One of the most violent of the Banons in arms against Henry III. He sued Walter, the parson of Newbigging for poaching in his deer park. He was absent from a plea as plaintiff due to illness in 1263 and died shortly there after.
Vladmir The Saint
Converted the Russians to Byzantine form of Christianity, Russian church being organized on Greek pattern under canonical rule of Patriarch of Constantinople.
"He owned at least three friller and gitet her 2. along with Annals at Byzantz. Stayed paramount at 980-1015. A good many knew descenders. Along with her first frille owned he among other reasons son Vsevolod (970) as became innebrendt along with Harald Ambit at Sigrid Storråde in 995 in Sweden."
His wife's father, Rognvald von Polotzk, was killed Killed at Volodimer 980. from http://gw.geneanet.org/index.php3?b=kellypetit&lang=en;p=vlodimi+den+hellige;n=av+kiew
Vladimir was the youngest son of Svyatoslav I by his housekeeper Malusha, described in the Norse sagas as a prophetess who lived to the age of 100 and was brought from her cave to the palace to predict the future. Malusha's brother Dobrynya was Vladimir's tutor and most trusted advisor. Hagiographic tradition of dubious authenticity also connects his childhood with the name of his grandmother, Olga Prekrasa, who was Christian and governed the capital during Svyatoslav's frequent military campaigns.
~~~~Saint Vladimir Svyatoslavich the Great (c. 958 – 1015) was the grand prince of Kiev who converted to Christianity in 988, and proceeded to baptise the whole Kievan Rus.Vladimir was the youngest son of Svyatoslav I by his housekeeper Malusha, described in the Norse sagas as a prophetess who lived to the age of 100 and was brought from her cave to the palace to predict the future. Malusha's brother Dobrynya was Vladimir's tutor and most trusted advisor. Hagiographic tradition of dubious authenticity also connects his childhood with the name of his grandmother, Olga Prekrasa, who was Christian and governed the capital during Svyatoslav's frequent military campaigns.
Transferring his capital to Pereyaslavets in 969, Sviatoslav designated Vladimir ruler of Novgorod the Great but gave Kiev to his legitimate son Yaropolk. After Sviatoslav's death (972), a fratricidal war erupted (976) between Yaropolk and his younger brother Oleg, ruler of the Drevlians. In 977 Vladimir fled to his kinsmen in Scandinavia, collecting as many of the Viking warriors as he could to assist him to recover Novgorod, and on his return the next year marched against Yaropolk.
On his way to Kiev he sent ambassadors to Rogvolod (Norse: Ragnvald), prince of Polotsk, to sue for the hand of his daughter Rogneda (Norse: Ragnhild). The well-born princess refused to affiance herself to the son of a bondswoman, but Vladimir attacked Polotsk, slew Rogvolod, and took Ragnhild by force. Actually, Polotsk was a key fortress on the way to Kiev, and the capture of Polotsk and Smolensk facilitated the taking of Kiev (980), where he slew Yaropolk by treachery, and was proclaimed konung, or kagan, of all Kievan Rus.
In addition to his father's extensive domain, Vladimir continued to expand his territories. In 981 he conquered the Cherven cities, the modern Halychyna; in 983 he subdued the Yatvyags, whose territories lay between Lithuania and Poland; in 985 he led a fleet along the central rivers of Russia to conquer the Bulgarians of the Kama, planting numerous fortresses and colonies on his way.
In the year 987, as the result of a consultation with his boyars, Vladimir sent envoys to study the religions of the various neighboring nations whose representatives had been urging him to embrace their respective faiths. The result is amusingly described by the chronicler Nestor. Of the Muslim Bulgarians of the Volga the envoys reported there is no gladness among them; only sorrow and a great stench, and that their religion was undesirable due to its taboo against alcoholic beverages and pork. Russian sources also describe Vladimir consulting with Jewish envoys (who may or may not have been Khazars), and questioning them about their religion but ultimately rejecting it, saying that their loss of Jerusalem was evidence of their having been abandoned by God. Ultimately Vladimir settled on Christianity. In the churches of the Germans his emissaries saw no beauty; but at Constantinople, where the full festival ritual of the Orthodox Church was set in motion to impress them, they found their ideal: "We no longer knew whether we were in heaven or on earth," they reported, "nor such beauty, and we know not how to tell of it." If Vladimir was impressed by this account of his envoys, he was yet more so by political gains of the Byzantine alliance.
In 988, having taken the town of Chersones in Crimea, he negotiated for the hand of the emperor Basil II's sister, Anna. Never had a Greek princess married a Barbarian before, as matrimonial offers of French kings and German emperors had been peremptorily rejected. In short, to marry the 27-year-old princess to a pagan Slav seemed impossible. Vladimir, however, was baptized at Chersones, taking the Christian name of Basil out of compliment to his imperial brother-in-law; the sacrament was followed by his marriage with the Roman princess. Returning to Kiev in triumph, he destroyed pagan monuments and established many churches, starting with the splendid Church of the Tithes (989) and monasteries on Mt. Athos.
He now formed a great council out of his boyars, and set his twelve sons over his subject principalities. With his neighbors he lived at peace, the incursions of the savage Pechenegs alone disturbing his tranquillity. After Anna's death, he married again, most likely to a granddaughter of Otto the Great.
He died at Berestovo, near Kiev, while on his way to chastise the insolence of his son, Prince Yaroslav of Novgorod. The various parts of his dismembered body were distributed among his numerous sacred foundations and were venerated as relics. One of the largest Kievan cathedrals is dedicated to him. The University of Kiev was named after the man who both civilized and Christianized Kievan Rus. There is the Order of St. Vladimir in Russia. Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate the feast day of St. Vladimir on 15 July.
His memory was also kept alive by innumerable folk ballads and legends, which refer to him as Krasno Solnyshko, that is, the Fair Sun. With him the Varangian period of Eastern Slavic history ceases and the Christian period begins.
Succeeded by son Sviatopolk I, (Sviatopolk's mother was a Greek nun captured by Svyatoslav I in Bulgaria and married to his lawful heir Yaropolk I. When Yaropolk was murdered by his brother Vladimir's agents, the new sovereign raped his wife and she soon (some would say, too soon) gave birth to a child. Thus, Sviatopolk was probably the eldest of Vladimir's sons, although the issue of his parentage has been questioned.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_I_of_Kiev
Indolent ruler, made peace by resigning title and supported Henry VI Holy Roman Emperor, son of Henry III 50 pg 241, new version 257
Wladyslaw I Herman (1040-1102), Duke of Poland, was a son of Casimir I and brother of Boleslaw II the Bold.
Wladyslaw Herman (also called Wodzislaw Herman) took power in 1079, after his brother Boleslaw II the Bold was forced into exile, and supported Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV in a bid to restore peace.
Wladyslaw Herman first married Judith of Bohemia, then Judith of Swabia. He had an illegitimate son, Zbigniew of Poland (1070-1112).
Later, with Judith of Bohemia he had a son, Boleslaw III Wrymouth (1085-1138), who succeeded him, ruling jointly with Zbigniew until 1107 at which point Boleslaw had Zbigniew banished, and became sole ruler.
With Judith of Swabia, daughter of Emperor Henry III, Wladyslaw had a daughter, Agnes of Gandersheim, who became an Abbess. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladislaus_I_Herman
When Domaldi ruled the Swedes after his father, there was great famine. There
were sacrifices of bulls to the gods the first year, and with no improvements
they sacrificed men the following autumn, with again, no improvement. The
people decided the times were on account of Domaldi and offered him to the
gods as a sacrifice
Heimskringla, Ynglinga Saga, Section 18
Domalde was a Swedish king of the House of Ynglings, in Norse mythology. He was the son of Visbur.
The sacrifice of king Domalde at Uppsala as painted by Carl Larsson. Snorri Sturluson relates that Domalde's rule was marked by bad crops and starvation. The first autumn, the Swedes sacrificed oxen at the temple at Uppsala, but the next harvest was not better. The second autumn, they sacrificed men, but the following crops were even worse.
The third year many Swedes arrived at Gamla Uppsala, and the chiefs decided they had to sacrifice the king. They sprinkled the statues of the gods with his blood (see Blót) and the good harvests returned.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domalde
Vortigern is a title, not a name, but over the years, assigned to this one legendary person. While it is impossible to separate the fact from fiction, the possibility of his existence is quite real. Information about the Celt Vortigern is from the Gildas, Bede, Anglo Saxon Chronicles, Historia Brittonum, Geoffrey of Monmouth, and Wace. Vortigern is thought to be either the legendary or actual explanation of how Saxons came to Briton.
The kingdom of Gwerthrynion is thought to be named after Vortigern's real name. Vortigen was from the House of Gewissei, decendant of Celtic Octavuis, King of Briton in the 300's
Probably the first man to be called the High King after Roman rule.
Married a Roman, Servia, daughter of Magnus
Maximus who helped remove Roman troops from Britain in 383.Maximus founded
three cities in Wales ; viz. Carmarthen, Caer- Salwg, now Caernarvon, and
Caer-Alyn, now Hwlffordd, or Haverfordwest.
Led and organized rebellions for over twenty years.
Coel Hen of Northern Britain may have been
his ally.
421-424: Vortigen comes to power in Britain, usurping Gildas
428-429: Was probably the High King during Germanus's visit in 428 or 428,
who was to find and destroy Pelagius's followers.
429: The first Saxon raid in Britain territory is recorded
437: Vortigern and Ambrosius the Elder fought at Guoloph or Wallop in Hampshire
449: Vortigern and the Elders bought the help of the Saxons mercenaries led
by Hengst displaced from their Jutland homes to push back the Picts. Vortigern
gave the Saxons the Isle of Thanet in return.
455: The Saxon settlement grew, wanted more land. Vortigen was said to be
in love with Hengst's daughter, Rowena, and had approved more land. Vortimer
tries to overthrow his father, is killed in battle (or poisoned) and Vortigern
returns to power.
466: Ambrosius Aurelianus shows up, driving
Vortigern to Wales where he rules Powys.
His sons:
Vortimer, killed in battle against his father
Pascent
Catigern, killed in battle against the Saxons
Faustus, bishop in Gaul
The inscription on the Pillar of Eliseg, an mid-9th Century stone cross, gives the Brythonic variant of Vortigern: Guarthigern. This is the same Vortigern as Gildas' 'superbus tyrannus'. The pillar also states that he was married to Sevira, and gave a line of descent leading to the royal family of Powys, who erected the cross.
Vortigen was supposedly the seneschal to Constantine III, whose two sons Ambrosius and Uther were sent to the Budic I, King of Brittany, son of Constantine's brother King Aldrien, for safe keeping against Vortigern.
52 - DB2
Legend: archbishop Guithelinus, who takes the responsibility for the defence of Britain by popular demand after the final departure of the Roman armies. Guithelinus or Vitalinus goes to Brittany to get troops and a king to lead Britain: Constantinus, brother of Aldroenus, the king of Brittany. After some time he is killed, and his son Constans is made king by Vortigern, Duke of Gwent, who now enters the scene. I will defend elsewhere in detail why I believe that Vitalinus and Vortigern are one and the same, and that the story of the troops from Brittany is the same as the Adventus Saxonum as described by Gildas and those following him.
Vortigern has Constans killed and 'reluctantly' accepts the crown, after which Geoffrey follows much of the earlier story. He gets Hengist from Germany to fight the Picts and marries his daughter Renwein / Rpwena for his own purposes and to reward Hengist. Kent is given to Hengist, thereby angering the Britons and Vortigern's own sons. Thy revolt and put Vortimer on the throne, who starts fighting the Saxons. Renwein then poisons him, after which Vortigern returns as king. Then followes the Saxon betrayal at Stonehenge, which Geoffrey calls "the Cloister of Ambrius", clearly after Amesbury. Then Geoffrey relates the Dinas Emrys legend, but calls the boy Merlin. Interspaced are the 'Prophecies of Merlin' as a separate chapter. Vortigern flees to Ercing, where he is killed by Ambrosius, who is called 'Aurelius Ambrosius' here. Vortigern is burned with his fortress.
http://www.vortigernstudies.org.uk/artwho/who.htm
Vortigern, (also spelled Vortiger and Vortigen) was a 5th century Brython warlord, whose existence is considered likely, though information about him is shrouded in legend. He is traditionally said to have invited the Anglo-Saxons to settle in Britain as mercenaries, only to see them revolt and establish their own kingdoms. This earned him a poor reputation in later legend, where he was eventually remembered as one of the worst Kings of the Britons.
Excluding what is taken from Gildas, there are six groupings of traditions, one of which is: Genealogical material about Vortigern's ancestry, the names of his four sons (Vortimer, Pascent, Catigern, Faustus), a father (Vitalis), a grandfather (Vitalinus) and a great-grandfather who is probably just an eponym (Gloui) which associates Vortigern with Glevum, the civitas of Gloucester.
More at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortigen
Jealousy from the Saxon colonies, and of the ancient natives, that they deposed Vortigem, confined him at Caer Lleon ar Ddyfrdwy, or Chester, and elected his son Vortimer* to be chief of the Saxon shores, and king of Britain. A. D. 468. On the death of Vortimer, his father Vortigern was re-elected king: the first act of this his second reign was. in concert with Hengist, the inviting the British chieftains to a friendly feast, and unarmed, at Caer Gawr, otherwise Caer Caradog, Chester, or Knighton, where the Saxons recumbed at meal alternately nith the British guests, under pretence of a friendly intercourse. In the height of festivity, the Saxons drew out each his knife, and plunged it into the bosom of the Briton, who laid next to him. Above three hundred British chieftains fell at this sanguinary festival : and the feast itself has been designated Brady-Cyllill Hirion, or the Treachery of the Long Knives; and is said to have taken place in May 473. This massacre was attended with consequential events: Hengist was confirmed in his dominions; the southern part of Britain was ravaged from the eastern to the western shores; and Vortigern, having fallen under the contempt of his own creatures, retired from public life, was put to death, and his castle set on fire by Aurelius Ambrosius, a prince of Cornwall, in revenge for the murder of his brother Constans. A. D. 481. This prince, with his brother Uthyr Pendragon, had retired, on the usurpation of Vortigern, to their uncle, the king of Bretagne. Ambrosius, burning with revenge for the treachery of the Saxons, was assisted by his uncle with a large body of troops, and landed in Britain, where he was instantly raised to the throne: his first labour, according to tradition, was that of piety; for it was by his command that the structure, or circle, called Stonehenge, or Stonehang, was erected on the site of an ancient conventional circle, and which the Welsh have ever since called Gwaith Emrys, or Merddin Emrys. It is said this work was designed as a memorial of the treachery of the long knives, as a onument encircling the manes of the slain, and as a conventual circle for state or national assemblies; and that the numerous barrows which surround this circular erection are the burial places of the British Chieftains; and one of the avenues to Stonehenge leads through a group of these barrows, consisting of seven on each side, which, to this day, are denominated the kings' graves: this circular work has been commemorized in the following triad : Tair gorchwyl gadarn ynys Prydain : codi maen Cetti, adeilaw gwaith emrys, a thyrru Cludau'r gyfrangon. Ambrosins also is said to have been poisoned : but it would not have been worth while for Pascen, the son of Vortigern, to come over from Germany with an army, and to land at Milford Haven, merely to get a Saxon of the name of Eppa, to assume the character of a physician, and to administer poison to In* then expiring Ambrosiu*.
A. D. 517. The renowned Arthur, son of Meirig ab Tewdrig, prince of Morganwg and Garthmadrim, succeeded to the sovereignty of the Britons, and was crowned at Caer-Lleon upon Usk, but more likely at Exeter. Immediately after his coronation, Arthur went in pursuit of the Saxons, defeated Colgrin on the banks of the Douglas, and soon after had the like advantage over his brother Pandulph. The name of Arthur, from the valiant actions he had performed in his father's armies, was familiar, and even a terror to the Saxons : in consequence Cerdic landed in Scotland, as a distant point weakens the pursuit. Arthur having received reinforcements from Caron, king of Scotland, Maelgwyn, of North Wales, Meyric, of South Wales, Cador, of Cornwall, and Howel, of Bretagne, hastened to meet the enemy, and defeated the Saxons, who lost six thousand men in the battle of Lincoln : but this prince soon met with the displeasures of fortune ; for the Saxons, in a short time after, beat the Britons at Cerdicsford, now Charford, in Hampshire; and under Cerdic, Pascen and Eppa, invested Bath, or Caer Badon, in order to bring Arthur into action.
Having received assistance from various chieftains, and, among others, five thousand men from Nathan Llwyd, of North Wales, Arthur engaged, and defeated the Saxons, in the battle of Bannesdown. This sanguinary contest lasted for two days ; Colgrin and Pandulph were among the slain; and the valour of Arthur, in this, engagement, as related in history, borders upon the fabulous.
A. D. 530. Prior to his embarkation, Arthur appointed his nephew, Mordred ab Llew ab Cynfarch, to take the care of his kingdom, and of the person of Gweniver, his wife. The faithless Mordred, captivated with the beauty of Gweniver, publicly married her, and entering into an alliance with Cerdic, was acknowledged king of the Britons, on his ceding to Cerdic, the present counties of Cornwall, Berks, Wilts, Devon, and Dorset.
535. Arthur, after the absence of five years in Bretagne, returned into Britain, where, with the few troops that rallied round him, he had to contend with Mordred, the Saxons, and the Picts. The fame of Arthur increased the number of his troops; and the advantages he obtained over his opponents were signal and successive; for he had genius to contrive, and a hand lo execute. The battle of Camlan, where Arthur and Mordred' met, finally decided the fortune of the two rivals. In this severe contest, which wasted the power of the Britons, the traitor Mordred fell by the avenging sword of Arthur : but the great Arthur was so severely wounded, that he died a few days after at Glastonbury Abbey*, where he was interred by the side of his second and beloved wife Gweniver.
This year, 1179, the sepulchre of king Arthur, with his wife Gwenhwyfar, was found in the Isle of Afalon, without the Abbey of Glastonbury; their bodies being laid in a hollow elder tree, buried fifteen feet in the earth. The bones of the king were of marvellous aud almost incredible bigness; and the queen's hair seemed to the sight to be fair and yellow, but, When touched, crumbled to dust. Over the bones was laid a stone, with a cross of lend ; upon the lower side of which stoue were engraven these words: Hie jactt sfp^lttu indytus Rtf Ar.tharus in mala diahnia. Ponel 200'. The History of Wales, John Jones 1824.
Vratislaus I or Wratislaus I (Czech: Vratislav I) (c.888 – February 13, 921), Duke of Bohemia (915 – 921), was the younger brother of Spytihnev I.
By his wife Drahomira, Vratislaus had two sons, Wenceslaus and Boleslaus, and a daughter, Strezislava the Pretty. The Chronicle of Fulda reports that in 900 the Bavarians attacked Moravia in alliance with the Bohemians. Vratislaus died (possibly in 919, although 921 is more often conjectured) in battle against the Magyars.
His wife: Drahomíra the Arrogant (died after 935) was a Bohemian princess, wife of Vratislav I. Drahomíra's homeland was around Brandeburg, a castle near present-day Berlin. She was princess of Havolans. She married Vratislav I of Bohemia and gave birth to at least three children: Saint Wenceslas, Boleslaus I and Strezislava. She led her husband to cooperation with her vernaculars, which waged war against Saschen. After her husband's untimely death (921), she and her mother-in-law, Saint Ludmila, divided government above Bohemia. Legends present Ludmila as a tame, pious grandmother, but she was likely much more energetic. Finally, Ludmila runned on Tetín castle, where Drahomíra's slayers, Tunna and Gommmon, murdered her.
When her son, Wenceslas, came to power, he sent his mother into exile in Budec. He later called her back. Wenceslas was one of the apples of discord between them. Drahomíra had raised her younger son, Boleslaus, whereas Ludmila did the same for her eldest grandchild, Wenceslas.
Vratislaus II or Wratislaus II (Czech: Vratislav II) (died 14 January 1092), the son of Bretislaus I and Judith, daughter of Henry of Schweinfurt, was the first King of Bohemia from 15 June 1085. The royal title was a grant, however, from the Holy Roman Emperor and was not hereditary. Before being raised to kingship, he had ruled Bohemia as duke since 1061. He was one of the greatest of medieval Czech rulers.
On his father's death in 1055, Vratislaus became duke of Olomouc. He argued with his brother Spytihnev II and was exiled to Hungary. Vratislaus regained his Moravian ducal throne with Hungarian assistance and eventually reconciled with his brtoher and succeed him in the dukeship of all the lands of the Bohemian Crown.
Vratislaus died of a hunting wound on January 14, 1092, after a reign of thiry years.
More at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vratislav_II
Bio written by Anne Stevens:
Son of Thorold de Pont-Audemer. He was the grandson of a Torf, the Prince of Denmark and Ertemberge de Bricanbert Bartram. His mother is reported as Duvelina or Woerta de Crepon, the sister of Gunnora. Records show them as sisters and both married to Torf. The family name is that of their village of Tourville-sur-Pont-Audemer. Humphrey was born circa 980 in France.
Humphrey's wife was Albreda de la Haye Auberie, also born in Pont-Audemer. Thye had at least three children:
* Robert de Beaumont
* Roger de Beaumont, succeeded his father
* Dunelma, her daughter was a nun at Saint-Leger de Preaux
Some records also show a Guillaume de Beuamont, a monk at Saint-Pierre de Préaux Abbey.
Humphrey held his family lands in Pont-Audemer as well as extensive lands throughout Normandy, Cotentin, Hiemois, Pays d'Auge, Basse Seine (Vatteville-la-Rue), in Évrecin (Normanville) and in Vexin Normand (Bouafles) all of which were confiscated church properties and had belonged to Duke of Normandy Richard II and Robert II Curthose. The honour and name of Beaumont originated from the lands of the Abbey of Bernay in Eure, northern France, included in the dowry Richard II offered his wife, Judith.
In the 1030's, Roger I of Tosny de la Conches attacked Henry's lands, who was killed by Humphrey's son. Roger de Beaumont, in battle around 1040. Humphrey restored the monastery at Preaux with monks from Saint-Wandrille in 1034.