Gytha of Wessex

Gytha of Wessex (born c. 1053/1061 – died 1098 or 1107; ) was one of several daughters of Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, and his consort, Edith the Fair. Through marriage to Vladimir II Monomakh, Gytha became a princess of Kievan Rus'. Life Her paternal grandparents were Godwin, Earl of Wessex and Gytha Thorkelsdóttir. According to the thirteenth-century chronicler Saxo Grammaticus, after the death of their father King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, Gytha and two of her brothers (probably Magnus and either Godwin or Edmund) escaped to the court of their first cousin once-removed, King Sweyn Estridsson of Denmark. The two brothers were treated by Sweyn with hospitality, Magnus entering into high-level service with Bolesław II the Generous while Gytha was married to Waldemar, King of Ruthenia, i.e. Vladimir II Monomakh, one of the most famous rulers of Kievan Rus. This took place in 1069/1070 when Bolesław restored Grand Prince Iziaslav I of Kiev and Gertruda (Bolesław's aunt) to power after they had been deposed. Gytha's role in Vladimir's rule is not documented. Vladimir explained in a book of 'Instructions' (Pouchenie) for his sons, written in the twelfth-century: “Love your wives, but grant them no power over you.” In his book, Vladimir also mentioned the recent death of Yuri's mother. Gytha was the mother of Mstislav the Great, the last ruler of united Kievan Rus. In the Norse sagas, Mstislav is called Harald, after his grandfather. During her lifetime Gytha, as Vladimir's spouse, was princess of Smolensk, however she died before her husband became grand prince of Kiev (in 1113), so she never was grand princess of Kiev.