Princesses Behaving Badly Read Online Free PDF Page A

suggested they all get down to feasting and drinking. The Derevlians did so, and with gusto; once they were drunk enough, Olga gave the word. Her men fell upon the drunken Derevlians and slaughtered 5,000 of them.
    But she wasn’t done yet.
    Olga returned to Kiev and readied her “large and valiant army” to attack the surviving Derevlians. Her soldiers cut a devastating swath through the countryside; after the Derevlians’ cities fell to her bloodthirsty horde, the vanquished retreated behind the walls of their principal city, Izkorosten. Olga and her army spent a year trying to take the city by force, but without success. Finally, she devised another plan.
    Olga sent a message to the besieged people, asking, “Why do you persist in holding out? All your cities have surrendered to me and submitted to tribute, so that the inhabitants now cultivate their fields and their lands in peace. But you had rather die of hunger, without submitting to tribute.” The Derevlians responded that they’d be happy to give her tribute, but they knew she was still bent on revenge.
    Not so, replied Olga. “Since I have already avenged the misfortuneof my husband twice on the occasions when your messengers came to Kiev, and a third time when I held a funeral feast for him, I do not desire further revenge but am anxious to receive a small tribute. After I have made peace with you, I shall return home again.” It was indeed a small tribute she requested: three sparrows and three doves from everyone in the city. The people gladly handed over the birds and rejoiced.
    But Olga
still
wasn’t done.
    Once night fell, Olga had her soldiers tie cloths dipped in sulfur to the feet of each bird. The winged incendiaries were released, flew straight home, and set every house on fire. She ordered her soldiers to kill or capture anyone who escaped.
    Only then was Olga done.
A N U NORTHODOX S AINT
    The Tales of Bygone Years
was written centuries after Olga’s death, and it’s unclear if the account of her bloody revenge is factual. The story echoes several Viking myths, which seem particularly fascinated with the gory revenge of angry widows. Moreover, if the timing is accurate, Olga would have been a mature mom of about 55 when she went to war. Other sources do corroborate parts of the story, specifically Igor’s grisly murder and the equally gruesome military retribution that followed.
    But Olga
was
a real person, though little is known about her life before the events in her revenge story. What is certain is that she was a member by marriage of the Riurikid dynasty, which was founded in 862 by the Viking warlord Riurik and which ruled Kievan Rus until the 1500s. When Olga came to power, Kievan Rus was still just a loose federation of Vikings, Slavs, and other pagan tribes. After exacting her revenge, she acted as regent for her son with efficiency and strength for at least two decades. She was the first Kievan ruler to introduce the use of currency, and her administrative innovations resulted in a more unified nation, with embassies and ambassadors across Europe and the Mediterranean.
    She was also the first of her dynasty to convert to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which opened up new commercial and diplomatic possibilities with Christian Byzantine, Moravian, and Bulgarian neighbors. Herbaptism in Constantinople in 954/55 is another legendary example of her cunning. The story goes that Constantine VII was so enamored of her that he proposed marriage. But Olga wanted only to trade with Byzantium, not give Constantine an excuse to rule Kievan Rus, so she pointed out that marriage would be impossible because she wasn’t a Christian. If he were willing to perform the baptism himself, however, then she would reconsider; the ceremony was arranged. Afterward, when Constantine reiterated his proposal, Olga replied, “How can you marry me, after yourself baptizing me and calling me your daughter? For among Christians that is unlawful, as you yourself