Erdvilas (Erdywił, Ердивил, Erdiwił, Erdwil) was one of the 21 early dukes of Lithuania who signed a treaty with Galicia–Volhynia in 1219. He and Vykintas are the two dukes of

Samogitia Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...

mentioned in the treaty. This is supported by the fact that the eastern part of Samogitia supported

King of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crowned king in 1 ...

Mindaugas Mindaugas (, , , , ; c. 1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first known grand duke of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a ...

, while the western part, ruled by Vykintas, was more hostile. That is the only mention of him in written sources. Few historians consider that

Treniota Treniota (also spelled ''Troniata''; ; – 1264) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1263 to 1264. Life Treniota was the nephew of Mindaugas, the first and only king of Lithuania. While Mindaugas had converted to Christianity in order to discourag ...

, Mindaugas' nephew, was son of Erdvilas. However more prefer Vykintas as Treniota's father.

Bychowiec Chronicle

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 ...

presents a legendary version of Erdvilas' life. He was a son of Samogitian Duke Mantvila, who sent him to conquer Black Ruthenia. Erdvilas established his capital in Navahradak, founded

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 ...

, and helped to rebuild other cities plundered by the

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

. Refusing to pay tribute, Erdvilas gathered a large army, whose leader was Grumpis Gostautas, and defeated the Tatars on the banks of the

Dnieper River The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

. According to this account Vykintas was Erdvilas' brother and ruled Samogitia. When Vykintas died without leaving an heir, Erdvilas inherited Samogitia. This account has no historical basis and is part of the

Palemonids The Palemonids () were a legendary dynasty of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The legend was born in the 15th or 16th century as proof that Lithuanians and the Grand Duchy were of Roman origins. History Jan Długosz (1415–1480) wrote that th ...

legend. Erdvilas would belong to the fifth generation of a noble family from the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

who settled in 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, ...

and gave rise to the state.

References

* {{cite encyclopedia , last = Ivinskis , first = Zenonas , editor = Vaclovas Biržiška , encyclopedia = Lietuviškoji enciklopedija , title = Erdvilas , year = 1939 , publisher = Spaudos Fondas , volume = VII , location = Kaunas , pages = 994–995, language=lt 13th-century Lithuanian nobility Pre-Christian Lithuanian names

Bychowiec Chronicle

See also

References