Shvarn or Shvarno (; ; ; – ) was

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 ...

from 1267 to 1269. He was also the prince of Kholm from 1264 to 1269. An influential leader, he became involved in internal struggles of power within the neighboring

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, ...

Name

Little is known of Shvarn and even his name is not entirely certain. The original documents relating to this ruler are scarce and mention him under a variety of names. For instance the first edition of Lithuanian Annals mentions him as Shkvarno, but the following editions use the names of ''Skirmont'' and ''Skirmunt'', possibly a Ruthenisation of Lithuanian name ''Skirmantas''. Contemporary sources also mention his

Christian name A Christian name, sometimes referred to as a baptismal name, is a religious personal name given on the occasion of a Christian baptism, though now most often given by parents at birth. In English-speaking cultures, a person's Christian name ...

of ''Ioann'' (''Іоанн''), that is either John or George. In modern times the ruler is known by a variety of names in various historiographies, including Lithuanian ''Švarnas'', Ukrainian Шварно Данилович, Russian and Belarusian Шварн, and Polish ''Szwarno Daniłowicz''. All of them are versions of the name of Shvarn, which is likely to be a diminutive of the

Slavic name Given names originating from the Slavic languages are most common in Slavic countries. The main types of Slavic names: * Two-base names, often ending in mir/měr (''Ostromir/měr'', ''Tihomir/měr'', '' Němir/měr''), *voldъ (''Vsevolod'', ...

of ''Svaromir''.

Biography

One of the sons of king Daniel I of Galicia of the house of Romanovich, Shvarn inherited the north-western parts of the Kingdom of Ruthenia, his fathers' domain. This land included the town of Halicz itself, as well as the land across the

Bug River The Bug or Western Bug is a major river in Central Europe that flows through Belarus (border), Poland, and Ukraine, with a total length of .Red Ruthenia with the towns of

Bełz Belz (, ; ; ) is a small city in Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine, located near the Poland–Ukraine border, border with Poland between the Solokiya River (a tributary of the Bug River) and the Richytsia stream. Belz hosts the administration of Belz ...

, Czerwień, Mielnik, Drohiczyn and eventually also Kholm (since 1264). His brother Lev I inherited the southern part of the land, with the cities of

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

and

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

, while Roman became the heir of duchies of

Lutsk Lutsk (, ; see #Names and etymology, below for other names) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of Lutsk Raion within the oblast. Lutsk has a populati ...

and Terebovl. During the times of king Daniel's reign, the Galician lords were allied with their Polish neighbours against a common threat, the

Lithuanians Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...

who often raided the neighbouring lands for loot and plunder. However, in 1255 (or the previous year) Shvarn married an unnamed daughter of

Mindaugas Mindaugas (, , , , ; c. 1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first known grand duke of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a ...

, since 1253 the first (and only) king of Lithuania. This allied him to Lithuania and together the two rulers undertook numerous military campaigns against the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

. Already in 1255 they raided

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

, in 1262 a major campaign against

Masovia Mazovia or Masovia ( ) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the largest city and Płock being the capital of the region . Throughout the ...

was started. Shvarn and

Treniota Treniota (also spelled ''Troniata''; ; – 1264) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1263 to 1264. Life Treniota was the nephew of Mindaugas, the first and only king of Lithuania. While Mindaugas had converted to Christianity in order to discourag ...

captured the city of

Płock Płock (pronounced ), officially the Ducal Capital City of Płock, is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by Central Statistical Office (Poland), GUS on 31 December 2021, the ...

and besieged Shvarn's brother-in-law, Siemowit I of Masovia in Jazdów (modern

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

). In the end Siemowit was killed by Shvarn's troops and his son Konrad II was taken prisoner. The Polish relief force did not arrive in time and was later defeated in a battle at Długosiodło on August 5, 1262. In 1264 king Daniel of Galicia died and Shvarn received nominal overlordship over all of Kingdom of Ruthenia as its duke. Immediately he mounted a major campaign against Poland, this time aiming for

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...

. However, although joint armies managed to plunder Skaryszew, Tarczek and Wiślica, this time the campaign was less successful and the allied Ruthenian and Lithuanian armies were repelled. The Yotvingian auxiliaries were defeated by Bolesław V the Chaste at the Battle of Brańsk. The following year Bolesław mounted a counter-offensive against Shvarn and his uncle Vasylko Romanovych, and defeated the earlier on June 19, 1266, at Wrota. This weakened Shvarn's position in his own domain. In the meantime in 1263 Mindaugas of Lithuania was murdered. In the chaos that followed

' assassination, the lands of the Grand Duchy were in disarray, with both local and foreign rulers struggling for power. Shvarn gave his support to Vaišvilkas, one of Mindaugas' sons and his brother-in-law. Together they managed to depose

and expel Daumantas all the way to

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

. After Vaišvilkas returned to monastic life in 1267, Shvarn became the new grand duke. No details are known about Shvarn's rule over Lithuania and he probably did not gain a strong foothold in that country. However, he was apparently fairly successful in expanding his borders. Following successful military campaigns, in 1267 he defeated his brother Mstislav in the battle of the

Yaselda River The Yaselda (, alternative transliteration ''Jasieĺda'', , ) is a river in Brest Region in south-west Belarus. It is linked via the Dnieper–Bug Canal to the city of Pinsk. It is a left tributary of the Pripyat. The Yaselda is connected to the ...

and captured Turov and Pinsk. The struggle for power within Lithuania however continued. Before a clear winner could emerge, Shvarm died in Kholm (nowadays

Chełm Chełm (; ; ) is a city in eastern Poland in the Lublin Voivodeship with 60,231 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is located to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some from the border with Ukraine. The ...

, Poland) some time between 1269 and 1271. He was buried in an Orthodox Cathedral that once stood on a place now occupied by the Basilica of the Birth of the Virgin Mary. After his death most of his lands reverted to Lithuania and came under the control 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 ...

, a noble from Aukštaitija.

Ancestry

Notes

:a. The capital of the land of Red Ruthenia (Czerwień Towns, or ''Grody Czerwieńskie'' in Polish). Its location remains unknown and disputed; possibly it was located where the village of Czermno stands today.

References

External links