Stanislovas Kęstgaila (1503–1532) was a Lithuanian nobleman, son of Stanislovas Kęsgaila from the Kęsgailos family. Stanislovas Kęstgaila was the

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 ...

(1527–1532) 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 ...

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 ...

(1528–1532). After marriage to Anna, daughter of

Stanisław Kiszka Stanisław Piotrowicz Kiszka ( lt, Stanislovas Kiška; died in 1513 or 1514) was a noble, diplomat and military commander from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He became the progenitor of the prominent Kiszka family. He was sent on frequent diplomati ...

, Stanislovas was the wealthiest magnate 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 ...

. When Stanislovas was appointed as the Elder of Samogitia in 1527, Grand Duke Sigismund I the Old limited power and income of the elder as 17

volost Volost ( rus, во́лость, p=ˈvoləsʲtʲ; ) was a traditional administrative subdivision in Eastern Europe. In earlier East Slavic history, ''volost'' was a name for the territory ruled by the knyaz, a principality; either as an absolute ...

s were transferred to Grand Duke's jurisdiction. The elder was left with 8 volosts ( Karklėnai,

Kražiai Kražiai ( Samogitian: ''Kražē''; pl, Kroże) is a historic town in Lithuania, located in the Kelmė district municipality, between Varniai (32 km) and Raseiniai (44 km), on the Kražantė River. The old town of Kražiai is an archeo ...

, Medingėnai, Patumšiai, Pavandenė, Tendžiogala,

Viduklė Viduklė ( bat-smg, Vėdoklė) is a small town in a Raseiniai district municipality, Kaunas County, central-western Lithuania. In 2011, it had a population of 1,678. History 221 Jews lived in the town according to the 1923 census. The German arm ...

and Žarėnai) that had only about 10% of the Samogitian population. After early death of Stanislovas, the office of the Elder of Samogitia was assigned to

Piotr Kiszka Piotr Kiszka (died in 1534) was a noble of the House of Kiszka from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. According to the military census of 1528, he was the 10th wealthiest magnate in the Grand Duchy. In case of war he had to provide 224 fully equipp ...

, not a member of the Kęsgailos family for the first time in more than a century. Stanislovas' last will left about a third of his possessions to the Grand Duke, who then transferred the towns to his wife

Bona Sforza Bona Sforza d'Aragona (2 February 1494 – 19 November 1557) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Sigismund I the Old, and Duchess of Bari and Rossano by her own right. She was a surviving member of ...

. Subsequently the family faded from the public life.

References

1532 deaths 1503 births Stanislovas Elders of Samogitia {{Lithuania-noble-stub