Anne of Kiev
Anne of Kiev or Anna Yaroslavna[a] (c. 1030 – 1075) was a princess of Kievan Rus who became Queen of France in 1051 upon marrying King Henry I. She ruled the kingdom as regent during the minority of their son Philip I from Henry's death in 1060 until her controversial marriage to Count Ralph IV of Valois. Anne founded the Abbey of St. Vincent at Senlis.
Anne of Kiev
19 May 1051 – 4 August 1060
19 May 1051
1060–1066
c. 1030
5 September c.1075
Inscription of Anne's name in a charter of 1063[1]
Engagement
The negotiations for Anne's marriage to the 18-years-older King Henry took place in the late 1040s, after the death of Henry's first wife, Matilda of Frisia, and their only child. Due to the pressing need for an heir, and the Church's growing disapproval of consanguineous marriages, it became necessary for Henry to seek an unrelated bride.[4] The Kievan Rus' was not unknown to the French. Yaroslav had married several of his children to Western rulers in an attempt to avoid the influence of the Byzantine Empire.[2]
In the autumn of 1049 or the spring of 1050, Henry sent Bishop Gauthier of Meaux, Goscelin of Chauny, and other unnamed advisors to Yaroslav's court. It is possible that there were two diplomatic missions to the Rus at this time, with Roger of Chalons also present.[2][3][5] No record of the marriage negotiations or the dowry arrangements survives, although Anne reportedly left Kiev with "rich presents".[2] Gregorovich claims that part of the wealth she brought to France included the jacinth jewel that Abbot Suger later mounted on a reliquary of St. Denis.[3][6] Anne left Kiev in the summer or fall of 1050 and traveled to Reims.[2]
Queenship
Anne married Henry on 19 May 1051, during the feast of Pentecost.[7] Henry was nearly twenty years older than Anne.[2] Her wedding on 19 May 1051 followed the installation of Lietbert as bishop of Cambrai, and Anne was crowned immediately following the marriage ceremony, making her the first French queen to celebrate her coronation in Reims Cathedral.[2]
Anne and Henry were married for nine years and had three sons: Philip, Robert (who died young), and Hugh. Anne is often credited with introducing the Greek name "Philip" to royal families of Western Europe, as she bestowed it on her first son; she might have imported this Greek name from her Eastern Orthodox culture.[5] There may also have been a daughter, Emma, perhaps born in 1055; it is unknown if she married or when she died.[2] Henry and Anne of Kiev are additionally said to have been the parents of the beatified figure Edigna.[8]
As queen, Anne would have had the privilege of participating in the royal council, but there are almost no records of her doing so. In one 1058 charter, Henry granted a privilege to a couple of villages associated with the monastery of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés doing so "with the approval of my wife Anne and our children Philip, Robert, and Hugh." Anne seems to have possessed territories in the same region under the terms of her dower.[2]
In 1059, King Henry began feuding with the Church over issues related to Gregorian Reform. During this time, Pope Nicholas II sent Queen Anne a letter counseling her to follow her conscience to right wrongs and intervene against oppressive violence, while also encouraging her to advocate with her husband so that he might govern with moderation.[2] According to Delorme, some historians have interpreted this letter from the Pope as being indicative of Anne's conversion to Roman Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy.[9]