Articles by CaraBeth

About CaraBeth

I love reading and writing about the royals of medieval Europe- especially the women. My interest was first started by the Plantagenet dynasty, but I decided to dive deeper, and discovered that there were many more fascinating royal dynasties in medieval Europe. Other dynasties I like reading and writing about are; the Capets, and their Angevin branch in Naples and Hungary, the Luxembourgs, the early Hapsburgs, the Arpads, the Piasts, the Premyslids and many more!

Maria Dobroniega of Kyiv – The Connection between Poland and Kievan Rus

Monday, 31 July 2023, 6:00 CaraBeth 0

In the eleventh through thirteenth centuries, multiple marriages occurred between the Piast dynasty of Poland and the Rurik dynasty of the Kievan Rus. The first Rus princess to marry in Poland was Maria Dobroniega. Parentage There is a lot of controversy surrounding when Maria Dobroniega was born and who her parents exactly were. What is [read more]

Gertrude of Poland and her Prayer Book

Wednesday, 7 June 2023, 6:00 CaraBeth 0

Between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries, marriages between the Rurikids of the Kyivan Rus and the Piasts of Poland were very common. One of the marriages between a Rus prince and a Polish princess was that of Iziaslav I of Kyiv and Gertrude of Poland. Early Life Gertrude of Poland was born around 1025. She [read more]

Constance of Aragon, Queen of Hungary and Holy Roman Empress

Wednesday, 31 May 2023, 6:00 CaraBeth 0

Through her two marriages, Constance of Aragon gained a variety of royal titles – Queen of Hungary, Queen of Sicily, Queen of the Romans and Holy Roman Empress. By birth and her two marriages, she got to spend her life in several different countries – Spain, Hungary, Germany, and Italy. Constance was born around 1179 [read more]

Gytha of Wessex – An Anglo-Saxon Princess goes East

Saturday, 8 April 2023, 6:00 CaraBeth 1

Gytha of Wessex is probably one of the most unique wives of a Rus prince. Originally from England, she eventually became the wife of Vladimir II Monomakh. So what brought about this marriage of two people from opposite sides of Europe? Early Life Gytha was born around 1053, or perhaps a little bit later, to [read more]

Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden – The saintly Grand Princess of Kyiv

Wednesday, 4 January 2023, 6:00 CaraBeth 0

The marriage of Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden to Yaroslav the Wise, Grand Prince of Kyiv, as well as the marriages of their children, show that the Kyivan Rus was becoming its own powerful state and that connections were forming between the Rurik dynasty and the royal families to the west. Early Years Ingegerd was born [read more]

Anna Porphyrogenita – A Byzantine Princess in Kyiv

Monday, 14 November 2022, 6:00 CaraBeth 0

Saint Olga was the first Christian ruler of the Kyivan Rus. She could therefore be considered the first Christian Princess of Kyiv. But when she converted, she was already the mother of the reigning Prince, no longer a consort. Also, the Rus remained mostly pagan for the rest of her life. Therefore, the first Christian [read more]