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The Go?tautai were one of the most influential Lithuanian magnate families of the 15th and early 16th centuries. Their only serious rivals were the K?sgailos , and from the end of the 15th century the fast rising in power and influence Radvila family clan . It appears from the Latin original spelling of their name Gastoldus which is a variation of castaldius that they had been close to the Grand Dukes and that their function was to oversee ducal demesne . Most power family gained during the reign of Casimir Jagiellon . The castaldius of Vytautas , Andrius Go?tautas might have been a voivode of Vilnius and Kreva , and father of Jonas, appears to have been the precursor of the family growth. The majority of the family's possessions (lands) were in the western part of the Duchy and eastern ethnic Lithuania. After the death of the last scion of the family, Stanislovas Go?tautas , the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund II Augustus inherited his possessions as a matter of right, per the law of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Name [ edit ]

The Go?tautai family name may be found in numerous renderings: Gasztold , Gasztołd , Gasztołt , Gashtold , Gastoldus , Gastold , Gastołd , Gosztold , Gosztowd , Gosztowt , Gosztowtt , Gochtovtt , Gasztowt , Gaszdtowt , Gasztowtt , Gasthawdus , Gostautas and Go?tautas ; these are all different renderings of the same distorted pagan given name of Go?tautai's ancestor, mentioned in written sources as Johann Gastawd . ^[1] Upon the baptism he retained his pagan Lithuanian name (which may be reconstructed as *G ? sta?tas) and passed it on to his descendants; that was a common practice of the rising Lithuanian nobility subsequent to the Christianization of Lithuania . Hence at first such names were used much like patronymics rather than surnames in a modern sense. ^[2]

In Lithuanian the name of the clan is rendered Go?tautai or Gostautai ( singular , Go?tautas or Gostautas ); in Polish the forms Gastold or Gasztołd are used. Contemporary written sources use different forms of the name; latest English sources use both forms, Polish Gasztold and Lithuanian Gostautas . ^[3]

Notable family members [ edit ]

• Jonas Go?tautas (1393 or 1408?1458), voivod of Vilnius and Trakai . He led Council of Lords which elected 13-year-old Casimir IV Jagiellon as Grand Duke of Lithuania , and thus for three years abolished the personal union with Poland.
• Martynas Go?tautas (1428?1472), Voivode of Kiev and Voivode of Trakai
• Albertas Go?tautas (1462?1539), best known member of the family. He was voivod of Vilnius Voivodeship and chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . He was one of the initiators and financiers of Lithuanian Statutes .
• Stanislovas Go?tautas (1507(?) ? 1542) was the last representative of the main family branch
• Jan Gasztowtt (1800?1871), the author of "Pan S?dzic czyli Opowiadanie o Litwie i ?mudzi", participant of the 1831 uprising
• Zigmantas Go?tautas (1889?1980), cynologist, recreated Lithuanian Hounds
• Severin, Titus, Alexandre de Gastold (1805-1862),il participe a la campagne contre la Russie en 1830 et 1831 et aux batailles devant Grochow les 20 et 25 fevrier 1831, puis devant Varsovie les 6 et 7 septembre 1831. (Archives Nationales, BB 11 380)
• Carmen Bernos de Gasztold (1919-1995), French nun and author

References [ edit ]

Sources [ edit ]

• Козло?ск? С. Гаштовта - уладальн?к? Л?пн?шок. Нарыс г?сторы? аднаго роду / Сяргей Козло?ск? // Л?пн?шк? ? 500 гадо? г?сторы? (1510 ? 2010 гг.)≫: Рэг?янальная навуковая канферэнцыя прысвечаная 500 ? годдзю Л?пн?шка?скай параф?? ? 400-годдзю надання мястэчку Магдэбурскага права. / пад рэд. А.К. Гецэв?ча ? Гродна, 2010р. ? С. 14-19

External links [ edit ]

• (in Polish) Genealogia rodziny Gastold
• (in French) Site de la famille Gochtovtt
• (in French) Armoires des Gosctovtt