Sophia of Lithuania (1371–1453), also known as Sofia Vitovtovna, was a Grand Princess consort of Muscovy by marriage to

Vasili I of Russia Vasily I Dmitriyevich ( rus, Василий I Дмитриевич, Vasiliy I Dmitriyevich; 30 December 137127 February 1425) was the Grand Prince of Moscow ( r. 1389–1425), heir of Dmitry Donskoy (r. 1359–1389). He ruled as a Golden Horde ...

. She was regent of Muscovy during the minority of her son from 1425 to 1434.

Life

She was the daughter of

Vytautas the Great Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

of Lithuania and his first wife, Anna. On 21 January 1391, while her father was engaged in the Lithuanian Civil War, she married

. She was the longest serving consort of Russia. After Vasili's death in 1425 she became regent for their ten-year-old son Vasili II. Her father supported Vasili's claim to the throne, which was disputed by his uncle, Yuri of Zvenigorod. Sophia was buried in the Ascension Convent; the sarcophagus was moved in 1929 to the

Cathedral of the Archangel The Cathedral of the Archangel (russian: Архангельский собор, Arkhangel'skiy sobor) is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Archangel Michael. It is located in Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin in Russia between the Gr ...

by Soviet authorities.

Children

She and

had at least nine children, five boys (of which only one survived to mature adulthood) and four girls: * Anna of Moscow (1393 – August 1417), wife of

John VIII Palaiologos John VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( gr, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, Iōánnēs Palaiológos; 18 December 1392 – 31 October 1448) was the penultimate Byzantine emperor, ruling from 1425 to 1448. Biography John VIII was ...

, died of bubonic plague *Yury Vasilievich (30 March 1395 – 30 November 1400) *Ivan Vasilievich (15 January 1396 or 1397 – 20 July 1417), died on the way from

Kolomna Kolomna ( rus, Колóмна, p=kɐˈlomnə) is a historical city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Moskva and Oka Rivers, (by rail) southeast of Moscow. Population: History Mentioned for the first time in 1177, Ko ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

as a result of " pestilence", just six months after marrying the daughter of Prince Ivan Vladimirovich of Pronsk and receiving the inheritance of

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

*Anastasia Vasilievna (d. 1470), wife of Vladymir Alexander, Prince of Kiev. Her husband was a son of Vladymir, Prince of Kiev. His paternal grandparents were Algirdas and

Maria of Vitebsk Maria of Vitebsk (died before 1349) was the first wife of Algirdas, future Grand Duke of Lithuania (marriage took place around 1318). Very little is known about her life. The only child of a Russian prince Yaroslav, Maria was the only heir to the P ...

. *Daniil Vasilievich (6 December 1400 – May 1402), died of pestilence *Vasilisa Vasilievna, wife of Alexander Ivanovich "Brukhaty", Prince of Suzdal, and Alexander Daniilovich "Vzmetenj", Prince of Suzdal. *Simeon Vasilievich (13 January – 7 April 1405), died of pestilence *Maria Vasilievna, wife of Yuri Patrikievich. Her husband was a son of

Patrikas Patrikey Glebovich or Patrikas Narimantaitis ( rus, Патрикей Глебович, Finnish: ''Patrika Narimantinpoika'') was a grandson (or great grandson) of Gediminas who exchanged his lands in and near Starodub in Siveria for the Korela and ...

, Prince of

Starodub Starodub ( rus, links=no, Староду́б, p=stərɐˈdup, ''old oak'') is a town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, on the Babinets River (the Dnieper basin), southwest of Bryansk. Population: 16,000 (1975). History Starodub has been known ...

, and his wife, Helena. His paternal grandfather was

Narimantas Narimantas or Narymunt (baptized ''Gleb''; 1277 or just before 1300 (according to Wasilewski 1992) – 2 February 1348) was the second eldest son of Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. During various periods of his life, he ruled Pinsk and Polat ...

. *

Vasily II of Moscow Vasily Vasiliyevich (russian: Василий Васильевич; 10 March 141527 March 1462), also known as Vasily II the Blind (Василий II Тёмный), was the Grand Prince of Moscow whose long reign (1425–1462) was plagued by the ...

(10 March 1415 – 27 March 1462)

References

External links

Her listing, along with her husband, in "Medieval lands" by Charles Cawley.
, - 1371 births 1453 deaths Russian royal consorts Gediminids 14th-century Lithuanian people 15th-century women rulers Burials at Ascension Convent 14th-century Lithuanian women 14th-century Russian people 14th-century Russian women {{Lithuania-noble-stub