Giedroyc
Encyclopedia
Giedroyć is a surname, originating from the Giedraitis family of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
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, and adopted the title Prince of Giedraičiai.
A document issued by Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania in the period 1399-1429 settled a dispute between the Bishop of Vilnius and the Princes of Giedraičiai. Numerous members of the family were recorded in the 15th and 16th centuries, and thereafter, with the title Prince.
The two lines of the family for which coherent genealogies are available (the family's "central core") descend from (i) Prince Aleksander (late 15th century) and (ii) Prince Bartłomiej (died in 1524).
The 1569 Act of Union inaugurating the Polish-Lithuanian Royal Commonwealth confirmed that, as previously in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Lithuanian families of dynastic origin remained entitled to use the title Prince. Many subsequent Giedroyć family members, both of the Line of Aleksander and of the Line of Bartłomiej, were recorded with the title Prince – including several (of both Lines) whose right to the title was individually confirmed under Imperial Russian legislation of 1832. Other members did not seek such specific confirmation under the Russian Empire, but relied on confirmation of their noble status and princely origins under Russian legislation of 1801/3. The Imperial Russian heraldic authority classified these as "of the Princes".
Under the usage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, as confirmed by the 1569 Act of Union, princely origins in themselves establish princely status.
But the earliest surviving illustrated Giedroyć armorial charge is a rose, on seals attached to state documents of 1431-4.
Through the 17th and 18th centuries, the centaur was used predominantly by most members of the family, sometimes in combination with the rose; while the descendants of Mikołaj (died 1657, sixth generation in the Line of Bartłomiej) continued to use the rose alone. But the centaur (sometimes with the rose, sometimes without) predominates in all the 19th century Russian records, even for the descendants of Mikołaj.
At the English College of Arms, the arms of Michał Giedroyć (born 1929, 16th generation in the Line of Bartłomiej) include both the rose and the centaur (called a sagittary in English heraldry) blazoned as follows: Per fess Or and Gules in chief a Rose Gules barbed and seeded proper and in base a Sagittary trippant to the dexter the head facing to the sinister his tail a serpent facing to the dexter holding in the hands a Bow with arrow drawn and set towards the head of the serpent all Or.
Other distinguished members of the two main lines of the family included:
Current members of the family include:
Bearers of the name Guédroïtz (the French version of the Russian version of Giedroyć) include:
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
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Overview
The Second and Third Editions of the Lithuanian Chronicle relate that Giedrius (Palemonids), a brother of Grand Duke Traidenis of Lithuania (late 13th century), built a castle, named it GiedraičiaiGiedraiciai
Giedraitis is the name of a Lithuanian noble family, most probably dating back to the time of Mindaugas, although it has no connections with him...
, and adopted the title Prince of Giedraičiai.
A document issued by Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania in the period 1399-1429 settled a dispute between the Bishop of Vilnius and the Princes of Giedraičiai. Numerous members of the family were recorded in the 15th and 16th centuries, and thereafter, with the title Prince.
The two lines of the family for which coherent genealogies are available (the family's "central core") descend from (i) Prince Aleksander (late 15th century) and (ii) Prince Bartłomiej (died in 1524).
The 1569 Act of Union inaugurating the Polish-Lithuanian Royal Commonwealth confirmed that, as previously in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Lithuanian families of dynastic origin remained entitled to use the title Prince. Many subsequent Giedroyć family members, both of the Line of Aleksander and of the Line of Bartłomiej, were recorded with the title Prince – including several (of both Lines) whose right to the title was individually confirmed under Imperial Russian legislation of 1832. Other members did not seek such specific confirmation under the Russian Empire, but relied on confirmation of their noble status and princely origins under Russian legislation of 1801/3. The Imperial Russian heraldic authority classified these as "of the Princes".
Under the usage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, as confirmed by the 1569 Act of Union, princely origins in themselves establish princely status.
Armorial bearings
The Second Edition of the Lithuanian Chronicle records that a centaur was the armorial charge of the forebears of Giedrus. A decree issued in 1401 by Władisław Jagiello, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, confirms the right of Prince Michał Giedroyć vel. Ratybor (baptized c.1387) to the arms Hippocentaurus "as used by his illustrious grandfather" Ginwill (2nd Duke of Giedrojcie and candidate to the grand ducal office of Lithuania).But the earliest surviving illustrated Giedroyć armorial charge is a rose, on seals attached to state documents of 1431-4.
Through the 17th and 18th centuries, the centaur was used predominantly by most members of the family, sometimes in combination with the rose; while the descendants of Mikołaj (died 1657, sixth generation in the Line of Bartłomiej) continued to use the rose alone. But the centaur (sometimes with the rose, sometimes without) predominates in all the 19th century Russian records, even for the descendants of Mikołaj.
At the English College of Arms, the arms of Michał Giedroyć (born 1929, 16th generation in the Line of Bartłomiej) include both the rose and the centaur (called a sagittary in English heraldry) blazoned as follows: Per fess Or and Gules in chief a Rose Gules barbed and seeded proper and in base a Sagittary trippant to the dexter the head facing to the sinister his tail a serpent facing to the dexter holding in the hands a Bow with arrow drawn and set towards the head of the serpent all Or.
Notable people
Early bearers of the Giedroyć name included:- Blessed Michał Giedroyć, pre-dating the lines of Aleksander and Bartłomiej: buried in the church of St Mark in KrakówKrakówKraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, where he lived most of his life as a hermit renowned for gifts of prophecy and miracles; died in 1485.
- son of the eponymous Bartłomiej in the Line of Bartłomiej: Mateusz Giedroyć (envoy to Ivan the Terrible 1551, Grand Ducal Governor of VilniusVilniusVilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, Grand Ducal Marshal, died 1562/3).
- grandsons of the eponymous Bartłomiej in the Line of Bartłomiej: Kacper-Dowmont Giedroyć (born c1535, signatory of the Act of Union 1569), Melchior Giedroyć (c1536-1609, Bishop of SamogitiaSamogitiaSamogitia is one of the five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. It is located in northwestern Lithuania. Its largest city is Šiauliai/Šiaulē. The region has a long and distinct cultural history, reflected in the existence of the Samogitian dialect...
and champion of the Lithuanian languageLithuanian languageLithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
and culture) and Martin-Dowmont Giedroyć (died 1621, Palatine of Mstislaw).
Other distinguished members of the two main lines of the family included:
- General Romuald Tadeusz Giedroyć (1750–1824, 10th generation in the Line of Aleksander): fought as Major General in the 1792 war against Russia; played a major role in the 1794 uprising in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; moved to Paris after the 1795 collapse and partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; served as a General in Napoleon's Grande Armée 1813; exiled in Archangel; then a Lieutenant General in the Kingdom of PolandCongress PolandThe Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
from 1815.
- General Romuald's brother, Monsignor Piotr Kacper Giedroyć (died 1797): Secretary of State of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1790-95.
- General Romuald's son, Józef Stefan Franciszek Ksawery Giedroyć (1787–1855): Colonel in the Grande Armée 1808-1815, promoted Brigadier General on the field of the Battle of WaterlooBattle of WaterlooThe Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
.
- General Romuald's daughter, Kunegunda Franciszka Róża Giedroyć (1793–1883): Lady in Waiting to French Empress Josephine (Joséphine de BeauharnaisJoséphine de BeauharnaisJoséphine de Beauharnais was the first wife of Napoléon Bonaparte, and thus the first Empress of the French. Her first husband Alexandre de Beauharnais had been guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and she had been imprisoned in the Carmes prison until her release five days after Alexandre's...
), and to Russian Tsarina Elizabeth Alexeievna (Louise of Baden), wife of Alexander I of RussiaAlexander I of RussiaAlexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
.
- Stefan Jan Giedroyć (1730–1803, 9th generation of the Line of Aleksander, a fifth cousin of General Romuald's father): Bishop of LivoniaLivoniaLivonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...
, and later of Samogitia; a member of the Permanent Council of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
- Józef Arnolf Giedroyć (1757–1838, 9th generation in the line of Bartłomiej): Bishop of Samogitia from 1801, succeeding Bishop Stefan Jan above; benefactor of the Church, champion of education and patron of Lithuanian literatureLithuanian literatureLithuanian literature concerns the art of written works compiled by Lithuanians throughout their history.-Latin language:A wealth of Lithuanian literature was written in Latin, the main scholarly language in the Middle Ages.-Lithuanian language:...
, he published in 1816 the first translation of the New TestamentNew TestamentThe New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
into Samogitian (a dialect of the Lithuanian language).
- Szymon Tadeusz Michał Giedroyć (1764–1844, 10th generation in the line of Aleksander, first cousin once removed of Bishop Stefan Jan above): Bishop Coadjutor and - from 1829 - Administrator of Samogitia.
- Ignacy Michał Giedroyć (1771–1829, 10th generation in the line of Aleksander, second cousin of Bishop of Szymon Tadeusz Michał above): Bishop Coadjutor of Samogitia, titular Bishop of Casio.
- Ignacy Giedroyć (active 1763-1792, 9th generation of the line of Bartłomiej, first cousin of Bishop Józef Arnolf above): Quartermaster General of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; Governor of Osiek; envoy in 1771 to Frederick the Great of PrussiaPrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
and to Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel on behalf of the Bar ConfederationBar ConfederationThe Bar Confederation was an association of Polish nobles formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth against Russian influence and against King Stanisław August Poniatowski and Polish reformers who were...
(the Polish-Lithuanian anti-Russian movement).
- Witold Giedroyć (1826/30-1885, 12th generation in the line of Aleksander) and his first cousin once removed Mikołaj Karol Giedroyć (1825–1894, 13th generation in the line of Aleksander): leaders of the anti-Russian conspiracy of 1863.
- Franciszek Ignacy Dowmont Giedroyć (1869–1944, 14th generation in the line of Bartłomiej, third cousin five times removed of Bishop Józef Arnolf above): Professor of the History and Philosophy of Medicine at the University of WarsawUniversity of WarsawThe University of Warsaw is the largest university in Poland and one of the most prestigious, ranked as best Polish university in 2010 and 2011...
, member of the Polish Academy of SciencesPolish Academy of SciencesThe Polish Academy of Sciences, headquartered in Warsaw, is one of two Polish institutions having the nature of an academy of sciences.-History:...
, co-founder of the Polish school of the history of medicine.
- Vera Ignatievna GiedroycVera GedroitzPrincess Vera Ignatievna Giedroyc was a Lithuanian princess, a doctor of medicine, a professor, the first female surgeon in Russia, one of the first female professors of surgery in the world, and a writer of poetry and prose.Giedroyc belonged to a Lithuanian princely clan which shared its origins...
(Giedroitz) (1876–1932, 12th generation of the line of Bartłomiej, third cousin once removed of Bishop Józef Arnolf above, and sixth cousin twice removed of Franciszek Ignacy Dowmont above): the first female surgeon in Russia, her work on laparotomies during the Russo-Japanese War was among the first to achieve a high success rate, leading the Russian army to adopt the procedure and changing understandings of the correct treatment of abdominal wounds. She was surgeon to the imperial family at Tsarskoye SeloTsarskoye SeloTsarskoye Selo is the town containing a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of St. Petersburg. It is now part of the town of Pushkin and of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.-History:In...
from 1909; worked at the front in World War I; and was professor (from 1923) and then chair of the surgery faculty (from 1930) at the Kiev Medical Institute. She also published poetry under the pseudonym Sergei Gedroitz.
- Tadeusz Giedroyć (1889/90-1941, 15th generation in the line of Bartłomiej, third cousin once removed of Franciszek Ignacy Dowmont above): soldier, awarded the Polish Cross of Valour (Cross of Valour (Poland)) in 1918, and Cross of IndependenceCross of IndependenceCross of Independence was one of the highest Polish military decorations between World Wars I and II. It was awarded to individuals who had "fought heroically for the independence of Poland," and was released in three versions.- History :...
in 1932; lawyer, administrator; Senator of the Second Polish Republic from 1938; imprisoned by the Russians in 1939, and subsequently murdered by the Soviet secret police, NKVD.
- Jerzy GiedroycJerzy GiedroycJerzy Giedroyc was a Polish writer and political activist....
(1906–2000, 14th generation in the line of Aleksander, fifth cousin twice removed of Witold above): founder, editor and publisher of the literary-political journal KulturaKulturaKultura , sometimes referred to as "Kultura Paryska", was a leading Polish-émigré literary-political journal, published from 1947 to 2000 by Instytut Literacki , initially in Rome, then Paris....
. The Polish parliament declared 2006 the year of Jerzy Giedroyć.
Current members of the family include:
- Coky GiedroycCoky Giedroyc-Personal life:The elder sister of actress, presenter and writer Mel Giedroyc, she grew up in Leatherhead, Surrey. Her father is Michal Giedroyc, a historian of Polish-Lithuanian descent who came to England in 1947. She attended Bristol University, where she first began making films...
(Mary-Rose Helen Giedroyć, born 1963, 17th generation in the line of Bartłomiej, granddaughter of Tadeusz above), film and TV director.
- Mel GiedroycMel GiedroycMel Giedroyc is an English television presenter, actress, and writer.-Mel and Sue:Giedroyc is best known for presenting comedy items alongside Sue Perkins. The two women met whilst students at Cambridge and both were members of the famous Footlights comedy club.As Mel and Sue, the duo were...
(Melanie Clare Sophie Giedroyć born 1968, 17th generation in the line of Bartłomiej, granddaughter of Tadeusz above), English actress, presenter and writer.
Bearers of the name Guédroïtz (the French version of the Russian version of Giedroyć) include:
- Wladimir GuedroitzWladimir GuedroitzPrince Wladimir Césarévitch Guedroitz was Chamberlain of the Imperial Court of Russia, State Councilor and President of the Chamber of Control of the Empire.-Biography:...
(Władimir Guédroïtz, 1869-1941, 13th generation in the line of Aleksander, great-great-nephew of Bishop Szymon Tadeusz Michał Giedroyć above): Chairman of the Commission for Control at the Russian Ministry of Finance.
- Alexis GuedroitzAlexis GuedroitzPrince Alexis Nicolaiévitch Guedroitz was a Professor of Russian Language and Literature and an Interpreter who participated in several meetings between Soviet and Belgian...
(Alexis Guédroïtz, 1923-1992, 15th generation in the line of Aleksander, grandson of Władimir above), Belgian professor of Russian language, lecturer and writer.
- Ania GuédroïtzAnia GuédroïtzAnia Guédroïtz, born Princess Agnès Alexéievna Guedroitz on 15 January 1949, Dublin, Ireland, is a Belgian actress.-Biography:Ania Guédroïtz was born in Dublin in 1949...
(Agnès Guédroïtz, born 1949, 16th generation in the line of Aleksander, daughter of Alexis above), Belgian actress.