Kristinas Astikas
Encyclopedia
Vytautas the Great
Vytautas ; styled "the Great" from the 15th century onwards; c. 1350 October 27, 1430) was one of the most famous rulers of medieval Lithuania. Vytautas was the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which chiefly encompassed the Lithuanians and Ruthenians...
, his brother Sigismund Kestutaitis
Sigismund Kestutaitis
Sigismund Kęstutaitis was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1432 to 1440. Sigismund was his baptismal name; Sigismund's pagan Lithuanian birth name is unknown. He was son of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Kęstutis and his wife Birutė....
and nephew Casimir Jagiellon, he became the Castellan
Castellan
A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...
of Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
in 1419.
Kristinas is mentioned in 1389 in the Treaty of Salynas
Treaty of Salynas
Treaty of Salynas was a peace treaty signed on October 12, 1398 by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great and the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights Konrad von Jungingen. It was signed on an islet of the Neman River, probably between Kulautuva and the mouth of the Nevėžis River...
between 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...
and the Teutonic Order; he also participated in the signing of other important treaties, including the Peace of Thorn in 1411, the Treaty of Melno
Treaty of Melno
The Treaty of Melno or Treaty of Lake Melno was a peace treaty ending the Gollub War. It was signed on September 27, 1422, between the Teutonic Knights and an alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at Lake Melno , east of Graudenz...
in 1422, and the Union of Grodno in 1432. At the signing of the Union of Horodlo
Union of Horodlo
The Union of Horodło or Pact of Horodło was a set of three acts signed in the town of Horodło on October 2, 1413. The first act was written by Jogaila, King of Poland, and Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. The second and third acts were composed by the Lithuanian and Polish nobility respectively...
in 1413 he received the Coat of Arms of Trąby
Traby
Traby is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Bielawy, within Łowicz County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland....
. Astikas (also spelt as Oscik, Ostyk or Ostik) was his pagan Lithuanian
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...
name, used by some of his descendants as their family name, while Kristinas (Christian
Christian (name)
Christian is a given name borne by males and females. The name is derived from the Latin Christianus, meaning "follower of Christ". It has been a commonly used as a name, since the Middle Ages - especially amongst females....
) was his Christian name
Saint's name
A saint’s name is the name of a saint given to individuals at their baptism within the Catholic Church. The custom of giving the name of a saint originated in France and Germany during the Middle Ages...
.
He is said by some historians to be descended from the Duke of Kernavė
Kernave
Kernavė was a medieval capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and today is a tourist attraction and an archeological site . It is located in the Širvintos district municipality located in southeast Lithuania...
Sirputis, brother of the 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...
. Kristinas had four known sons: Stanislovas (sometimes also called Stankus), Mikalojus (or Micko), Baltramiejus (or Bardko) and Radvila
Radvila Astikas
Radvila Astikas was a Lithuanian magnate, a member of the Astikai family of Vilnius. He was one of the most influential people in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, was a member of the Lithuanian Council of Lords and was even credited as a pretender to its throne instead of Casimir Jagiellon.He was...
. Stanislovas Astikaitis became Voivod of Navahrudek and his descendants used the family name of Astikaitis. Radvila became Voivod of Trakai and his line used used his name as their family name, so he is known as the founder of the Radvila (later Radziwill
Radziwill
The Radziwiłł family is an noble family of Lithuanian origin. The descendants of Kristinas Astikas, a close associate of the 14th century Lithuanian ruler Vytautas, were highly prominent for centuries, first in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, later in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the...
) family. Kristinas was the first known owner of Upninkai
Upninkai
Upninkai is the largest village in Jonava district, Lithuania. It is situated 8 km southwest of Vepriai on the left bank of the Šventoji River. According to the 2001 census, it had population of 1019.-History:...
and Musninkai
Musninkai
Musninkai is a town in Širvintos district municipality, Vilnius County, east Lithuania. According to the 2001 census, the town has a population of 472 people. The town has a church of Catholics....
with their lands. He was also the owner of Alanta
Alanta
Alanta is a small town in Molėtai district municipality, Lithuania. It is the administrative seat of the Alanta Elderate. According to a census in 2001, Alanta had 464 residents. It is situated at the crossing of two roads: Molėtai–Anykščiai and Utena–Alanta–Ukmergė. The town's St...
and Užpaliai
Užpaliai
Užpaliai is a town in Utena County, Lithuania. According to the 2001 census, the town has a population of 877 people.-References:2. Jewish History - Uzpaliai KehilaLinks site at http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/Uzpaliai/Uzpaliai.htm...
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...
. Some of the lands, including Alanta, were granted to him for his service to Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund Kęstutaitis
Sigismund Kestutaitis
Sigismund Kęstutaitis was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1432 to 1440. Sigismund was his baptismal name; Sigismund's pagan Lithuanian birth name is unknown. He was son of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Kęstutis and his wife Birutė....
.