Albertas Goštautas, , ) (c. 1480 – 1539) was a Lithuanian noble of the Goštautai

Goštautai

Gostautai , masculine Gostautas and feminine form Gostautaite were a Lithuanian noble family, one of the most influential magnate families during the 15th and early 16th centuries...

 family from ethnic Lithuanian

Lithuanians

Lithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,765,600 people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland. Their native language...

 lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

. Voivode of Navahrudak since 1508, Voivode of Polotsk since 1514, Voivode of Trakai since 1519 and Voivode of Vilnius since 1522. In 1522 he became Grand Chancellor of Lithuania

Kanclerz

Kanclerz was one of the highest officials in the historic Poland. This office functioned from the early Polish kingdom of the 12th century until the end of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. A respective office also existed in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since the 16th...

. He was the initiator and the editor of the First Statute of Lithuania, as a successor of his staunch opponent Mikolaj Radziwiłł, who rivaled him in the precedence in the Council of Lords

Lithuanian Council of Lords

The Lithuanian Council of Lords was the main permanent institution of central government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania active in its capital city of Vilnius....

. His subsequent rival in influence in the Grand Duchy was Konstanty Ostrogski

Konstanty Ostrogski

Konstanty Iwanowicz Ostrogski was a Lithuanian duke of slavonic origin and a Grand Hetman of Lithuania since September 11, 1497, until his death. As a speaker of the Ruthenian language he is considered to be one of the precursors of the Belarusian language and a national hero in Belarus.He...

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Albrecht was a son of Martynas Goštautas and father of Stanislovas Goštautas

Stanislovas Goštautas

Stanislovas Goštautas was a notable member of the Lithuanian nobility and a high-ranking member of the Lithuanian administration...

, last male heir of the Goštautai family. He was buried in Vilnius Cathedral

Vilnius Cathedral

The Cathedral of Vilnius is the main Roman Catholic Cathedral of Lithuania.It is situated in Vilnius Old Town, just off of Cathedral Square. It is the heart of Lithuania's Catholic spiritual life....

, where his tomb remains till present day.

It is thought that Albrecht Goštautas, as well as the rest of Goštautai family members, had retained their native Lithuanian language

Lithuanian language

Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...

. Influenced by the ideas of the Protestant Reformation

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

, Goštautas was a supporter of the Lithuanian culture and language in state affairs and had a nationalistic attitude: he segregated Lithuanian and Polish speaking Franciscan

Franciscan

Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

s, took care of the representatives of the Lithuanian literature

Lithuanian literature

Lithuanian literature concerns the art of written works compiled by Lithuanians throughout their history.-Latin language:A wealth of Lithuanian literature was written in Latin, the main scholarly language in the Middle Ages.-Lithuanian language:...

, such as Abraomas Kulvietis

Abraomas Kulvietis

Abraomas Kulvietis was a jurist and a professor at Königsberg Albertina University, as well as a reformer of the church....

, and showed distrust to Ruthenian

Ruthenians

The name Ruthenian |Rus']]) is a culturally loaded term and has different meanings according to the context in which it is used. Initially, it was the ethnonym used for the East Slavic peoples who lived in Rus'. Later it was used predominantly for Ukrainians...

 inhabitants of the Grand Duchy.

He is one of the characters on the famous painting by Jan Matejko

Jan Matejko

Jan Matejko was a Polish painter known for paintings of notable historical Polish political and military events. His most famous works include oil on canvas paintings like Battle of Grunwald, paintings of numerous other battles and court scenes, and a gallery of Polish kings...

, Prussian Homage

Prussian Homage (painting)

The Prussian Homage is an oil on canvas painting by Polish painter Jan Matejko painted between 1879 and 1882 in Kraków, then part of Austria-Hungary. It depicts a tribute made by Albrecht Hohenzollern, the Duke of Prussia, to King Sigismund I the Old in the Kraków market square on 10 April 1525;...

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Modern variations of the name include: Gasztold, Gosztowtt, Gostautas, Gochtovtt, Gostout.