Anne of Kyiv, Queen of France: facts and myths

Anne of Kyiv (Anna Yaroslavna) was a daughter of Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise of Kyiv who became Queen of France and mother of King Philip I. Every Ukrainian schoolchild knows her name, yet her biography is still full of gaps — and plenty of romantic legends have grown around them. Here is what is known for certain, which stories are best treated as myths, and where in France you can still find traces of the queen from Kyiv.

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Childhood in Kyiv

Anne’s exact date of birth is unknown; historians suggest a year between 1024 and 1032. She was one of the daughters of Yaroslav the Wise and the Swedish princess Ingegerd. Under Yaroslav, Kyiv was one of the largest cities in Europe: St Sophia’s Cathedral was built, with a school and scriptorium attached, and the prince’s daughters received a good education. Anne’s sisters also became queens — Elisiv of Norway and Anastasia of Hungary — which is why Yaroslav is called “the father-in-law of Europe”.

Marriage to the King of France

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King Henry I of France, of the Capetian dynasty, was a widower looking for a wife who was not his relative: most European princesses were close kin, and the Church forbade such marriages. Distant Kyiv was an ideal choice, and an alliance with Rus’ added to the king’s prestige. Around 1049–1050 a French embassy led by bishops arrived in Kyiv, and in spring 1051 Anne travelled to France. The wedding and coronation took place at Reims, most likely on 19 May 1051.

The couple had three sons: Philip (1052), Robert and Hugh. Philip I went on to rule France for almost half a century, and Hugh the Great, Count of Vermandois, became one of the leaders of the First Crusade.

Queen and king’s mother

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Anne took part in affairs of state, and her name appears in royal charters. Pope Nicholas II wrote to her praising her virtues and asking her to influence her husband. When Henry I died in 1060, seven-year-old Philip became king. Count Baldwin of Flanders was appointed his guardian, but Anne, as the king’s mother, also signed documents.

The best-known evidence of her presence is her signature on a 1063 charter for the Abbey of Saint-Crépin in Soissons. Among the crosses of French nobles stands a Cyrillic inscription, “ANA RЪINA” — Anna Regina, Queen Anne.

Second marriage and disappearance

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Around 1061 the widowed queen married Count Raoul IV of Valois, one of the crown’s most powerful vassals. Raoul was already married, and his first wife complained to the Pope. The Church demanded the marriage be annulled and excommunicated the count, but the couple stayed together until Raoul’s death in 1074. After that Anne still appears beside her son in documents, then her traces fade. When and where she died, and where she is buried, is not known for certain.

Myths and facts

• “Anne taught the French to wash and use forks.” A popular myth with no sources: bathing and hygiene were known in Europe before her, and forks spread in France much later.
• “The French nobility was illiterate, but Anne could write.” Anne was certainly educated, but the real significance of her signature is that it is a rare documentary trace of Cyrillic in 11th-century France.
• “Anne brought the Reims Gospel on which French kings swore their oath.” The Cyrillic part of the manuscript is indeed old, but the link with Anne is only a hypothesis, and historians also consider the coronation-oath story an exaggeration.
• “Anne returned to Kyiv.” There is no reliable evidence of this.

Traces of Anne in France

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In Senlis, near Paris, Anne founded the Abbey of Saint-Vincent. A statue of the queen holding a model of the church stands on its façade, and Ukrainians travelling in France often come here to honour her memory. In France she is known as Anne de Kiev or Anne of Rus’.

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Anne of Kyiv is one of those women whose lives linked Ukraine with Europe a thousand years ago. For how flowers became symbols on royal coats of arms, see flowers in heraldry, and for the stylised lily of the French kings, iris meaning and legends.

FAQ

Whose daughter was Anne of Kyiv?

Yaroslav the Wise, Grand Prince of Kyiv, and Ingegerd of Sweden.

When did Anne become Queen of France?

In 1051, after her marriage to Henry I and coronation at Reims.

Where is Anne of Kyiv buried?

Unknown: the sources record neither the date of her death nor her burial place.

Celebrate the remarkable women in your life with flowers — bouquets are available with delivery in Kyiv from UFL.

Author: Maria Svitlovir

Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.

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