Rogvolod (c. 920 –978) was the first chronicled prince of Polotsk. He reigned until 978, when he and his two sons were killed by Vladimir the Great, then the prince of Novgorod, who took his daughter Rogneda as a wife.

Name

In the Primary Chronicle, he is known as Рогъволодъ, probably a slavicized version of the Old Norse name Ragnvald. The name has also been connected with the Russian words рог and володеть, from which the formation of the name may have come.

Life

He was a Varangian and was established at Polotsk in the mid-10th century, most likely having come from overseas (i.e., from Scandinavia or the Southern Baltic). According to the Primary Chronicle, Vladimir, the prince of Novgorod, sought an alliance with him by marrying his daughter Rogneda, but she refused, insulting his parentage, and married his brother, Yaropolk. In revenge, Vladimir attacked Rogvolod and his family, killing him and his sons, after which he forcibly took her as his bride before launching an attack on his brother Yaropolk in 978.