Русь, Византия и Западная Европа: Из истории внешнеполитических и культурных связей XII—XIII вв. - [273]

Prince Vsevolod was also alien to the foreign policy of Roman who supported the Byzantine authorities in the fight with the rebellious Bulgarians and the Danube Polovtsy which backed them. The prince of Vladimir Suzdalsky had the immediate contacts with the head of the Bulgarian uprising and avoided military assistance of Byzantium of purpose.

Military aid by Roman was guaranteed with the matrimony of the prince of Galich and Volyn and Alexios' niece, the elder daughter of the overthrown emperor Isaac II. On coming the second wife of the prince of Galich and Volyn she continued playing the key role in the political life of South Rus' for years. The chronicle preserved not the name of the princess who is called by the husbands name only: «the great Roman's princess». But we can fill this white space. The junior sister of the princess of Galich and Volyn, Irene, who had come the consort of German king Philip, had her sister's name put down to the necrology of the Speier cathedral. Among the other Greek relatives of queen Irene the name of her elder sister Euphrosine is mentioned.

They were aware of the fate of German relatives of «the great Roman's princess» in Galich as well. The distinct information about the death of king Philip the Schwab at summer of 1208, which was soon followed with that of his queen, can be found in the Chronicle of Galich and Volyn. The detailed story of the circumstances of the murder of Philip was put down and the persons implicated in it were mentioned here. There is no such information in the other Russian chronicles. The details of such distinct events could be of some interest only for the relatives of the perished. And princess Euphrosine with her children were such persons.

Near by the Polish town of Chelm (Old Russian Holm) the ancient stone tower five levels (stories) high, the remnants of chapel on the top of it, is still preserved. This tower rises at the spot where the Old Russian town of Stolpie (Towers) existed sometimes. According to the last investigations the tower of Stolpie is the replica of the edifices widely spread in the North of Greece and appeared to be the cult buildings belonging to the monasteries and the secular lords. The literary sources say that most probably the tower of Stolpie was built in 1220–1240s for «the great Roman's princess» who had become the nun again.

The activity of Euphrosine, the princess of Galich, is seen in the old Russian seals. Several seals from old Novgorod have the image of St. Euphrosine of Alexandria on avers and the image of Transfigutation of Our Lord on the mount of Favor on reverse. There are no grounds to identify the owner of this seals with St. Euphrosine of Polotsk, since she had nothing to do with the foundation of the Transfiguration church or monastery in Polotsk. The Savior's nunnery and the church founded by St. Euphrosine were dedicated to the ancient fest of the Savior Misericors. There is no evidence of any relationship of St. Euphrosine with Novgorod.

But there were tight links between Euphrosine of Galich and Novgorod. She, without doubt, corresponded with prince of Novgorod Mstislav the Brave whose daughter Ann married Daniel, the elder son of widowed princess of Galich. Mstislav himself influenced with the news coming from the South-Western Rus', abdicated from Novgorod throne and resolutely interfered in the struggle for Galich with Hungarian prince Koloman and became the new prince of Galich soon.

There is a great reason to connect the wide spreading of cult of Transfiguration in Galich and Volyn with Euphrosine of Galich. The numerous monasteries and churches of Transfiguration mentioned in the literary sources date back to the 13th c. The numerous former altar icons of Transfiguration of the West Ukrainian lands came from the 13–14th cc. up to our time.

One more name Euphrosine is famous under in the scientific literature is Ann, which she must have taken on returning to nunnery in the beginning of the 1220s. The connection of «the great Roman's princess» with the cult of St. Ann, Our Lady's mother, is witnessed with the chapel of St. Joachim and Ann built on her grave according to the chronicle of Galich and Volyn. There is the unique icon of the «Assembly for St. Joachim and Ann» painted at the edge of 13–14th cc. and copying the older altar icon.

The name of Ann and the scene of Transfigutation used by the princess of Galich at her personal seals (such scene is quite unique for the Russian seals and is very rare for the Byzantine ones) can indicate some personal attitude of the elder daughter of Isaac II to the memory of the nun-empress Anna Dalassina which was honored as the ancestor of all the Comnenos and the Angelos at the Byzantine court.

It is thanks to Euphrosine of Galich that several famous Christian relics of both liturgical and political (as the insignia of power) significance appeared in Galich and Volynian Rus'. First of all it was the reliquary cross with the particle of Holy Cross which is kept in Our Lady's of Paris. «Crowned Manuel Comnenos» is ought to be identified with Manuel I.