Princess Uliana Olshanska ( pl, Julianna Holszańska, lt, Julijona Alšėniškė or ; d. 1448) was a noblewoman from the

Olshanski Olshanski or Olshansky is a Ukrainian or Belorussian habitational name for someone from Olshana or Olshanka in Ukraine or Olshany in Belarus or a americanized form of Polish and Jewish (from Poland) Olszanski. Notable people with the name include: ...

family, the second wife of

Vytautas Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

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 ...

. They had no issue. Very little is known about Uliana's life. Her first husband was Ivan of

Karachev Karachev (russian: Карачев) is an ancient town and the administrative center of Karachevsky District in Bryansk Oblast, Russia. Population: History First chronicled in 1146, it was the capital of one of the Upper Oka Principalities in t ...

. German chronicle of

Johann von Posilge Johann von Posilge (c. 1340 – 1405) was a parish priest of Deutsch Eylau (Iława) and later assistant to Bishop of Pomesania. He is better known as the author of ''Chronik des Landes Preussen'', a chronicle detailing events in Prussia from around ...

and Polish historian

Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histor ...

asserted that Ivan was murdered so that widowed Uliana could marry Vytautas. Most likely she was an

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

who converted to Catholicism in order to marry Vytautas. After the death of his first wife Anna on 31 July 1418, Vytautas wished to marry Uliana, daughter of one of his closest allies Ivan Olshansky. However, Anna was sister of Agripina, who was wife of Ivan and mother of Uliana. That made Vytautas uncle-in-law of Uliana. Piotr Krakowczyk,

Bishop of Vilnius Bishops of Vilnius (Vilna, Wilna, Wilno) diocese from 1388 and archdiocese (archdiocese of Vilnius) from 1925:

, refused to perform the wedding ceremony due to this relationship and demanded they seek approval from the pope.

Jan Kropidło Jan Kropidło (1360 or 1364 – 3 March 1421), was an ecclesiastic leader in Poland during the late Middle Ages. Jan was the eldest son of Duke Bolko III of Strzelce and his wife Anna. Jan was titled Duke of Strzelce (1382–96, with his broth ...

, Bishop of Włocławek, performed the ceremony before Christmas 1418 and, eventually, Vytautas obtained a

matrimonial dispensation In the jurisprudence of the canon law of the Catholic Church, a dispensation is the exemption from the immediate obligation of law in certain cases.The Law of Christ Vol. I, pg. 284 Its object is to modify the hardship often arising from the ...

from

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 ...

. It appears that the marriage was a loving one, but they had no children. Vytautas died in October 1430. Uliana died in 1448.Handbuch der Geschichte Weißrußlands / Hrsg. von Dietrich Beyrau und Rainer Lindner, Göttingen : Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2001, p. 521. According to historian Ignas Jonynas Uliana's further life is unknown.

References

{{end 1448 deaths Grand Duchesses of Lithuania

Uliana Uliana and Ulyana are feminine given names. People so named include: * Uliana of Tver (c. 1325–1391), daughter of Prince Alexander of Tver and second wife of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania * Uliana Olshanska, Grand Duchess of Lithuania from ...

Converts to Roman Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy Former Lithuanian Orthodox Christians Lithuanian Roman Catholics Year of birth unknown