The Columns of Gediminas or Pillars of Gediminas ( Lithuanian : Gediminaičių stulpai , lit. ' Pillars of the Gediminids ' ; Belarusian : Калюмны , romanized : Kaliumny , 'Columns') are one of the earliest symbols of Lithuania and its historical coats of arms . They were used in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , initially as a rulers' personal insignia, a state symbol, and later as a part of heraldic signs of leading aristocracy .
19-548: (Redirected from Kęstutaičiai ) Lithuanian noble family [REDACTED] Columns of Gediminids , an emblem of Kęstutis' ancestors, 1416 [REDACTED] Coat of arms of Kęstutaičiai, used by Grand Duke Vytautas the Great during the Council of Constance in 1416 [REDACTED] Flag of Vytautas the Great with a standing knight of Kęstutaičiai and Lithuanian Vytis (Waikymas) , used during
38-666: A major state symbol, e. g. on Litas coins, monuments and military equipment. The Columns of Gediminas are featured on the Lithuanian Presidential Award Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas , which was started in 1928. After the annexation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union , the symbol was officially banned. During the Singing Revolution of the late 80s, it became the iconic sign of
57-692: A regent in Lithuania. Vytautas saw this as an opportunity to gain power and started the Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392) . His first military campaign against Vilnius was not successful and had to turn to the Teutonic Knights for the second time. Tautvilas joined him again. Joint forces of Vytautas and the Knights attacked Vilnius in September 1390. According to the chronicles of Wigand of Marburg , Tautvilas
76-581: A strong supporter of his brother Vytautas the Great in his struggles against their cousin Jogaila . In 1380, Jogaila signed the secret Treaty of Dovydiškės with the Teutonic Knights against Kęstutis. This sparked a civil war. Kęstutis and his son Vytautas was captured and held prisoners in Kreva castle. In 1382 Kęstutis died under suspicious circumstances, while Vytautas managed to escape and sought allies among
95-570: Is also used on many monuments throughout the country. The official logo of the EuroBasket 2011 , which took place in Lithuania, is composed of the Columns overlaid on a basketball board. The Columns of Gediminas with post horn are also the official logo of the Lithuanian postal company — Lietuvos paštas . The company uses the columns on its official stamps. A combination of the Columns of Gediminas and
114-544: Is close to a trident . This form is the one usually seen in modern times, often drawn on walls and fences as protest against the Soviet occupation of Lithuania . It is notable that the ancient pre-Christian symbols of Lithuania did not follow the same strict rules of heraldry as their Western counterparts. Thus this symbol was used in or and argent , usually on the field gules , and was depicted in various shapes on flags, banners and shields. Some Belarusian historians claim that
133-412: Is different from Wikidata Articles containing Lithuanian-language text Columns of Gediminids The symbol appears in the following form: Horizontal line at bottom, vertical lines extend up at both ends. The square at the middle of the horizontal line is about half as tall as the vertical lines. Another vertical line rises from the top center of the square, giving an overall appearance that
152-1652: The Council of Constance in the early 15th century The family of Kęstutis ( Lithuanian : Kęstutaičiai ), Grand Duke of Lithuania (1381–1382), is listed here. He co-ruled with his brother Algirdas from 1345 to 1377. Parents [ edit ] Gediminas (c. 1275 – winter 1341), Grand Duke of Lithuania (1316–1341) Jaunė (died in 1344), daughter of Prince Ivan of Polotsk Wives [ edit ] Name not known, (died c. 1351) Birutė (died probably in 1382) Brothers [ edit ] Algirdas (c. 1300 – end of May 1377), Grand Duke of Lithuania (1345–1377) Manvydas (c. 1300–1348), Duke of Kernavė and Slonim (1341–1348) Narimantas (baptized Gleb; c. 1300–1348), Duke of Pinsk , Polock and Novgorod Jaunutis (baptized Iwan; c. 1300 – after 1366), Grand Duke of Lithuania (1341–1345), Duke of Izjaslawl (1346–1366) Karijotas (baptized Michal; c. 1300 – c. 1362), Prince of Navahradak (1341–1362) Liubartas (baptized Dymitr; c. 1300–1384), Volodymyr and Luck (1340–1384) Sisters [ edit ] Maria (c. 1300–1349), Princess of Lithuania Aldona of Lithuania (Anna; after 1309 – 26 May 1339), Princess of Lithuania, Queen of Poland (1333–1339) Damilla (baptized Elzbieta; died in 1364), Princess of Płock Eufemija (died on 5 February 1342), Princess of Halicz and Volodymyr - Halicz Aigustė (Anastazja; died on 11 March 1345), Grand Princess of Vladimir -Moscow Sons [ edit ] Vaidotas ( fl. 1362), Duke of Navahrudak Vaišvilas (died c. 1387) Butautas (Henryk; died after 1381) Vytautas
171-602: The Menorah are used by the Litvak community as a symbol meant to identify Lithuanian Jews with content expressing the history of the Jews in Lithuania . In modern Belarus , the columns of Gediminas, alongside the Pahonia , are occasionally used as a symbol of national pride . The columns of Gediminas are in the coat of arms of Brahin in southeastern Belarus. The symbol is featured on
190-514: The Columns directly go back to the symbol of the Rurikids , which was the trident. The name "Columns of Gediminas " was given in the 19th century by historian Teodor Narbutt , who supposed that the symbol was Gediminas' insignia. The more exact name of the symbol is the Pillars of Gediminids , since there is no direct evidence of its connection with Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas . According to
209-443: The Columns of Gediminas on their emblem. The Columns of Gediminas are displayed at Battle of Grunwald by Jan Matejko . The Columns of Gediminas are also displayed at Baptism of Lithuania by Władysław Ciesielski and Funeral of Gediminas by Kazimierz Alchimowicz . Tautvilas K%C4%99stutaitis Tautvilas or Towtwil (c.1352–1355 – September 1390) was one of the sons of Kęstutis , Grand Duke of Lithuania , and
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#1733086050489228-515: The Gates of the Trakai Peninsula Castle . According to the accounts of Jan Długosz , it was derived from a symbol or brand used to mark horses and other property. The Columns were adopted by descendants of Kęstutis as their family symbol, equivalent to a coat of arms. Another user of the Columns of Gediminas was Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund Kęstutaitis . At first, the Columns signified
247-4145: The Great (c. 1350 – 27 October 1430 in Lutsk ), Grand Duke of Lithuania (1392–1430) Tautvilas Kęstutaitis (Conrad; died in September 1390), Prince of Black Ruthenia (1386–1390) Žygimantas Kęstutaitis (after 1350 – murdered on 20 March 1440), Duke of Trakai , Grand Duke of Lithuania (1432–1440) Daughters [ edit ] Mikova (Maria; died in 1404), Grand Princess of Tver (1375–1404?) Danutė of Lithuania (Anna; 1362 – 25 May 1448), Princess of Warsaw (1376–1429) Rimgailė (Elisabeth; died in 1433), Princess of Masovia (4 February – 30 June 1392), Voivodess of Moldavia (1419–1421) References [ edit ] ^ Gudavičius, Edvardas ; Jučas, Mečislovas; Matulevičius, Algirdas. "Kęstutis" . Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia (in Lithuanian) . Retrieved 18 August 2021 . ^ "Kęstutis" . Encyclopedia Britannica . Retrieved 18 August 2021 . ^ "Algirdas" . Encyclopedia Britannica . Retrieved 18 August 2021 . ^ "Gediminas" . Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia (in Lithuanian) . Retrieved 18 August 2021 . ^ Gudavičius, Edvardas ; Matulevičius, Algirdas. "Algirdas" . Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia (in Lithuanian) . Retrieved 18 August 2021 . ^ "Manvydas" . Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia (in Lithuanian) . Retrieved 18 August 2021 . ^ Petrauskas, Rimvydas . "Narimantas" . Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia (in Lithuanian) . Retrieved 18 August 2021 . ^ "Jaunutis" . Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia (in Lithuanian) . Retrieved 18 August 2021 . ^ Jučas, Mečislovas. "Karijotas" . Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia (in Lithuanian) . Retrieved 18 August 2021 . ^ Jasas, Rimantas. "Liubartas" . Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia (in Lithuanian) . Retrieved 18 August 2021 . ^ Gudavičius, Edvardas . "Aldona" . Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia (in Lithuanian) . Retrieved 18 August 2021 . ^ "Eufemija Gediminaitė" . Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia (in Lithuanian) . Retrieved 18 August 2021 . ^ Gudavičius, Edvardas . "Aigustė" . Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia (in Lithuanian) . Retrieved 18 August 2021 . ^ Jankauskas, Vytas (2013). "Kunigaikštis Vaidotas Kęstutaitis" (PDF) . Kauno istorijos metraštis . Retrieved 18 August 2021 . ^ "Butautas" . Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia (in Lithuanian) . Retrieved 18 August 2021 . ^ Gudavičius, Edvardas ; Matulevičius, Algirdas. "Vytautas Didysis" . Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia (in Lithuanian) . Retrieved 18 August 2021 . ^ Gudavičius, Edvardas; Matulevičius, Algirdas. "Tautvila (Tautvilas)" . Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia (in Lithuanian) . Retrieved 18 August 2021 . ^ Dundulis, Bronius; Matulevičius, Algirdas. "Žygimantas Kęstutaitis" . Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia (in Lithuanian) . Retrieved 18 August 2021 . v t e Monarchs of Lithuania List of early Lithuanian dukes List of Lithuanian monarchs Kingdom of Lithuania House of Mindaugas (1236–1263) Mindaugas Grand Duchy of Lithuania House of Mindaugas (1263–1267) Treniota Vaišvilkas House of Monomakh (1267–1269) Shvarn House of Mindaugas (1269–1285) Traidenis Daumantas House of Gediminids (1285–1440) Butigeidis Butvydas Vytenis Gediminas ( family ) Jaunutis Algirdas ( family ) Jogaila ( family ) Kęstutis ( family ) Skirgaila Vytautas Švitrigaila Sigismund Kęstutaitis House of Jagiellon (1440–1569) Casimir Jagellon Alexander Sigismund I
266-1357: The Old Sigismund II Augustus Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Elected (1569–1795) Henry III of Valois Anna the Jagiellonian Stephen Báthory Sigismund III Vasa Ladislaus IV Vasa John II Casimir Vasa Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki John III Sobieski Augustus II the Strong Stanisław Leszczyński August III the Saxon Stanisław August Poniatowski Kingdom of Lithuania House of Urach (1918) Mindaugas II Titular rulers are in italics . Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Family_of_Kęstutis&oldid=1255996052 " Categories : Gediminids Lithuanian noble families Hidden categories: CS1 Lithuanian-language sources (lt) Articles with short description Short description
285-556: The Teutonic Knights. Around the same time Jogaila banished Tautvilas from Navahrudak that he and his brother Vaidotas were ruling. Tautvilas then joined the fight of his brother Vytautas. While visiting the Teutonic Knights, he was baptized as Kondrat on October 21, 1383. In 1384 Vytautas and Jogaila reconciled and the civil war ended. When Jogaila signed the Union of Krewo and became the King of Poland , he left his unpopular brother Skirgaila as
304-580: The family of Kęstutis, in contrast to the Vytis which was used by Algirdas ' descendants. Later on, as a symbol of a ruling dynasty, it was adopted by Jagiellons and the two symbols became state symbols of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Columns of Gediminas remained in use over the following centuries. During the period between World War I and World War II they were used by the Lithuanian Republic as
323-476: The historical and archaeological evidence, the Columns were used by Grand Duke of Lithuania and Duke of Trakai Kęstutis . They appear on the Lithuanian coins issued by him. The symbol was also used by Vytautas as his personal insignia since 1397 and appeared on his seal and coins. It was suggested by historian Edmundas Antanas Rimša , who analyzed the ancient coins, that the Columns of the Gediminids symbolizes
342-707: The monument to the Grand Duke Gediminas in Lida . which was unveiled in 2019. In Ukraine , the coat of arms of Zhytomyr Oblast adopted an archaic form of the Vytis (Pohonia) on the second quarter, with the Columns of Gediminas on knight's shield. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine started, the Pahonia Regiment was formed as part of the International Legion of Territorial Defence of Ukraine , which used
361-468: The reform movement Sąjūdis . The Columns of Gediminas appears in the coat of arms of Seimas and in the emblems of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, Land Force, Air Force, Navy, Military Police, National Defence Volunteer Forces and Grand Duke Gediminas Staff Battalion. The Columns of Gediminas are also featured in the coat of arms of Old Trakai, Trakai District Municipality and Šimkaičiai. The symbol
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