Lengvenis ( – after 19 June 1431) was one of the sons of

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 ...

Grand Duke 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, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

, who was the

prince of Novgorod The Prince of Novgorod () was the title of the ruler of Veliky Novgorod, Novgorod in present-day Russia. From 1136, it was the title of the figurehead leader of the Novgorod Republic. The position was originally an appointed one until the late ...

(1389–1392; 1406–1411). He was one of the most famous commanders of

Vytautas the Great Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...

. He was baptized in the

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 ...

rite as Semën to be titled the prince of Novgorod.

Life

Lengvenis was born to Algirdas and his second wife

Uliana of Tver Uliana Aleksandrovna ( – 17 March 1391) was a grand duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Algirdas. She was the daughter of Alexander of Tver and Anastasia of Galicia, daughter of Yuri I of Galicia. Life After her father and eldes ...

. In 1387, Lengvenis commanded one of Lithuanian formations in a battle with the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

. Invited by the Novgorodians themselves, Lengvenis was first regent in

Great 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 ...

in 1389–1392, responsible to Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He was baptized in the Eastern Orthodox rite as Semën and received the title of Prince of Great Novgorod. After Lengvenis lost this title in 1392,

appointed him in 1393 as the

Prince of Mstislavl The Principality of Mstislavl or Mstsislaw was a medieval principality of the East Slavs, Early East Slavs from the 12th century to the 14th century, centered in the town of Mstsislaw in the Mogilev Region of modern eastern Belarus. It was the fam ...

in then eastern

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 ...

. In 1406–1411, Lengvenis, once again, was regent of Great Novgorod, this time responsible to Vytautas. As ruler of Novgorod he led battles against

Pskov Republic The Pskov Republic () was a city-state in northwestern Russia. It is traditionally considered to have won its formal independence from the Novgorod Republic in 1348. Its capital city was Pskov and its territory was roughly equivalent to modern-d ...

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 ...

, and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. In 1410, Lengvenis participated in the

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila), a ...

. He led his own "

banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

", and a certain Georgy- the next banner in the famous list of chronicler

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 ...

. Often this George is considered the son of Lengvenis, Yury. Many historians believe that under the command of Lengvenis there were three banners of

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 ...

land, which played a significant role in the battle. In 1411 Lengvenis participated in the signing of the Peace of Thorn. He was married to Maria Dmitrovna, princess of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, the daughter of

Dmitry Donskoy Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy (; 12 October 1350 – 19 May 1389) was Prince of Moscow from 1359 and Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1363 until his death. He was the heir of Ivan II. He was the first prince of Moscow to openly challenge Mongol ...

. In 1380, he founded the Monastery of the Dormition in Pustynki near Mstsislaw in then eastern Lithuania, now

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 ...

Notes

References

Sources

* * * Jučas, Mečislovas (1990). ''Žalgirio mūšis (Battle of Grunwald)''. Vilnius: Mokslas, 174. . {{in lang, lt 1360s births 1430s deaths Gediminids People in the Battle of Grunwald

Life

See also

Notes

References

Sources