Anne of Kiev

Anne is both my 30^th and my 28th great grandmother.  My connections are  through my great grandmother, Mary Bushnoe (wife of David Jarvis).  Anne's younger son, Hugh is connected through the Bushnoe or Bousquet line, back through the Guyon family for many generations and eventually the Beaumont family to Anne.  Anne's elder son, Philip, is connected through Mary Bushnoe's mother and the Emlaw and Maxfield families, eventually to various lesser noble families and on to the royal family.

Anne of Kiev was born around 1030 in what is now Russia.  She was the daughter of Yaroslav I and Ingred Olofsdotter, a Swedish princess.  It appears that she was the youngest of their four daughters.

She was married to King Henry I of France after his first wife died and he was unable to find a suitable bride within the western European royal families that was not closely related to him.

Anne’s father was a major power in Eurasia and his daughters were considered prime candidates to be consorts of ruling western European monarchs.  Her marriage to Henry I gave France a queen and had the added benefit of  forging an alliance between France and the Grand Duchy of Kiev. 

Her three sisters also married into the royal families in Norway, Hungary and Poland.

Historically, Henry I was a fairly inconsequential king.  He was illiterate and upon their marriage in 1051, he was only able to make his mark (an “X”) on the marriage documents, while the educated Anne signed her name, shown here.



Philippe I



Anne and Henry had two sons, Philip, born in 1052,  who would eventually grow to become Philip I or “Philip the Fair”, king of France.  He is my 27th great grandfather.  His reign was spent trying to strengthen the realm following the weak and ineffective reign of his father. 

Her second son, Hugh Magnus (“Hugh the Great”), born in 1057, became the Duke of Burgundy.  He is my 29^th great grandfather.  After his marriage and the birth of his daughter, Hugh was a leader of the First Crusade to the Holy Land.  He died in Turkey of wounds sustained in battle on 18 October 1101…. Another story for another time.



Hugh Capet

Anne’s husband, Henry I, died in 1060, prematurely senile and ineffective as king.  Their eldest son, Philip, a lad of 8, was named king with his mother acting as regent.  Anne was the first Queen of France to act in that role.  As an educated woman, Anne was somewhat of a curiosity in European royal circles.

Shortly following Henry’s death, Anne eventually became involved with Count Ralph III of Valois who was married at the time.  He subsequently divorced his wife and married Anne in 1062 They would remain wed until his death in 1074.  Ralph’s wife was so hurt and incensed over his involvement with Anne that she petitioned the Pope to excommunicate the couple.  The Pope eventually granted the petition and Anne and Ralph were exiled from the Church.

Her son, King Philip I, eventually forgave his mother her indisgretions. Following Ralph III’s death, she retired to an Abbey where she died in 1075.

So, my great grandmother, Mary Bushnoe is connected to Anne of Kiev through both her mother, Arminda Emlaw, and her father, Isidore Bushnoe.

I realize that making verified connections over this many generations can be problematic at best.  I have attempted to locate as many records as possible in building this branch of our family tree.  Still, it is enjoyable and, I believe, accurate and I love telling the stories.

Also, I have recently located a relative who has photos of David Jarvis and Mary Bushnoe (Anne’s 26^th great granddaughter - my great grandparents).  I will be posting them here when I have copies.