Kęsgailos (plural; singular: Kęsgaila) was a Lithuanian noble family, one of the largest landowners in the

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 Li ...

. The family descended from the and its roots traces to the 14th century (a semi-legendary Buseika (Lithuanian sources: Buška, Polish sources: Buszka) is considered the ancestor of the family). Their seat was in the

Samogitia Samogitia or Žemaitija ( Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

and

Trakai Trakai (; see names section for alternative and historic names) is a historic town and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. T ...

regions. Kęsgailos family members had been the Elders of Samogitia from 1412 until 1532. According to the

1528 census of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania The census of 1528 was the first census carried out in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was not a true census since it had limited scope: it only sought to count peasant households ( lt, dūmas) for military purposes. The Grand Duchy used a conscri ...

, the family had to provide the most troops in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The family died out in the 16th century, the last member of the family was Stanislovas, who was a close friend of Grand Duke

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus ( pl, Zygmunt II August, lt, Žygimantas Augustas; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler ...

and supported his marriage with

Barbara Radziwiłł Barbara Radziwiłł ( pl, Barbara Radziwiłłówna, lt, Barbora Radvilaitė; 6 December 1520/23 – 8 May 1551) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as consort of Sigismund II Augustus, the last male monarch of the Jagiellon dynas ...

Name

The surname Kęsgaila comes from the native first name of

Mykolas Kęsgaila Mykolas Kęsgaila Valimantaitis''Mykolas'' (Michael) is his Christian given name, ''Kęsgaila'' is his pagan given name, and ''Valimantaitis'' is his patronymic used as last name. His sons used ''Kęsgaila'' as their last name. (died ca. 1450) wa ...

(son of Valimantas, son of Bushka) whose elder brother Jaunutis son of Valimantas was granted the

Zadora coat of arms Zadora (''Płomień, Płomienie, Płomieńczyk'') - is a Polish coat of arms used by the szlachta. History The coat of arms was created in the 12th century. Blazon Notable bearers Notable bearers of this coat of arms include: * Lanckoroński ...

in the

Union of Horodło The Union of Horodło or Pact of Horodło was a set of three acts signed in the town of Horodło on 2 October 1413. The first act was signed by Władysław II Jagiełło, King of Poland, and Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. The second and third ...

of 1413. In line with the common practice for nobles' names after the

Christianization of Lithuania The Christianization of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos krikštas) occurred in 1387, initiated by King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Władysław II Jagiełło and his cousin Vytautas the Great. It signified the official adoption of Christianity ...

, after his baptism, the Christian name ''*Mīkālas'' (

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

) was added to a pagan

Lithuanian name A Lithuanian personal name, as in most European cultures, consists of two main elements: the given name () followed by the family name (). The usage of personal names in Lithuania is generally governed (in addition to personal taste and family cus ...

, which can be reconstructed as *''Kensgaĭla'' (from ''kęsti'' ("be patient") and ''gailas'' ("strong")). His son Jonas Kęsgailaitis, mentioned in written sources in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

as ''Johannes Kyensgalowicz'',Historical Documents of Lithuania
/ref> was a bearer of the name as a

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

, which subsequently evolved into a

family name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

. Its Polonized form ''Kieżgajło'' is most common in

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

historiography over other variants, such as ''Kezigal'', ''Kieżgajłła'', ''Gezgajło'', ''Kiezgajło'', ''Kieżgajłło'', ''Kierżgajłło'', ''Kieżgałło'' and ''Kieżgało''. ''Kęsgaila'' (

plural The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...

''Kęsgailos'') is a modern Lithuanian spelling of the original family name.

Family tree

Family is presented based on Rimvydas Petrauskas.

References

{{Lithuania-noble-stub