Živinbudas was one of the five senior
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
n dukes mentioned in the
treaty
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...
with
Halych-Volhynia in 1219. The treaty lists a total of
21 dukes, five of them being elder or superior. Since Živinbudas is mentioned first in the list, it is presumed that he was the supreme ruler of Lithuania. He is not mentioned in any other sources and the mention in the treaty is the only bit of information available about him. However, some historians argue he was ancestor of
Traidenis
Traidenis (; ; died 1282) was List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from around late 1267 to 1268 until 1282. He is the second most prominent grand duke of Lithuania in the 13th century after Mindaugas. His reign ended a seven-year ...
,
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 crown ...
ca. 1270-1282. That is probably the influence of the
Palemonids legends popularized by fake 16th century genealogies that connected a mythical
Palemon, a prince of
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
who settled in Lithuania in the 10th century, to the
Gediminids, an established dynasty.
[For example, family tree in lists a number of people known only from 16th century sources like the Bychowiec Chronicle.]
The Russian Gustinskaya Chronicle mentions Živibundas under the year 1218.
References
13th-century deaths
Year of birth unknown
Place of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
Place of death unknown
13th-century Lithuanian nobility
{{Lithuania-noble-stub