Alšėniškiai (Holszański, princes of Halshany)¶

House card¶


Seat	Halshany (Alšėnai) in the Lithuanian–Ruthenian lands. [Historical record]
Arms / sigil	Princely arms; no securely dated early blazon survives.
Arms / sigil
Words	None.
Patron / burden	None canonical.

Alšėniškiai (Holszański, princes of Halshany)


Type	house
Status	Historical record
Note	Lithuanian-Ruthenian princes; Julijona married Vytautas (1418), her niece Sophia married Jogaila (1422).

Lineage¶

Princes of Halshany: Ivan Olshansky (Jonas Alšėniškis), one of Vytautas’s chief captains and governor of Kyiv after Skirgaila, and his son Andrei. Julijona Alšėniškė married Vytautas on 13 Nov 1418; Sophia (Sonka) of Halshany (c. 1405–1461) married Jogaila on 7 Feb 1422 and bore Władysław III and Casimir IV. The record has Julijona as Sophia’s aunt. Characters: Julijona. [Historical record]

Feuds & alliances¶

Allies of Vytautas and then of the Jogailaičiai through two marriages; servants of the Grand Duchy (GDL). Orthodox-born lords who still hold princely rank. The house that married both cousins.

Fate across the books¶

IV: Julijona enters in ch. 10 (1418), clever enough to see Vytautas listening to something under the floor; Vytautas picks Sophia for Jogaila (ch. 13, Melno year) and her sons become the heirs (ch. 14).
V: Casimir, Sophia’s son, is raised Grand Duke by the council in 1440, and the family’s blood sits on two thrones.

Relations

Ally: Jogailaičiai (Jagiellonians) (1422–…) — Sophia of Halshany married Jogaila. · Kęstutaičiai (Kęstutis’s line) (1418–1430) — Julijona married Vytautas.

Members: Julijona Alšėniškė

Serves: Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Connections¶

graph LR
  alseniskiai["Alšėniškiai (Holszański, princes of Halshany)"]
  gdl["Grand Duchy of Lithuania"]
  jogailaiciai["Jogailaičiai (Jagiellonians)"]
  julijona["Julijona Alšėniškė"]
  kestutaiciai["Kęstutaičiai (Kęstutis's line)"]
  alseniskiai -->|Serves| gdl
  alseniskiai -->|Ally| kestutaiciai
  alseniskiai -->|Ally| jogailaiciai
  julijona -->|Member of| alseniskiai
  style alseniskiai stroke-width:3px