Ivan Chodkiewicz
Encyclopedia
Ivan Chodkiewicz was a noble from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
. He was a son of Chodko Jurewicz
and ancestor of the Chodkiewicz family. Ivan married Jawnuta (Agnieszka) Belska, first cousin of Casimir IV Jagiellon
, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. The marriage into the royal line helped him to obtain positions of starosta
of Lutsk
(1473) and voivode of Kiev (1480). During a Tatar invasion in 1482, Ivan and his family were taken hostage. Ivan died in captivity while his wife, daughter Agrafena, and son Aleksander Chodkiewicz
were ransomed and continued the family line.
in Parczew
. However, this note is based on an unreliable account by Albert Wijuk Kojałowicz. According to Lithuanian historian Genutė Kirkienė, the first reliable mention of Ivan was on 6 June 1459 when he witnessed a treaty. At the time he was starosta
of Minsk
. He reappeared as a military commander in 1466 during the Thirteen Years' War (1454–66) between Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Knights
. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania declared neutrality and officially did not participate in the war. In 1466, the Knights defended themselves in Chojnice
(Konitz) and the siege by Polish troops, commanded by Piotr Dunin
, stalled. Polish King and Lithuanian Grand Duke Casimir IV Jagiellon
sent reinforcements of 500 Lithuanian and 300 Tatar soldiers, who were commanded by Ivan Chodkiewicz. The Polish–Lithuanian forces succeeded in burning and capturing the city on September 28, 1466.
In 1470, Ivan Chodkiewicz became part of the royal court. In a 23 October 1470 document he was mentioned as court marshal (marszałek hospodarski) and governor of Lida
. In this position, which was shared with other people and held by Ivan until 1479, he was responsible for the security of the royal court. Around this time he married Jawnuta (Agnieszka) Belska, daughter of Ivan Vladimirovich Belsky and first cousin of Casimir IV. It is believed that their first son, Aleksander Chodkiewicz
, was born around 1475. Kirkienė argued that the wedding was a boost for further career of Ivan, who lost his position in Lida to became a governor of Vitebsk
around 1473.The date is usually given as 1477, when the title was reliably mentioned in a written document.
. Ivan, his otherwise unknown brother Pavel, and eleven other Ruthenia
n nobles signed a letter to Pope Sixtus IV
in 1476, authored by Miseal (Misail Pstruch), Metropolitan of Kiev. The letter expressed loyalty to the Council of Florence
and supported a church union
between Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. It also contained complains that the Catholics were discriminating the Orthodoxs and asked the Pope for protection. There are doubts whether the letter was authentic and not a later forgery.
In 1478, Ivan was mentioned as starosta of Lutsk
. It was a high-level position in Volhynia
, an important region contested between Poland and Lithuania. As starosta, Ivan enacted new taxes that faced resistance and were canceled by his successor. Ivan Chodkiewicz reached the top of his career when he became voivode of Kiev in summer 1480. This upset dynastic interest of the Olelkovich
and Belsky families, who could claim ancestry from the ruling Gediminid dynasty and Princes of Kiev. Disappointed by such dynastic policies, Mikhailo Olelkovich
with relatives Iwan Olshanski
-Dubrovicki and Feodor Ivanovich Belsky planned a coup against Casimir IV in 1481. However, the conspiracy was discovered, possibly by Ivan Chodkiewicz, and Mikhailo and Iwan were executed. Kiev Voivodeship was threatened by the Crimean Khanate
under Khan Mengli Giray. Therefore it had to have strong and organized military, and Ivan's military experience was useful. However, the Tatars invaded the region and kidnapped Ivan and his family in 1482. Ivan and his daughter (name unknown) died in captivity, while his wife, son Aleksander, and daughter Agrafena were ransomed.
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...
. He was a son of Chodko Jurewicz
Chodko Jurewicz
Chodko Jurewicz was a noble from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and is considered to be the founder of the Chodkiewicz family. Chodko was a historical person, but his obscure origin and biography have long been surrounded by legends and disputed by scholars...
and ancestor of the Chodkiewicz family. Ivan married Jawnuta (Agnieszka) Belska, first cousin of Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV KG of the House of Jagiellon was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440, and King of Poland from 1447, until his death.Casimir was the second son of King Władysław II Jagiełło , and the younger brother of Władysław III of Varna....
, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. The marriage into the royal line helped him to obtain positions of starosta
Starosta
Starost is a title for an official or unofficial position of leadership that has been used in various contexts through most of Slavic history. It can be translated as "elder"...
of Lutsk
Lutsk
Lutsk is a city located by the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of the surrounding Lutskyi Raion within the oblast...
(1473) and voivode of Kiev (1480). During a Tatar invasion in 1482, Ivan and his family were taken hostage. Ivan died in captivity while his wife, daughter Agrafena, and son Aleksander Chodkiewicz
Aleksander Chodkiewicz
Aleksander Chodkiewicz was a noble from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, founder of the Supraśl Orthodox Monastery. He inherited vast possessions from his father Ivan Chodkiewicz, which made him 11th wealthiest person in the Grand Duchy according to a military census of 1528...
were ransomed and continued the family line.
Early life
Traditionally, historiography states that Ivan Chodkiewicz first appeared in written sources in 1453 when his was a member of a Lithuanian delegation sent to Polish sejmSejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
in Parczew
Parczew
Parczew is a town in eastern Poland, with a population of 10,281 . Situated in the Lublin Voivodeship , previously in Biała Podlaska Voivodeship . It is the capital of Parczew County.-History:...
. However, this note is based on an unreliable account by Albert Wijuk Kojałowicz. According to Lithuanian historian Genutė Kirkienė, the first reliable mention of Ivan was on 6 June 1459 when he witnessed a treaty. At the time he was starosta
Starosta
Starost is a title for an official or unofficial position of leadership that has been used in various contexts through most of Slavic history. It can be translated as "elder"...
of Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
. He reappeared as a military commander in 1466 during the Thirteen Years' War (1454–66) between Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania declared neutrality and officially did not participate in the war. In 1466, the Knights defended themselves in Chojnice
Chojnice
Chojnice is a town in northern Poland with 39 670 inhabitants , near famous Tuchola Forest, Lake Charzykowskie and many other water reservoirs. It is the capital of the Chojnice County....
(Konitz) and the siege by Polish troops, commanded by Piotr Dunin
Piotr Dunin
Piotr Dunin was a Polish leader. Starost of Malbork 1478–1484, castellan of Sieradz from 1478, voivode of Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship from 1481....
, stalled. Polish King and Lithuanian Grand Duke Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV KG of the House of Jagiellon was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440, and King of Poland from 1447, until his death.Casimir was the second son of King Władysław II Jagiełło , and the younger brother of Władysław III of Varna....
sent reinforcements of 500 Lithuanian and 300 Tatar soldiers, who were commanded by Ivan Chodkiewicz. The Polish–Lithuanian forces succeeded in burning and capturing the city on September 28, 1466.
In 1470, Ivan Chodkiewicz became part of the royal court. In a 23 October 1470 document he was mentioned as court marshal (marszałek hospodarski) and governor of Lida
Lida
Lida is a city in western Belarus in Hrodna Voblast, situated 160 km west of Minsk. It is the fourteenth largest city in Belarus.- Etymology :...
. In this position, which was shared with other people and held by Ivan until 1479, he was responsible for the security of the royal court. Around this time he married Jawnuta (Agnieszka) Belska, daughter of Ivan Vladimirovich Belsky and first cousin of Casimir IV. It is believed that their first son, Aleksander Chodkiewicz
Aleksander Chodkiewicz
Aleksander Chodkiewicz was a noble from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, founder of the Supraśl Orthodox Monastery. He inherited vast possessions from his father Ivan Chodkiewicz, which made him 11th wealthiest person in the Grand Duchy according to a military census of 1528...
, was born around 1475. Kirkienė argued that the wedding was a boost for further career of Ivan, who lost his position in Lida to became a governor of Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
around 1473.The date is usually given as 1477, when the title was reliably mentioned in a written document.
Later career
On October 12, 1474, Ivan Chodkiewicz commanded Lithuanian troops in a battle near Wrocław (Breslau) against Matthias Corvinus of HungaryMatthias Corvinus of Hungary
Matthias Corvinus , also called the Just in folk tales, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458, at the age of 14 until his death...
. Ivan, his otherwise unknown brother Pavel, and eleven other Ruthenia
Ruthenia
Ruthenia is the Latin word used onwards from the 13th century, describing lands of the Ancient Rus in European manuscripts. Its geographic and culturo-ethnic name at that time was applied to the parts of Eastern Europe. Essentially, the word is a false Latin rendering of the ancient place name Rus...
n nobles signed a letter to Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV , born Francesco della Rovere, was Pope from 1471 to 1484. His accomplishments as Pope included the establishment of the Sistine Chapel; the group of artists that he brought together introduced the Early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpiece of the city's new artistic age,...
in 1476, authored by Miseal (Misail Pstruch), Metropolitan of Kiev. The letter expressed loyalty to the Council of Florence
Council of Florence
The Council of Florence was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It began in 1431 in Basel, Switzerland, and became known as the Council of Ferrara after its transfer to Ferrara was decreed by Pope Eugene IV, to convene in 1438...
and supported a church union
Church union
Church union is the name given to a merger of two or more Christian denominations. Such unions may occur in one of two ways.- United churches :Some churches have formed as a result of a merger of churches of different denominations...
between Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. It also contained complains that the Catholics were discriminating the Orthodoxs and asked the Pope for protection. There are doubts whether the letter was authentic and not a later forgery.
In 1478, Ivan was mentioned as starosta of Lutsk
Lutsk
Lutsk is a city located by the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of the surrounding Lutskyi Raion within the oblast...
. It was a high-level position in Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
, an important region contested between Poland and Lithuania. As starosta, Ivan enacted new taxes that faced resistance and were canceled by his successor. Ivan Chodkiewicz reached the top of his career when he became voivode of Kiev in summer 1480. This upset dynastic interest of the Olelkovich
Olelkovich
The Olelkovich family was a 15th–16th-century noble family from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Their main possession was the Duchy of Slutsk–Kapyl; therefore, they are sometimes known as Slutskys. They hailed from the Lithuanian Gediminids and Russian Rurikids...
and Belsky families, who could claim ancestry from the ruling Gediminid dynasty and Princes of Kiev. Disappointed by such dynastic policies, Mikhailo Olelkovich
Mikhailo Olelkovich
Mikhailo Aleksandrovich Olelkovich was a noble from the Olelkovich family of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was the brother of Prince Semen Olelkovich of Kiev and cousin of Grand Prince Ivan III of Moscow...
with relatives Iwan Olshanski
Olshanski
Olshanski was a Lithuanian princely family from Galšia , Belarus, which used to be a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Their Coat of Arms was Hipocentaur...
-Dubrovicki and Feodor Ivanovich Belsky planned a coup against Casimir IV in 1481. However, the conspiracy was discovered, possibly by Ivan Chodkiewicz, and Mikhailo and Iwan were executed. Kiev Voivodeship was threatened by the Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate, or Khanate of Crimea , was a state ruled by Crimean Tatars from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was . Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
under Khan Mengli Giray. Therefore it had to have strong and organized military, and Ivan's military experience was useful. However, the Tatars invaded the region and kidnapped Ivan and his family in 1482. Ivan and his daughter (name unknown) died in captivity, while his wife, son Aleksander, and daughter Agrafena were ransomed.