Palemonids

The Palemonids were a legendary dynasty of Grand Dukes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The legend was born in the 15th or 16th century as proof that Lithuanians and the Grand Duchy are of Roman origins. Already Jan Długosz (1415–1480) wrote that the Lithuanians were of Roman origin, but did not provide any proof. The legend is first recorded in the second edition of the Lithuanian Chronicle produced in the 1530s.[1] At the time the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was quarrelling with the Kingdom of Poland, rejecting the claims that Poland had civilized the pagan and barbaric Lithuania. The Lithuanian nobility felt a need for the ruling dynasty to show upstanding origins, as the only available chronicles at the time were written by the Teutonic Knights, a long-standing enemy, and depicted Gediminas, ancestor of the Gediminids dynasty, as a hostler of Vytenis.[2]

In this new Lithuanian chronicle, Palemon (could be Polemon II of Pontus), a relative of Roman Emperor Nero, escaped Rome together with 500 noble families. The company traveled north, through the Baltic Sea, and reached the Nemunas Delta. After that they decided to sail upstream until they reached the mouth of Dubysa. There, the Palemonids settled on a large hill and ruled the country for generations until the Gediminids emerged.[1] The chronicle skipped Mindaugas and Traidenis, attested Grand Dukes of Lithuania, entirely.[2] It incorporated the account of the Gediminid line from the first edition. To make the story more believable, the chronicler presented a very detailed account of the journey. Because there were not enough generations to cover the gap between the 1st century when Palemon arrived and the 14th century when Gediminas died, the third edition of the chronicle, also known as the Bychowiec Chronicle, placed Palemon in the 5th century instead of the 1st, when Rome was devastated by Attila the Hun,[1] and included Mindaugas and other attested dukes. But it was not enough and historians like Maciej Stryjkowski and Kazimierz Kojałowicz-Wijuk moved the account further, into the 10th century.[3] Multiple contradictory versions of the legend survive to this day as historians tried to patch up some obvious mistakes and make it more historically sound.

The first to critically evaluate and reject the legend was historian Joachim Lelewel in 1839.[4] At the end of the 19th century there were some attempts, for example in a history written by Maironis, to tie the legend with the expansion of the vikings.[1] While many historians up until the dawn of the 20th century believed the legend to be true, it is now largely discarded as a fictional story that only serves to illustrate political ideology in the 16th-century Lithuania.[5]

Genealogical tree according to the second edition of the Lithuanian Chronicles

Palemon From Column family

Borkus Duke of Samogitia Founder of Jurbarkas

Kunos Duke of Aukštaitija Founder of Kaunas

Spera Duke of Eastern Lithuania Name: Lake Spėra

Daumantas Duke of Deltuva From Centaurus family

Kernius Duke of Lithuania Founder of Kernavė

Gimbutas Duke of Samogitia

Montvilas Duke of Samogitia

Kiras Duke of Deltuva

Pajauta ♀ Name: valley in Kernavė

Nemunas Name: Neman River

Erdvilas Duke of Navahradak

Skirmantas

Vykintas Duke of Samogitia

Mingaila Duke of Navahradak and Polatsk

Živinbudas Duke of Samogitia

Kukovaitis Duke of Lithuania

Skirmantas Duke of Navahradak, Pinsk, Turaŭ, etc.

Ginvilas Duke of Polatsk

Kukovaitis Duke of Samogitia

Traidenis Grand Duke of Navahradak

Liubartas Grand Duke of Karachev

Pisimantas Duke of Turaŭ

Rogvolodas Duke of Polatsk

Algimantas Duke of Navahradak

Gleb Duke of Polatsk

Paraskeva ♀

Utenis Duke of Lithuania and Samogitia Founder of Utena

Ryngold Duke of Navahradak

Vaišvilkas Duke of Navahradak

Šventaragis Grand Duke of Lithuania Name: valley in Vilnius

Skirmantas Grand Duke of Lithuania

Trabus Duke of Samogitia

Koliginas Duke of Lithuania and Rus'

Romanas Grand Duke of Lithuania

Narimantas Grand Duke of Lithuania

Daumantas

Olshan Ancestor of Olshanski

Giedrius Ancestor of Giedraičiai

Traidenis Grand Duke of Lithuania

Rimantas Grand Duke of Lithuania

Source: Jučas, Mečislovas (2003). Lietuvos metraščiai ir kronikos (in Lithuanian). Vilnius: Aidai. p. 53. ISBN 9955-445-40-8. The table was prepared according to the second edition of the Lithuanian Chronicles, the so-called transcription of the Archaeological Society. Other editions, transcriptions, chronicles, and later historians presented significantly different genealogical trees. Note: Darker shaded cells represent dukes who share their names with real historical figures. Dukes with the title Grand Duke of Lithuania ruled the unified country: i.e. they ruled Lithuania, Samogitia, and Rus'.

See also

• Family of Gediminas
• Gediminids

References

1. Ivinskis, Zenonas (1953–1966). "Palemonas". Lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). 21. Boston, Massachusetts: Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla. pp. 400–401. LCC 55020366.
2. Ivinskis, Zenonas (1953–1966). "Metraščiai". Lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). 18. Boston, Massachusetts: Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla. pp. 307–310. LCC 55020366.
3. Jonynas, Ignas (1936). "Borkus". In Vaclovas Biržiška (ed.). Lietuviškoji enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). 4. Kaunas: Spaudos Fondas. pp. 251–255.
4. Jučas, Mečislovas (2000). Lietuvos ir Lenkijos unija (in Lithuanian). Aidai. p. 240. ISBN 9986-590-95-7.
5. Rowell, S. C. (1994). Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire Within East-Central Europe, 1295-1345. Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series. Cambridge University Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-521-45011-9.