Petras Simonas Gedgaudas ( pl, Piotr Senko Giedygołdowicz; died in 1451) was a Lithuanian noble and diplomat. He briefly was a regent of Polotsk (equivalent to the later

Voivode of Polotsk Połock Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo połockie, be, Полацкае ваяводства) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (Grand Duchy of Lithuania) since the 15th century u ...

) in 1440, regent of Smolensk (

Voivode of Smolensk Smolensk Voivodeship ( la, Palatinatus smolencensis, be, Смале́нскае ваяво́дзтва, pl, Województwo smoleńskie, lt, Smolensko vaivadija) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Li ...

) in 1447–1451, and

castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...

of Vilnius in 1451.

Biography

Gedgaudas is first recorded in surviving document in 1429. At the time, he was a court marshal and was sent on a diplomatic mission to

Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia ('' jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in ...

. The next year he was an envoy to

Pope Martin V Pope Martin V ( la, Martinus V; it, Martino V; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Otto (or Oddone) Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. Hi ...

. These missions were related to the attempts to crown Grand Duke Vytautas as King of Lithuania. After Grand Duke Švitrigaila was deposed in 1432, Gedgaudas' father

Jurgis Gedgaudas Jurgis Gedgaudas (died ) was a noble and diplomat from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He used the Leliwa coat of arms. He was active in political life from 1401 to 1435, serving Grand Dukes Vytautas and Švitrigaila as voivode and diplomat. His repr ...

continued to support him and was taken prisoner in the

Battle of Ashmyany The Battle of Ashmiany was a battle fought on 8 December 1432 at Ashmiany between the armies of Švitrigaila and Sigismund Kęstutaitis, two pretenders to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the Lithuanian Civil War (1432–1438). ...

. Nevertheless, Jurgis regained royal favor and his son Petras even received Mir from Sigismund Kęstutaitis in 1434. In 1447, Gedgaudas accompanied

Casimir Jagiellon Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the ...

to his coronation in Kraków. The following year, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to the

Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...

. It is assumed that he died in 1451 as his last will was written that year.

Family and property

His father was

, diplomat and voivode of Vilnius. Gedgaudas married Milochna, daughter 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 ...

Elder of Samogitia The Duchy of Samogitia ( lt, Žemaičių seniūnija, sgs, Žemaitėjės seniūnėjė, pl, Księstwo żmudzkie)Grzegorz Błaszczyk, ''Żmudź w XVII i XVIII wieku: zaludnienie i struktura społeczna'', Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Pozn ...

and ancestor of the Kęsgailos family. The couple had no children, but they adopted Milochna's relative (most likely her niece Anna). After Anna's death, Milochna adopted her nephew . Just like his father, Gedgaudas used the Leliwa coat of arms and considered Vishnyeva his principal estate. After his death, the town was inherited by his cousin Jonas Manvydas. Gedgaudas funded a Catholic church in Vishnyeva in 1451. He also funded a church in

Radashkovichy Radashkovichy ( be, Радашко́вічы, russian: Радошкóвичи, pl, Radoszkowicze, lt, Radaškonys) - is a town in the Maladzyechna District of Minsk Region, Belarus. A watershed of the Vileyka-Minsk water system is located in t ...

in 1447; his widow Milochna donated additional funds in 1485. She also donated to Vilnius Cathedral in 1475. Petras Gedgaudas should not be confused with another

Petras Gedgaudas Petras Simonas Gedgaudas ( pl, Piotr Senko Giedygołdowicz; died in 1451) was a Lithuanian noble and diplomat. He briefly was a regent of Polotsk (equivalent to the later Voivode of Polotsk) in 1440, regent of Smolensk ( Voivode of Smolensk) in 1 ...

, a local

Samogitian noble Samogitian nobility was nobility originating in the Lithuanian region of Samogitia. The Samogitian nobility was an integral part of Lithuanian nobility. Historically, the local gentry was formed of people of various ethnic backgrounds, includi ...

, who founded a Catholic church in

Šiluva Šiluva is a small town of less than 700 inhabitants in Lithuania. It is located in the region of Samogitia. It is a major site of Catholic pilgrimage in Lithuania. History Šiluva was first mentioned in 1457 in relation to the building of th ...

in 1457 and who was the

in 1441-1443.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gedgaudas, Petras Simonas 1451 deaths 15th-century Lithuanian nobility