Maria of Vitebsk (died before 1349) was the first wife of

Algirdas Algirdas ( be, Альгерд, Alhierd, uk, Ольгерд, Ольґерд, Olherd, Olgerd, pl, Olgierd; – May 1377) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He ruled the Lithuanians and Ruthenians from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his bro ...

, future

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power—House ...

(marriage took place around 1318). Very little is known about her life. The only child of a Russian prince Yaroslav, Maria was the only heir to the

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 ...

. After her father's death ca. 1345,

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 ci ...

fell permanently under control of Algirdas and other

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 reig ...

. Maria gave birth to five sons, all of whom grew up while Algirdas was still only a regional duke in Christianized lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. All five sons were baptized in Orthodox rite and ruled Russian lands giving rise to prominent clans of Russian dukes (

Trubetskoy family The House of Trubetskoy (English), Трубецкие (Russian), Трубяцкі ( Belarusian), ''Trubecki'' (Polish), ''Trubetsky'' ( Ruthenian), Трубецький (Ukrainian), ''Troubetzkoy'' (French), ''Trubic'' (Croatian), ''Trubetski'' ...

from

Demetrius I Starshy Dmitry the Older or Dmitry of Bryansk ( lt, Dmitrijus Algirdaitis Brianskietis, pl, Dymitr Olgierdowicz, died on 12 August 1399 in the Battle of the Vorskla River) was the second eldest son of Algirdas, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his first ...

Czartoryski family The House of Czartoryski (feminine form: Czartoryska, plural: Czartoryscy; lt, Čartoriskiai) is a Polish princely family of Lithuanian- Ruthenian origin, also known as the Familia. The family, which derived their kin from the Gediminids dynas ...

from Constantine,

Sanguszko family 150px, Paweł Karol Sanguszko 150px, Dymitr Sanguszko 150px, Roman Sanguszko 150px, Janusz Sanguszko 150px, Hieronim Sanguszko 150px, Barbara Sanguszko née Dunin 150px, Eustachy Erazm Sanguszko 150px, Władysław Hieronim Sanguszko 150p ...

from Fiodor, Belsky and

Olelkovich The House of Olelkovich ( be, Алелькавічы, lt, Olelkaičiai, pl, Olelkowicze, uk, Олельковичі) was a 15th–16th-century princely family from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Their main possession was the Duchy of Slutsk–K ...

families from

Vladimir Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

). After Maria's death, Algirdas married another Russian princess,

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 wif ...

. After Algirdas' death, the eldest sons of Maria and Uliana battled over succession rights.

References

1340s deaths People from Vitebsk Russian princesses Grand Duchesses of Lithuania Year of birth unknown 14th-century Lithuanian people 14th-century Lithuanian women 14th-century Russian people 14th-century Russian women {{lithuania-noble-stub

See also

References