Smarticus Tells History
What we likely all once knew about history, has likely been forgotten. Here, at Smarticus Tells History, we move around the timeline picking up some of the most interesting and sometimes downright weird stories. Stories such as the Rabbit Queen, or how Cleopatra wasn't Egyptian, the Black Plague and many more.They are all true, no matter how quacky and quirky some may seem. We keep them short and mostly to the point. So put your listening ears on, have a beer or two, and learn a thing or two!!!
Smarticus Tells History
Episode 57: Queen Olga of Kiev: A Tale of Vengeance and Legacy
What if a queen's ultimate revenge could change the course of a nation's history? Discover the chilling yet riveting story of Queen Olga of Kiev, a formidable ruler whose cunning and ruthless tactics left an indelible mark on medieval Eastern Europe. Start your journey with us as we bring the flavors of history to life, beginning with a mouth-watering discussion about Ukrainian braised pork with mashed potatoes. From there, we unravel the mysterious origins of Queen Olga, delving into her possible Varangian, Slavic, or Northern Russian Viking roots. The episode chronicles her marriage to Prince Igor of Kiev and the shocking events following his assassination by the Drevlians, which propelled Olga to the forefront of Kievan Rus politics as regent for her young son, Sviatoslav.
Witness the sheer brilliance and brutality of Queen Olga's revenge strategies—from burying emissaries alive to setting an entire city ablaze using pigeons and sparrows. These audacious acts not only secured her power but also etched her name into the annals of history. Olga's journey didn't end there; her conversion to Christianity in Constantinople marked a pivotal moment in the Christianization of Kievan Rus, influencing her descendants and shaping the religious landscape for generations. Join us for an enthralling episode that captures the essence of a queen who mastered both the art of vengeance and the path to sainthood, leaving a legacy celebrated in Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic traditions. This is history brought to life with gripping stories and compelling insights you won't want to miss.
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Recipe:
https://tatyanaseverydayfood.com/ukrainian-braised-pork/#recipe
Sources:
https://theconversation.com/saint-olga-of-kyiv-is-ukraines-patron-saint-of-both-defiance-and-vengeance-178019
Welcome to Smartacus.
Speaker 2:Tells.
Speaker 1:History. Alright, enough with the echo and fanfare. You're here for history, right, and not that boring crap you learned in high school. This stuff's actually interesting, like things you've never heard about the Civil War, cleopatra, automobiles, monopoly, the Black Plague and more Fascinating stories, interesting topics and some downright weird facts from the past. It's a new twist on some stories you may know and an interesting look at some things you may have never heard. So grab a beer, kick back and enjoy. Here's your host, smarticus.
Speaker 2:Greetings history enthusiasts. Welcome to another episode of Smarticus Tells History. I am your host, smarticus, accompanied by my co-host, phoenix. Hello. And today we journey back to medieval times to uncover the remarkable story of Queen Olga of Kiev, a woman of strength, cunning and enduring legacy.
Speaker 3:But first food. Today we've got Ukrainian braised pork with mashed potatoes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I dang it. I forgot, forgot. I was going to pull that stupid recipe up.
Speaker 3:I won't even think about it.
Speaker 2:I was going to pull it up so we could discuss it. Oh my gosh, it is amazing. Is it really good? Yes, I'm sure it is.
Speaker 3:I think I put too much parsley on it though.
Speaker 2:So I put mine on at the last uh or at the end there, like it uh said to um, and I just I almost use my ground, or not my ground, my uh, but my the parsley. You know it comes in the thing, whatever. Um, but I was like no, I'll. I was already at walmart this morning so I was like I'll go ahead and I'll grab some fresh, some fresh parsley for it. Um, we grabbed our stuff yesterday, yeah, and I, I have some fresh parsley on it.
Speaker 3:We grabbed our stuff yesterday.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And I have some fresh parsley on it too. But yeah, I might have gotten a little overzealous with that particular herb.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:I will say it tastes very fresh with all that parsley on it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man this is really good.
Speaker 2:So this is. Did you already say what it was you did, didn't you? I did, yeah, yeah, it's Ukrainian braised pork With creamy mashed potatoes. So it's it's a pork shoulder. I didn't have everything this time. I had most of it, though.
Speaker 3:Hmm, it's a pork shoulder. I didn't have everything this time. I had most of it, though I didn't have the pork shoulder or the mushrooms, yeah.
Speaker 2:So I didn't have pork shoulder mushrooms. I had a large onion already. I did not have any carrots. So while I was there I saw all the sliced mushrooms, so I grabbed those, and right next to them was diced onions. So it was already diced. I was like, screw it, I'll just grab those too, because that way I don't have to dice them.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And so I just did that. And then, surprisingly, right next to those, a little bit further over, there was the grated carrots. So I was like, oh nice, I don't have to do that either. So, and I just put about half the bag of the grated carrots in there and then I just put the whole thing of mushrooms in there, and it was kind of a bigger box, yeah, of a thing of mushrooms. I was just like, whatever, I'll just throw them all in there. And I just put the whole thing of mushrooms in there, and it was kind of a bigger box, yeah, of a thing of mushrooms. So I just like, whatever, I'll just throw them all in there. And I didn't dice them up anymore, I just left them sliced.
Speaker 3:I thought about leaving them sliced so I could pick around them, but I was like no, I actually want to try and eat mushrooms Because I want to like mushrooms. So bad yeah.
Speaker 2:I don't mind them texture thing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I used to not like them, but I like them a lot better now, so it's a lot easier for me to eat them when they're diced up. So that's what I did. Yay, yeah, I'm a big fan. I'll be making this again, that's for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it tastes really good. Queen Olga of Kiev, also known as Saint Olga, stands as a remarkable figure in medieval history, particularly in the context of Eastern Europe. Her life, which was marked by political astuteness, religious transformation and the pursuit of justice, is a testament to the complex interplay of power, faith and personal agency in the early medieval period, something that legends of the time were littered with but were often forgotten in the history books.
Speaker 3:Olga's early life is quite a mystery, as there are conflicting accounts of her origins. Some sources suggest she was of Varangian descent, while others propose a Slavic lineage. There's also my personal favorite that she was of Northern Russian Viking descent. There's also my personal favorite that she was of northern Russian Viking descent, regardless her marriage to Prince Igor of Kiev, the second ruler of the Rurikid dynasty was around the turn of the 10th century.
Speaker 2:It's possible that she was 20 around the time of her husband's assassination by the Drevlians, a neighboring tribe. There's several accounts of his death, none of which are pretty and all of which might be highly exaggerated. Either way, igor was in pieces and Olga had to assume regency on behalf of her three-year-old son, svetislav. This is a dangerous position in a region under almost constant warring during the brutal medieval time period for any ruler, not just a woman.
Speaker 3:The Drevlians wanted what Olga and her son possessed, so they sent emissaries with a suggestion that she marry their single royal Prince Mal. Now, if you think that dating now is a wild experience, olga might just blow your mind on the matter. According to medieval hagiography, which is an official biography of saints or venerated persons, she was quoted as replying your proposal is pleasing to me. Indeed, my husband cannot rise again from the dead, but I desire to honor you tomorrow in the presence of my people. Return now to your boat and remain there.
Speaker 2:I shall send for you on the morrow. Naturally, the Drevlians thought they had won an easy victory as they went back to their boat. They were absolutely wrong, because Olga had arranged for a trench to be dug and then for them and their boat to be flung into it and buried alive. Pretty brutal right.
Speaker 3:But wait, there's more Correct.
Speaker 2:Before news of the first delegation's death could reach the Drevlians, Olga sent a message requesting a second emissary group to come to her city, Thinking that this was a very good sign. They happily complied. When they arrived, Queen Olga had ordered her people to draw a bath for them. Once the Drevlians were in the bathhouse, she ordered all the doors to be bolted and then set the building on fire.
Speaker 3:Once again, hold on to your seats, folks, because Olga isn't done.
Speaker 2:She then went to the place where her husband had been killed. The Drevlins gathered around, interested in what she could be doing there. Olga told them that she would like to have a funeral feast to commemorate her late husband. This wouldn't seem too strange to anyone at the time, especially if they hadn't yet heard about the first two emissary groups. In fact, it would sound rather sweet, until they all got drunk at the feast and Olga had her men massacre.
Speaker 3:Olga laid siege on Iskorostan, the Drevlians' home base, which is now the Ukrainian city of Korostan. She came with an offer of peace. All they had to give up was three pigeons and three sparrows from each home. Not a bad deal if you're up against the three-time champion of death. Except that Olga then had her men tie a sulfurous cloth to one leg of each bird. Then the cloths were set on fire and the birds were released to go back to their home nest for the night. This resulted in every building simultaneously bursting into flames. Olga had her soldiers catch everyone that fled the city to either be killed or turned into slaves, and so her revenge was achieved.
Speaker 2:Pretty brutal.
Speaker 3:She's a boss. You know, know it's just like don't mess with her man, leave her alone I mean, a lot of people were like that.
Speaker 2:Back then too, though. Her cutting stratagem and avenging igor's death, which involved a series of deceptive negotiations followed by a meticulously planned massacre of the Drevlian tribe, is recounted in the Russian Primary Chronicle. That is, an 11th century manuscript. That can be summed up with its opening sentence these are the narratives of bygone years regarding the origin of the land of Rus, the first princes of Kiev and from what sourced the land of Rus at its beginning. It is considered a fundamental source work for the early history of the East Slavs.
Speaker 3:Queen Olga's legacy doesn't stop there, though. Living another 25 years, she resided in the capital of Kiev with her son. She was the persuasive voice that encouraged him not to abandon the Ukrainian lands for better prospects, which he felt were south along the Dunabes Bank, which, if anyone has done any research into why Russia decided they wanted to take Ukraine recently and turn it into a principality, you'll know that that land is exceedingly rich in resources. In 2020, they made up 15% of the grain exports of the world. Wow, that's pretty impressive, right, and that's just the grain. Yeah, it's not a very big country. It's pretty impressive, right, and that's just the grain.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's not a very big country.
Speaker 3:It's not, but they are also one of the leading sources for what was it metal products that are exported?
Speaker 2:Oh really.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they've got a lot of natural resources. It's just crazy.
Speaker 2:Another significant episode in Olga's life was her conversion to Christianity. In 957, she traveled to Constantinople, the seat of the Byzantine Empire, where she was baptized and received into the Christian faith. This decision not only had personal implications, but also had far-reaching consequences for the Kievan Rus.
Speaker 3:Olga's conversion laid the groundwork for the Christianization of the Rus people, a process that would continue under her son and grandson, Volodymyr. The Great Volodymyr would go on to become a saint as well for completing the Christianization of his people, finishing the work his grandmother started.
Speaker 2:Her embrace of Christianity positioned Kiev as a key player in the Byzantine cultural sphere and facilitated diplomatic ties with Constantinople. Queen Olga's legacy endures through the annals of history, revered as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox and the Greek Catholic Church for her piety and contributions to the Christianization of the Rus. Her reign marked a pivotal moment in the history of Eastern Europe, laying the foundations for the rise of Kiev as a center of cultural, religious and political significance.
Speaker 3:To sum things up, Queen Olga of Kiev emerges to us now as a multifaceted figure whose life embodies the complexities of medieval rulership, From her astute political maneuvers to her transformative conversion to Christianity. Olga's legacy resonates as a testament to the enduring power of individual agency and shaping the course of history. Today, Kiev celebrates her and St Michael the Archangel as their patron saints and intercessors for those that need comfort, which they are unfortunately in great need of these days.
Speaker 2:Well, folks, that wraps up this episode of Smartica's Tales History. We hope you learned something new from this intriguing tidbit from the annals of history. If you have any historical questions or topics that you would like us to explore in future episodes, don't hesitate to reach out. Thank you for joining us and if you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review. We'll be back with more stories from the past. Until then, keep exploring.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to Smarticus Tells History. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to rate and review and make sure to subscribe, and be sure to follow the show at facebookcom. Slash smarticustellshistory or just click the link in the show description. Thanks again for listening. See you next time.