Gediminas Adomavicius
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Gediminas ( – December 1341) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death in 1341. He is considered the founder of
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
's capital
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
(see: Iron Wolf legend). During his reign, he brought under his rule lands from the
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to the
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. The Gediminids dynasty he founded and which is named after him came to rule over
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
,
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and
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.


Biography


Origin

Gediminas was born in about 1275. Because written sources of the era are scarce, Gediminas' ancestry, early life, and assumption of the title of Grand Duke in ca. 1316 are obscure and continue to be the subject of scholarly debate. Various theories have claimed that Gediminas was either his predecessor Grand Duke Vytenis' son, his brother, his cousin, or his hostler. For several centuries only two versions of his origins circulated. Chronicles — written long after Gediminas' death by the Teutonic Knights, a long-standing enemy of Lithuania — claimed that Gediminas was a hostler to Vytenis; according to these chronicles, Gediminas killed his master and assumed the throne. Another version introduced in the Lithuanian Chronicles, which also appeared long after Gediminas' death, proclaimed that Gediminas was Vytenis' son. However, the two men were almost the same age, making this relationship unlikely. Recent research indicates that Gediminias' ancestor may have been Skalmantas. In 1974 historian Jerzy Ochmański noted that
Zadonshchina ''Zadonshchina'' (; could be translated as "the region beyond the Don River, Russia, Don River") is a Russian literary monument of the late 14th century, which tells of the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. The text Redactions and the Prototext ' ...
, a poem from the end of the 14th century, contains a line in which two sons of Algirdas name their ancestors: "We are two brothers – sons of Algirdas, and grandsons of Gediminas, and great-grandsons of Skalmantas." This discovery led to the belief that Skalmantas was the long-sought ancestor of the Gediminids. Ochmański posited that the poem skipped the generation represented by Butvydas, and jumped back to the unknown ancestor. Baranauskas disagrees, believing Skalmantas was Butvydas' brother rather than his father, and that Vytenis and Gediminas were therefore cousins. Gediminas became the
Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...
in 1316 at the age of 40 and ruled for 25 years.


Choice of religion

Gediminas inherited land consisting of
Lithuania proper Lithuania proper refers to a region that existed within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania where the Lithuanian language was spoken. The primary meaning is identical to the Duchy of Lithuania, a land around which the Grand Duchy of Lithuania evolved. T ...
, Samogitia, Navahrudak, Podlasie, Polotsk and
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. However, these possessions were all threatened 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 ...
and the
Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after thei ...
, which desired to conquer them. Gediminas allied himself with the
Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary
are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...
against the Teutonic Order in 1319. The systematic raiding of Lithuania by the knights under the pretext of converting it had long since united all the Lithuanian tribes. For this purpose, he entered into direct diplomatic negotiations with the
Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
. At the end of 1322, he sent letters to Pope John XXII soliciting his protection against the persecution of the knights, informing him of the privileges already granted to the Dominicans and
Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...
in Lithuania for preaching Christianity. Gediminas also asked that legates should be dispatched to him in order to be baptized. This action was supported by the Archbishop of Riga, Frederic Lobestat.Slavonic and East European review, Volume 32; Published by the Modern Humanities Research Association for the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London, 1953 Following these events, peace between the Duchy and the Livonian Order was eventually conducted on 2 October 1323. On receiving a favourable reply from the Holy See, Gediminas issued circular letters, dated 25 January 1323, to the principal Hanseatic towns, offering a free access into his domains to men of every order and profession from nobles and knights to tillers of the soil. The immigrants were to choose their own settlements and be governed by their own laws. Priests and monks were also invited to come and build churches at
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
and Navahrudak. In October 1323, representatives of the archbishop of
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, the bishop of Dorpat, the king of Denmark, the Dominican and Franciscan orders, and the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order assembled at Vilnius, when Gediminas confirmed his promises and undertook to be baptised as soon as the papal legates arrived. A compact was then signed at Vilnius, in the name of the whole Christian World, between Gediminas and the delegates, confirming the promised privileges. On his raid upon Dobrzyń, the latest acquisition of the knights on Polish soil, gave them a ready weapon against him. The
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n bishops, who were devoted to the knights, questioned the authority of Gediminas' letters and denounced him as an enemy of the faith at a
synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...
in Elbing; his Orthodox subjects reproached him with leaning towards the Latin heresy, while the pagan Lithuanians accused him of abandoning the ancient gods. Gediminas disentangled himself from his difficulties by repudiating his former promises; by refusing to receive the papal legates who arrived at Riga in September 1323, and by dismissing the Franciscans from his territories. This led Gediminas to maintain paganism in Lithuania,even if more than twice as many Orthodox Christians lived in his realm than pagans. At the same time Gediminas privately informed the papal legates at Riga through his ambassadors that his difficult position compelled him to postpone his steadfast resolve of being baptised, and the legates showed their confidence in him by forbidding the neighbouring states to war against Lithuania for the next four years, besides ratifying the treaty made between Gediminas and the archbishop of Riga. Nevertheless, disregarding the censures of the church, the Order resumed the war with Gediminas by murdering one of his delegates sent to welcome the Grand Master for his arrival to Riga in 1325. He had in the meantime improved his position by an alliance with Wladislaus Lokietek, king of Poland, and had his daughter Aldona baptized for the sake of betrothing her to Władysław's son Casimir III. Baptizing himself would have implications for Gediminas domestically; it would have offended the staunchly pagan inhabitants of the major Lithuanian regions of Žemaitija and Aukštaitija. In addition, these heartland pagans together with the Orthodox Rus' threatened Gediminas with death if he decided to convert; a similar scenario also happened to Mindaugas, which he desperately wanted to avoid. His strategy was to gain the support of the Pope and other Catholic powers in his conflict with the Teutonic Order by granting a favourable status to Catholics living within his realm and feigning a personal interest in the Christian religion. While he allowed Catholic clergy to enter his realm for the purpose of ministering to his Catholic subjects and to temporary residents, he savagely punished any attempt to convert pagan Lithuanians or to insult their native religion. Thus in about 1339–1340 he executed two Franciscan friars from
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, Ulrich and Martin, who had gone beyond the authority granted them and had publicly preached against the Lithuanian religion. Gediminas ordered them to renounce Christianity, and had them killed when they refused. Five more friars were executed in 1369 for the same offence. Despite Gediminas' chief goal to save Lithuania from German attacks, he still died as a pagan reigning over semi-pagan lands. Also, he was equally bound to his pagan kinsmen in Samogitia, to his Orthodox subjects in
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
, and to his
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
allies in Masovia. Therefore, it is still unclear whether the letters sent to the Pope were an actual request for conversion or simply a diplomatic maneuver. Nevertheless, Gediminas began a new baptism campaign in 1340–41 to prevent the Teutonic Knights aggression. In addition from promoting paganism, the Jewish community of Lithuania prospered during his reign.


Incorporation of Ruthenian lands

While on his guard against his northern foes, Gediminas from 1316 to 1340 was aggrandizing himself at the expense of the numerous Ruthenian principalities in the south and east. Gediminas conquered a long series of cities across Belarus and northern Ukraine as well, but the various stages of these battles are impossible to follow. Especially from 1325 to 1340, sources about Eastern campaigns being few and conflicting, and the date of every salient event exceedingly doubtful. One of his most important territorial accretions, the principality of Halych-Volynia, was obtained by the marriage of his son Lubart with the daughter of the Galician prince. From about 23 km (14 mi) south west of Kiev, Gediminas defeated Stanislav of Kiev and his allies in the Battle on the Irpin River. He then besieged and conquered
Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
sending Stanislav, the last descendant of the
Rurik Dynasty The Rurik dynasty, also known as the Rurikid or Riurikid dynasty, as well as simply Rurikids or Riurikids, was a noble lineage allegedly founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who, according to tradition, established himself at Novgorod in the ...
to ever rule Kiev, into exile first in
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and then in
Ryazan Ryazan (, ; also Riazan) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 C ...
. Theodor, brother of Gediminas, and Algimantas, son of Mindaugas from the ''Olshanski family'', were installed in Kiev. After these conquests, Lithuania stretched very close to the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
. While exploiting Ruthenian weakness in the wake of the Mongol invasion, Gediminas avoided war with the Golden Horde, a great regional power at the time, while expanding Lithuania's border almost towards the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
. He also secured an alliance with the nascent
Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Principality of Moscow, or Muscovy, known as the Principality of Moscow until 1389, was a late medieval Russian monarchy. Its capital was the city of Moscow. Originally established as a minor principality in the 13th century, the gra ...
by marrying his daughter, Anastasia, to the grand duke
Simeon Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical Hebrew, Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated in English as Shimon. In Greek, it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Sy ...
. However, Gediminas offset the influence of Muscovy in northern Russia, and assisted the republic of
Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...
, which acknowledged his overlordship, to break away from Great Novgorod.


Domestic affairs and death

Gediminas was known for protecting Catholics and Orthodox people in addition to pagans, and he is known for improving the efficiency of the Lithuanian Army. Also, he is known for building a chain of fortresses as well as numerous castles in towns including
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
. At first he moved the capital to the newly built town of Trakai, but in c. 1320 re-established a permanent capital in
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
. Gediminas died in 1341, presumably killed during a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
. He was
cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...
as a part of a pagan ceremony in 1342, which included a
human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease deity, gods, a human ruler, public or jurisdictional demands for justice by capital punishment, an authoritative/prie ...
, with his favourite servant and several German slaves being burned on the pyre with the corpse. He was succeeded by one of his sons,
Jaunutis Jaunutis (; ; ; Christian name: Ioann; also ''John'' or ''Ivan''; – after 1366) was List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania after his father Gediminas died in 1341 until he was deposed by his elder brothers Algirdas and Kęstutis ...
, who was unable to control the unrest in the country, as a result of which he was deposed in 1345 by his brother
Algirdas Algirdas (; , ;  – May 1377) was List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his brother Kęstutis (who defended the western border of the Duchy) he created an empire stretching from the pre ...
.


Legacy

He was a founder of a new Lithuanian dynasty; the Gediminids, and laid the foundations of the state's expansion while sometimes referred as the "true" state founder. In 1862, the Millennium of Russia monument was unveiled in
Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...
with a sculpture for him on base. In modern historiography, he is also regarded as founder of Vilnius, the modern capital of
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
. According to a legend, possibly set in 1322 while he was on a hunting trip, he dreamt of an iron clad wolf, who stood on a hill, howling in an odd manner as if thousand of wolves would be howling at once. He consulted his vision with his priest Lizdeika who told him the dream spoke of a city that must be built at the exact place and decided to build a fortification on the
confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
of rivers Vilnia and Neris, where the place of his vision was pointed out. This event inspired the
Romantic movement Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...
, particularly Adam Mickiewicz, who gave the story a poetic form. Gediminas is depicted on a silver Litas commemorative coin, issued in 1996. The Lithuanian folk music group Kūlgrinda released an album in 2009 titled ''Giesmės Valdovui Gediminui'', meaning "Hymns to Ruler Gediminas". Gediminas (as ''Hiedymin'' or ''Gedymin'') is also widely celebrated in
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
as an important figure of national history. In September 2019, a monument to Gediminas was unveiled in Lida.


Titles and symbols


Titles

Gediminas' normal Latin style is as follows: * Which translates as: *"Gediminas, by the grace of God, king of the Lithuanians and many Ruthenians" *More titles: Illustris princeps dominus Gedemyndis Dei gratia Lethwinorum Ruthenorumque rex, rex Lithuaniae Godemundis Dei gratia Lethwinorum Ruthenorumque rex, Gedeminne Dei gratia Letphanorum Ruthenorumque rex, princeps et dux Semigallie, rex Litwinorum, illustris dominus Rex Letwinorum, Ghodeminne de koningh van Lettowen, koning Gedeminne van Lettowen, Gedeminne de koninge van Lethowen. In his letters to the papacy in 1322 and 1323, he adds ''Princeps et Dux Semigalliae'' (Prince and Duke of Semigallia). In contemporary
Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...
he is styled simply ''Koningh van Lettowen'', mirroring the Latin ''Rex Lethowyae'' (both meaning "King of Lithuania"). Gediminas' right to use the Latin ''rex'', which the papacy had been claiming the right to grant from the 13th century onwards, was not universally recognized in Catholic sources. Thus, he was called ''rex sive dux'' ("King or Duke") in one source;
Pope John XXII Pope John XXII (, , ; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death, in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Papacy, Avignon Pope, elected by ...
, in a letter to the King of France, referred to Gediminas as "the one who calls himself ''rex''". However, the pope did call Gediminas ''rex'' when addressing him (''regem sive ducem'', "king or duke"). German sources also titled Gediminas as ''Rex de Owsteiten'' ().


Seal

Grand Duke Gediminas's authentic symbols did not survive to this day. In 1323 Gediminas sent seven letters to various recipients in western Europe. Their contents are known only from later copies, some of which contain a description of the Gediminas' seal. On 18 July 1323 in
Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...
imperial scribe John of Bremen made a copy of three letters sent by Gediminas on 26 May to the recipients in Saxony, his transcripts contain also a detailed description of the oval waxy seal which was attached to the letter. According to the notary's transcript, the oval seal of Gediminas had a twelve corners edging, at the middle of the edging was an image of a man with long hairs, who sat on a throne and held a crown (or a wreath) in his right hand and a sceptre in his left hand, moreover, a
cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...
was engraved around the man along with a
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
inscription: (). The cross' usage in a pagan ruler's seal is explained as a diplomatic action because Gediminas did not accept
baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
in his life and kept Lithuania pagan, despite several negotiations. In addition, Gediminas strictly distinguished
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
and
Lithuanians Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...
from the region of Rus' ( Ruthenia) and
Rus' people The Rus, also known as Russes, were a people in early medieval Eastern Europe. The scholarly consensus holds that they were originally Norsemen, mainly originating from present-day Sweden, who settled and ruled along the river-routes between t ...
( Ruthenians) in legal documents (e.g. in a 1338 Peace and Trade Agreement, concluded in
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
, between the Grand Duke Gediminas and his sons and the Master of the
Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after thei ...
Everhard von Monheim).


Banner

In 1337, a Lithuanian banner is mentioned for the first time in Wigand of Marburg's chronicles, who wrote that during the battle at Bayernburg Castle (near Veliuona, Lithuania) Tilman Zumpach, head of the Teutonic riflemen, burned the Lithuanian banner with a flaming
lance The English term lance is derived, via Middle English '' launce'' and Old French '' lance'', from the Latin '' lancea'', a generic term meaning a wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generic term meaning a spear">wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generi ...
and then mortally wounded the King of Trakai, however, he didn't describe its appearance.


Issue

It is uncertain how many wives Gediminas had. The Bychowiec Chronicle mentions three wives: Vida from Courland; Olga from
Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...
; and Jaunė from Polotsk, who was
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
and died in 1344 or 1345. Most modern historians and reference works say Gediminas' wife was Jewna, dismissing Vida and Olga as fictitious, since no sources other than this chronicle mention the other two wives. Some arguments state that Gediminas had two wives, one pagan and another Orthodox. This case is supported only by the Jüngere Hochmeisterchronik, a late 15th-century chronicle, mentioning Narimantas as half-brother to Algirdas. Other historians support this claim by arguing this would explain Gediminas' otherwise mysterious designation of a middle son, Jaunutis, as his succession would be understandable if Jaunutis were the first-born son of Gediminas and a second wife. He is said to have left seven sons and six daughters including: * Manvydas (Duchy of Kernavė) (c. 1288–1348) * Narimantas ( Duchy of Polatsk) * Karijotas (Duchy of Navhrudak, Black Ruthenia) *
Jaunutis Jaunutis (; ; ; Christian name: Ioann; also ''John'' or ''Ivan''; – after 1366) was List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania after his father Gediminas died in 1341 until he was deposed by his elder brothers Algirdas and Kęstutis ...
( Duchy of Zaslawye) initially ruled Vilnius after the death of his father *
Algirdas Algirdas (; , ;  – May 1377) was List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his brother Kęstutis (who defended the western border of the Duchy) he created an empire stretching from the pre ...
( Duchy of Vitebsk) * Kęstutis ( Duchy of Trakai and protectorate of Duchy of Samogitia) ** Vytautas * Maria, married
Dmitry of Tver Dmitry Mikhailovich (; 1298 – 15 September 1326), nicknamed the Fearsome Eyes or the Terrible Eyes (), was Prince of Tver from 1318 and Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1322 until his death in 1326, when he was executed in Sarai by the Mongols. ...
* Aldona, married Casimir III of Poland * Aigusta, married Simeon of Moscow * Elžbieta, married Wenceslaus of Płock * Eufemija, married Boleslaw-Yuri II of Galicia *
Liubartas Liubartas or Demetrius of Liubar (died ) was a Lithuanian prince from the Gediminid dynasty. He was the prince of Volhynia, and from 1320, he ruled over Lutsk, Liubar and Zhytomyr. Liubartas was also the last ruler of the Kingdom of Galicia–Vo ...
(Duchy of Lutsk,
Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...
)


See also

* Columns of Gediminas, one of the earliest symbols of Lithuania and its historical coats of arms. * Gediminas' Cap, a cap used by the Lithuanian monarchs until 1569. * Gediminas' Tower, a tower in Lithuania's capital Vilnius.


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Viduramžių Lietuva
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gediminas 1270s births 1341 deaths Year of birth uncertain City founders Gediminids Grand dukes of Lithuania Lithuanian pagans