Olga of Kiev: One saint you do not want to mess with
During the 9th century in what is modern day Russia and Ukraine, there was a collection of tribes and city-states called the Rus, and for this story, we find ourselves in the middle of a war between two Rus tribes that decide the best way to settle their differences is to enlist a third party viking leader to rule them both. This Viking leader was Riurik.
Not 20 years later, Riurik and one of his subordinates, Oleg, had expanded this new territory to encompass the area south toward the city of Kiev. At about the same time, Oleg had a daughter, Olga, who would go on to marry the son of Riurik, Igor.
At the time of the death of Riurik Igor was too young to rule, so Oleg was put in charge. During his reign, Oleg moved the capital of his territory from Novgorod to the newly conquered Kiev in search of riches left over by some of Riurik’s old allies. After the death of Oleg, Igor finally ascended to the throne, becoming Igor of Kiev.
Olga and Igor
Igor and Olga were nothing short of a power couple. Born from two of the most terrifying Rus vikings of the time, the duo were essentially made for conquest. Igor was known for expanding both the coffers and territory of Kiev while fairly managing affairs back at home as well. For a viking warlord, he did a pretty good job. This was until a former ally of Oleg’s decided to make problems.
This group was called the Drevlians. They were known to be decent allies up until Oleg’s death, and this was when they stopped paying tribute to Kiev and began to conspire with other neighboring warlords. Intimidation kept the Drevlians in check for a time, but this tactic ceased to work when in 945 Igor returned to collect tribute and ended up demanding more than he was due. Two Birch Trees and a Kievan
Upon Igor’s return to the Drevlians, they decided that they were done with paying tribute and decided to kill him. Not only did they kill him, they decided to do it in the most terrifying way possible- by tying his legs to two bent birch trees and loosing them in different directions. This effectively catapulted Igor’s body in two different directions, ripping him in half.
Love and War
Naturally, Olga was not very pleased with the bisection of her husband. Though, whether out of custom or arrogance (it’s not really known), the Drevlian prince Mal decided to ask for Olga’s hand in marriage. It was a bit early if you ask me.
Prince Mal delivered his marriage proposal by way of messenger, and to put it simply… Olga had the messengers buried alive in a pit along with their ship. Despite this, Olga still sent word to Prince Mal that she would marry him, and that he was to send a group of his best men to “escort” Olga back to the Drevlian city.
Upon the arrival of the escorts, it is said that Olga told the men they were dirty and insisted that they visit the bathhouse in order to wash off before the return journey. After Olga had all the men enter the bathhouse, the men were alarmed to discover that the bathhouse door was barred shut. As the men inside struggled to escape, Olga had the bathhouse set ablaze, leaving the escorts to their fiery grave. Personally, I believe this was the moment Olga discovered her love for fire because, as we will discover, this will not be the last time Olga has flame as her weapon of choice…
After this, Olga, along with her entourage/army, went to the Drevlian capital of Iskorosten where she demanded that before her and Mal’s nuptuals, the Drevlians throw a massive feast in honor of Igor. While the Drevlians literally drank the night away, Olga visited the burial mound of the late Igor to grieve.
As the Drevlians feasted and drank, confident that the delegations Olga sent were “on the way”, she prepared her army and slaughtered the drunk forces of the Drevlians.
After this slaughter, Olga used her young son, Svyatoslav, to declare war on the Drevlians, and besieged Iskorosten for approximately a year.
Hell Hath No Fury like a Woman Wronged
After the painfully long besiegement of Iskorosten, the now impoverished city longed for mercy, which Olga finally decided to grant. In recompense for her mercy, every household in Iskorosten paid tribute in the form of three sparrows and three pigeons. The now impoverished people of Iskorosten were happy to pay a tribute they could afford, but unbeknownst to them, Olga had other plans.
After receiving the birds, Olga ordered her men to attach sulfur to the feet of all the birds. This sulfur was set aflame, thus the birds were released and they flew home to Iskorosten.
The city burned along with its inhabitants. Those few who escaped were slaughtered, enslaved, or forced to live in the remnants of their burned city. Along with his city, Prince Mal died in the flames. Olga had finally exacted revenge for her beloved Igor.
