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Kęstutis
Kęstutis ( – 3 or 15 August 1382) was sole Duke of Trakai from 1342 to 1382 and List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1342 to 1382, together with his brother Algirdas (until 1377), and with his nephew Jogaila (from 1377 to 1381). The Lithuanian name, name "Kęstutis" is a derivative from the old form of the name ''Kęstas'', which is a shortened version of such Lithuanian names as ''Kęstaras'', ''Kęstautas'' (there ''kęs-ti'' means ''to cope''). Historic writing sources reflect different Lithuanian pronunciation. Early life and division of power Kęstutis was the son of the Grand Duke Gediminas. His younger brother, Jaunutis, succeeded his father as Grand Duke of Lithuania. Together with his brother Algirdas, Kestutis conspired to remove Jaunutis from power. They were successful in their efforts. They divided their holdings into an eastern and western sphere of influence. The Duchy of Trakai was established in 1337 as a result. Kęstutis's efforts wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vytautas
Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revered as a Folk hero, national hero and was an important figure in the Lithuanian National Revival, national rebirth in the 19th century. ''Vytautas'' is a popular male given Lithuanian name, name in Lithuania. In commemoration of the 500-year anniversary of his death, Vytautas Magnus University was named after him. Monuments in his honour were built in many towns in independent Lithuania during the History of Lithuania#Independent interwar Lithuania (1918–1940), interwar period from 1918 to 1939. Vytautas knew and spoke the Lithuanian language with his cousin Władysław II Jagiełło, Jogaila. Struggle for power 1377–1384 Vytautas' uncle Algirdas had been Grand Duke of Lithuania until his death in 1377. Algirdas and Vytautas' father K� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Władysław II Jagiełło
Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło (),Other names include (; ) (see also Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło) was Grand Duke of Lithuania beginning in 1377 and starting in 1386, becoming King of Poland as well. As Grand Duke, he ruled Lithuania from 1377 to 1381 and from 1382 to 1401, at which time he became the Supreme Duke of Lithuania in exchange for naming his cousin Vytautas as the new Grand Duke. Władysław II initially served as King of Poland alongside his wife Jadwiga of Poland, Jadwiga until her death in 1399, and then the sole ruler until his own death in 1434. Raised a Lithuanian polytheist, he converted to Catholicism in 1386 and baptized as Ladislaus () in Kraków, married the young Queen Jadwiga, and was crowned King of Poland as Władysław II Jagiełło. In 1387, he Christianization of Lithuania, converted Lithuania to Catholicism. His reign in Poland started in 1399, upon the death of Queen Jadwiga, lasted a further thirty-fiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birutė
Birutė (died 1382) was the Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Kęstutis, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and mother of Vytautas the Great. There is very little known about Birutė's life, but after her death a cult worshiping her developed among Lithuanians, especially in Samogitia. Life Marriage She was probably born near Palanga to a Lithuanians, Lithuanian, Samogitian or Curonians, Curonian magnate family. The story of her marriage to Kęstutis became a romantic legend in Lithuania. Chronicles mention that Birutė was a priestess () and served the Lithuanian mythology, Pagan gods by guarding the sacred fire. When Kęstutis heard of her beauty, he visited the shire and asked her to marry him. She refused because she had promised the gods to guard her virginity until her death. Kęstutis then abducted her, and took her by force to Old Trakai, Trakai where he threw a large wedding. She and Kęstutis had three sons and three daughters. Vytautas the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Duke Of Lithuania
This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crowned king in 1253. Other Lithuanian rulers, such as Vytautas the Great, also attempted to secure a royal coronation, but these efforts were unsuccessful.Nadveckė, Ineta (6 July 2019Trys Lietuvos karaliai: vienas tikras, vienas nelabai ir vienas beveik''Lithuanian National Radio and Television, LRT''. Until 1569, the Lithuanian monarchy was hereditary. In 1386, Grand Duke Jogaila was elected King of Poland. From that point onward, with some interruptions, the two states were united in a personal union, sharing a common ruler until 1569, when they were formally merged by the Union of Lublin to form the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The monarch of this new state was elected in a free election by the entire nobility. From the Christianizat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christianization Of Lithuania
The Christianization of Lithuania () occurred in 1387, initiated by the Lithuanian royals Jogaila, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his cousin Vytautas the Great. It signified the official adoption of Catholic Christianity by Lithuania, the last pagan country in Europe. However, Lithuania's first ruler to be baptised was Mindaugas in 1250s. This event ended one of the most complicated and lengthiest processes of Christianization in European history. History Early contacts with Christianity Lithuanians' contacts with the Christian religion predated the establishment of the Duchy of Lithuania in the 13th century. The first known record of the name Lithuania (''Litua''), recorded in the Annals of Quedlinburg in 1009, relates to the mission led by Bruno of Querfurt, who baptised several rulers of the Yotvingians, a nearby Baltic tribe. Nonetheless Bruno didn't reach Lithuania proper. Lithuanians had more active contacts with the Kievan Rus' and subsequen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duchy Of Trakai
Duchy of Trakai () was a subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the 14th and early 15th centuries. The Duke of Trakai was an important position held either by the Grand Duke of Lithuania himself or his second-in-command. History After the demise of Gediminas in December 1337, the Duchy of Lithuania was divided into two parts: Grand Duke Algirdas ruled Vilnius and the Eastern Aukštaitija while his brother Kęstutis received the Duchy of Trakai. The ruler of the Duchy of Vilnius also was the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Lithuanian Civil Wars 1381–1384 In 1382, during the Lithuanian Civil War (1381–1384), Lithuanian Civil War, Kęstutis was imprisoned at the Kreva Castle and died. His nephew Skirgaila was named the new Duke of Trakai by his brother Grand Duke Jogaila. 1389–1392 Vytautas, son of Kęstutis, then waged Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392), a new Lithuanian Civil War to regain his patrimony in Trakai and seize power in Lithuania. The war was ended by the Os ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jaunutis
Jaunutis (; ; ; Christian name: Ioann; also ''John'' or ''Ivan''; – after 1366) was List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania after his father Gediminas died in 1341 until he was deposed by his elder brothers Algirdas and Kęstutis in 1345. Succession According to Polish historian Jan Tęgowski, he was probably born between 1306 and 1309. Jaunutis was not mentioned in any written sources prior to Gediminas' death. Before Gediminas' death, all his sons had been granted a domain of Lithuania. Only the second-youngest son, Jaunutis, had not received any domains but lived with his parents in Vilnius. When his father died, he automatically became the ruler of Vilnius and the nearby lands. In Gediminas' time, it was already customary to regard the Duke of Vilnius as the ruler of the whole Grand Duchy of Lithuania. There are many theories why Gediminas chose Jaunutis, a middle son, as his successor. Some suggested that he was an acceptable compromise between Lithuanian myt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Algirdas
Algirdas (; , ; – May 1377) was List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his brother Kęstutis (who defended the western border of the Duchy) he created an empire stretching from the present Baltic states to the Black Sea and to within of Moscow. Early life and rise to power Algirdas was one of the seven sons of Grand Duke Gediminas. Before his death in 1341, Gediminas divided his domain, leaving his youngest son Jaunutis in possession of the capital, Vilnius. With the aid of his brother, Kęstutis, Algirdas drove out the incompetent Jaunutis and declared himself Grand Duke in 1345. He devoted the next thirty-two years to the development and expansion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. After becoming the ruler of Lithuania, Algirdas was titled the King of Lithuania () in the Livonian Chronicles instead of the terms ''knyaz'' () or ''Grand prince, velikiy knyaz'' (grand prince). Two factors are thought to have contributed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, partitions of Poland–Lithuania. The state was founded by Lithuanians (tribe), Lithuanians, who were at the time a Lithuanian mythology, polytheistic nation of several united Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija. By 1440 the grand duchy had become the largest European state, controlling an area from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south. The grand duchy expanded to include large portions of the former Kievan Rus' and other neighbouring states, including what is now Belarus, Lithuania, most of Ukraine as well as parts of Latvia, Moldova, Poland and Russia. At its greatest extent, in the 15th century, it was the largest state in Europe. It was a multinational state, multi-ethnic and multiconfessionalism, multiconfessional sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gediminids
The House of Gediminas (), or simply the Gediminids, were a dynasty of monarchs in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that reigned from the 14th to the 16th century. A cadet branch of this family, known as the Jagiellonian dynasty, reigned also in the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Hungary and Kingdom of Bohemia. Several other branches ranked among the leading aristocratic dynasties of Poland and Russia into recent times. The Gediminas' Cap was used during the inaugurations of Gediminids as Lithuanian monarchs in the Vilnius Cathedral and symbolized the dynasty's continuity. Their monarchical title in Lithuanian primarily was, by some folkloristic data, ''kunigų kunigas'' ("Duke of Dukes"), and later on, ''didysis kunigas'' ("Great/High Duke") or, in a simple manner, ''karalius or kunigaikštis''. In the 18th century, the latter form was changed into tautological ''didysis kunigaikštis'', which nevertheless would be translated as "Grand Duke" (for its etymology, see Grand Prin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
