Nalšia or Nalšėnai (sometimes Nalsen, Nalse) was an ancient land (regional duchy, a subject of
Polatsk
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 Dist ...
) in the early stages of 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 ...
. It is mentioned in written sources from 1229 to 1298. The references to it cease as it was fully incorporated into the Grand Duchy. While it is known that it was on the north-eastern border of
Lithuania proper, the exact location is unknown and is debated among historians. It is believed that Nalšia was between
Livonia
Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...
and the
Duchy of Lithuania
The Duchy of Lithuania ( la, Ducatus Lithuaniae; lt, Lietuvos kunigaikštystė) was a state-territorial formation of ethnic Lithuanians that existed from the 13th century to 1413. For most of its existence, it was a constituent part and a nucle ...
and bordered
Deltuva
Deltuva is a small town in Ukmergė district, Vilnius County, Lithuania. It is located 6 km north-west of Ukmergė, near the road to Kėdainiai. It has about 500 inhabitants.
Its alternate names include Deltuvos, Dziewałtów (Polish), Konst ...
. Towns of
Švenčionys
Švenčionys (, known also by several alternative names) is a town located north of Vilnius in Lithuania. It is the capital of the Švenčionys district municipality. , it had population of 4,065 of which about 17% is part of the Polish minority ...
and
Utena
Utena () is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the s ...
are often identified as the most prominent settlements in the land. Several dukes of Nalšia are known. The most prominent of them was
Daumantas of Pskov
Daumantas or Dovmont (Russian: Довмонт, Belarusian: Даўмонт, Christian name Timothy (russian: Тимофей), ; c. 1240? – 17 May 1299), was a Lithuanian prince best remembered as a military leader of the Principality of P ...
. Others were
Lengvenis
Lengvenis (''Simeon Lingwen'', born ca. 1360 – died after 1431; be, Лугвен-Сымон, Łuhvien; russian: Лугвений, Лугвен, Лугвень, Lugven(y), pl, Lingwen Semen Olgierdowicz) was one of the sons of Algirdas, Grand D ...
, nephew of
Mindaugas
Mindaugas (german: Myndowen, la, Mindowe, orv, Мендог, be, Міндоўг, pl, Mendog, c. 1203–1263) is the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or r ...
,
Suksė (Suxe), who defected to the
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...
, and Gerdenis, rival to Daumantas.
References
*
13th century in Lithuania
{{lithuania-hist-stub