Rule and the Law of Rus'
Yaroslav's reign consolidated Kievan Rus' after years of fratricidal conflict. Having secured Kiev by 1019, he defended the realm's southern frontier against the nomadic Pechenegs, building a chain of forts and winning a decisive battle near Kiev in 1036.
He promulgated the Russkaya Pravda, the first code of laws among the East Slavs. This written law, together with his patronage of learning and the Church, gave his reign its enduring reputation and his epithet, 'the Wise.'
Builder of Churches
To mark his victory over the Pechenegs, Yaroslav sponsored the construction of the Saint Sophia Cathedral, and he also established the monasteries of Saint George and Saint Irene. In 1051 he elevated Hilarion as metropolitan of Kiev, asserting the young Church's standing against the Byzantine custom of appointing only Greek bishops; Hilarion's discourse counts as the first work of Old East Slavic literature.
The Cathedral of Holy Wisdom at Kiev, dedicated to Hagia Sophia, was among the largest churches built in Europe in the 11th century and remains one of the oldest well-preserved examples of Kievan Rus' architecture. Its design features five naves and thirteen domes, built of local brick and pink slate, and its interior preserves some 3,260 square meters of 11th-century mosaics and frescoes, including a fresco depicting Yaroslav's whole family. The Primary Chronicle records its foundation in 1037; other traditions and later scholarship propose earlier dates under Vladimir the Great.
Family and European Ties
Through his marriage to Ingegerd of Sweden and the marriages of his children, Yaroslav bound the house of Kiev to the ruling families of Europe. His daughter Elisiv married Harald Hardrada; Anastasia married Andrew I of Hungary; and Anne married Henry I of France, serving as regent during their son's minority.
A family fresco within Saint Sophia's Cathedral depicts Yaroslav, his wife Irene (Ingegerd), their four daughters and six sons. The cathedral served as the burial place of Yaroslav and his descendants.
Relics & Shrines
Yaroslav was entombed in a white marble sarcophagus in the Saint Sophia Cathedral at Kiev. The chronicler Adam of Bremen named him a saint as early as 1075.
The fate of his relics is uncertain. When the sarcophagus was examined in 1936 it held the skeletal remains of two individuals, one male and confirmed as Yaroslav; when it was reopened in 2009 it was found to contain only a single female skeleton. Yaroslav's remains appear to have been lost, possibly removed before the Second World War and taken abroad.
