Giedraiciai
Encyclopedia
Giedraitis is the name of a Lithuanian noble family, most probably dating back to the time of Mindaugas
Mindaugas
Mindaugas was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a 1219 treaty as an elder duke, and in 1236 as the leader of all the Lithuanians...

, although it has no connections with him. No reliable information about the earliest members of the family has survived; when the family name started to appear in written sources in the early 15th century, the precise connections between all its members were already impossible to establish. According to the 16th century Lithuanian Chronicle, they are descendants of duke Giedrius, a brother of Narimantas and Grand Duke of Lithuania Traidenis
Traidenis
Traidenis was the Grand Duke Lithuania from 1270 till 1282. He is the second most prominent, after Mindaugas, Grand Duke of Lithuania in the 13th century. His reign ended a seven-year unrest period after Mindaugas was assassinated in 1263 and firmly established the Grand Duchy as a pagan state...

.

Many family members were important figures in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

n and Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 history and culture.

The family's original domain was the Lithuanian town of Giedraičiai
Giedraiciai
Giedraitis is the name of a Lithuanian noble family, most probably dating back to the time of Mindaugas, although it has no connections with him...

.

Notable members

  • Jerzy Giedroyc
    Jerzy Giedroyc
    Jerzy Giedroyc was a Polish writer and political activist....

     (1906 - 2000), Polish writer and political activist
  • Vera Gedroitz
    Vera Gedroitz
    Princess Vera Ignatievna Giedroyc was a Lithuanian princess, a doctor of medicine, a professor, the first female surgeon in Russia, one of the first female professors of surgery in the world, and a writer of poetry and prose.Giedroyc belonged to a Lithuanian princely clan which shared its origins...

     (1870 - 1932), Lithuanian princess, surgeon and amateur poet.

External links

Short description of family http://postilla.mch.mii.lt/Dauksa/gimineGiedr.htmA bit on family by Lithuanian historian Zenonas Ivinskis
Zenonas Ivinskis
Zenonas Ivinskis was a noted Lithuanian historian.-Education:...

]
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