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The House of Mindaugas was the first royal family of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, centered around Mindaugas, the first known and undoubted sovereign of Lithuania. He was crowned as King of Lithuania in 1253 and assassinated ten years later. His known family relations end with children; there is no data on his great-grandchildren or any relations with the Gediminids,[1] a dynasty of sovereigns of Lithuania and Poland that started with Butigeidis ca. 1285 and ended with Sigismund II Augustus in 1572.
Historians have to make considerable assumptions trying to reconstruct the full family tree because of extremely scarce written sources about the early history of Lithuania. The matter is further complicated by the 16–17th century genealogies, most famously the Bychowiec Chronicle, that mixed legends and facts into one.[2] The legends about Palemonids, a noble family from the Roman Empire who settled in Lithuania and gave rise to the Duchy, are quite popular and widespread in these genealogies. The real historical data comes from the Russian and Livonian chronicles, most important of these being the Hypatian Codex.
Family tree[]
Mindaugas and his brother Dausprungas are first mentioned among the 5 elder dukes in a 1219 treaty with Halych–Volhynia. Since at that time both brothers had to be relatively young, it implies that they inherited their high status.[3] However, no written sources of the period talk about their father, except the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle, which mentions in passing that he was a powerful Grand Duke (ein kunic grôß). Chronicles written in the 16–17th centuries gave him the name of Ryngold (Lithuanian: Rimgaudas) and made him part of the Palemonids' legends.[3] Historian Edvardas Gudavičius argued that because the 1219 treaty mentioned two pairs of young brothers among the 5 elder dukes (Mindaugas and Dausprungas, Daujotas and Vilikaila), it was very likely that they were sons of powerful Lithuanian dukes Daugirutis and Stekšys, killed in 1213 and 1214.[4]
Dausprungas is not mentioned anywhere else. However, it is known that Mindaugas had two nephews, Tautvilas and Edivydas, who waged a war against their uncle. Since historians do not have any data on other brothers of Mindaugas, it is generally assumed that the two were sons of Dausprungas.[5] During the civil war of 1249–1252 Tautvilas and Edivydas asked Daniil of Halych, their brother-in-law, for help. This bit of information indicates that they also had a sister. The sister was Daniil's second wife and they did not have children. Dausprungas' wife must have been Prince of Samogitia Vykintas' sister since Vykintas was an uncle of Tautvilas and Edivydas.[5] It is believed that Edivydas died in 1253 in a campaign against Bohemia, as it is the last message about him.[6] Tautvilas was killed by his cousin Treniota in 1263. Some historians suggest that Tautvilas had a son, Constantine, who ruled Vitebsk,[7] however others disagree and claim that his son might have been Aigust, who was sent by Novgorod to Pskov in 1271.[8]
It is assumed that Mindaugas had three wives even though nothing is known about the first one. The assumption is made because Mindaugas had two older children, Vaišvilkas and a daughter of unknown name, who already led independent lives while the children Mindaugas had with Morta were young and still dependent on their father.[9] Vaišvilkas became such a devoted Orthodox that he voluntarily gave up the title of Grand Duke of Lithuania in favor of his brother-in-law Shvarn and died heirless.[10] The only known daughter of Mindaugas, Ramona Mindogovna by marriage with Shvarn in 1255, became the Queen of Halych (1255–1264) and Princess of Chełm (1264). According to one source, after Shvarn's death his brother Lev of Halych married the childless widow Ramona to his ally count Hujd. Their children were the originators of the Sas noble family of western Ukraine and Poland. [11]
In the commentary of the 1219 treaty with Halych–Volhynia it is noted that Mindaugas took the wife of Vismantas Bulaičiai for himself. It is assumed that Vismantas' wife and Morta are the same woman.[9] It is known that Vismantas died in 1252 in a battle against Mindaugas; however the date of Mindaugas and Morta's wedding is unknown. There is no consensus on how many children Morta had. The chronicles mention two sons, Replys and Gerstukas, in 1261. In 1263 two sons, Ruklys and Rupeikis, were assassinated together with Mindaugas. This is the only information available and historians disagree on whether these are the same two sons, whose name got distorted by scribes, or they are four sons.[9] There is no data on any rivals to the crown after the assassination, except for Vaišvilkas and Tautvilas; it would indicate that, whether there were two or four sons, they had perished in their youth.[9]
After Morta's death in 1262, king Mindaugas made arrangements for her funeral. Her sister, Agna, wife of Daumantas, prince of Nalšia, a northern province of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania attended Queen Morta's funeral. For some reason, her husband Daumantas was not present.
Mindaugas claimed that the Queen Morta's last wish was that he marry her sister, so that she could take care of her young sons, though this reason is difficult to accept, as they were about 12-15 years old. According to other accounts, Mindaugas simply fell in love with his young sister in law, who was about 20 years old while he was over 60. Apparently, Agna did not submit willingly to Mindaugas' demands and she was kept prisoner by force. There are no information that Mindaugas formally married her. She seems to have fallen ill and to have never recovered, dying after a short time.
This cruel act motivated Daumantas to become an ally of Treniota and assassinate Mindaugas with two of his sons. Treniota was Mindaugas' nephew. It is believed that he was son of the Duke of Samogitia, Vykintas.[5] If it really was Vykintas, then there was a double marriage: Vykintas' sister married Dausprungas and Dausprungas' (and Mindaugas') sister married Vykintas.[5] Another Duke of Samogitia, Erdvilas is mentioned only once in the 1219 treaty. The other nephew, Lengvenis, played a role in Lithuanian state in 1242–1260.[12]
Graphic representation[]
- Please note the assumptions outlined above
| Ancestor | Children | Children-in-law | Grandchildren | ||||||
| Daughter | |||||||||
| Married: Daniel, King of Galicia–Volhynia | |||||||||
| Dausprungas | Name unknown | Tautvilas | |||||||
| Only mention: 1219 | Vykintas' sister | Died: 1263 | |||||||
| Gedvydas | |||||||||
| Died: ca. 1253 | |||||||||
| Vaišvilkas | |||||||||
| Name unknown (1st wife) | Grand Duke of Lithuania: 1264–1267 | ||||||||
| Daughter | |||||||||
| Married: Shvarn, Prince of Galicia | |||||||||
| Ruklys | |||||||||
| Ryngold | Mindaugas | Morta (2nd wife) | Only mention: 1261 | ||||||
| Legendary Grand Duke of Lithuania | Grand Duke/King of Lithuania: 1236–1263 | Vismantas' wife; Died: ca. 1262 | |||||||
| Rupeikis | |||||||||
| Died: 1263 | |||||||||
| Agna (3rd wife) | |||||||||
| Daumantas' wife, Morta's sister | |||||||||
| Daughter | Name unknown | Lengvenis | |||||||
| Duke of Nalšia | Died: after 1260 | ||||||||
| Daughter | Vykintas or Erdvilas | Treniota | |||||||
| Duke of Samogitia | Grand Duke of Lithuania: 1263–1264 | ||||||||
Main source: Kiaupa, Zigmantas; Jūratė Kiaupienė, Albinas Kunevičius (2000) [1995]. The History of Lithuania Before 1795 (English ed. ed.). Vilnius: Lithuanian Institute of History. p. 67. ISBN 9986-810-13-2. | |||||||||
See also[]
- Palemonids – legendary dynasty before Mindaugas
- Gediminids – dynasty that started ca. 1285
- History of Lithuania (1219–1295)
References[]
- ^ (Lithuanian) Nikžentaitis, Alvydas (1989). Gediminas. Vilnius: Vyriausioji enciklopedijų redakcija. p. 8.
- ^ (Lithuanian) Jonynas, Ignas (1935). "Bychovco kronika". In Vaclovas Biržiška. Lietuviškoji enciklopedija. III. Kaunas: Spaudos Fondas. pp. 875–878.
- ^ a b (Lithuanian) Kiaupa, Zigmantas (2002). "Baltų žemių vienijimosi priežastys". Gimtoji istorija. Nuo 7 iki 12 klasės. Vilnius: Elektroninės leidybos namai. ISBN 9986-9216-9-4. http://mkp.emokykla.lt/gimtoji/?id=821. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
- ^ (Lithuanian) Gudavičius, Edvardas (1998). Mindaugas. Vilnius: Žara. p. 177. ISBN 9986-34-020-9.
- ^ a b c d (Lithuanian) Ivinskis, Zenonas (1937). "Dausprungas". In Vaclovas Biržiška. Lietuviškoji enciklopedija. VI. Kaunas: Spaudos Fondas. pp. 186–188.
- ^ (Lithuanian) Ivinskis, Zenonas (1939). "Gedvydas". In Vaclovas Biržiška. Lietuviškoji enciklopedija. VII. Kaunas: Spaudos Fondas. pp. 425–426.
- ^ Simas Sužiedėlis, ed (1970–1978). "Tautvilas". Encyclopedia Lituanica. V. Boston, Massachusetts: Juozas Kapočius. p. 384. LCC
74-114275.
- ^ Rowell, S. C. (2004). Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire Within East-Central Europe, 1295–1345. Cambridge University Press. pp. 20–21. ISBN 0-521-45011-X.
- ^ a b c d Kiaupa, Zigmantas; Jūratė Kiaupienė, Albinas Kunevičius (2000) [1995]. The History of Lithuania Before 1795 (English ed. ed.). Vilnius: Lithuanian Institute of History. pp. 43–72. ISBN 9986-810-13-2.
- ^ (Lithuanian) Gudavičius, Edvardas (2004). "Vaišvilkas". Lietuvos valdovai (XIII–XVIII a.): enciklopedinis žinynas. Vytautas Spečiūnas (compiler). Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. p. 24. ISBN 5-420-01535-8.
- ^ Терлецький М. (2005). Контури роду Драго-Сасів / Вид.2-ге.– Львів:“Центр Європи”, 2005.– 172 c.
- ^ (Lithuanian) Varakauskas, Rokas (2004). "Lengvenis". Lietuvos valdovai (XIII–XVIII a.): enciklopedinis žinynas. Vytautas Spečiūnas (compiler). Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. p. 22. ISBN 5-420-01535-8.
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