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Fedor Vesna
Fedor Vesna ( be, Фёдар Вясна, russian: Фёдор Весна pl, Fedor Wesna, Theodor Wiosna) was a famous 14th century Lithuanian falconer and ruler of Vitebsk from 1392 to 1393. Fedor's fame as a successful falconer introduced him to Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland, with whom he became great friends. When Fedor retired from falconry in the 1390s, Jogaila granted him the title of duke and after the death of the last ruler of Principality of Vitebsk, Uliana of Tver in 1392, Jogaila abolished the principality and set Fedor to rule its lands. As Fedor Vesna was not a member of the Gediminids Dynasty and not even of noble birth, his exaltation was poorly received in the Grand Duchy and made him an obvious target for rival ambitions. Švitrigaila, the younger brother of Jogaila and duke of Polotsk, briefly captured Vitebsk in 1393. According to some Lithuanian chronicles, Švitrigaila killed Fedor Vesna upon the capture of Vitebsk.Bychowiec Chronic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vitebsk
Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest city. It is served by Vitebsk Vostochny Airport and Vitebsk Air Base. History Before 1945 Vitebsk developed from a river harbor where the Vićba River (Віцьба, from which it derives its name) flows into the larger Daugava River, Western Dvina, which is spanned in the city by the Kirov Bridge. Archaeological research indicates that Baltic tribes had settlements at the mouth of Vitba. In the 9th century, Slavic settlements of the tribal union of the Krivichs replaced them. According to the ''Chronicle of Michael Brigandine'' (1760), Princess Olga of Kiev founded Vitebsk (also recorded as Dbesk, Vidbesk, Videbsk, Vitepesk, or Vicibesk) in 974. Other versions give 947 or 914. Academician Boris Rybakov and historian Leonid Alekseyev ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lithuanians, who were at the time a polytheistic nation born from several united Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija. The Grand Duchy expanded to include large portions of the former Kievan Rus' and other neighbouring states, including what is now Lithuania, Belarus and parts of Ukraine, Latvia, Poland, Russia and Moldova. At its greatest extent, in the 15th century, it was the largest state in Europe. It was a multi-ethnic and multiconfessional state, with great diversity in languages, religion, and cultural heritage. The consolidation of the Lithuanian lands began in the late 13th century. Mindaugas, the first ruler of the Grand Duchy, was crowned as Catholic King of Lithuania in 1253. The pagan state was targeted in a religious crusade by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Falconry
Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person involved in falconry: a "falconer" flies a falcon; an "austringer" (Old French origin) flies a hawk (''Accipiter'', some buteos and similar) or an eagle ('' Aquila'' or similar). In modern falconry, the red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis''), Harris's hawk (''Parabuteo unicinctus''), and the peregrine falcon (''Falco perigrinus'') are some of the more commonly used birds of prey. The practice of hunting with a conditioned falconry bird is also called "hawking" or "gamehawking", although the words hawking and hawker have become used so much to refer to petty traveling traders, that the terms "falconer" and "falconry" now apply to most use of trained birds of prey to catch game. Many contemporary practitioners still use these words in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Poland (1385–1569)
The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Korona Królestwa Polskiego; Latin: ''Corona Regni Poloniae''), known also as the Polish Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, including the Kingdom of Poland proper. The Polish Crown was at the helm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1795. Major political events The Kingdom of Poland has been traditionally dated back to c. 966, when Mieszko I and his pagan Slavic realm joined Christian Europe (Baptism of Poland), establishing the state of Poland, a process started by his Polan Piast dynasty ancestors. His oldest son and successor, Prince Bolesław I Chrobry, Duke of Poland, became the first crowned King of Poland in 1025. Union of Krewo The Union of Krewo was a set of prenuptial agreements made in the Kreva Castle on August 13, 1385. Once Jogaila confirmed the prenuptial agreements on August 14, 1385, Poland and Lithuania formed a personal uni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked below princess nobility and grand dukes. The title comes from French ''duc'', itself from the Latin ''dux'', 'leader', a term used in republican Rome to refer to a military commander without an official rank (particularly one of Germanic or Celtic origin), and later coming to mean the leading military commander of a province. In most countries, the word ''duchess'' is the female equivalent. Following the reforms of the emperor Diocletian (which separated the civilian and military administrations of the Roman provinces), a ''dux'' became the military commander in each province. The title ''dux'', Hellenised to ''doux'', survived in the Eastern Roman Empire where it continued in several contexts, signifying a rank equivalent to a captai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Principality Of Vitebsk
The Principality of Vitebsk ( be, Віцебскае княства) was a Ruthenian principality centered on the city of Vitebsk in modern Belarus, that existed from its founding in 1101 until it was inherited into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1320, and only nominally until 1508. History The area around Vitebsk was controlled by the principality of Polotsk beginning from the 10th century. Following the death of Vseslav of Polotsk in 1101, Polotsk was divided into Principality of Polotsk#Decline, six smaller principalities each to be inherited by one of his six surviving sons. Vseslav's second born son, Sviatoslav Vseslavich inherited the lands surrounding Vitebsk and started the Vitebsk branch of the Prince of Polotsk, princes of Polotsk. In 1106, Sviatoslav had partaken in a raid against the Baltic tribes in Semigallia with his brothers. In 1127, the prince of Kiev, Mstislav I of Kiev, Mstislav Vladimirovich, began a war with the Prince of Polotsk, princes of Polotsk over ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uliana Of Tver
Uliana Alexandrovna of Tver (russian: Юлиания Александровна Тверская; – 17 March 1391) was a daughter of Prince Alexander of Tver and Anastasia of Halych (daughter of Yuri I of Galicia). She was the second wife of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. Life After her father and eldest brother were murdered by Öz Beg Khan in 1339, Uliana was placed in care of Simeon of Moscow, who married Uliana's elder sister Maria in 1347. In 1349, Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, sent an embassy to the Golden Horde, proposing to khan Jani Beg to form an alliance against Prince Simeon of Moscow; this proposal was not accepted and the envoys, including Algirdas' brother Karijotas, were imprisoned and held for ransom. In 1350, Algirdas then concluded peace with Simeon and married Simeon's sister-in-law Uliana. Simeon first asked an opinion of Metropolitan Theognostus whether a Christian lady could be married off to a pagan ruler. The same year, Algirdas' brother ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gediminids
The House of Gediminid or simply the Gediminids ( lt, Gediminaičiai, sgs, Gedėmėnātē, be, Гедзімінавічы, pl, Giedyminowicze, uk, Гедиміновичі;) were a dynasty of monarchs in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that reigned from the 14th to the 16th century. A cadet branch of this family, known as the Jagiellonian dynasty, reigned also in the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Hungary and Kingdom of 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, ''karalius or kunigaikštis''. In the 18th century, the latter form was changed into tautological ''didysis kunigaikštis'', which nevertheless would be translated as "Grand Duke" (for its etymology, see Grand Prince). Origin The origin of Gediminas h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Švitrigaila
Švitrigaila (before 1370 – 10 February 1452; sometimes spelled Svidrigiello) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1430 to 1432. He spent most of his life in largely unsuccessful dynastic struggles against his cousins Vytautas and Sigismund Kęstutaitis. Etymology of the name The name might be made of the roots Swede, Swedish rike - a kingdom or Latin rex, regis - a king and a suffix -aila, -ielo or a root of Prussian gailis - white, Lithuanian galas - phalos as by possibility in Ashurbanipal or English roots all, whole. The name coincides with his ruled lands - part of modern Russia, from Rus' people. His brothers' names were made following the same pattern: Skirgaila, Karigaila, Jogaila. Early life and Vitebsk rebellion Švitrigaila was born to Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his second wife Uliana of Tver. His date of birth is unknown, but it is believed that he was the youngest or second youngest son of Algirdas. He first appeared in politics in October 1382 when h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polotsk
Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk District in Vitsebsk Voblast. Its population is more than 80,000 people. It is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. Nomenclature The Old East Slavic name, ''Polotesk'', derives from the Polota river, which flows into the neighboring Western Dvina. The Vikings rendered that name as ''Palteskja''. History Polotsk is one of the most ancient cities of the Eastern Slavs. The ''Primary Chronicle'' (a history of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110, compiled in Kiev about 1113) listed Polotsk in 862 (as Полотескъ, /poloteskŭ/), together with Murom and Belozersk. However, an archaeological expedition from the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus suggests that Polotsk existed in the first half ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 extensive redaction of the Lithuanian Chronicles. Origin and publication The chronicle was most probably authored between 1519 and 1542, though some parts continued to be added until 1574. Authors of the chronicle are not known. The text highlights achievements of the Goštautai and Olshanski families, particularly to Jonas Goštautas. Therefore, scholars concluded that it was sponsored by a member of these families. Scholars proposed Grand Chancellor Albertas Goštautas, Bishop Paweł Holszański, and Duke Olelkovich. Aleksander Bychowiec, a 19th-century Polish noble and historian, discovered the chronicle in 1830 and it is now known by his name. Teodor Narbutt studied, copied and published it in full in 1846 under the title ''Pomniki do dziejów ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
