Vaišvilkas or Vaišelga (also spelled ''Vaišvila'', ''Vojszalak'', ''Vojšalk'', ''Vaišalgas''; died 18 April 1267) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1264 until his death in 1267. He was a son of Mindaugas, the first and only Christian King of Lithuania.

Name

The original Lithuanian name of this Grand Duke has puzzled many linguists and historians. Their reconstructions resulted in two credible variants ''Vaišvilkas'', based on ''Woyszwiłk'' and ''Vaišelga'', based on ''Vojšalk''. The name ''Vaišvilkas'' was first reconstructed by Kazimieras Būga. In fact, the first part of the double-stemmed name ''vaiš-'' causes no dispute and is attested in many similar names. However, the second part ''-vilkas'', meaning "

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

" is very rare to non existent in Lithuanian names. This led to the hypothesis that the initial form of the name should have been ''Vaišvilas''. The variant ''Vaišelga''/''Vaišalga'' has gained more popularity in historical writings even though the origins of the element ''-alg'' and ''-elg'' are not entirely clear. Eventually, some researchers even suggest that he had two names, one of them being ''Vaišvilas''.

Biography

Nothing is known about the youth of Vaišvilkas as he entered historical sources only in 1254 when he made a treaty, in the name of his father King Mindaugas, with Daniel of Halych-Volhynia. In the treaty, Halych-Volhynia transfers Black Ruthenia with center in Navahrudak to Lithuania. To solidify the treaty, Daniel's son Shvarn was married to Vaišvilkas' sister. Vaišvilkas was appointed as duke of some of these lands. After Vaišvilkas was baptized in a Greek Orthodox rite, he was drawn to religious life so much that he transferred his title and lands to Roman Danylovich, son of Daniel of Halych. He founded a monastery traditionally identified with Lavrashev Monastery on the bank on the Neman River and entered it as a monk. He set off on a pilgrimage to Mount Athos in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. However, he did not reach the destination due to wars in the Balkans and returned to Navahrudak. In 1264, he escaped an assassination plot by Treniota and Daumantas against his father and two of his brothers. Treniota was murdered by former servants of Mindaugas. Vaišvilkas allied himself with his brother-in-law Shvarn from Halych-Volhynia. They managed to take control over Black Ruthenia and the

Duchy of Lithuania The Duchy of Lithuania (; ) was a state-territorial formation of ethnic Lithuanians that existed from the 13th century to 1413. For most of its existence, it was a constituent part and a nucleus of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Other alternative ...

. Then they waged a war against Nalšia and Deltuva, two main centers of opposition to Mindaugas and Vaišvilkas. Daumantas, Duke of Nalšia, was forced to flee 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 ...

. Suksė (Suxe), another influential duke from Nalšia, fled to

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

. Vaišvilkas became next the Grand Duke of Lithuania. As a Christian, he tried to maintain friendly relationships with the Teutonic Knights and the Livonian Order. He signed a peace treaty with Livonia regarding trade on the Daugava River. Lithuanian support of the Great Prussian Uprising ceased, and the orders made advances against Semigallians and Curonians uninterrupted. Together with Shvarn, Vaišvilkas attacked

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in 1265 to avenge the Yotvingians' defeat a year prior. When in 1267 he decided to go back to monastic life, Vaišvilkas transferred the title of Grand Duke to Shvarn. A year later he was killed by Shvarn's brother, Leo I of Halych, who was angry that Vaišvilkas did not divide the powers between him and his brother. He was interred near the Assumption Church in Volodymyr.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaisvilkas 1268 deaths 13th-century Lithuanian nobility Grand dukes of Lithuania Eastern Orthodox Christians from Lithuania Eastern Orthodox monarchs Year of birth unknown Eastern Orthodox monks 13th-century Christian monks 13th-century murdered monarchs

Name

Biography

See also

References