Narimantas or Narymunt (baptized ''Gleb''; 1277 or just before 1300 (according to Wasilewski 1992) – 2 February 1348) was the second eldest son of

Gediminas Gediminas ( la, Gedeminne, ; – December 1341) was the king or Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death. He is credited with founding this political entity and expanding its territory which later spanned the area ranging from t ...

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power— Ho ...

. During various periods of his life, he ruled Pinsk and

Polatsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Dis ...

. In 1333 he was invited by

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ...

's nobles to rule and protect territories in the north, Ladoga, Oreshek and

Korela Korela Fortress (Russian: Корела, Finnish: ''Käkisalmen linna'', Swedish: ''Kexholms slott''), at the town of Priozersk, Leningrad Oblast, Russia. Origin The original fortification was built by Karelians but the castle seen today is fr ...

. He started the tradition of Lithuanian mercenary service north of Novgorod on the Swedish border that lasted until Novgorod's fall to Moscow in 1477. About 1338, the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragmen ...

took him as prisoner. The Muscovite ruler, Ivan Kalita, ransomed him from

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different Turki ...

, keeping him as hostage in Moscow for a few years. Narimantas supported his brother

Jaunutis Jaunutis ( pl, Jawnuta, be, Яўнут; literally ''young man''; baptized: Ioann, "Jawnuta", "John" or "Ivan"; ca. 1300 – after 1366) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from his father Gediminas' death in 1341 until he was deposed by his elder br ...

when he was deposed by

Algirdas Algirdas ( be, Альгерд, Alhierd, uk, Ольгерд, Ольґерд, Olherd, Olgerd, pl, Olgierd; – May 1377) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He ruled the Lithuanians and Ruthenians from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his br ...

and Kęstutis in 1345. In order to avoid getting killed by his younger brothers, he escaped Vilnius in autumn 1344. Narimantas travelled to

Jani Beg Jani Beg ( fa, , tt-Latn, Canibäk), also known as Djanibek Khan, was a Khan of the Golden Horde from 1342 to 1357, succeeding his father Öz Beg Khan. Reign With the support of his mother Taydula Khatun, Jani Beg made himself khan after eli ...

, Khan of the Golden Horde, asking for support against Algirdas. Though he failed to solicit support, he is rumoured to have married a Tatar princess (possibly as second wife). After returning, Narimantas reconciled with Algirdas and was killed leading the Battle of Strėva against the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...

on 2 February 1348. His descendants include Princes

Kurakin The House of Kurakin (russian: Куракин) is a name of an old, historical Russian princely family descended from Lithuanian dynasty of Gediminas and it's also a masculine surname. Its feminine counterpart is Kurakina. Notable members * Pri ...

Galitzine The House of Golitsyn or Galitzine was one of the largest princely of the noble houses in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire. Among them were boyars, warlords, diplomats, generals (the Mikhailovichs), stewards, chamberlains, the richest ...

, Khovansky, Korecki. He took baptism in 1333 in or before Veliki Novgorod. This made him ineligible to succeed his father as ruler of Lithuanians, despite his primogeniture right.

Sons

It is believed that Narimantas had five sons:Rowell, C. S. ''Lithuania Ascending'', xxxii * Aleksander (died after 1386), Prince of

Podolia Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-centra ...

* Yury (died in 1392), Prince of

Belz Belz ( uk, Белз; pl, Bełz; yi, בעלז ') is a small city in Lviv Oblast of Western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, located between the Solokiya river (a tributary of the Bug River) and the Richytsia stream. Belz hosts the administ ...

* Nikolai, Prince of Pinsk * Patrikas (died ca. 1387), Prince of Starodub-Seversky * Simeon (died after 1386) The Polish genealogist and historian Józef Puzyna (see Dr. Jozef ks. Puzyna, article series on Narimantas, in: Miesiecznik Heraldyczny, 1930–31) refutes strongly the claim that Narimantas' progeny would have been born of a Tatar wife. He advances a hypothesis that the names of Narimantas' sons indicate that their mother was an Orthodox Ruthenian lady. Other genealogists give as his wife Marija, daughter of

Toqta Tokhta (Toqta, Toktu, Tokhtai, Tochtu or Tokhtogha) (died ) was a khan of the Golden Horde, son of Mengu-Timur and great-grandson of Batu Khan. His name "Tokhtokh" means "hold/holding" in the Mongolian language. Early reign under Nogai In ...

(died c. 1312),

khan Khan may refer to: *Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan *Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name *Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...

of the Golden Horde, and wife Maria Palaiologina (born 1297), bastard daughter of

Andronikos II Palaiologos , image = Andronikos II Palaiologos2.jpg , caption = Miniature from the manuscript of George Pachymeres' ''Historia'' , succession = Byzantine emperor , reign = 11 December 1282 –24 May 1328 , coronation = 8 Novemb ...

, Emperor of Byzantium.

References

* Sjöström (2011), Liettuan gediminidien suomensukuiset geneettiset juuret. ISSN 1239-3487, Donelaitis - Donelaitis-seuran - Liettuan Ystävät ryn lehti 1/2011, ss 16..18 {{Authority control 13th-century births 1348 deaths Gediminids Military personnel killed in action

Sons

See also

References