The
Gediminas (, singular: , ) were a
dynasty of
monarchs of the medieval
Lithuania that reigned from the 14th to the 16th century. They were rulers of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which realm chiefly meant that of
Lithuanians and
Ruthenians, this area being at least half-Slavic. One branch of this dynasty, known as the family of
Jagiellons, reigned also in
Poland,
Hungary and
Bohemia. Several other branches ranked among the leading aristocratic dynasties of Russia and Poland into recent times.
Their monarchical title in
Lithuanian primarily was, by some folkloristic data,
kunigų kunigas ("Duke of Dukes"), and later on,
didysis kunigas ("Great/High Duke") or, in a simple manner,
kunigaikštis. In the 18th century the latter form was changed (maybe, by polonised clerks) into
tautological didysis kunigaikštis, which nevertheless would be translated as "Grand Duke" (for its etymology, see
Grand Prince).
Their origin
The origin of
Gediminas himself is much debated. Some sources say he was
Vytenis'
ostler, others that he was of peasant stock, some historians consider him as the son or grandson of Lithuanian or
Yatvingian duke
Skalmantas. Most of scholars agree, however, that Gediminas was
Vytenis' brother (the parentage of Vytenis is explained differently in various fake genealogies, compiled from the 16th century onwards; according to the latest Polish research, his parentage cannot be established.
List of (undoubted) Gediminids who ruled in Lithuania
Branches of the dynasty
The
Eastern Orthodox branches of the family were mostly
Ruthenian, which also was the one of the two main languages of their established state. Some of these families (e.g.,
Czartoryski) later converted to
Roman Catholicism and became thoroughly
Polonized. Others (e.g.,
Galitzine) moved to
Muscovy and became thoroughly
Russified.
Some of the noblest princely families of
Russia and Poland belong to the Gediminid stock. In
Belarusian the Gediminids are known as
Гедзімінавічы (
Giedziminavičy, sing.:
Гедзімінавіч,
Giedziminavič), in
Polish — as
Giedyminowicze (sing.:
Giedyminowicz), in
Ukrainian - as
Гедиміновичі (Hedyminovychi, sing.
Гедимінович Hedyminovych), and in
Russian — as
Gediminovichi (sing.:
Гедиминович).
In Poland, most Gediminid families (such as Korecki, Olelkowicz-Słucki,
Wiśniowiecki, Zbaraski, Jagiellons) are extinct, but at least three families survive to the present:
Czartoryski,
Sanguszko, and
Koriatowicz-Kurcewicz.
The Russian Gediminid families include
Bulgakov,
Golitsin,
Kurakin,
Khovansky,
Trubetskoy,
Mstislavsky,
Belsky, and
Volynsky.
Family tree
See also
