Vaisvilkas

- 1268    Has 2 ancestors but no descendants in this family tree.

• Name	Vaisvilkas
  Gender	Male
  Death	09 Dec 1268
  Siblings	1 Sibling
  1. Vaisvilkas   d. 09 Dec 1268   2. NN ▻ Shvarn von Galicia
  Person ID	I681971	Geneagraphie
  Last Modified	8 Oct 2010

  
  

  Father	Mindaugas,   b. cir 1200   d. 12 Sep 1263 (Age 63 years)
  Family ID	F348589	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Grand Duke of Lithuania: 1264?1267 (also spelled as Vojszalak, Voj?alk, Vai?algas, Polish: Wojsielk) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania (1264?1267). He was son of Mindaugas, the first and only King of Lithuania. Nothing is known about Vai?vilkas' youth 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. So solidify the treaty Daniel's son Shvarn was married to Vai?vilkas' sister. Vai?vilkas was appointed as duke of some of these lands. After Vai?vilkas was baptized in Greek Orthodox rite, he was drawn to the 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. However, he did not reach the destination due to wars in the Balkans and returned to Navahrudak. In 1264 he escaped assassination plot by Treniota and Daumantas against his father and two of his brothers. Treniota was murdered by former servants of Mindaugas. Vai?vilkas allied himself with his brother-in-law Shvarn from Halych-Volhynia. They managed to take control over Black Ruthenia and Duchy of Lithuania. Then they waged a war against Nal?ia and Deltuva, two main centers of opposition to Mindaugas and Vai?vilkas. Daumantas, Duke of Nal?ia, was forced to flee to Pskov. Sukse. (Suxe), another influential duke from Nal?ia, fled to Livonia. Vai?vilkas become the Grand Duke of Lithuania. As a Christian, he tried to maintain friendly relationship 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 Vai?vilkas attacked Poland in 1265 to avenge devastation of Yotvingians in 1264. When in 1267 he decided to go back to monastic life, Vai?vilkas 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 Vai?vilkas did not divide the powers between him and his brother. He was interred near the Assumption Church in Volodymyr-Volynskyi. The original Lithuanian name of the Grand Duke has puzzled many linguists and historians. Their reconstructions resulted in two credible variants Vai?vilkas, based on Woyszwi?k and Vai?elga, based on Voj?alk. The name Vai?vilkas was first reconstructed by Kazimieras Bu-ga. In fact, the first part of the double-stemmed name vai?- causes no dispute and is attested in many similar names. However, the second part -vilkas, meaning "wolf" is very rare to non existent in Lithuanian names. This led to the hypothesis that the initial form of the name should have been Vai?vilas. The variant Vai?elga/Vai?alga 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 Vai?vilas