Death and Legacy
In the following year Yaropolk returned and reportedly came to an agreement with Vladimir Monomakh, but nothing specific is known of the terms other than Yaropolk being reinstated. In 1087, Yaropolk was murdered. The circumstances of his murder are not clear, but the Primary Chronicle suggested the complicity of Riurik Rostislavich, Prince of Peremyshl, and his brother Vasilko Rostislavich, Prince of Terebovl. His murderer was a man called Neradets, who put a sword through Yaropolk before fleeing to hide with Riurik in Peremyshl; the date given is November 22, 1087. His body was taken to Kiev and buried in the church of St Peter, the church which Yaropolk himself had endowed.
Yaropolk is said to have married to the German noble-woman, Kunigunde, daughter of Otto, Margrave of Meissen. Whether by Kunigunde or not, Yaropolk had several children whose names have come into the record. A daughter Anastasia married her far relative Gleb Vseslavich, Prince of Minsk who was a member of the Polotsk branch of the Riurik's family. The Annalista Saxo records another daughter, and that she married Günther, Count of Schwarzburg, though it does not mention her name. Three sons are known, namely, Yaroslav (died 1102), Viacheslav (died 1104) and Vasilko. The fate of his descendants is as mysterious as his and only has some scarce records left.
Embedded in the Primary Chronicle is a eulogy to Prince Yaropolk, and among the honors assigned to him, is that he was in the habit of assigning a "tenth part of his wealth to the Mother of God". Probably due to his personal devotion to the papacy and to St Peter, Yaropolk established a new church of St Peter at the monastery of St Demetrios in the city of Kiev. He was said to have left all his wealth to the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev. The Primary Chronicle's eulogy is the first indication of saintly regard, and indeed today he is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, with his feast day falling on the reported day of his death, November 22.
Read more about this topic: Yaropolk Izyaslavich
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