Yaroslav the Wise
Grand Prince of Rus'
Forensic facial reconstruction
Reign	1019–1054
Full name	Yaroslav Vladimirovich
Titles	Prince of Rostov? (978–1010), Prince of Novgorod (1010–1019)
Born	~978
Died	February 20, 1054 [aged ~76]
Predecessor	Sviatopolk the Accursed
Successor	Iziaslav I
Wife	Ingegerd Olofsdotter, later Irene-Anna (a daughter of Olof Skötkonung)
Offspring	see the main article
Dynasty	Rurikid
Father	Vladimir the Great
Mother	Rogneda of Polotsk by the Primary Chronicle

Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus', known as Yaroslav the Wise (Old Norse: Jarizleifr; ^[1]; Old East Slavic and Ярослав Мудрый; Ukrainian: Ярослав Мудрий; c. 978 – February 20, 1054) was thrice Grand Prince of Novgorod and Kiev, uniting the two principalities for a time under his rule.

A son of the Varangian (Viking)^[2][3] Grand Prince Vladimir the Great, he was vice-regent of Novgorod at the time of his father’s death in 1015. Subsequently, his eldest surviving brother, Svyatopolk the Accursed, killed three of his other brothers and seized power in Kiev. Yaroslav, with the active support of the Novgorodians and the help of Varangian mercenaries,^[4] defeated Svyatopolk and became the Grand Prince of Kiev in 1019. Under Yaroslav the codification of legal customs and princely enactments was begun, and this work served as the basis for a law code called the Russkaya Pravda ("Russian Justice"). During his lengthy reign, Rus' reached the zenith of its cultural flowering and military power.^[4]

Rise to the throne[link]

The only contemporary image of Yaroslav I the Wise, on his seal.

The early years of Yaroslav's life are shrouded in mystery. He was one of the numerous sons of Vladimir the Great, presumably his second by Rogneda of Polotsk, although his actual age (as stated in the Primary Chronicle and corroborated by the examination of his skeleton in the 1930s) would place him among the youngest children of Volodymyr. It has been suggested that he was a child begotten out of wedlock after Volodymyr's divorce from Rogneda and marriage to Anna Porphyrogeneta, or even that he was a child of Anna Porphyrogeneta herself. Yaroslav figures prominently in the Norse Sagas under the name of Jarisleif the Lame; his legendary lameness (probably resulting from an arrow wound) was corroborated by the scientists who examined his remains. In his youth, Yaroslav was sent by his father to rule the northern lands around Rostov but was transferred to Novgorod, as befitted a senior heir to the throne, in 1010. While living there, he founded the town of Yaroslavl (literally, "Yaroslav's") on the Volga. His relations with his father were apparently strained, and grew only worse on the news that Volodymyr bequeathed the Kievan throne to his younger son, Boris. In 1014 Yaroslav refused to pay tribute to Kiev and only Volodymyr's death prevented a war.

During the next four years Yaroslav waged a complicated and bloody war for Kiev against his half-brother Sviatopolk, who was supported by his father-in-law, Duke Bolesław I Chrobry of Poland. During the course of this struggle, several other brothers (Boris, Gleb, and Svyatoslav) were brutally murdered. The Primary Chronicle accused Svyatopolk of planning those murders, while the Saga of Eymund is often interpreted as recounting the story of Boris's assassination by the Varangians in the service of Yaroslav.

Yaroslav defeated Svyatopolk in their first battle, in 1016, and Svyatopolk fled to Poland. But Svyatopolk returned with Polish troops furnished by his father-in-law, seized Kiev and pushed Yaroslav back into Novgorod. Yaroslav at last prevailed over Svyatopolk, and in 1019 firmly established his rule over Kiev. One of his first actions as a grand prince was to confer on the loyal Novgorodians (who had helped him to gain the Kievan throne), numerous freedoms and privileges. Thus, the foundation of the Novgorodian republic was laid. For their part, the Novgorodians respected Yaroslav more than they did other Kievan princes; and the princely residence in their city, next to the marketplace (and where the veche often convened) was named Yaroslavovo Dvorishche ("Yaroslav's Court") after him. It probably was during this period that Yaroslav promulgated the first code of laws in the East Slavic lands, "Yaroslav's Justice" (now better known as Ruskaia Pravda, "Rus Truth [Law]").

Reign[link]

Coins of Yaroslav and his descendants represent the trident.

Leaving aside the legitimacy of Yaroslav's claims to the Kievan throne and his postulated guilt in the murder of his brothers, Nestor the Chronicler and later Russian historians often presented him as a model of virtue, styling him "the Wise". A less appealing side of his personality is revealed by his having imprisoned his younger brother Sudislav for life. Yet another brother, Mstislav of Tmutarakan, whose distant realm bordered the Northern Caucasus and the Black Sea, hastened to Kiev and, despite reinforcements led by Yaroslav's brother-in-law King Anund Jacob of Sweden (as Jakun - "blind and dressed in a gold suit"),^[5] inflicted a heavy defeat on Yaroslav in 1024. Yaroslav and Mstislav then divided Kievan Rus' between them: the area stretching left from the Dnieper, with the capital at Chernihiv, was ceded to Mstislav until his death in 1036.

In his foreign policy, Yaroslav relied on the Scandinavian alliance and attempted to weaken the Byzantine influence on Kiev. In 1030, he reconquered Red Rus' from the Poles and concluded an alliance with King Casimir I of Poland, sealed by the latter's marriage to Yaroslav's sister Maria. In another successful military raid the same year, he founded Yuryev (today Tartu, Estonia) (named after Saint George, or "Yury", Yaroslav's patron saint) and forced the surrounding province of Ugaunia to pay annual tribute.

In 1043, Yaroslav staged a naval raid against Constantinople led by his son Vladimir and general Vyshata. Although the Rus' navy was defeated, Yaroslav managed to conclude the war with a favourable treaty and prestigious marriage of his son Vsevolod to the emperor's daughter. It has been suggested that the peace was so advantageous because the Kievans had succeeded in taking a key Byzantine possession in Crimea, Chersones.

To defend his state from the Pechenegs and other nomadic tribes threatening it from the south he constructed a line of forts, composed of Yuriev, Boguslav, Kaniv, Korsun, and Pereyaslav. To celebrate his decisive victory over the Pechenegs in 1036 (who thereupon never were a threat to Kiev) he sponsored the construction of the Saint Sophia Cathedral in 1037. Other celebrated monuments of his reign, such as the Golden Gates of Kiev, have since perished.

Yaroslav was a notable patron of book culture and learning. In 1051, he had a Russian monk Ilarion proclaimed the metropolitan of Kiev, thus challenging old Byzantine tradition of placing Greeks on the episcopal sees. Ilarion's discourse on Yaroslav and his father Vladimir is frequently cited as the first work of Old Russian literature.

Family life and posterity[link]

Eleventh-century fresco of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev representing the daughters of Yaroslav I, with Anna probably being the youngest. Other daughters were Anastasia, wife of Andrew I of Hungary; Elizabeth, wife of Harald III of Norway; and possibly Agatha, wife of Edward the Exile.

In 1019, Yaroslav married Ingegerd Olofsdotter, daughter of the king of Sweden, and gave Ladoga to her as a marriage gift.

The Saint Sophia Cathedral houses a fresco representing the whole family: Yaroslav, Irene (as Ingegerd was known in Rus), their five daughters and five sons. Yaroslav had three of his daughters married to foreign princes who lived in exile at his court:

• Elizabeth of Kiev to Harald III of Norway (who attained her hand by his military exploits in the Byzantine Empire);
• Anastasia of Kiev to the future Andrew I of Hungary;
• Anne of Kiev married Henry I of France and was the regent of France during their son's minority;
• (possibly) Agatha who married Edward the Exile, of the royal family of England, and was the mother of Edgar Ætheling and St. Margaret of Scotland.

Yaroslav had one son from the first marriage (his Christian name being Ilya (?-1020)), and 6 sons from the second marriage. Apprehending the danger that could ensue from divisions between brothers, he exhorted them to live in peace with each other. The eldest of these, Vladimir of Novgorod, best remembered for building the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod, predeceased his father. Three other sons—Iziaslav, Sviatoslav, and Vsevolod—reigned in Kiev one after another. The youngest children of Yaroslav were Igor (1036–1060) of Volyn and Vyacheslav (1036–1057) of Smolensk. About the last one there are almost no information. Some documents point out the fact of him having a son Boris who challenged Vsevolod sometime in 1077-1078.

Grave[link]

Sarcophagus of Yaroslav the Wise

The sarcophagus of Yaroslav the Wise was uncovered in St. Sophia Cathedral. As been known except own dust of prince in 1939 there were displayed the remains of unknown woman without head and the man’s skull, which possibly belonged to the famous ruler’s son. This time in the tomb, that had been uncovered at court, medical experts and anthropologists presence, there was nothing but a chest with prince ashes. Skeletons that mentioned in a record of 1939 disappeared ^[6]

Legacy[link]

• 

  Yaroslav's monument in Yaroslavl depicted on Russian 1000 roubles banknote

• 

  The Ukrainian hryvnia represents Yaroslav.

• 

  One of many statues of Yaroslav holding the "Ruskaia Pravda" in his hand

• Yaroslavrock.jpg

  Yaroslav's Rock.

• 

  Yaroslav at the Millennium Monument in Novgorod.

• 

  The Ukrainian Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise.

• 

  Monument in Kiev.

Three different towns in three different countries were founded by and named after Yaroslav: Yaroslavl (in today's Russia), Yuryev (now Tartu, Estonia) and another Yuryev (now Bila Tserkva, Ukraine). (Yuriy was Prince Yaroslav's baptismal name.) Also, following the Russian custom of naming military objects such as tanks & planes after historical figures, the helmet worn by many Russian soldiers during the Crimean War was called the "Helmet of Yaroslav the Wise". It was the first pointed helmet to be used by any army, even before German troops wore pointed helmets.

Yaroslav. Tysyachu let nazad is a 2010 film based on his early life as a regional prince on the fronter. It is available with English subtitles as Iron Lord.

Ancestors[link]

See also[link]

• List of Russian rulers
• List of Ukrainian rulers

References[link]

• Martin, Janet (1995). Medieval Russia, 980-1584. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-36276-8. 
• Nazarenko, A. V. (2001) (in Russian). Drevniaia Rus’ na mezhdunarodnykh putiakh: mezhdistsiplinarnye ocherki kul’turnykh, torgovykh, politicheskikh sviazei IX-XII vekov. Moscow: Russian History Institute. ISBN 5-7859-0085-8. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Yaroslav I the Wise

• Encyclopedia of Ukraine
• Yaroslav I Genealogy
• Novgorod the Great

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2011)

The Wiseguys was a British electronica and hip hop band that was responsible for creating the song "Start the Commotion" that was in a Mitsubishi TV advertisement, as well as the films Lizzie McGuire, Zoolander and Kangaroo Jack; and "Ooh La La", which was used in Budweiser commercials. Both tracks of which came from The Wiseguys second album, The Antidote.

Career[link]

The band was formed in 1994 with two members, Touche (Theo Keating) and Regal (Paul Eve). They were music production partners from 1990 and released an EP called "Ladies Say Ow!" in 1994 on the Blackmarket record label. The record label Wall of Sound signed the duo and released the double A-side "Nil by Mouth" / "Too Easy" in 1995. Their first album Executive Suite was released in 1996 to critical acclaim, feature downtempo jazz beats and happy optimistic hip-hop numbers, and is now considered a cult classic.^{[citation needed]}

Regal left the band in 1997 to pursue his career as co-founder of the UK's Bronx Dogs, and Touche worked on the second Wiseguys album, The Antidote. This was released in 1998, and contained their two most famous songs "Ooh La La" and "Start the Commotion". "Ooh La La" was a minor UK hit in April 1998, then in March 1999 it was re-released as a single and went to #2 in the UK Singles Chart following its use in a popular TV commercial for Budweiser. In 2001, "Start the Commotion" was shown on a Mitsubishi Motors television commercial in the United States, and the song reached the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.

The Wiseguys disbanded in 2001, and Touche worked solo on house music under Fatboy Slim's Southern Fried record label. In July 2006, Regal released his first solo single "Shock Ya Mind" on the Funk Weapons label.

On 31 December 2006, Executive Suite made its way onto the US version of iTunes. Touche is a producer and DJ, half of The Black Ghosts. He produces under several other aliases including Fake Blood.

Regal signed to Unique Records in 2007 and has since released two solo albums and three singles for the label, including his debut solo album Loop Dreams and his latest CD Time Past, which is paired with his "Time Past" 12" remixes sampler, released in late 2009.

Discography[link]

• Ladies Say Ow! (EP) (1994)
  • "Nil By Mouth" / "Too Easy" (1995)
  • "The Sound You Hear" / "We Keep On" (1996)
• Executive Suite (1996)
  • "Casino 'Sans Pareil'" (1997)
• The Antidote (1998)
  • "Ooh La La" (1999)
  • "Start the Commotion" (1999)
• Wall Of Sound Essentials - Mixed By The Wiseguys (2000) (Mix CD)
• "Dizzy Spell" / "Black Light" (2002) (DJ Touche, solo)
• "Gimme My Money" (2002) (DJ Touche, solo)
• "Ultraviolet" (2002) (DJ Touche, solo) (Mix CD)
• "Temper" (2003) (DJ Touche, solo)
• "The Paddle" / "The Girl's A Freak" (2004) (DJ Touche, solo)
• "She's at the Club" (EP) (2005) (DJ Touche, solo)
• "The Offspring - Greatest Hits" (2005) (one remix song)
• "Command Me" / "Calling My Name" (2006) (DJ Touche, solo)
• "Shock Ya Mind" 12" single (2006, Funk Weapons) (DJ Regal, solo)
• Loop Dreams CD/LP (2007, Unique Records) (Regal, solo)
• "The Village Calling" 12" single (2007, Unique Records) (Regal solo)
• "The Mack" 12" single (2008, Unique Records) (Regal solo)
• "Time Past" CD (2009, Unique Records) (Regal solo)
• "Time Past Remixes" 12" single (2009, Unique Records) (Regal solo)

Record track listings[link]

[edit] Ladies Say Ow!

Side One

1. "Ladies Say 'Ow'"

2. "If the Style Fits"

Side Two

3. "The Real Vibes"

[edit] Executive Suite

Side One

1. "Intro"

2. "Casino 'Sans Pareil'"

3. "The Sound Your Hear"

4. "Room Service"

5. "We Keep On" (featuring Sense Live)

Side Two

6. "Nil by mouth"

7. "Trailblazing"

8. "Cromwell Street"

Side Three

9. "Sweet Baby Truth" (featuring Sense Live & Tito-T)

10. "Poontang"

11. "The Gemini IV Incident"

Side Four

12. "Caribbean Breeze" (featuring Season & Joey Bunsen)

13. "Water"

14. "Dust you off"

15. "Too Easy" (CD bonus track)

• On the vinyl LP version of Executive Suite, the final track "Too Easy" is missing.

[edit] The Antidote

Side One

1. "Re-Introduction"

2. "Ooh La La"

3. "We be the crew"

4. "Experience" (featuring Jerry Beeks, Season & Sense Live)

Side Two

5. "Cowboy '78"

6. "Search's End"

7. "The Grabbing Hands" (featuring Joie Bunsen, L.E.W., Season)

8. "The Temple"

Side Three

9. "Start the Commotion" (featuring Greg Nice)

10. "Face the Flames"

11. "Who The Hell?" (featuring Sense Live)

Side Four

12. "The Executives"

13. "Au Pair Girls"

14. "Production" (featuring Mr. Mojo, Season, Sense Live and Tito-T)

15. "The Bounce"

• The Japanese version contains a bonus track "Expand on the Topic" which features guest spots from J-Nise, Season and Sense Live, and was the B-side to the "Ohh La La" single.

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Wiseguys discography at Discogs

Look up wise in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wise or WISE may refer to:

People[link]

• Audrey Wise (1935–2000), United Kingdom politician
• Bob Wise (born 1948), American politician
• Brownie Wise (1913–1992), American saleswoman who developed "party plan" marketing
• Christopher Wise (born 1961), American author
• David Wise (composer), British video game music composer
• Dennis Wise (born 1966), English footballer
• Ernie Wise (1925–1999), British comedian
• George D. Wise (1831–1908), American politician and Confederate army captain
• George D. Wise (Union) (1816–1881), American Union brevet brigadier general
• Glenn M. Wise American politician
• Henry A. Wise (1806–1876), American politician
• Isaac Mayer Wise (1819–1900), American Reform rabbi and author
• John Wise (clergyman) (1652–1725)
• John Wise (Canadian politician) (born 1935)
• John Wise (balloonist) (1808–1879)
• John Sergeant Wise (1846–1913), American Congressman
• Josh Wise (born 1983), NASCAR driver
• Mark B. Wise (born 1953), physicist
• Matt Wise (born 1975), baseball player
• Michael Wise (1648–1687), English composer
• Michael John Wise (born 1918), Emeritus Professor of Geography in the University of London
• Ray Wise (born 1947), American actor
• Rick Wise (born 1945), baseball player
• Robert Wise (1914–2005), American film producer and director
• Stephen Samuel Wise (1862–1949), American rabbi and Zionist
• Steven M. Wise, author
• Tim Wise, American anti-racist activist
• Tom Wise (born 1948), Member of the European Parliament
• Wise (rapper) (born 1979), Japanese hip hop artist
• Wise (Stetsasonic), real name Leonardo Roman, a hip hop artist known as 'Wise' from the group 'Stetsasonic'
• Wise (composer), also known as Wise da' Gangsta, a reggaeton producer/songwriter

People known as "the Wise"[link]

• Ailerán (died 664 or 665), Irish saint and scholar
• Alfonso X of Castile (1221-1284), King of Castile, León and Galicia
• Ari Þorgilsson (1067–1148 AD), Icelandic medieval chronicler
• Berengar the Wise (died 835), Count (or Duke) of Toulouse, Duke (or Margrave) of Septimania, and Count of Barcelona
• Charles V of France (1338-1380), King of France
• Epiphanius the Wise (died 1420), monk and Eastern Orthodox saint
• Gildas (c. 500–570), British cleric
• Leo VI the Wise (866-912), Byzantine Emperor
• Ludwik I the Fair (c. 1321-1398), Duke and regent of Legnica, Duke of Brzeg
• Marcus Aurelius (121-180), Roman Emperor
• Robert, King of Naples (1277-1343)
• Rognvald Eysteinsson (fl. 9th century), founder of the Earldom of Orkney in the Norse Sagas
• Yaroslav I the Wise (c. 978–1054), thrice Grand Prince of Novgorod and Kiev

Mythical or fictional characters[link]

• Dag the Wise, mythological Swedish king
• Little Miss Wise, a character in the Little Miss series
• Alhamazad the Wise, see List of Greyhawk characters
• Ansem the Wise, one the Characters of Kingdom Hearts
• Nathan, title character of the play Nathan the Wise
• Russano the Wise, character from several Redwall novels
• Vasilisa the Wise, variant name in The Frog Princess

Places[link]

• Wise County, Texas
• Wise County, Virginia
• Wise River, Montana
• Wise Township, Michigan
• Wise, Virginia
• Wana, West Virginia, also known as Wise

Businesses[link]

• Wise Foods, Inc., a snack food manufacturer
• Wise Group, a Swedish human resources company
• Wise Solutions, Inc., an American software company that made the Wise software installation package
• Wise Stores, a Canadian department store, mainly in Quebec
• WISE (AM), a radio station licensed to Asheville, North Carolina
• WISE-FM, a radio station licensed to Wise, Virginia
• WISE-TV, a television station licensed to Fort Wayne, Indiana

Organizations[link]

• Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation, a research institute at University of Hull
• Wind Science and Engineering Research Center at Texas Tech University
• The WISE Campaign, Women into Science, Engineering and Construction
• World Information Service on Energy, an international anti-nuclear network based in Amsterdam
• World Innovation Summit for Education, a global forum based in Doha, Qatar
• World Institute of Scientology Enterprises, an organization affiliated with the Church of Scientology

Others[link]

• Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE mission), a NASA-funded infrared-wavelength astronomical space telescope
• Web-based Inquiry Science Environment
• Ground effect vehicle, also known as a Wing-In-Surface-Effect ship (WISE)
• Wise Solutions (disambiguation), multiple items
• Windows Interface Source Environment - a 1994 method of emulating Microsoft Windows applications on Unix and Macintosh hosts
• work integration social enterprise
• Work improvement in small enterprises (WISE), a progamme for improvement of occupational health-and-safety conditions

See also[link]

• Weis (disambiguation)
• Weiss (disambiguation)
• Weisz
• Weiz
• Wiseman (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Simon Franklin is Professor of Slavonic Studies at the University of Cambridge, UK.^[1] He is a Fellow of Clare College.

In 2007 he was awarded the Lomonosov Gold Medal by the Russian Academy of Sciences for outstanding achievements in research in Russian history and culture.^[2]

Selected bibliography[link]

• Byzantium - Rus - Russia: Studies in the Translation of Christian Culture Ashgate, 2002

• National Identity in Russian Culture. An Introduction (ed. with Emma Widdis) Cambridge University Press, 2004

References[link]

1. ^ Modern & Medieval Science Dept - University of Cambridge - Staff Profiles
2. ^ Cambridge University News - April 2008

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