Gertrude of Poland
Encyclopedia
Princess
Princess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, was the daughter of King Mieszko II of Poland and Richeza of Lotharingia.
In 1043, she was married to Iziaslav I of Kiev
Iziaslav I of Kiev
Iziaslav Yaroslavich , Kniaz' , Veliki Kniaz of Kiev , King of Rus'...
. She had three sons, Yaropolk Iziaslavich, Mstislav and Sviatopolk II
Sviatopolk II of Kiev
Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich was supreme ruler of the Kievan Rus for 20 years, from 1093 to 1113. He was not a popular prince, and his reign was marked by incessant rivalry with his cousin Vladimir Monomakh...
, by her husband.
Her daughter Eupraxia later married her cousin's son Mieszko Bolesławowic of Piast dynasty
Piast dynasty
The Piast dynasty was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. It began with the semi-legendary Piast Kołodziej . The first historical ruler was Duke Mieszko I . The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir the Great...
, the Prince of Krakow. Often acknowledged as her son Sviatopolk II of Kiev
Sviatopolk II of Kiev
Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich was supreme ruler of the Kievan Rus for 20 years, from 1093 to 1113. He was not a popular prince, and his reign was marked by incessant rivalry with his cousin Vladimir Monomakh...
may have been son of Izyaslav and somebody else.
Gertrude was the owner of a medieval illuminated manuscript, known as the Egbert Psalter
Gertrude Psalter
The Gertrude Psalter is a medieval illuminated manuscript Psalter preserved in the municipal museum of Cividale, Italy...
or Trier Psalter, that had been created in the late 10th century for archbishop Egbert of Trier. She included her prayer book as part of the codex. In the prayer book she prays six times for Yaropolk
Yaropolk Izyaslavich
Yaropolk Izyaslavich was a Knyaz during the eleventh-century in the Kievan Rus' kingdom and was the King of Rus . The son of Grand Prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich by a Polish princess named Gertruda, he is visible in papal sources by the early 1070s but largely absent in contemporary Rus sources...
, unicus filius meus (it may be meant "my favourite son" or "my only son").