Skalmantas or Skolomend is the name of a possible ancestor of the
Gediminid dynasty.
In 1975 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 lines in which two 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 ...
name their ancestors: "We are two brothers – sons of Algirdas, and grandsons of
Gediminas
Gediminas ( – December 1341) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death in 1341.
He is considered the founder of Lithuania's capital Vilnius (see: Iron Wolf legend). During his reign, he brought under his rule lands from t ...
, and great-grandsons of Skalmantas (''Skolomend'')."
This led to the hypothesis that Skalmantas was the long-sought ancestor of the Gediminids and that he and his son
Butvydas started the Gediminids dynasty.
According to Synodik of Liubech, a duke Gomantas (who might have been this Skalmantas) had a daughter Helena (probably adult baptismal name, not original Lithuanian) who married the Chernihiv Rurikid princeling Andrew, duke of Kozelsk (died 1339, born perhaps in 1280s), an ancestral uncle of the
Oginskis,
Puzyna,
Gortsakov,
Yeletsky,
Zvenigorodsky,
Bolkhovskoy,
Mosalsky and
Khotetovsky princely lineages. The property listing of metropolitan
Theognostus from mid-14th century reveals that duke Andrew Mstislavich of Kozelsk was married with a lady who was sister (or daughter) of king
Gediminas
Gediminas ( – December 1341) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death in 1341.
He is considered the founder of Lithuania's capital Vilnius (see: Iron Wolf legend). During his reign, he brought under his rule lands from t ...
.
See also
*
Family of Gediminas
The family of Gediminas is a group of family members of Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania (ca. 1275–1341), who interacted in the 14th century. The family included the siblings, children, and grandchildren of the Grand Duke and played the pivot ...
*
Gediminid dynasty
References
*
Literature
*
Задонщина/ Подготовка текста и примечания Л. А. Дмитриева // Изборник (Сборник произведений литературы Древней Руси) / Составители и общие редакторы Л. А. Дмитриев и Д. С. Лихачёв. — Москва: Художественная литература, 1969. — С. 380—397, 747—750 (примечания).
Gediminids
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