Gediminids
The House of Gediminid 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 Russia and Poland 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 Prince). Origin The origin of Gediminas himself is much debated. Some sources say he was Vytenis' ostler, others that he was of peasant stock. Some historians consider him as the son or grandson of Lithuanian or Yatvingian King/duke Skalmantas. Most scholars agree, however, that Gediminas was Vytenis' brother (the parentage of Vytenis is explained differently in various fake genealogies, compiled from the 16th century onwards; according to the latest Polish research, his parentage cannot be established). Confirmed Gediminid rulers Gediminas Jaunutis Algirdas Jogaila Kęstutis Vytautas – King/Grand Duke from 1392 to 1430 Švitrigaila Sigismund Kęstutaitis Casimir IV Jagiellon Alexander Jagiellon Sigismund I the Old Sigismund II Augustus Branches of the dynasty The Eastern Orthodox branches of the family were mostly Ruthenian, which also was one of the two main languages of their established state. Some of these families (e.g., Czartoryski) later converted to Roman Catholicism and became Polonized. Others (e.g., Galitzine) moved to Muscovy and became thoroughly Russified. In Poland, most Gediminid families (such as Olelkowicz-Słucki, Wiśniowiecki, Zbaraski) are extinct, but at least some families survive to the present: Chowański, Czartoryski, Sanguszko, Siesicki (Dowmont-Siesicki, Szeszycki) and Koriatowicz-Kurcewicz.. The Russian Gediminid families include Bulgakov, Golitsin, Kurakin, Khovansky, Troubetzkoy, Mstislavsky, Belsky, and Volynsky. Some of these families also survive as of 2020. Gediminid descendants I. The descendants of *Bujwid Vytianis Rex. King Lithuania. Dukes Prince of Bujwid I. The descendants of Narimantas: Dukes of (faded at the end of the 15th century) Dukes of Dukes of Dukes of Dukes of Dukes of Dukes of Golitsyn Dukes of Kurakin Dukes of Dukes of Dukes of Korecki Dukes of II. The descendants of Algirdas: Duke Andrei of Polotsk Dukes of Dukes of Dmitrijus Algirdaitis Dukes of Trubetskoy (Trubchevsk) Dukes of Czartoryski Vladimiras Algirdaitis Olelkaičiai (descendants of ) Dukes of (faded at the end of the 16th century) Dukes of Belsky The descendants of Kaributas Dukes of Dukes of Wiśniowiecki Dukes of Dukes of Dukes of The descendants of Dukes of Dukes of Kobryn Dukes of Sanguszko The Jagiellons The descendants of Lengvenis Dukes of Mstislavsky III. The descendants of Kęstutis Patrikas