The Life and Times of Princess Olga
or
Hell Hath No Fury .........
By Lady Marija Kotok SCA # 143815 of Sylvan Glen
In the year 946 AD, as it is recorded in the Chronicles of Nestor, Olga went to war against
the Derevlans! Princess Olga was a widow and mother of a young son Svyatoslav. Her
beloved husband had lost to the Derevlans in battle at Irskorsten, and died there, leaving
her in charge of their holdings. If the Dervelans would have left it at that ,probably none of
what I am about to tell you would have happened. But craving more territory they could not!
They sent an emissary to Olga telling that they had killed her husband ,Oleh Prince of Kiev,
and proposed she immediately marry their Prince Mal. They let her know to expect. twenty of
their best men to assist her with running the city until she could come to Prince Mal and be
married. When the men arrived Olga cunningly asked them stay on their boat, saying that
they would be carried in it to her residence to show them proper honor. Then a very
vengeful Olga ordered her men to dig a large and deep hole in the ground behind the town.
The Derevlans were carried there and dropped in boat and all. As they were being buried
alive they complained to Olga that their death was much worse than that of her husbands.
Which evidently was exactly what she had in mind!
She then sent emissaries to the Derevlans asking them to send their most prominent men to
escort her so that she could depart with honor, otherwise the people of Kiev would not let
her marry their Prince. When these men arrived Olga prepared a bathhouse for them and,
after they entered it and started to wash, Olga ordered her servants to lock the doors and
set fire to the bathhouse killing them all.
But this was not enough to satisfy Olga so she then sent her envoys to the Derevlans
saying that she was coming to visit the place where her husband was killed and requested
them to bring plenty of mead for the funeral feast so she might mourn him properly before
her upcoming marriage. The Derevlans complied and Olga arrived with a small team of
warriors. She cried loudly for her husband and ordered the men to construct a large mound
on his burial site. Then she commenced the funeral feast, serving the Derevlans lots of
mead. When they asked her about their friends, which had been sent to her; she replied
that they were coming soon. Once the Derevlans became very drunk Olga ordered her
warriors to slay them all, about five thousand of them.
Olga then returned to Kiev and started preparation for her raid against remaining
Derevlans. Taking her son Svyatoslav she marched to the Derevelan lands. When the
armies met it is recorded that Svyatoslav threw out the first spear but he was so small it only
landed at the enemies feet. The shout then went up, "Our
Prince has started the battle. Let us all follow him and attack"! They then went on to win the
battle and proceeded to make siege on Iskorsten where the Derevlans defended
themselves very well from behind strong city walls and the siege continued for the whole
summer.
Olga did not want the siege to continue into the winter and so she formulated another
devious plan and told Derevlans in Iskorsten that all the surrounding towns had surrendered
and were paying tribute to her. She said she would also spare them in return for payment.
When asked what she would like, Olga requested three doves and three sparrows from
each household.
This seemed very reasonable to the Derevlans and so they agreed. Upon sending the
tribute they were asked to stay within the city walls while the army organized its departure.
When dusk arrived Olga ordered her soldiers to tie kindling to each dove and sparrow, lit it
and set the birds free. The birds returned to their nests and set fire to all the trees and
buildings. People fled the city to escape the fires and were captured by Olga's soldiers. The
leaders were burned, some were battered others were given as slaves to Olga's men. The
remaining Derevlans were left to pay heavy taxes to Kiev and Vyshhorod, Olga's city. Only
then did she consider her revenge complete!
She later went on to out wit Constantine of Constaninoples' plan to marry her in the year
955. Impressed by her beauty and intelligence he announced that she was fit to rule
Constantinople with him. Realizing what he meant, Olga replied that she was a pagan and if
he wanted her to be christened, then he would have to do it himself. So she was christened
by Constantine himself and patriarch Polievkt
Then, when Constantine asked Olga to marry him, she announced that when he had
christened her, he had called her his daughter, and said that as a good christian she
certainly could not marry her father! Knowing that he was outwitted, Constantine bestowed
on her many gifts and dismissed her, as his daughter. Thus she gained even more power
and wealth rather than losing it, since had she married him all she controlled would have
been his!
Olga is one example of an early medieval woman who managed to keep control of what was
hers and extend her personal empire in spite of the difficulties in her life.
Olgas' tale is taken primarily from the translated "Chronicles by Venerable Nestor" (1056 -
1136 AD) -
a monk of the Theodosian Monastery located in caves on the outskirts of Kiev. It is also
verified by material found in "The Russian Primary Chronicles", and church records. Olga
was canonized after her death and so her history is well recorded.