This prince had come to the throne practically by vote of the people, not being in direct succession, and having twice refused the crown bequeathed to him by the dying king. It seems that he finally took it only to save the country from fratricidal strife and ruin. He reigned thirteen years with signal success and was succeeded by chaos.
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There were two branches of his family which engaged in bloody war over the succession. His forts wife was Gyda, daughter of Harold, the last Saxon king of England. Mstislas, the son of this marriage, succeeded to the throne. He inherited the virtue of both parents, and in a brief reign of six years carried out the wise and pacific policy of his father, but his rule was too short, unfortunately, and, upon his death in 1132, the struggle between the warring factions at the head of the various principalities had full swing. In the course of thirty-two years eleven princes grasped the scepter, each holding it only until another more powerful wrested it from his hands.
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From General Nelson A. Miles
Thrilling Stories of The Russian-Japanese War, 1904
