Grand-prince Sentence Examples

It had to be divided, therefore, into a number of independent principalities, but it continued to be loosely held together by the dynastic sentiment of the descendants of Rurik and by the patriarchal authority - a sort of patria potestas - of the senior member of the family, called the grand-prince, who ruled in Kiev, " the mother of Russian cities."

What added to the practical difficulties of this arrangement was that the post of grand-prince was not an hereditary dignity in the sense of descending from father to son, but was always to be held by the senior member of the dynasty; and in the subordinate principalities the same principle of succession was applied, so that reigning princes had to be frequently shifted about from one district to another, according as they could establish the strongest claim to vacant principalities.

In these circumstances, the traditional authority of the grand-prince, never very great, rapidly declined, and the complicated law of succession, never scrupulously respected, was gradually replaced by " the good old rule, the simple plan, that he should take who has the power, and he should keep who can."

Yaroslav, surnamed the Great, a man of commanding personality, was the last grand-prince who upheld vigorously the old system.

During these interminable struggles of rival princes, Kiev, which had been so long the residence of the grand-prince and of the metropolitan, was repeatedly taken by storm and ruthlessly pillaged, and finally the whole valley of the Dnieper fell a prey to the marauding tribes of the steppe.

Here new principalities were founded and new agglomerations of principalities came into existence, some of them having a grand prince who no longer professed allegiance to Kiev.

Thus, appeared the grand-prince of Suzdal or Vladimir, of Tver,, of Ryazan and of Moscow - all irreconcilable rivals with little or no feeling of blood-relationship. The more ambitious and powerful among them aspired not to succeed but to subdue the others and to take possession of their territory, and the armed.

Already Dimitri of the Don was called the grand-prince of all Russia, but the assumption of such an ambitious title was hardly justified by facts, because there were still in his time principalities with grand princes who claimed to be independent.

In the old times the grand-prince was simply primes inter pares among the minor princes, and these lived with their boyars almost on a footing of equality.

According to Siegmund von Herberstein (1486-1566), an Austrian envoy who visited Moscow at that period, no sovereign in Europe was obeyed like the grand-prince of Muscovy, and his court was remarkable for barbaric luxury.

On the death of Casimir, king of Poland and grand-prince of Lithuania, in 1492, the kingdom and the principality ceased to be united and Ivan III.

His successor, Basil, tried to get himself elected grand-prince of Lithuania when the throne became vacant by the death of his brother-in-law in 1506, but the choice fell on the late prince's brother Sigismund, who was likewise elected king of Poland.

At last, in 1165, he was successful; and, after passing through many dangers, reached the court of Yaroslav, grand prince of Russia, at Kiev.

The emperor, however, being at war with Boleslaus of Poland, opposed his enterprise, and he went first to the court of St Stephen of Hungary, and, finding but slight encouragement there, to that of the grand prince Vladimir at Kiev.

In this he was so far successful that they made peace with the grand prince and were for a while nominally Christians.