Živinbudas

Živinbudas was one of the five senior Lithuanian dukes mentioned in the treaty with Halych-Volhynia in 1219. The treaty lists a total of 21 dukes, five of them being elder or superior. Since Živinbudas is mentioned first in the list, it is presumed that he was the supreme ruler of Lithuania. [cite book |last=Kiaupa | first=Zigmantas |coauthors= Jūratė Kiaupienė, Albinas Kunevičius |title= The History of Lithuania Before 1795 |origyear= 1995|edition= English|year= 2000|publisher= Lithuanian Institute of History|location= Vilnius|id= ISBN 9986-810-13-2|pages=50-51] He is not mentioned in any other sources and the mention in the treaty is the only bit of information available about him. However, some historians argue he was ancestor of Traidenis, Grand Duke of Lithuania ca. 1270-1282. [cite book | title=Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire Within East-Central Europe, 1295-1345 | first=C. S. | last=Rowell | pages=xxxiii | year=1994 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | series=Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series| isbn=9780521450119] That is probably influence of the Palemonids legends populiarized by fake 16th century genealogies that connected a mythical Palemon, a prince of Venice who settled in Lithuania in the 10th century, to the Gediminids, an established dynasty. [For example, family tree in cite book| first=William |last=Urban |title=The Baltic Crusade | publisher=Lithuanian Research and Studies Center |location=Chicago, Illinois |year=1994 |edition=2nd ed. |pages=344 | isbn=0-929700-10-4 lists a number of people known only from 16th century sources like the Bychowiec Chronicle.]

References