Login with Patreon
The entry available in book form! More info here!
Olga of Kiev
(c.900-969)
The Saint Who Set Fires With Pigeons
Brutal princess-turned-Christian saint who burnt down enemy towns using pigeons.
This entry is only available in the Rejected Princesses book!
Click here for more info on getting the book! (if you want. I don't want to tell you how to run your life.)
Already own the book? Unlock free bonus content!
If you own the book, you get access to over 5,000 images of concept art, reference imagery, and alternate version illustrations, as well as over 1,000 man-hours of timelapse footage -- all you need to do is click here!Art Notes
Her outfit here is a verbatim copy of all depictions of her.
In the foreground is a hand and a shovel, a reference to her burying people alive. The doormat on the boarded-up building on the right reads “banya” (bathhouse).
My favorite pigeon in this drawing is the one on the roof on the far left, who is rather confused as to how his head has somehow caught fire.
If you were a Patreon backer,
you'd be seeing some cool stuff right here.
(if you've bought one of the books, you get a month free of behind-the-scenes access - get that started here!)
Lyudmila Pavlichenko
When her beloved college of history was bombed by the Germans, this woman began a dark path that would see her become history's deadliest female sniper -- and one of Eleanor Roosevelt's best friends.
Mariya Oktyabrskaya
When her husband was killed in WW2, she sold all their belongings, bought a tank, named it Fighting Girlfriend, and started killing Nazis.
Ilona Zrinyi
When her rebel husband was imprisoned, she continued the movement - by holding a castle under siege for three long, lonely years.
Tirgatao
Abandoned and imprisoned, this real-life Amazon took back the life she had stolen away.
Irena Sendler
This Polish nurse sacrificed her safety, her marriage, her very family to save 2500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust.
Vasilisa Vasilyevna
When the Tsar became hellbent on nailing down her gender, this clever gender-nonconforming heroine kept him guessing to the end.
Elisabeth Bathory
Possibly the most prolific female serial killer in history, a primary inspiration for Dracula, one of the most reviled women in history, and, I argue, innocent.
Ida Laura Pfeiffer
Starting her travels at 45 years old, this globetrotter became a worldwide sensation for going boldly where no woman had gone before.
Theodora
Sex worker who became empress of the Byzantine Empire, and used her political power to safeguard her interests, and her husband's reputation.
