soon the position presented a
deadlock. “It is grievous for me to be here with these people,” wrote
the prince to his brother. “I cannot endure them.”
To weaken the Monomach party, and smooth Sviatoslav’s way for him,
Vsevolod induced the city to send him seven of its best men. Upon their
arrival he threw them all into prison. This measure roused Novgorod
greatly. Sviatoslav’s partisans were beaten at assemblies, and he
himself, learning that he might be seized, fled in the night out of
Novgorod, the posadnik, Yakun, going with him. Yakun was captured on
the road and brought back to the city, with Prokop, his brother. Beaten
by the people till almost insensible, these two men were stripped of
their clothing, and hurled from the bridge into the Volkov. Wading out,
they were seized again, but not beaten. Yakun was fined one thousand
silver grievens, and Prokop one hundred. Then the hands of both men
were tied to their necks and they were cast into prison. After a time,
however, they escaped to Yuri of Suzdal, who treated them kindly.
Meanwhile the Bishop of Novgorod went to Kief with a number of
notables, and said to Vsevolod: “Give us thy son; we want not thy
brother.” Vsevolod consented, and sent his son, Sviatoslav. While the
young prince was traveling toward Novgorod, people sent secondly to
Vsevolod: “We want neither thy son, nor any man of thy family. Give us
a son of Mystislav.” Hereupon Vsevolod detained the bishop and
notables, and, not wishing to see a man of Monomach’s line prince in
Novgorod, summoned his wife’s brothers, Sviatopolk and Vladimir, and
gave them the Brest principality. “Think not of Novgorod,” said he,
“let it have whatever prince pleases it.” After that, Novgorod was nine
months without a prince, which for that proud city was unendurable.
Grain was stopped by Yuri of Suzdal, and the price of food was
enormous. The party hostile to Kief, which found favor with Yuri, rose
in strength and increased greatly. They invited Yuri to Novgorod. He
was not willing to go himself, but he sent his son, Rotislav.
Vsevolod saw now that he had erred in not sending a brother-in-law,
hence he vented his rage against Yuri. He took possession of Gorodok,
Yuri’s capital, and seized his herds in southern regions. That did not
settle the Novgorod question, however. Izyaslav, brother of Vsevolod’s
wife, and prince now in Pereyaslavl, sent to his sister a message,
which contained these words: “Get Novgorod for Sviatopolk, thy
brother.” She set to work, and finally Vsevolod consented. He saw, of
course, without any advice, that for him his wife’s brother in Novgorod
was better than a son of Prince Yuri. Besides, the expulsion of Yuri’s
son in favor of one of his nephews would widen the breach between Yuri
and all his near relatives, a thing most desirable for Vsevolod.
When men heard in Novgorod that Sviatopolk was coming, and with him the
bishop and notables, the opponents of Yuri rose in power again, for the
city must choose to retain Yuri’s son, and be hostile to Vsevolod and
all his adherents, or receive Sviatopolk and have Yuri alone as an
enemy. Sviatopolk was installed, and Rostislav sent away to his father.
Thus was the question decided.
Vsevolod, double-dealing and shifty at all times, had promised the
succession of Kief both to Igor, his own brother, and also to his
wife’s brother, Izyaslav, who, as if selected for the place, had
Pereyaslavl for his portion. Igor had the promise renewed in Galitch,
when he made peace between the Kief prince and Vladimirko, the latter
guaranteeing his aid to obtain the position.
In 1145 Vsevolod, in presence of his cousins and brothers—Izyaslav also
was in the assembly—declared Igor to be his successor. “Vladimir
Monomach,” said the prince, “placed Mystislav, his son, on the Kief
throne. Mystislav gave Kief to Yaropolk, his brother. Whenever God
calls for me, Kief will go to Igor.”
Oleg’s descendants knew well that these two Monomach successions broke
the old rule by which Kief should belong to the senior among Yaroslav
the Lawgiver’s descendants. The descendants of Monomach had violated
this rule in their own line, by rejecting it. As they had led the way
in destroying precedents, Vsevolod could now declare himself justified
in following their example. Izyaslav opposed this decision, but with no
avail. He was forced to kiss the cross in favor of Igor.
In 1146, when returning in illness from the second campaign against
Galitch, Vsevolod halted at Vyshgorod, and summoned the principal Kief
men. “I am ill; take my brother as Grand Prince,” said he. “We do so
with gladness,” responded the Kief men. Igor went with these men to the
capital, where he assembled the citizens, and they kissed the cross to
him. “Thou art our prince,” declared they, but “they deceived,” says
the chronicler. Next day the Vyshgorod citizens also kissed the cross
to Igor.
Just before dying, Vsevolod sent to Izyaslav and to his brothers to
learn if they adhered to their oaths taken solemnly. “We adhere,”
replied all. After Vsevolod’s death, Igor made the Kief men take oath a
second time, and the affair seemed concluded. But later, the Kief men
assembled again, and sent to Izyaslav the words: “Come hither, O
Prince!”
Igor sent Sviatoslav, his brother, to Kief, and remained himself with
the warriors. The Kief men complained of Ratsha and Tudor, two tiuns
(high officials). “Ratsha plundered Kief, and Tudor stripped
Vyshgorod,” said they to Sviatoslav. “Now kiss the cross for thy
brother, to give us fair justice.” “I kiss the cross for my brother,
that ye will suffer no violence, and that ye will have tiuns to suit
you.” When he had said this, he dismounted and kissed the cross. Chosen
men went with Sviatoslav to Igor, who kissed the cross to do what his
brother had promised. But, since the old tiuns were left in their
places, men rushed to Ratsha’s house and attacked it. Igor sent troops
and his brother to defend the tiuns, which they did with difficulty.
Meanwhile he sent a message to Izyaslav, asking if he held to the oath
which he had taken. Izyaslav gave no answer; he even detained the
envoy.
Since Igor retained the old tiuns, the Kief men decided quickly, and
sent to Izyaslav, saying: “Come to us, Prince, we desire thee!”
Izyaslav marched now against Kief. On the way, all towns declared for
him. “Thou art ours, we will have no son of Oleg. March on!” shouted
they. “We are with thee!” On he went, and soon he was met by Kief
envoys. “Thou art our prince,” declared they. “We will not be the
inheritance of Oleg’s son.”
Meanwhile Igor sent for support to his cousins, the sons of David. They
wished to sell that support at the highest price. Igor gave what they
demanded and promised to give all that he could give when he reached
power, if they would take the field for him. Still more important for
Igor were his late brother’s warriors. He also strove to secure the
chief boyars by promising to those men their old places, but he was
late with the promise for the boyars, observing that the people had
cast him aside, had deserted already in secret. Quick to abandon a lost
cause, they sent this message to Izyaslav: “Hasten, Prince. The sons of
David are coming to aid thy opponent.” Sviatoslav’s men were no more
faithful than were those of his brother Igor. They, too, were prepared
to desert at the critical moment.
When Izyaslav appeared before Kief with his forces, the people were
gathered at one side in a large body. Some distance away was the army
of Igor. Izyaslav sent at once a chief and a banner to the people. A
detachment fell upon Igor’s camp, and then came a fierce battle. The
boyars, devoted to Izyaslav, went over immediately, and Igor’s cause
was lost very quickly. His whole army fled.
While fleeing, Igor’s horse stuck fast in a swampy place, and the
prince, unable to move, had to stay there alone with the animal.
Sviatoslav, Igor’s brother, fled to Chernigoff; Sviatoslav, his nephew,
took refuge in Kief, where he was captured.
Izyaslav entered the capital with honor, and sat on the throne of his
father and grandfather. All boyars faithful to Igor were captured and
held until ransomed. The Kief people plundered the houses of Igor’s
adherents and those of the late Vsevolod’s officials, taking much
property of all kinds. Igor himself was found in the swamp four days
later, and brought to Izyaslav, who put him first in a monastery, and
then in prison, whence he was freed some time later.
Thus power returned to Monomach’s descendants. Passing two uncles,
Vyacheslav and Yuri, it came to a nephew, because Izyaslav, through his
personal qualities, satisfied the people, while the uncles did not
please them. When Izyaslav first rose against Igor, he stated that it
was to restore the Kief throne to his uncle, but when he was marching,
the people declared: “Thou art our prince.” Hence when he took Kief, he
kept it because the people wished him to keep it. Of course, he himself
was quite willing. The people did not want Vyacheslav, though his right
was undoubted, but the boyars, knowing they could rule through him,
wanted the old man. Acting on their advice, he seized principalities,
among others Volynia, but Izyaslav soon forced him to restore them, for
the new prince held firm possession.
Meanwhile Sviatoslav, brother of Igor, fled with small forces to
Chernigoff, and inquired of the sons of David if they intended to keep
their oath to his brother. “We do,” replied they. Leaving with them his
boyar, Kosnyatka, Sviatoslav set out for his own lands to take an oath
from the people there. Once he had gone, the sons of David made their
plans apart from Kosnyatka, who, learning by chance that they were
plotting to seize Sviatoslav, sent at once to warn him. The sons of
David, since their cousins could now obtain nothing west of the
Dnieper, feared that they would take land from them in Chernigoff,
hence they decided to join the Grand Prince against their cousin, and
sent to Izyaslav, saying:
“Igor is as hostile to us as to thee; hold him firmly.” To Sviatoslav
they sent this message: “Take Putival and abandon thy brother Igor.” “I
am seeking my brother, not land,” replied Sviatoslav. “Take land and
kiss the cross,” said the sons of David. Sviatoslav wept and sent to
Yuri of Suzdal, saying: “God took Vsevolod, and now Izyaslav has taken
Igor. Be gracious; march against Kief; free my brother, while I, with
God’s aid, will bring forces hither to help thee.”
Then he asked for men from the Polovtsi Khans, his wife’s uncles. They
sent a detachment of warriors with promptness. From Murom came
Vladimir, a grandson of that Yaroslav whom Vsevolod had driven from
Chernigoff in order to take Kief later on, which he did successfully.
This Yaroslav, who founded the Ryazan line of princes, had two sons:
Sviatoslav and Rostislav. When the former died in Murom, Rostislav took
his land and sent Glaib his own son to rule in Ryazan, giving nothing
to Vladimir, his nephew, who came now to join Sviatoslav. After him
came the nephew of Vladimirko of Galitch—Ivan, surnamed Berladnik, from
Berlad, a town in Moldavia, which was filled with adventurers of all
kinds. Ivan had found there a refuge, and next a small party of
daredevils to join him. The sons of David wished now to crush
Sviatoslav at all cost. “We have begun a hard task,” said they to one
another; “let us end it. Let us kill Sviatoslav and take his
possessions.” They saw that while alive he would fight to free Igor; in
that his success lay. Triumph and love for his brother had for him
become one thing. They remembered that in the late reign Igor and his
brother had continually insisted upon having land in Chernigoff, and
had been restrained only by promises of Kief and of places about it.
What now could restrain those men? Of course only lands in Chernigoff.
They could not get lands in another place.
David’s sons begged aid of the Kief prince, who sent his son,
Mystislav, with warriors to help them. The allies attacked Novgorod
Seversk and fought three days there. They plundered the region about,
and seized all the horses belonging to Igor and Sviatoslav. News came
at this juncture that Yuri of Suzdal was Sviatoslav’s ally, and was
marching to aid him.
Izyaslav, the Grand Prince, now asked Rostislav of Murom to attack
Yuri’s country. The Murom prince moved at once. We have seen that
Rostislav’s nephew and enemy, Vladimir, was in Sviatoslav’s camp, being
thus an ally of Yuri, hence Rostislav was ready to fight against Yuri.
Besides, Rostislav could not have been friendly to the sons of Oleg,
one of whom had driven his father from his throne in Chernigoff.
Yuri had reached Kozelsk, when he heard that Rostislav of Murom was
attacking his country. This forced him back, but he sent his son, Ivan,
who received Kursk and lands on the Seim as reward from Sviatoslav. It
was clear that the latter would give what he had to preserve the
alliance, and, with Yuri’s aid, redeem Igor. After he had given half
his land for this ally, he tried, at the advice of his boyars, to win
the sons of David to his cause, and sent to them his priest with this
message: “Ye have ravaged my lands, seized my herds and the herds of my
brother. Ye have burned my provisions and destroyed all my property;
nothing remains for you now, but to kill me.” “Abandon thy brother,”
answered the sons of David. “I would rather die,” replied Sviatoslav,
“than abandon my brother. I will strive for him while life is in me.”
The sons of David now plundered on every side. They took Igor’s town,
where he had a residence. In his cellars were mead and wines, in his
storehouses goods of much value. All that men could remove they took
with them, then they fired the place, burning nine hundred stacks of
grain.
While Izyaslav was hastening from Kief with his warriors, David’s sons
moved on Putivl, but the town was held firmly by the people till the
Kief prince appeared before it. They yielded to him, when he kissed the
cross to respect them, and merely installed his own posadnik, instead
of the old one. He and his allies, however, seized all of Sviatoslav’s
wealth in Putivl,—wine, mead, provisions and seven hundred slaves.
Sviatoslav himself, advised by his allies, had fled northward, to be
close to provisions and near Yuri of Suzdal, taking with him his wife
and children, and also the wife of Igor. Some of his warriors had
deserted, but the best remained faithful. The sons of David were
infuriated by this flight of their cousin, and at once resolved to
capture the man or kill him. Izyaslav said, “Let us follow Sviatoslav.
If by any chance he escapes us, we will at least seize his wife and
children, and take all of his property.” And with three thousand
horsemen he set out to hunt down his cousin. When this force was
gaining on him, Sviatoslav pondered whether it were better to save his
own person by flight and let his warriors and family be captured, or
remain with them and lay down his life fighting. His men were not many,
but they were of excellent quality,—Ivan, a son of Yuri of Suzdal, Ivan
Berladnik, Vladimir of Murom, the Polovtsi party, and some others. He
had to meet thousands with hundreds, but he chose to remain, and,
turning on the son of David in a forest, he routed him thoroughly; then
he fled farther as swiftly as possible.
The Grand Prince and Vladimir, the other son of David, following on at
some distance behind, had stopped to take food, when news came that
Sviatoslav had defeated his pursuers. The Kief prince was enraged at
this failure, and set out himself in immediate pursuit of the fugitive.
On the way he was joined by stragglers from the scattered force, and at
last came the son of David.
Sviatoslav hastened forward to Koracheff, and as Izyaslav was again
hunting him sharply, he fled to great forests in Vyatichi regions,
where pursuit was impossible.
“I hold the places which ye desired,” said the Kief prince to the sons
of David. “Take ye the lands of Sviatoslav; I yield them all to you.
Igor’s slaves and his goods in those lands will be mine. Sviatoslav’s
goods we will divide between us.” After making this distribution, he
returned to his capital.
Meanwhile Igor, who lay ill in prison, wished to assume a monk’s habit,
and requested permission. “Thou mayst do that,” replied Izyaslav. “I
intended to free thee in every case.” Taken from prison to a cell in a
monastery, Igor lay eight days and nights without food or drink. At
last he revived and took the monk’s habit.
The conflict still raged between Sviatoslav and his cousins. Izyaslav
had left in Chernigoff his sister’s son, Sviatoslav, the son of
Vsevolod, the late Grand Prince. The interests of this Sviatoslav were
closely connected with the house of Oleg. A decisive defeat of his
uncle would destroy this “sister’s son’s” chance of being prince in
Chernigoff, to which he aspired, as the first son of Vsevolod. Hence,
in secret, he favored his uncle, and informed him of all that his
enemies were doing.
Yuri of Suzdal now sent fresh warriors to Sviatoslav, who with them was
ready to rend his pursuers, when Yuri’s son, Ivan, who led them, died
suddenly. The sons of David feared to attack Yuri’s warriors, but they
urged leading men of the Vyatichi, in whose towns their posadniks were
stationed, to kill Sviatoslav and scatter his forces. At this point two
of Yuri’s sons, one of whom was Andrei, later on very famous, forced
Rostislav, the Murom prince, who was attacking their father, to flee to
the Polovtsi.
That same year, 1146, Yuri invited Sviatoslav, his ally, to meet him in
Moscow (Moskva). This name appears now for the first time in the
chronicles of Russia. Originally a farm on the river Moskva, and owned
by one Stephen Kuchka, it was called Kuchkova. When the land came into
the possession of Yuri Dolgoruki, he built a village on an elevation
and called it Moskva. There was feasting and gift-giving now in Moscow,
but also much serious work. Yuri furnished warriors, led by his son,
and fresh troops of Polovtsi came to Sviatoslav; thus he had power to
take the offensive. This he did with effect, and when a third force of
Polovtsi came, the effect was decisive. All the posadniks installed in
Vyatichi towns by the sons of David fled quickly, and Sviatoslav sent
in new men to replace them. Both sons of David withdrew from the north
to Chernigoff, and sent peace proposals to Sviatoslav. Those same sons
of David now turned traitorously on the Kief prince, to whom they sent
this faithless message: “Sviatoslav has taken Vyatichi lands. Come with
us to attack him. When we have driven him away we will march with thee
against Yuri, and make peace or war with him.”
Izyaslav agreed, but Sviatoslav, son of Vsevolod, to make sure of
carrying out his own plans and escaping beyond reach of the Kief prince
in season, came to Izyaslav, and said to him, “Let me go to Chernigoff,
my father. I wish to get lands from my cousins.” “Thou hast thought
this out well,” replied Izyaslav. “Go straightway.” He went, and the
whole affair was fixed surely, as they thought. He and the sons of
David were to seize the Kief prince the moment he set foot in
Chernigoff. As he delayed, they sent envoys to hurry him. “Our land is
perishing,” said they, “and thou wilt not come to assist us.”
Izyaslav summoned his boyars and warriors and the people, and said to
them: “I am going with the sons of David to war against Sviatoslav, and
Yuri my uncle. I must go, for Yuri is helping my enemy, Sviatoslav.”
“Go not against Yuri,” said the people. “Make peace with thy uncle.
Lend no ear to the sons of David, take not the same road with them.” “I
must go,” replied Izyaslav; “they are my allies.” “Take it not ill of
us,” continued the people, “we cannot raise hands against a son of
Monomach. But if thou wilt march against the house of Oleg, we will not
only go with thee, but take our sons also.”
The prince, however, asked for volunteers to attack Yuri, and a large
number went with him. On passing the Dnieper, he sent Ulaiba, his
boyar, to learn what was happening in Chernigoff. The boyar hurried
back, bringing news that the allies of the Kief prince were acting with
Sviatoslav. Chernigoff friends also sent to Izyaslav, saying that his
allies were deceiving him foully. “They wish to slay or to seize thee,
and liberate Igor. They have kissed the cross to Sviatoslav, and also
to Yuri.”
The Kief prince now sent envoys to confer in his name with the sons of
David: “We agreed on a great work, and kissed the cross to each other,”
said the envoys. “Let us kiss it again, so that there be no
disagreement hereafter.” “Why kiss again? We have kissed already,”
replied the sons of David. “What harm in kissing the cross?” said the
envoys. “The cross is salvation.” But they refused to kiss it a second
time. The envoys repeated now these words from Izyaslav to the sons of
David: “I have heard that ye are deceiving me, that ye have sworn to
Sviatoslav to seize me or to kill me because of Igor. Is this true,
brothers, or is it not true?” They would not answer. At last one of
them said to the envoys: “Withdraw, we will summon thee later.” They
consulted long, and then called the envoys.
“We have kissed the cross to Sviatoslav,” declared they frankly. “We
grieve over Igor, our cousin. He is a monk now; set him free, and we
will ride at thy stirrup. Would it please thee if we held thy brother?”
The treaty papers were cast at their feet, and these words were added
in answer: “Ye took oath to be with me till death, and I gave you the
lands of both sons of Oleg. I expelled Sviatoslav; I won his lands and
gave you Putivl with other places. We divided Sviatoslav’s property
between us. I took Igor’s. And now, brothers, ye have broken your oath.
Ye invited me hither intending to kill me. Let God be on my side and
the power of the life-giving cross. I will manage as the Lord may
assist me.”
The prince asked Rostislav, his brother, to bring Smolensk forces from
all sides. He sent to Kief also, explaining the conduct of the sons of
David, and reminded the people of what they had promised. The Kief men
decided immediately to go forward in boats and on horseback to help
him. “We rejoice,” declared they in a message, “that God has preserved
thee. We come and bring our sons with us, according to promise!” When
thus excited, some man in the throng called out loudly: “We will fight
for our prince, but think first of one important thing. Here in this
city is the enemy of our prince. Let us slay him to finish that family
in Chernigoff, and then go!” The people rushed to the monastery, and
before Prince Vladimir, the metropolitan, or the commander in the city,
could stop them they had seized Igor, and slain him.
Izyaslav was at the edge of Chernigoff when news of Igor’s death came
to him: “If I had thought of this, I should have guarded him more
carefully,” said he to his warriors. “Men will say now that I wished to
kill Igor, but God knows that I did not.” “Be not concerned,” answered
his warriors. “God knows, and people know, also, that not thou, but his
own cousins killed him; they who took an oath to thee, and then
conspired traitorously to kill thee.”
Izyaslav seized Kursk, where he placed his son, Mystislav, and thus
barred out the Polovtsi. But Glaib, son of Yuri, came later with
Sviatoslav to take the place. The people would not raise a hand against
Glaib, since he was a grandson of Monomach. They would have fought
against Sviatoslav had he come unassisted, as they informed Mystislav,
who returned to his father.
Glaib, after installing posadniks, left that region, and the Polovtsi
were free to appear again. Rostislav of Smolensk led in large forces to
help his brother, the Grand Prince, and after an involved and tedious
war, ending rather against Izyaslav than for him, the Chernigoff
princes were unable to continue the struggle; their territory was
stripped of provisions, and ruined in great part; they had no food for
their warriors, and could not pay Polovtsi allies. Yuri had sent a son
with forces, but he would not go with his main strength in person, and
without Yuri the Chernigoff princes were unable to stand against
Izyaslav and his brothers.
In such straits, they sent these words to Yuri: “Thou didst kiss the
cross to go with us against Izyaslav; thou hast not done so. Izyaslav
came, burned our towns, took our country. He came a second time; he
burned and seized what he spared at the first attack, but thou hast
neither come to us nor fought against Izyaslav. If thy wish is to march
now against the Kief prince, we will go with thee; if not, we are freed
from our oath; we have no wish to perish in war unassisted.”
From Yuri came no answer of value, hence they turned with proposals to
the Kief prince. He replied that he would consult with Rostislav and
then answer finally. He consulted with his brother for form’s sake, and
then made peace with the princes of Chernigoff, who took oath to forget
Igor’s death, and be in friendship for the future. Kursk remained in
their possession.
At this time Rostislav, Yuri’s eldest son, once prince in Novgorod,
came to Kief, declaring that he had quarreled with his father, who
refused him land in Suzdal; hence he had come to Izyaslav with homage.
The Kief prince gave him those five towns held formerly by Sviatoslav,
son of Vsevolod, and also Gorodok, where Izyaslav did not wish to see
Yuri’s son Glaib, to whom he sent this command: “Find lands with the
sons of Oleg.”
In autumn, the Grand Prince went to Gorodok, taking Rostislav with him.
The sons of David were there, but no son of Oleg. When Izyaslav
mentioned this, the princes replied: “We are here. It is indifferent
whether they come or not; they and we took the oath to make common
cause with thee, and to go with thee against Yuri, starting when the
rivers should be frozen.” They who had been Yuri’s allies a short time
before had now become his enemies, and allies of Izyaslav. When the
time came, Izyaslav left Vladimir, his brother, in Kief, and visited
Smolensk, to confer with Rostislav.
Novgorod had assembled large forces to march against Yuri, and now sent
many warriors, as did Smolensk. They moved down the Volga, and, finding
no trace of Yuri, ravaged both sides of the river as far as Uglitch.
Here news came that the sons of David, with Sviatoslav, brother of
Igor, had marched to assist them, but had halted in the Vyatichi
country to see who would be victor, the Kief prince, or Yuri.
“Let them come or stay,” replied Izyaslav, and he sent Novgorod men and
others to take Yaroslavl on the Volga. This they did after much effort,
and returned with great booty. A week before Easter the weather became
so warm that the army could not remain in the country. Horses walked to
their bellies in water. Rostislav went back to Smolensk, and Izyaslav
to Novgorod and thence to his capital.
This campaign cost Yuri’s country seven thousand men led away captives,
besides all the property burned and ruined. Upon Izyaslav’s return to
Kief, he learned from his boyars that Yuri’s son, Rostislav, had worked
against him in his absence, and had said to the people: “If God helps
my father, he will visit Kief and take Izyaslav’s house from him, and
also his family.” “Send this traitor back to his father; thou art
keeping him here to thy ruin,” said the boyars. The prince summoned
Rostislav, and, without receiving him, gave this message: “Thou didst
come to me and say that thy father was unjust and would give thee no
land. I took thee in as a brother, I gave thee lands, and now thou
wouldst seize Kief from me.” Yuri’s son sent back this answer: “Neither
in my heart nor my mind was the thought which thou hast mentioned. If
he who has lied is a prince I am ready to meet him, if of lower degree,
either Christian or pagan, judge thou between us.” “Ask no judgment of
me,” replied Izyaslav. “I know what thou wishest. Go back to thy
father.”
The boyars put Rostislav in a boat with three men and sent him up the
river. His warriors were retained, and his property taken.
Rostislav bowed down to his father in Suzdal, and said: “The whole
Russian land desires thee. Men say in Kief that their prince has
dishonored them. March thou against Izyaslav.” These words imply
clearly that Yuri’s son had worked with zeal against Izyaslav, and that
the complaint of the boyars was well founded.
Such an “insult” to Rostislav greatly offended Yuri, who demanded
angrily, “Is there then no place for me or my sons in Russia?” He
assembled his forces quickly, hired Polovtsi, and was soon ready for
action.
It was not anger alone which roused Yuri; he believed that his day had
come, the long deferred day of triumph. His son’s report that he would
find in the south serious allies, decided his movements, and he marched
forward with all speed. He had reached the land of the Vyatichi, when
Vladimir, son of David, warned Izyaslav, saying: “Be ready for action;
thy uncle is marching.” Izyaslav prepared, and with the sons of David
sent envoys to Sviatoslav, brother of the late Igor, reminding him of
their treaties.
Sviatoslav gave no answer at first, but guarded the envoys to keep men
away from them. Meanwhile he consulted with Yuri. “Art thou going
against Izyaslav? Tell me truly lest I ruin my lands without reason.”
“I go, of course,” replied Yuri. “My nephew made war in my lands and
set fire to them. He drove out my son, and insulted me. I will avenge
the wrong done, or I will lay down my life.”
On receiving this answer, Sviatoslav, unwilling to break his oath,
without reasons which men might hold sufficient, commanded his envoys
to speak thus to Izyaslav: “Return Igor’s property, and I will be with
thee.” “Thou hast kissed the cross to put aside enmity because of Igor
and his property,” replied Izyaslav, “but now thou dost mention them
when my uncle is marching against me. Keep thy oath, or else break it.”
Sviatoslav joined forces with Yuri. Yuri and Sviatoslav then sent the
sons of David a message, but they sent the answer only to Yuri: “In the
last war thou didst swear to be with us. But when Izyaslav took all our
lands and burned the towns in them, thou wouldst not come to us.
Because of this we kissed the cross to Izyaslav, and we cannot jest
with salvation.”
Yuri marched southward, expecting the Polovtsi and awaiting submission
from Izyaslav, his nephew. Rostislav of Smolensk, with large forces,
hastened to strengthen his brother. Yuri advanced to Pereyaslavl,
thinking that Izyaslav might yield; but Izyaslav did not yield. “If my
uncle had come with his sons only,” said he, “he might have had the
best province in my possession, but as he leads in the hated Polovtsi,
and with them my enemy, I am forced to the field by his action.”
Izyaslav talked thus to persuade Kief men to march against Yuri. They
had insisted on peace, and declared that they could not raise hands
against a son of Monomach. But, influenced by Izyaslav’s words, they at
last consented to go, though unwillingly. Crossing the Dnieper, the
Grand Prince met Yuri’s army, the advance troops being Polovtsi, and
repulsed it. Then the two armies stood all day and night facing each
other. In the night Yuri sent to his nephew this message: “Thou hast
ravaged my country, thou hast taken seniority from me, but spare
Christian blood now. Let me seat a son in this city of Pereyaslavl, and
rule thou in Kief. If not, let God judge between us.”
Izyaslav detained the envoy, and led out all his men to meet Yuri. Next
morning the bishop, with tears in his eyes, begged thus of Izyaslav:
“Make peace with thy uncle. If thou do so, thou wilt save the land from
sore misery, and have great reward from God.” But the prince would not
listen. The armies were face to face that day till evening, the river
Trubej between them. At a council called by Izyaslav, some favored
crossing the river: “God gives thee the enemy; seize him,” said these
men. “Remain where thou art,” said others. “Thy uncle is wavering, he
will vanish in the night. Let him go, do not touch him.” The first
advice pleased the prince, and he crossed the river. Next day at noon
the armies came very near fighting, but Yuri halted, and in the evening
withdrew. Again there were two minds in Izyaslav’s council: “Thy uncle
is fleeing,” urged one mind; “attack him before he escapes thee.”
“Follow not,” urged the other; “there will be no battle; thou wilt have
victory for nothing.” This time too Izyaslav took the first advice.
At daybreak next morning the battle began. It was resolute at the
opening and venomous on both sides, but soon all of Izyaslav’s
contingents from the Ros River fled. Seeing this, the sons of David and
the Kief men fled also. Pereyaslavl, persuaded already by Yuri’s son,
Rostislav, opened its gates without fighting, and thus the battle was
ended.
Izyaslav had pierced an opposing regiment, but when in the rear of it
he saw that all had deserted him, and knew that nothing save flight
remained. He reached Kief with only two attendants, and went
immediately to Volynia; but he withdrew to reopen the struggle.
On reaching Volynia Izyaslav sent to Poland, Bohemia and Hungary for
aid. Aid was promised, but he wished aid itself, and not promises,
hence he sent envoys a second time bearing rich presents, with the
injunction to get what he asked for. Knowing now what it was to fight
against his uncle when the people were indifferent or opposed to him,
he sent these words to Yuri’s elder brother, Vyatcheslav: “Be my father
and take the throne of Kief; if not I will ruin thy country.”
Vyatcheslav, alarmed by the threat, sent this message to Yuri: “Make
peace, defend my country, come hither thyself; we shall then see what
to do. If thou come not, I must act as seems best to me.” Yuri set out
at once with his troops, taking Polovtsi also. Izyaslav marched from
Volynia against him. To Vyatcheslav came Rostislav and Andrei, sons of
Yuri, and soon Yuri himself came. Vladimirko of Galitch moved to the
boundary and thus checked Poles and Hungarians.
The Poles, greatly alarmed by news from their own land that Prussian
tribes were attacking them, went home. Hence the allies sent these
words to Yuri and Vyatcheslav: “Though ye are as fathers to Izyaslav,
ye are now warring against him. As Christians and brethren we should
all be united. Can you not arrange peace with your son and your
brother? Ye might remain in Kief. Ye yourselves know who should be
there. Let Volynia and whatever else is his go to Izyaslav. Let Yuri
give back the Novgorod tribute.”
“God reward you,” replied Yuri and his brother. “Since ye ask for peace
and wish well to us, let Izyaslav return to Volynia, and go ye to your
own lands; we will discuss then with Izyaslav.” The allies withdrew,
and the uncles proposed terms to their nephew. But the affair halted
because Yuri’s eldest son and a nephew advised with great earnestness
not to make peace with Izyaslav. Yuri took this advice all the more
readily, since Izyaslav’s allies had gone to their own lands, and he
thought it easy to force down his nephew. “I will expel Izyaslav and
take his lands,” said Yuri, and he moved with his brother to do this.
Yuri and his forces invested Lutsk, and for many weeks fought around
the city. The besieged lacked water greatly. Izyaslav strove to aid
them, but Vladimirko of Galitch barred the way; he desired victory for
neither side. Volynia, independent of Kief, was what he wished.
Izyaslav sent to him, saying: “Reconcile me with my uncle Yuri.”
Vladimirko was willing, in fact he was very glad to attempt this.
Andrei, Yuri’s second son, was for peace and counseled his father.
“Give no ear to my brother or cousin,” said he. “Make peace, O my
father, do not ruin thy possessions.” Vyatcheslav favored peace also.
He had his own reasons for doing so. “Make peace,” said he to Yuri. “If
not, and thou go, Izyaslav will destroy my country.”
Yuri finally agreed to peace. His nephew yielded Kief, and Yuri gave
back the Novgorod tribute. Izyaslav visited his uncles, and all sides
promised to return booty taken since the action near Pereyaslavl. After
that Yuri went back to Kief, and wished to give it to Vyatcheslav, to
whom it belonged by seniority, but the boyars dissuaded him. “Thy
brother could not hold Kief,” said they. “It will be neither his nor
thine, if thou yield it.” Yuri took his son from Vyshgorod, and gave
the place to Vyatcheslav.
Meanwhile, 1150, Izyaslav sent to find herds and property seized before
peace was concluded, but when his men had found what they were seeking,
and asked for it, Yuri refused it, and they went back empty-handed.
Thereupon Izyaslav sent a complaint and threat to his uncle: “Keep thy
oath, for I cannot remain thus offended.” Yuri made no answer, and
Izyaslav took arms again, urged, as was said, by Kief people.
At this time Yuri’s son Glaib was encamped not far from Izyaslav, who
suddenly attacked him in the night. Glaib escaped with much difficulty,
having lost everything he had. Next day he sent to his cousin this
message: “Yuri is my father, so art thou, and I render thee homage.
Thou and Yuri will settle all questions. But give thy oath that thou
wilt permit me to visit my father. If thou do, I will come and bow down
to thee.” Izyaslav gave the oath. Glaib went to Yuri, and Izyaslav
hastened to the steppe to get aid from the Black Caps, who rejoiced
with unbounded delight when they saw him.
Yuri, on hearing that his nephew had gone to the Black Caps, left Kief
at once, crossed the Dnieper and hastened to Gorodok. As soon as Yuri
withdrew from Kief, Vyatcheslav entered. The Kief people went out in
great crowds to meet Izyaslav, who was not slow in coming. “Yuri has
left us,” said they. “Vyatcheslav is in the palace, but we do not want
him. Go to Holy Sophia, and then take the throne of thy fathers.” “I
gave thee Kief,” said Izyaslav, in a message to his uncle, “but thou
wouldst not take it. Now when thy brother has fled, thou art willing.
Go to thy Vyshgorod.” “Even shouldst thou kill me for staying, I would
not go,” answered Vyatcheslav.
Taking a few attendants, Izyaslav went to his uncle and bowed down
before him. Vyatcheslav rose, kissed him and they sat down together.
“Father,” said Izyaslav, “I give thee homage, I cannot do what thou
wishest, such is the power of the people. They are opposed to thee. Go
to Vyshgorod; from there we two will manage.” “When thou didst invite
me to Kief,” answered Vyatcheslav, “I had kissed the cross to Yuri. If
Kief is thine now, I will go to Vyshgorod.” And he went.
Meanwhile Yuri called on the sons of David and Oleg for assistance, and
Vladimirko was marching from the west. Izyaslav, greatly alarmed,
prepared for defense very promptly and went with boyars to Vyatcheslav
in Vyshgorod. “Take Kief,” said he to his uncle, “and with it what
lands thou desirest; the rest leave to me.” Vyatcheslav was offended at
first. “Why didst thou not give me Kief when thou wert forcing me out
of it shamefully?” asked he. “Now when one army is moving against thee
from Galitch and another from Chernigoff, thou givest me my
inheritance.” “I offered thee Kief, declaring that I could live with
thee, but not with Yuri,” said Izyaslav. “Thee I love as my father. And
I say now again: Thou art my father, and Kief belongs to thee.” These
words softened Vyatcheslav and he kissed the cross to consider Izyaslav
as his son, and Izyaslav swore to regard him as a father. “I am going
to Zvenigorod against Vladimirko,” said Izyaslav. “Be pleased thou to
enter Kief and let me have thy warriors.” “I will send all of my
warriors with thee,” replied Vyatcheslav.
Vladimirko was now in the field to help Yuri, and Izyaslav marched
westward at once to hasten the struggle, but when he came near the
enemy his men forsook him. “Vladimirko has a countless host,” cried
they. “Do not destroy us and forfeit thy own life. Wait till another
time.” “Better die here than suffer disgrace such as that!” exclaimed
Izyaslav. Nevertheless all fled the field, and the Kief prince was left
with only his personal following. He fell back on the capital safely,
though he might have been captured. Vladimirko thought the whole
movement a strategy, hence he followed on cautiously, looking for
ambushes everywhere. Izyaslav found his uncle in Kief, waiting
anxiously. They counseled awhile and then sat down to dinner. During
dinner news came that Yuri was crossing the Dnieper, and with him the
men of Chernigoff. “This is not our day!” exclaimed the two princes,
and they fled from Kief, Vyatcheslav going to Vyshgorod, and Izyaslav
back to Volynia.
Next day Vladimirko and Yuri met outside Kief and greeted each other on
horseback. The Galitch prince visited all the holy places in the city,
and then bade farewell to his father-in-law in friendship. He took with
him Yuri’s son, Mystislav, and installed that prince on the boundary of
Volynia. Later on Yuri gave this whole region to his best son, Andrei.
Andrei fixed his camp in Peresopnitsa, and during the winter Izyaslav
sent an envoy to him. “Reconcile me with thy father,” said he. “My
inheritance is not in Hungary or Poland. Ask from thy father the return
of my land on the Goryn.” He sent this request, but bade his envoy look
sharply at all things. He was planning to fall on Andrei, as he had
fallen on Glaib, Yuri’s other son, some time earlier.
The envoy found everything in excellent order, and a strong force of
warriors in readiness. Andrei, unsuspicious, or feigning to be so,
turned to Yuri in favor of Izyaslav, but Yuri would not yield a whit to
his nephew. “My uncle,” declared Izyaslav, “would drive me to exile.
Vladimirko of Galitch has taken my land at command of Yuri, and is now
making ready to march on Vladimir, my capital.” So he sent Vladimir,
his brother, to Hungary to ask aid of the king, who marched straightway
with an army on Galitch. “I, thy brother, have started,” wrote the
king. “Join me at once with thy forces. Vladimirko will see the men
whom he has offended.”
Vladimirko had friends in Hungary, who sent him information, hence he
left Bailz, where his camp was, and hastened forward to meet the
Hungarian forces at Peremysl. There he discovered that he was no match
for the king in the field, so he begged the archbishop and two bishops
from Hungary with certain influential boyars to help him. He lavished
gold without stint on these prelates and boyars, and they in return
urged the king to go home and make war at another time. He yielded, and
sent this explanation to Izyaslav: “The Greek Emperor is moving against
me; I must return to my own country to meet him, but next summer I can
send ten thousand men, or even more if thou need them.”
The Hungarian force vanished, and was as if it had never seen Galitch.
Izyaslav, foiled for the moment by his enemy, sent Vladimir a second
time to Hungary with this message: “Vyatcheslav’s boyars, the people
and the steppe tribes have sent for me. If thou must stay at home to
prepare for the Greek Emperor, send me the aid which thou hast
promised, and I will be with thee hereafter at all times.” The king
sent him now ten thousand men, and with these warriors he set out
against Kief.
On the way news was brought to him that Vladimirko was following. A
council was summoned, and the boyars spoke thus: “Thou art marching on
Yuri, and Vladimirko is pursuing; our position is perilous.” “Ye have
come out of Kief,” replied Izyaslav; “ye have lost land and property,
ye have lost all. I have lost my inheritance. I must get back my own
and win yours in the same effort. If Vladimirko comes, God will decide
between us. If Yuri should meet me, the Lord will judge also in his
case.” And leaving Sviatopolk, one of his brothers, behind in Vladimir,
his capital, to guard the place, he moved forward with the Hungarians
and his own men.
On the way Vladimirko was joined by Andrei, and both forces followed
together. Though sometimes at skirmishing distance, Izyaslav wisely
abstained from action, and sent on Vladimir to Bailgorod, where Boris,
son of Yuri, was feasting. If a collector of taxes had not raised the
bridge, Boris would have been seized at table. Unable to get possession
of the place without a battle, Vladimir rejoined Izyaslav, and they
hastened on toward Kief. When Vladimirko’s men came up, they approached
and sounded a trumpet. People ran out and lowered the bridge willingly.
This advance force entered Bailgorod, and Boris hurried away to his
father. Yuri, greatly alarmed by the strength of the enemy marching
against him, left Kief at once, crossed the Dnieper, fled on, and took
refuge in Gorodok.
All Kief went out to meet Izyaslav. The delight of the people this time
seemed real. Yuri, whom the city never really liked, had become most
unpopular, and they now rejoiced to be rid of him.
On the west, beyond Bailgorod, Vladimirko and Andrei were manœuvering
for battle with Izyaslav, when suddenly news reached them that their
enemy was in Kief with his forces, and Yuri powerless in Gorodok.
Vladimirko’s rage was unbounded. “I cannot see how my father-in-law
manages,” said he to Andrei. “I cannot understand how ye, his sons,
help him. Thou, Andrei, hadst thy camp on the Goryn; Boris was in
Bailgorod. We might have forced Izyaslav to action and lamed, or
defeated him, but Boris left us and gave the road to our enemy. Thy
father then abandoned Kief, and Izyaslav is now Grand Prince. To-day
the whole Russian land is on his side. I leave you, and go now to
Galitch.”
Yuri had no friends in the south, where all had hoped for his downfall.
The campaign seemed indeed like some folk-tale. A battle might have
ruined Izyaslav; a quick march secured him dominion.
Vladimirko turned home, but to each town he said as he came to it:
“Give me the silver and gold that I ask of you. If ye refuse I will
take what I find at the sword’s point.” No town or city had the silver
or gold, or the coin or utensils to meet this demand of Yuri’s ally,
hence people were forced to take every ornament from the necks and the
arms of their women, and give them to the master of Galitch. Vladimirko
took from all in this way till he reached his own boundary.
At last the hour of triumph had sounded for Yuri’s simple-minded
brother. On the day after his entrance to Kief, Izyaslav sent this
message to his uncle: “I salute thee, my father. I have sinned before
thee, but I repent. I have sinned a first, and a second, and a third
time. I repent now of all these transgressions, and, if thou forgive,
God will pardon me. I give thee Kief; come thou and sit on the throne
of thy fathers.” Thus Izyaslav acknowledged completely the right of
uncles as opposed to the sons of their elder brothers, a right against
which even personal qualities, or the respect of people availed not.
“God give thee strength, my son,” replied Vyatcheslav, “because thou
hast given me due honor. It was thy duty thus to act long ago. Thou
hast given honor to God by the honor given me. Thou sayest that I am
thy father; I say that thou art my son. I have no son, and thou hast no
father; thou art my son, thou art also my brother.”
Uncle and nephew now kissed the cross to each other not to part in
defeat or in triumph. The Hungarians were feasted, received rich
presents, and went home. The two princes sent Izyaslav’s son on a
mission to Hungary, to assure the Hungarian king of the Kief princes’
gratitude, and to make offer of service, asking, too, that if the need
came the king would send troops, as he had sent them recently.
Rostislav of Smolensk was invited to aid in liberating Kief, for they
thought, and thought rightly, that Yuri would not yield without a
struggle.
Yuri now summoned all his allies. Sviatoslav moved promptly and met
Vladimir, son of David, in Chernigoff; then their forces sailed down in
boats to Gorodok, where they joined Yuri. Izyaslav, the other son of
David, joined the Kief princes. Rostislav of Smolensk came to Kief
early with his forces. Yuri moved with his allies from Gorodok to the
Dnieper and strove hard to cross, but was foiled in each effort by his
nephew. Strengthened now by large forces of the Polovtsi, he marched
toward the south and crossed at the second ford, below Kief, then
turning back, he advanced on the capital. Izyaslav and his uncle,
disposing their men in the city and around it, waited for the coming
conflict.
“We are now ready for battle,” said Vyatcheslav to his nephews. “Yuri
is my brother, though younger, and I wish to bring my seniority before
him. God in his judgment considers the right side.” So he summoned an
envoy and gave these instructions: “Go thou to Yuri, my brother: bow
down to him in my name and say these words from me: ‘I have said often
to thee, Yuri, and to Izyaslav, shed not Christian blood, ruin not the
Russian land. I have tried to restrain thee from war. I have regiments
and power of my own which God gave me. Still I have not fought for
myself, though thou, Yuri, and also Izyaslav have deeply offended me,
not one time, but many. Izyaslav, when going to fight against Igor,
said that he was not seeking Kief for himself, but for me, his father.
Then, when God gave him victory, he kept Kief for himself, and took
also Turoff and Pinsk from me. That is how Izyaslav offended, but I,
keeping Christians in mind and the Russian land, did not remember it
against him. Thou, brother Yuri, when going to Pereyaslavl to fight
against Izyaslav, didst say: “I seek not Kief for myself. I have an
older brother who is to me as a father; I am seeking Kief for that
brother.” But, when God aided thee to take Kief, thou didst keep it.
Thou didst seize from me, besides, Dorogobuj and Peresopnitsa, and
gavest me only Vyshgorod. Thus did ye wrong me. All this time I sought
no redress out of love for the Russian land and for Christians. Ye
would take no decision of mine; ye sought war. I strove to dissuade
thee from war, but ye would not listen. Thy answer was that thou
couldst not give homage to a junior. But Izyaslav, though he has failed
twice before in his word to me, has given now what is mine; he has
yielded up Kief, and calls me father. Thou hast said: “I cannot bow
down to a junior.” I am older than thou not a little; I was bearded
before thou wert born. If it is thy wish to defy my seniority, God will
render judgment.’”
To this Yuri answered: “I bow down to thee, brother; thy words are
true, and well spoken. Thou art to me in the place of a father, and if
it is thy desire to arrange matters clearly, let Izyaslav go to Volynia
and Rostislav return to Smolensk. I will settle all questions then with
thee.” “Brother Yuri, this is what I will say in answer,” retorted
Vyacheslav. “Thou hast seven sons, and I do not hunt them away from
thee. I have two adopted sons, Izyaslav and Rostislav, with some others
still younger. I will add this: Do thou for the good of the Russian
land and of Christians go to Pereyaslavl, thence to Kursk with thy
sons, and beyond is Rostoff, thy great inheritance. Send home the sons
of Oleg. After that we will settle, and shed no Christian blood. But if
thou must have thy own way, the Purest Lady and her Son will judge
between us.”
Yuri gave no answer to these words, but next morning he appeared before
Kief with his forces. There was nothing but skirmishing till toward
evening, when a part of each army engaged. The Kief troops drove back
their opponents, and fought with such vigor that Yuri withdrew his
whole force and marched westward to meet Vladimirko, his ally from
Galitch, who, as he heard, was now hastening to join him. He appeared
before Bailgorod, from which his son Boris had fled some time
previously, and summoning the citizens, said: “Ye are my people, open
the gates to me.” “Has Kief opened its gates?” was the answer. The
gates remained closed, and Yuri marched farther. The Kief princes set
out in pursuit and overtook him near Rut River, beyond Bailgorod. There
they strove again to make peace, but failed, since the sons of Oleg and
the Polovtsi opposed it.
As they could not come to terms, the Kief princes were anxious to force
a battle before Vladimirko could strengthen their enemy. Yuri wished to
defer the engagement till Vladimirko could join him. His first
intention was to pass Rut River, prevent the Kief troops from crossing,
and wait for his ally in a favorable position. But all his movements to
gain time were useless, and he was compelled to turn promptly to
battle. Andrei, now Yuri’s eldest son, for Rostislav had died recently,
ranged his father’s warriors in order of battle. “Thou hast striven
much for the good,” said Izyaslav and his brother to Vyatcheslav, “but
thy brother opposes at all times. We are willing, if need be, to lay
down our lives to save thy rights for thee.” “My sons,” replied the old
man, “I have been opposed all my life to bloodshed. We are on this
field to-day because of Yuri. God will judge between him and me.”
Andrei advanced in the front rank, led the battle, and made the first
lance cast. His lance broke, his shield was torn from him, his helmet
was shivered, and he fell from the horse, which was wounded under him.
Izyaslav also engaged in the front rank; thrown from his horse, he fell
and was lost among the slain and wounded.
The battle was brief, but decisive. Izyaslav’s men fought willingly
this time, while Yuri’s showed no heart in the struggle. His Polovtsi
fled without using an arrow. After them fled the sons of Oleg, and next
Yuri himself and his sons. Many prisoners were taken, many men slain.
Among the slain was Vladimir, son of David, Prince of Chernigoff.
When the victors, returning, passed over the field after hunting their
fugitive opponents, they saw a man trying to rise from a great pile of
dead and wounded. Some foot warriors ran up and struck him. “I am a
prince!” he was able to say. “Thou art the man we are seeking,” cried
they, and slashed at his helmet, thinking him a son of Oleg, or David.
“I am Izyaslav. I am your prince,” called he to them. They raised him
then with gladness, and praised the Lord, who had saved him.
The Kief princes urged Izyaslav, son of David, to take his brother’s
corpse, hasten with all the strength in him to Chernigoff, and sit on
the throne before Sviatoslav could forestall him. (This was a real case
of running for office.)
From the battlefield Yuri fled to the Dnieper, which he crossed, and
then sped forward to Pereyaslavl for refuge. Sviatoslav fled to
Gorodok, but as the son of Oleg was enormous in person, and mortally
weary from fighting and fleeing, he could not move farther, though
eager to do so. If he had had wings and could have used them, he would
have flown through the air to Chernigoff; as it was, he sent forward
his nephew, son of Vsevolod, who learned at the Desna that Izyaslav,
son of David, was already on the throne. Vladimirko of Galitch, on
hearing of his father-in-law’s defeat, hastened homeward.
At last Vyatcheslav and his nephew were in safety on all sides. They
returned to Kief, which they entered in triumph, and held the place
with pleasure, at least for the moment.
Vladimirko of Galitch now dealt a sore blow at his enemies. Having
heard that Mystislav, son of Izyaslav the Kief prince, was bringing in
Hungarians, he lay in wait to destroy them. He found means to place a
great quantity of wine within reach of the foreigners and they seized
it and had a rich feast that evening. Just before daybreak Vladimirko
attacked and slew nearly all of them, reserving but few for captivity.
Mystislav escaped with his personal attendants. “If God give health to
the king, and to me,” said Izyaslav, when he heard of the slaughter,
“Vladimirko will pay for this dearly.”
Yuri, still in Pereyaslavl, was inciting Vladimirko, and collecting
fresh Polovtsi, so the Kief princes marched to expel him. After
fighting two days before the town, on the third they burned its
outskirts and sent these words to Yuri: “We salute thee. Go thou to
Suzdal. Leave a son in Pereyaslavl. We may not leave thee there; thou
wouldst bring in Polovtsi.” Yuri could get no aid from Vladimirko or
the Polovtsi. His own forces were greatly decreased, and he would not
weaken Suzdal, hence he returned this answer: “I will march to Gorodok,
remain there a time, and go afterward to Suzdal.” To this the reply was
that he might remain one month in Gorodok, and then he must go to
Suzdal. If he would not agree to this, they would attack Gorodok, as
they had attacked Pereyaslavl. There was no escape now, so, though
unwilling, Yuri and his son kissed the cross to go in one month to
Suzdal. He promised also to make no attack on Kief while it was held by
Izyaslav and his uncle, and his uncle made no treaty with Sviatoslav,
son of Oleg.
Leaving his son Glaib in Pereyaslavl, Yuri went to Gorodok. Andrei, his
eldest son, begged to go in advance to Suzdal. “We have naught now in
this place,” said he to his father. Sviatoslav, hearing that Yuri had
agreed with Vyatcheslav and his nephew, sent to Izyaslav, son of David,
in his own name and in that of Sviatoslav, son of Vsevolod, asking for
what had belonged to their fathers. Izyaslav gave those lands to them,
but on condition of their leaving Yuri, and acting with the sons of
Mystislav.
Yuri had not the heart to go home with defeat, and when the month had
passed, and the time came to go to Suzdal he broke his oath and
remained in Gorodok. Izyaslav with his warriors, the Prince of
Chernigoff with his men, also the son of Vsevolod promptly moved
against him. The son of Oleg sent his forces, but would not appear
himself against his old ally. Yuri shut himself up in the place and
fought, but at last he grew weary; he could not win victory alone, and
no help was visible on any side. He was forced finally to swear again
that he would go back to Suzdal. He went this time, and left his son
Glaib in Gorodok. Because of the Gorodok oath breaking, Pereyaslavl had
been taken from Glaib, and given to Mystislav, son of the Grand Prince.
On the way home, Yuri stopped to see his friend Sviatoslav, son of
Oleg, who received him with honor and gave him things needed for his
journey. This friendly visit caused, very likely, the meeting between
the princes of Kief and Chernigoff in 1152 (Sviatoslav, son of
Vsevolod, was present at this meeting), at which they decided to
deprive Yuri of his foothold between the South and Chernigoff. Then
they razed Gorodok, fired the ruins and consumed the place utterly.
They left not one thing on the site of it.
“Yuri sighed from his heart,” as the chronicler states, when he heard
of this destruction, and began at once to rally his forces. Rostislav
of Ryazan came with his brother; Sviatoslav, son of Oleg, broke his
treaty with the Kief prince and came to aid Yuri. A great host of
Polovtsi appeared from all hordes between the Don and the Volga. An
immense army assembled. “They burned my Gorodok,” said Yuri, “and also
the church in it. I will burn their cities in return.” And he marched
on Chernigoff.
The Kief prince sent this message at once to his brother in Smolensk:
“If Yuri moves against thy land, I will hasten to aid thee. If he
passes thee, do thou hurry hither with warriors.” Rostislav saw that
Yuri, when passing Smolensk lands, would strike at Chernigoff, so
marching with speed he reached Chernigoff before his uncle, and shut
himself in there with Sviatoslav, son of Vsevolod. Polovtsi legions
appeared that same day, and fell straightway to burning the suburbs.
Yuri himself with his allies came in sight the next morning. Twelve
days and nights did the Suzdal prince struggle with the city but the
defense was so stubborn that he seized nothing, mastered no part of
Chernigoff. On the thirteenth morning came news that Vyatcheslav and
Izyaslav were hurriedly approaching with all the Kief forces. The
Polovtsi, active at looting and burning, fled when they saw that real
fighting and danger were near them, and Yuri was forced to withdraw. He
went first to Novgorod, then to Rylsk, and was about to start for
Suzdal when the son of Oleg reproached him as follows: “Thou art
leaving me when thou hast ruined my property. All the grain in this
land has been trampled by Polovtsi. Thy Polovtsi have fled, and thou
thyself art deserting. After thee will come Izyaslav, and he will
destroy what remains here because I broke faith with him, and gave thee
assistance.” Yuri engaged to leave troops, but his words were merely
vain promises. He left only fifty men of his guard, and Vassilko, his
son, to protect all that country.
At Novgorod appeared Izyaslav, with his allies. In three days he was
master of all save the innermost fortress. Sviatoslav, son of Oleg,
asked then for peace, which the Kief prince wished at first to refuse,
but he granted it finally and returned to Chernigoff. There he received
news from his son, Mystislav, that he had overtaken and crushed Yuri’s
Polovtsi, freed a great number of captives and recovered much booty.
Yuri made still another effort, but a weaker one and his defeat was
decisive.
Thus ended Izyaslav’s struggle with his uncle. Yuri’s main ally,
Sviatoslav, was reduced to take gladly the place that was given him.
There remained still another of Yuri’s assistants, the last one, his
son-in-law, Vladimirko of Galitch, and to him Izyaslav now turned his
attention.