Gediminids

The House of Gediminas (), or simply the Gediminids, were a dynasty of monarchs in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that reigned from the 14th to the 16th century. A cadet branch of this family, known as the Jagiellonian dynasty, reigned also in the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Hungary and Kingdom of Bohemia. Several other branches ranked among the leading aristocratic dynasties of Poland and Russia into recent times.

Gediminas' Cap was used during the inaugurations of Gediminids as Lithuanian monarchs in the Vilnius Cathedral and symbolized the dynasty's continuity.

Their monarchical title in Lithuanian primarily was, by some folkloristic data, kunigų kunigas ("Duke of Dukes"), and later on, didysis kunigas ("Great/High Duke") or, in a simple manner, karalius or kunigaikštis. In the 18th century, the latter form was changed into tautological didysis kunigaikštis, which nevertheless would be translated as "Grand Duke" (for its etymology, see Grand Prince).

While some Gediminid rulers are referred as "kings" by contemporary sources, Lithuania during their era was never recognized as kingdom by Catholic Europe. Therefore, its rulers were not treated there as equal to Catholic kings - although they wielded the same amount of power and authority - and in the modern historiography the pre-Gediminid monarch Mindaugas is widely recognized as the only Lithuanian King.

Origin

The origin of Gediminas himself is much debated. Some sources say he was Vytenis' ostler, others that he was of peasant stock. Some historians consider him as the son or grandson of Lithuanian or Yatvingian king/duke Skalmantas. Most scholars agree, however, that Gediminas was Vytenis' brother (the parentage of Vytenis is explained differently in various fake genealogies, compiled from the 16th century onwards; according to the latest Polish research, his parentage cannot be established).

Confirmed Gediminid rulers

Overlapping years mean coregency or anti-rule:

• Gediminas (1316–1341)
• Jaunutis (1341–1345)
• Algirdas (1345–1377)
• Jogaila (1377–1434)
• Kęstutis (1381–1382)
• Vytautas (1401–1430)
• Å vitrigaila (1430–1432)
• Sigismund Kęstutaitis (1432–1440)
• Władysław (1434–1444)
• Casimir (1440–1492)
• Alexander (1492–1506)
• Sigismund I the Old (1506–1548)
• Sigismund II Augustus (1529–1572)
• Anna (1575–1586) – elective

Branches of the dynasty

The Eastern Orthodox branches of the family were initially Ruthenized to some extent. The majority of these families (e.g., Czartoryski) soon converted to Roman Catholicism and became Polonized. Others (e. g. the Golitsyn (Galitzine), Kurakin and Trubetskoy) moved to Muscovy, became thoroughly Russified and are among the princely families of Russia.

In Poland, some Gediminid families (such as Olelkowicz-Słucki, Wiśniowiecki, Zbaraski) are extinct, but others survive to the present: Chowański, Czartoryski, Sanguszko, Siesicki (Dowmont-Siesicki, Szeszycki), and Koriatowicz-Kurcewicz..

The Russian Gediminid families include Bulgakov, Golitsin, Kurakin, Khovansky, Troubetzkoy, Mstislavsky, Belsky, and Volynsky. Some of these families also survive, as of 2020.

Gediminid descendants

I. The descendants of *Bujwid Vytianis Rex. King Lithuania.

1. Dukes Prince of Bujwid

I. The descendants of Narimantas:

1. Dukes of (faded at the end of the 15th century)
2. Dukes of
3. Dukes of
4. Dukes of
5. Dukes of
6. Dukes of
7. Dukes of Golitsyn
8. Dukes of Kurakin
9. Dukes of
10. Dukes of
11. Dukes of Korecki
12. Dukes of

II. The descendants of Algirdas:

1. Duke Andrei of Polotsk
2. Dukes of
3. Dukes of
4. Dmitrijus Algirdaitis
5. Dukes of Trubetskoy (Trubchevsk)
7. Dukes of Czartoryski
8. Vladimiras Algirdaitis
9. Olelkaičiai (descendants of Aleksandras Olelka)
10. Dukes of (faded at the end of the 16th century)
11. Dukes of Belsky
12. The descendants of Kaributas
13. Dukes of
14. Dukes of Wiśniowiecki
15. Dukes of
16. Dukes of
17. Dukes of
18. The descendants of
19. Dukes of
20. Dukes of Kobryn
21. Dukes of Sanguszko
22. The Jagiellons
23. The descendants of Lengvenis
24. Dukes of Mstislavsky

III. The descendants of Kęstutis

1. Patrikas Kęstutaitis
2. Vaidotas Kęstutaitis
3. Butautas Kęstutaitis
4. Vytautas the Great
5. Tautvilas Kęstutaitis
6. Žygimantas Kęstutaitis

IV. The descendants of Jaunutis:

1. Dukes of Zaslavsky
2. Dukes of Mstislavsky

V. The descendants of Liubartas (faded in the first half of the 15th century)

VI. , descended from Karijotas

1. Dukes of Podilskyi (nobility)
2. Dukes of

Family tree

See also

• Columns of Gediminas
• Family of Gediminas
• Golitsyn family
• List of heads of state of Lithuania
• Palemonids

Notes

References

Bibliography

Borkowska, Urszula (2012). Dynastia Jagiellonów w Polsce (in Polish). PWN.. .

External links