Alekna Sudimantaitis (, ; died in 1490/1491) was an influential Lithuanian noble of

Trąby coat of arms Trąby (, "French horn, Horns") is a Polish heraldry, Polish coat of arms. It was used by many ''szlachta'' (noble) families under the History of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. History The origin of the horn ...

, Grand Chancellor of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

(1478–1490) and

Voivode of Vilnius The Voivode of Vilnius (, ) was a high-ranking Voivode#Commonwealth of Poland–Lithuania, officer in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania who governed the Vilnius Voivodeship from 1413. He was considered as the most influential member of the Lithuanian Co ...

(1477–1490). Alekna is mentioned in written sources in 1446. He was royal cup-bearer ( cześnik, 1448–1477) and chamberlain ( podkomorzy; 1449–1453). According to the

Bychowiec Chronicle The ''Bychowiec Chronicle'' (; ; also spelled ''Bykhovets'', ''Bykovets'' or '' Bychovec'') is an anonymous 16th-century chronicle of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Although one of the least reliable sources of the epoch, it is considered the most ...

, Alekna led a Lithuanian squad in the 1454 Battle of Chojnice. During the battle Alekna was taken captive by the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

. He was also

starosta Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...

Hrodna Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, from Minsk, about from the border with Poland, and from the border with Lithuania. Grodno serves as the ad ...

(1458–1459) and regent of

Polatsk Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Western Dvina, Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it ...

(1463–1477). After the death of Mykolas Kęsgaila in 1476, Alekna became Grand Chancellor and

. He held those positions until his death in 1490 or 1491; the positions were taken over by Alekna's relative Mikalojus Radvila the Old. In 1482, a brevis from

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...

to launch a new crusade against the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

was addressed to Alekna and Martynas Goštautas, Voivode of Trakai. He considered Hozhevo () near Maladzyechna and Ratomas near

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

as his patrimony. He also held territories near

and in Tureysk (). Through his wife, Alekna inherited

Dokshytsy Dokshytsy (; ; ; ) is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Dokshytsy District. It is located approximately southwest of Vitebsk and one kilometer from the source of the Berezina, Berezina River. Its popula ...

. From Grand Duke Casimir, Alekna received Smalyavichy, Voŭpa, Ostroshitsy (). He funded an altar inside a chapel of Vilnius Castle Complex, where his wife Jadvyga was buried. It is likely that he was buried there as well.

Family

Biased works of

Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...

claimed that Alekna was of "humble lot," when in fact Alekna hailed from an established noble family. He was a son of Sudimantas Dargaitis and second cousin of Mikalojus Radvila the Old (see family tree in Astikai). He married ca. 1454 Jadvyga, daughter of Jonas Manvydas. They had five daughters: *Sophia, wife of Alexander

Olshanski Olshansky or Olshanski are East Slavic toponymic surnames associated with the places Olshana, Olshanka, Olshany, Halshany. The Belrusian-language rendering of the surname are Halshansky, Alshansky, Polish: Olszański, Holszański, Lithuanian: Olš ...

*Jadviga, wife of Jonas Kontautaitis, and later Stanislovas Mantautas *Anna, a Franciscian (Bernardine) nun *Dorota, a Franciscian (Bernardine) nun *Świętochna (''Swyentocha''), a Franciscian (Bernardine) nun Before 1465 Alekna married for the second time, this time to a Polish woman, Jadwiga Trzecieska, they had three children: *Alexandra, wife of Mikołaj Tęczyński *Jadwiga, wife of Stanislovas Kęsgaila *Adam, died in a young age

Notes

: 1.For a long time, there was belief that Jadwiga, born of Jadvyga Manvydas, married three times to Jonas Kontautaitis, Stanislovas Mantautas, and Stanislovas Kęsgaila. At the same time, an unknown daughter by name was mentioned, who was also the wife of Stanislovas Kęsgaila. In fact, Alekna Sudimantaitis had two daughters named Jadwiga, born from two different mothers. : 2. The fact of Alekna Sudimantaitis' two marriages was established by

Janusz Kurtyka Janusz Marek Kurtyka (13 August 1960 – 10 April 2010) was a Polish historian, and from December 2005 until his death in the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash, the second president of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN). Kurtyka was b ...

. In view of this, the second marriage of Alekna Sudimantaitis, and not the marriage of his daughter to Tęczynski, is therefore the first known marriage between a Lithuanian and Polish noble family.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sudimantaitis, Alekna 1491 deaths 15th-century Lithuanian nobility Ruthenian nobility Year of birth unknown Grand chancellors of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Voivode of Vilnius 15th-century government officials