Genealogical Imagination
In talking about the genealogical imagination of the nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, particular attention should be focused on the theory of the Lithuanians having Roman origins, the beginnings of which is recorded in the Lithuanian Chronicles and those of others. It is not only the idea of having Roman forefathers that was entrenched in the family consciousness that was an inseparable part of the legend-like nature of the understanding of one’s own genealogical origins, but also how and who were chosen as forefathers by the rulers and nobles of the GDL as well as those from other countries. The understanding of one’s legendary genealogy was particularly vivid for families like the Giedroyć, Korybut Wiśniowiecki, Radziwiłł, Sapieha, Pac, and Połubiński. Except for the Wiśniowiecki family, the other four families traced their origins from legendary Roman patriarchs that came to Lithuania: the Giedroyć and Radziwiłł came from Dausprungas, the Połubiński from Palemon, and the Sapiehas from Prospero Cesarino. The legendary forefather of the Pac was Cosimus Pacius who also together with his compatriots supposedly came to Lithuania from Rome. Thanks to this legend, the Paces traced their origins and communicated with the old Pazzi family of Italy. The Wiśniowiecki traced their origins back to Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, which they truly did have blood ties with, however in their family tree there are number of people that are depicted as their forefathers who have no family ties whatsoever with them.
The “holy” Wiśniowiecki
In the family tree of the Wiśniowiecki clan, we can see a particularly large amount of canonized and beatified individuals who are not members of this family. In all there are 14 persons, of which two are canonized and 12 are beatified. Among those canonized we find a member of the ruling dynasty of Lithuania: Casimir, the son of the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuanian Casimir Jagiellon, who is the patron of Lithuania. Anther canonized person, St. Hyacinth, the founder of the Dominican order of Poland, who became the patron of Poland and Lithuania during the rule of Jan Sobieski. St. Hyacinth and St. Casimir were exceptional people in Poland and Lithuania. The stories of their lives marked by virtue and miracles became rooted in the conscious of Poles and Lithuanians as examples of society’s spiritual world to be followed. These examples were necessary for Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki as a ruler and for the other members of the Wiśniowiecki family.
The need to follow these examples was determined in large part by considering these saints as members of the family. In this case, the aspiration for a pious life replaced the lack of blood ties.
Michał Giedroyć is mentioned among those who have no blood ties with the Wiśniowiecki family. The choosing of him as a legendary forefather could be explained by the fact that the family of the noble Giedroyć family is old and respected. In addition, a section of the Lithuanian Chronicles on legends deals with this family. In this section, the Giedraitis family together with the noble Holszański family, who trace their roots back to a common forefather – the legendary Roman Dausprungas, a compatriot of Palemon, who came with him to Lithuania.
The depiction of saints and the beatified alongside emperors, monarchs and other rules in the family tree of the Wiśniowiecki family as well as symbols of Christianity (the Eye of Providence and an angel) above him show the emphasis of both a secular and godly rule, the sacred aspect of his family history was important for the royal representation and genealogical understanding of Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki. This must have been particularly important in “post-Tridentine” European countries, among them the Commonwealth, where the Roman Catholic Church defeated the Reformation and reached the pinnacle of its power during the life of Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki in the 17th century. It was helpful to have a canonized individual among your forefathers for ruling dynasties in both Western and Central Europe, as well as in Scandinavia.
Lithuanians from Rome
The fantasy of the genealogy of GDL nobles is reflected in celebratory publications devoted to them. They emphasize in particular the origins of the Sapiehas from the Romans, i.e. from Prospero Cesarino, and sometimes from Publius Palemon. It is noted the Sapieha family comes from Lithuanian Grand Dukes and had close family contacts with monarchs of the Jagiellonian dynasty and the most prominent nobles of the Kingdom of Poland. European monarchs and nobles (from Hungary, Mazovia, Portugal, Austria, Galicia, Spain, Orlean, Bohemia, Brandenburg, Bavaria and Saxony), with whom the Sapiehas became family with through the descendants of Gediminas.
Do You Know?
In trying to emphasize their high birth, GDL families did occasionally decorate their genealogical tree with legendary forefathers: the Giedroyć and Radziwiłł came from Dausprungas, the Połubiński from Palemon, and the Sapiehas from Prospero Cesarino. The legendary forefather of the Pac was Cosmus Pacius who together with his compatriots supposedly came to Lithuania from Rome. The Wiśniowiecki traced their origins back to Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, which they truly did have blood ties with, however in their family tree there are 14 saints and beatified persons who have no family ties with them whatsoever.
Sources show that the legend of the Roman origins of Lithuanians left a mark in the genealogical consciousness of the Lubart Sanguszko family. In a celebratory publication for Samuel Szymon Sanguszko that was published in 1639, the Vytis, or coat-of-arms that was used by the Sanguszko family was explained in the following way: “this coat-of-arms was first created by Narimantas, who, when he was dying, reminded his subjects that they would never select another coat-of-arms in their country, but only a valiant man who would lead them well defend the borders of the Kingdom courageously and expand the state by his sword.” This quote is almost the same as a story recorded in one of the Lithuanian Chronicles where the oldest of five brothers who were descendants of the Romans that went to Lithuania who decided to leave the coat-of-arms with a centaur on it to his brothers and begin to use the Vytis as his coat-of-arms.
Genealogical Tricks
In speaking about the lower-level GDL families, one could mention the Szweykowski family, the forefather of whom was Kasparz Szweykowski, who came from Podolia to Lithuania in the mid-16th century. There are neither Roman forefathers nor canonized or beatified individuals in their family tree, or any famous individuals that had family ties with them at all. However, the Szweykowski family also thought of how to boost the standing of some members of their family. In their family tree, the blood tie between members of the family was depicted inconsistently. The Szweykowski family adopted the cult of having an ancient origin that formed among European nobility in the Late Middle Ages and early modern era. Unable or unwilling to depict legendary forefathers in their family tree, they carried out genealogical shifting with the members of the family they had, and moved some of them to the more distant past, i.e. to an earlier place on the family tree than they should have been. The participants of this shifting were people that were higher in rank or duties than the other members of the Szweykowski family. Thus, members that had possessed higher duties were said to have “started” the history of the family.
From these fragments of the genealogical fantasy world of GDL nobles, one can see that our ancient forefathers did not have a lack of imagination and knew how to adopt trends in the mentality of Europe to their needs.
Agnė Railaitė
