|
Jonas Kęsgaila
Jonas Kęsgaila or Kęsgailaitis (, , died 1485) was a Lithuanian nobleman, son of Mykolas Kęsgaila of the Kęsgaila family He fathered two sons (Stanislovas Kęsgaila and Mykolas Kęsgaila) and two daughters. Jonas Kęsgaila was Elder of Samogitia (1449–1485), castellan of Trakai (1477) and Vilnius (1478–1485). Jonas was a powerful magnate in Samogitia and even conducted independent foreign policy with the Teutonic Knights. During the Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466), the Samogitians attacked the Knights, including their stronghold in Klaipėda (Memel) in 1455. The Samogitian border was closed, disrupting communication between the Teutonic Knights in Prussia and its branch in Livonia. These actions are usually interpreted as direct support to Casimir IV Jagiellon, King of Poland. However, this might be oversimplification as the attacks were possibly carried out by unruly Samogitians looking for loot, closing of the border was not considered an act of war, and Lithuanian nob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithuanian Nobleman
The Lithuanian nobility () or ''szlachta'' of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (, ) was historically a legally privileged hereditary elite class in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth (including during period of foreign rule 1795–1918) consisting of Lithuanians from Lithuania Proper; Samogitians from Duchy of Samogitia; following Lithuania's eastward expansion into what is now Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, many ethnically Ruthenian noble families (''boyars''); and, later on, predominantly Baltic German families from the Duchy of Livonia and Inflanty Voivodeship.Krzysztof Buchowski, ''Litwomani i polonizatorzy'', p. 20–50, 2006 Białystok, Uniwersytet w Białymstoku, Initially, the privileged social group of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was called ''boyars''. Boyars became part of the szlachta (nobility) during the Union of Horodło on October 2, 1413, initiating nobility in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania following the Western European model (with a h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |