{{Short description|Prince of the Drevlian tribe (?-946)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Mal | father = Niskinia<ref name="zhurnal">{{cite web| author =В.Н. Татищев| date =| url =http://www.zhurnal.ru/magister/library/history/tatisch/tatis004.htm| title =/ История Российская / Часть первая / Глава четвёртая / Об истории Иоакима, епископа новгородского| work =| publisher =zhurnal.ru| access-date =2010-07-19| url-status =dead| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090215061445/http://www.zhurnal.ru/magister/library/history/tatisch/tatis004.htm| archive-date =2009-02-15}}</ref> | children = According to some sources, [[Malusha]] and [[Dobrynya]] | native_name = Мал | birth_date = Unknown | death_date = 946 | title = Prince of the Drevlians | image = Fragment of monument to knyaz Mal in Korosten town, Ukraine.jpg }} [[File:Убийство_Игоря_I_по_приказу_Мала.jpg|thumb|320x320px|The death of [[Igor of Kiev]], as ordered by Mal. A [[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniature]] in the [[Radziwiłł Chronicle]], late 15th century.]] '''Mal''' (died 946) was a [[Drevlians|Drevlian]] prince, and was the leader of the 945 revolt against [[Igor of Kiev]]. Immediately following the revolt, which led to Igor's death, Mal attempted to marry the widowed [[Olga of Kiev]]. In foreign sources, he bears the name of "Niskinia" (according to [[Jan Długosz]]),<ref>Shaveleva, Natalya, Ancient Rus' in the "Polish History" of Jan Dlugosz (books I-VI): Text, translation, commentary / Ed. A. V. Nazarenko. - M.: Monuments of Historical Thought, 2004. - Pg. 226-227.</ref> and "Malditt" (according to [[Sigismund von Herberstein|Sigmund von Herberstein]]).<ref>Герберштейн С. Записки о Московии / Под ред. [[Хорошкевич, Анна Леонидовна|А. Л. Хорошкевич]]; пер. с латинского А. И. Малеина и А. В. Назаренко; перевод с ранненововерхненемецкого А. В. Назаренко. — М.: Памятники исторической мысли, 2008. — Т. 1. — С. 47.</ref> Mal's name is attributed to the Ukrainian city of [[Malyn]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=MALYN COMMUNITY |url=https://cities4cities.eu/community/malyn-community/ |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=Cities4Cities |language=en-GB}}</ref>
According to Russian historian [[Vasily Tatishchev]], the [[Ioachim Chronicle]] states that Mal was a "Drevlian Prince, the son of Niskinia".{{Efn|Russian text: "князь древлянский, сын Нискинин".|group=lower-alpha}}
The component "''mal"'' was part of a number of Celtic names, such as [[Gauls|Gaulish]] "''Malorix"'', or [[Old Irish]] "''Cathmal"''.<ref>Kaligin V. P., Korolyov A. A. Introduction to Celtic Philology. 2nd edition. Moscow: KomKniga, 2006. Pg. 42-43.</ref>
== The revolt of 945 == The [[Primary Chronicle]] states that after the Prince of Kiev, Igor, after collecting tribute from the Drevlians once already, had returned again to collect more from the tribe. The Drevlians, led by Mal, had decided to resist.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Cross |first=Samuel Hazzard |last2=SHERBOWITZ-WETZOR |first2=OLGERD P. |date=1930 |title=The Russian Primary Chronicle |url=https://www.mgh-bibliothek.de/dokumente/a/a011458.pdf |access-date=22 August 2025 |website=bibliothek.de}}</ref> {{Cquote|They then sent forward to Igor' inquiring why he had returned, since he had collected all the tribute. But Igor did not heed them, and the Derevlians came forth from the city of [[Korosten|Iskorosten']] and slew Igor and his company, for the number of the latter was few. | source = [[Primary Chronicle]], year 6453 (945) }} After the death of Igor, Mal attempted to propose marriage to the newly-widowed Olga.<ref name=":0" /> {{Cquote|The Derevlians then said, "See, we have killed the Prince of Rus'. Let us take his wife Olga for our Prince Mal, and then we shall obtain possession of [[Svyatoslav]], and work our will upon him." | source = Primary Chronicle, year 6453 (945) }} Mal's attempt failed. Olga killed his ambassadors, who proposed a marriage between the two, on two occasions. The following year, she went to war against the Drevlians and defeated them.<ref name=":0" /> The last center of resistance was the city of Iskorosten, which is now known as [[Korosten]]. {{Cquote|The people fled from the city, and Olga ordered her soldiers to catch them. Thus she took the city and burned it, and captured the elders of the city. Some of the other captives she killed, while she gave others as slaves to her followers. The remnant she left to pay tribute. | source = Primary Chronicle, year 6454 (946) }}
== Dmitri Prozorovskiy's hypothesis == In 1864, Russian historian and [[Dmitry Prozorovsky|Dmitri Prozorovskiy]] wrote a hypothesis that Mal survived Olga's plot and campaign against the Drevlians, and ended up settling in the town of [[Liubech]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Прозоровский Дмитрий Иванович |url=http://www.rulex.ru/01160576.htm |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.rulex.ru}}</ref> Due to a similarity in names, Prozorovskiy identified Mal with "[[Malko Lyubechanin]]", the father of [[Malusha]], the housekeeper of Princess Olga and the mother of Prince [[Vladimir the Great|Vladimir]], and her brother [[Dobrynya]].
Prozorovskiy believed that it was the hypothetical princely origins of Malusha and Dobrynya that later provided them with a special position at court, and gave Malusha and Prince Svyatoslav's son Vladimir the opportunity to become the Grand Prince, despite the fact that he was "робичичем", the son of a slave. Dobrynya became the governor in [[Veliky Novgorod|Novgorod]], where Vladimir and Malusha were soon sent.
== Monument == A monument to Mal was established in 2005, in the Ukrainian city of [[Korosten]],{{Efn|The monument is located in the city's "Drevlian Park".|group=lower-alpha}} to commemorate the 1300th anniversary of the town.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Екскурсія Древлянським парком |url=https://korosten-rada.gov.ua/miska-rada/upravlinnya-ta-viddily/viddil-kultury-i-turyzmu/turystychna-informacziya/ekskursiya-drevlyanskym-parkom/ |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=Коростень - міський інформаційний портал |language=uk}}</ref>
== In popular culture ==
* A fictitious portrayal of Mal makes an appearance in the 18th century play, "[[Olga (play)|Olga]]", by playwright [[Yakov Knyazhnin]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Russian Drama |url=https://www.dramacircle.org/russian-drama |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=Drama Circle |language=en-US}}</ref> * In [[The Legend of Princess Olga]] (1983; [[USSR]]) by [[Yuri Ilyenko]], [[Viktor Demertash]] plays the role of Mal. * Pages of Russian History, the Land of Ancestors. (1994; Russia), by director [[Alexander Guryev]].
== See also ==
* [[East Slavs]] * [[Drevlians]] * [[Olga of Kiev]] * [[List of tribes and states in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine]]
== Notes == <references group="lower-alpha" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Cite web |last=В.Н. Татищев |date= |title=/ ИСТОРИЯ РОССИЙСКАЯ / ЧАСТЬ ПЕРВАЯ / ГЛАВА ЧЕТВЕРТАЯ / ОБ ИСТОРИИ ИОАКИМА, ЕПИСКОПА НОВОГОРОДСКОГО |url=http://www.zhurnal.ru/magister/library/history/tatisch/tatis004.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215061445/http://www.zhurnal.ru/magister/library/history/tatisch/tatis004.htm |archive-date=2009-02-15 |access-date=2010-07-19 |website= |publisher=zhurnal.ru}} * [http://vkorostene.com.ua/tags/%C4%F0%E5%E2%EB%FF%ED%E5/ Коростень в Истории] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212171255/http://vkorostene.com.ua/tags/%C4%F0%E5%E2%EB%FF%ED%E5/}} * {{ВТ-ЭСБЕ|Мал}}
[[Category:Date of birth unknown]] [[Category:Drevlians]] [[Category:946 deaths]] [[Category:East Slavic history]]