Great Lithuania

Great Lithuania
Wenceslaus the Great
Wenceslaus III(Waclaw III/Wenceslaw III in Czech and Polish aka Lachian) decided not to marry Viola of Teschen on 1305, although he loved her and instead took her as his mistress, in this time Greater Poland is under Boleslaus III of Breslau and Henry III of Glogau and Lesser Poland is under Vladislaus the Elbowhigh.



Wenceslaus III, knowing that it is hard for him to gain the Hungarian throne, he decides for his younger sister Elisabeth to marry Charles Robert of Anjou, another major claimant to the Hungarian throne, his sister Anna was bethroted to Henry of Carinthia, he decides to break that betrothal because he has a plan in mind for her and that is for her to marry the son of Wytenis the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Zwelgutis in order to start the Christianization of Lithuania and also knowing Henry has his ambitions in the Kingdom of Bohemia and that he is a possible threat to his rule.


On 1306, the Dowager Queen of Bohemia, Richeza Elisabeth of Poland was married to a duke in Silesia, Bernard of Schweidnitz and Elisabeth of Bohemia is married to Charles Robert of Hungary or Charles I of Hungary, with the help of the King of Hungary, Vladislaus the Elbowhigh was defeated and killed in battle, his sons, Stephen and Vladislaus of Kuyavia were sent to monasteries while Kunigunde of Kuyavia was married to Wenceslaus III a few days after her father’s defeat in battle breaking his betrothal with Elisabeth of Hungary who later married Henry the Friendly, on 1307, the battle continued against Henry III of Glogau and Boleslaus III of Breslau who were defeated in battle as well in Greater Poland, and Wenceslaus III is crowned as King of Poland in Gniesen in 1308.


On 1310, Stephen of Kuyavia is released from the monastery with the following conditions, he will not claim the crown of Poland and he will marry Margaret of Bohemia, a younger sister of Wenceslaus III, which did happen, while Boleslaus III of Breslau was jailed after trying to fight Wenceslaus III to gain the Polish throne and trying to object with the marriage of Margaret of Bohemia and his duchy of Breslau was annexed to the Polish royal domain and his other duchies were given to his brothers.

When the marriage between Wenceslaus III and Kunigunde of Kuyavia was consumated he distanced himself from Viola of Teschen who bore him a couple of children, finally on 1312, he sends her to a convent in order not to distract him from Kunigunde of Kuyavia.


Kunigunde of Kuyavia finally gave birth to their first child on 1313, he is named as Boleslaus.
He united the two countries completely that’s why he is called the great.

It seems complicated but I think I get the gist of it and will be watching how this plays out.

So ITTL Wenceslaus switches sides and supports Charles Robert d'Anjou insted of Otto III of Bavaria? OK
I have my doubts about making Viola Elizabeth his mistress instead of wife - that might antagonize some of Silesian dukes; but hey, it is possible.
Marrying a Christian princess (Anna) to some barbarian and pagan prince far away? Doubtful. Not to mention it would antagonize Henry of Carinthia. I'm not sure about Henry being a threat to Wenceslaus III - his claims to Bohemian throne were based on his marriage to Anna and Henry acted only after Wenceslaus' death without clear heir. I have no knowledge about Henry trying to get Bohemian crown for himself before that. Unless he was the one behind Wenceslaus' murder...

Awww, I thought this thread said "Greek Lithuania".....

The story seems plausible, though I'm no expert on Lithuania, particularly in this time period. One thing I would suggest is just to try and break up walls of text. You'd be amazed at what simply adding a space between paragraphs can do.

seraphim74 said:

So ITTL Wenceslaus switches sides and supports Charles Robert d'Anjou insted of Otto III of Bavaria? OK
I have my doubts about making Viola Elizabeth his mistress instead of wife - that might antagonize some of Silesian dukes; but hey, it is possible.
Marrying a Christian princess (Anna) to some barbarian and pagan prince far away? Doubtful. Not to mention it would antagonize Henry of Carinthia. I'm not sure about Henry being a threat to Wenceslaus III - his claims to Bohemian throne were based on his marriage to Anna and Henry acted only after Wenceslaus' death without clear heir. I have no knowledge about Henry trying to get Bohemian crown for himself before that. Unless he was the one behind Wenceslaus' murder...

Click to expand...

I tend to believe in the theory that he is the one who ordered the death of Wenceslaus III.


To spoil you in this TL, this TL I am planning for the eviction of the Teutonic Order in Prussia, Latvia and Livonia to be harsh and this is a Belarus wank because the dominant culture in this Lithuania is Belarusian.

Baptism of Lithuania
Anna of Bohemia was sent to Lithuania in 1308, by her brother in order to marry Zwelgutis in order to baptize Lithuania, she felt that she is doing it as her duty, she wanted to marry her original betrothed Henry of Carinthia but cannot because her brother, Wenceslaus III is against such a union due to his character.

Before going to Wilnia to see Zwelgutis, Anna of Bohemia toured the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with her retinue and found out that the people of Lithuania are Ruthenians, Samogitians and Lithuanians, she decided that if she is to become the Queen of Lithuania or the Grand Duchess of Lithuania she would unite the Orthodox Ruthenians to the catholic fold and Christianize both the Samogitians and Lithuanians.

Upon arriving in Wilnia, Anna of Bohemia and Zwelgutis formally greeted each other, Zwelgutis and Wytenis were both captivated of her beauty, in this time the planned baptism of the Grand Duke of Lithuania and his family is a secret.

Zwelgutis asked Anna what would be his name after his baptism, Anna said it would be Wenceslaus(Waclau and Wiaczeslaw in Litwin and Waclowas in Lithuanian).

Anna demanded that if they were to be married they have the Lithuanian nobles convert to Catholicism and to unite the Ruthenians to the Catholic fold.

Wytenis and Zwelgutis was baptized on 1309 and Zwelgutis took the name Wenceslaus and his dynasty would be known as Zwelgutids, he married Anna of Bohemia in the same year.


The conversion will result in a war with the other claimants to the throne of Lithuania, especially with Gediminas where the pagans might rally on to.

Succession line of Wenceslaus III of Bohemia and Poland

-Wenceslaus III
--Boleslaus(Boleslaus V)
--Wenceslaus lackland
-Wenceslaus I of Plock

Wenceslaus III excluded his sisters from the succession and the succession would go to the offspring of his Aunt Duchess Kunigunde of Mazovia in case Wenceslaus III dies without issue.
The son of Wenceslaus III, Boleslaus would marry Matilda of Bavaria, the Daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV.
Agnes of Bohemia the youngest sister of Wenceslaus III would marry Casimir I, duke of Teschen.


Children of Wenceslaus II
m. Judith of Austria
-Wenceslaus III
-Anna of Bohemia, Grand Duchess of Lithuania
-Elisabeth of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary
-Margaret of Bohemia, Duchess of Kuyavia
m. Elisabeth Richeza of Poland
-Agnes of Bohemia, Duchess of Teschen

Exhile at Nawahrudak
On 1310, due to the conversion of Wytenis and Wenceslaus Zwelgutis, an uprising started in Vilnius which was led by Gediminas which caused Anna, Wytenis and Zwelgutis to go to Nawahrudak, which became their base, in this region it is full of Christians who were Orthodox who supported Wytenis and Wenceslaus Zwelgutis.


After they went into Nawahrudak, Anna of Bohemia gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Rohneda, named after the daughter of Rahwalod of Polotsk, this created a new drive for them to fight against Gediminas, however Wytenis died in Nawahrudak in 1311, they turn to Poland-Bohemia for the aid against Gediminas.

In the present
A person in Lithuania went to Breslau, the Capital of Poland in the Bohemian Empire so he can tour the country, he talked to a Polish person how important is the aid of the Bohemian Empire aka the Bohemian-Polish Commonwealth in regaining the lands occupied by the Teutonic Order and now, Lithuania is one of the major powers in the Baltic region.


The Polish person said that the aid of the Bohemian Empire in Lithuania shaped the country to what it is now and most likely without it Lithuania would have lost its coast completely from the Teutonic Order.

Restoration
The Teutonic Knights declared war against Gediminas in 1311, the Teutonic Knights attacked Vilnius and killed Gedminas in battle, this battle caused destruction in Lithuania in the Vilnius area and its depopulation.



On 1312, The Bohemian and Lithuanian troops led by Anna of Bohemia and Wenceslaus Zwelgutis conquered Vilnius, reestablishing Christianity in Lithuania, the area was rebellious and the rebellion was was squashed and the people were expelled so resettled it with people from Bohemia, Poland and from the slavic areas of Lithuania.



In this time Anna of Bohemia is pregnant again and they are wondering whether her child is male or a female.


Anna of Bohemia feels that her baby is kicking inside her like what happened earlier with her in her pregnancy with her daughter, Rohneda of Lithuania.


Finally Anna of Bohemia gave birth to the desired heir of Wenceslaus I Zwelgutis, Grand Duke of Lithuania, they named him Wenceslaus, Anna of Bohemia said, this is the start of a new era for the country.


Anna of Bohemia sent an emmisary to Rome to Pope Clement V to crown her husband as the King of Lithuania.

Release of a Prisoner
Meanwhile, Boleslaus of Breslau was sent to the same monastery as Vladislaus of Kuyavia after being imprisoned in 1311.
Boleslaus of Breslau and Vladislaus of Kuyavia were later transferred to a monastery in Lithuania which was establish a few years after the Christianization of Lithuania.


Children of Elisabeth of Bohemia and Charles I Robert of Hungary
-Charles b. 1312
-Clementia b. 1315
-Andrew b. 1320



Wenceslaus III, the Great

Death of the Queen and a new one
Kunigunde of Kuyavia gave birth to her last child, Judith(Jutta) in 1316, she had an illness a few months after giving birth and died on 1317, she gave birth to three children Boleslaus b. 1313, Wenceslaus b. 1315 and Judith(Jutta) b. 1316.


Anna of Bohemia sent a letter of condelences for the death of Kunigunde of Kuyavia, Queen of Poland after she learned about her death.


Elisabeth of Bohemia and Charles I Robert of Hungary searched for a new wife for Wenceslaus III, they searched for a woman as the new Queen of Wenceslaus III, Constance of Sicily, the daughter of Eleanor of Anjou and Frederick III of Sicily was picked to be the new wife of Wenceslaus III, by Charles I Robert of Hungary, she is a cousin of Charles I Robert.


On 1319, The Bishop of Krakow was able to go to Sicily in order to fetch Constance of Sicily, Constance of Sicily journeyed to Prague in three months en route she gone to Rome to pray with her retinue, she prayed about the marriage because she felt that she is just a child and should not marry yet, she asked god what to do, she continued her journey north and arrived finally in Prague where she meets Wenceslaus III the Great.


She pleaded to her parents in a letter that they should not let her marry that old man because he is too old for her and she does not love him, her parents replied that she should marry him.


She finally married the King of Poland and Bohemia on 1321, she was crowned as Queen at the same time.


Constance of Sicily would later invite Italian Writers and Poets to Poland and Bohemia which established ties between the Kingdoms of Poland and Bohemia with Italy.


In this point in time, the sons Elisabeth, the Grand Aunt of Charles I, Mikulas, son of Zavisz and Stephen Constantine of Serbia tried to conspire to take the throne of Hungary but they were caught and arrested for conspiracy.


Note:
Constance of Sicily is similar to Bona Sforza of OTL.

The Crown of Lithuania
Clement V, gave permission for Wenceslaus Zwelgutis to be crowned as the King of Lithuania. A crown was made for them and in 1314, he was crowned alongside with his wife, Anna of Bohemia in Vilnius making Lithuania a Kingdom finally.


Wenceslaus III the Great sent messengers to Wenceslaus Zwelgutis and Anna of Bohemia congratulating them for being crowned as King and Queen of Lithuania, which made the couple happy and the King of Galicia-Volhynia, Andrew of Galicia also sent messengers to Lithuania congratulating Wenceslaus Zwelgutis and Anna of Bohemia and Elisabeth of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary went to Lithuania just to see the two crowned.


Anna of Bohemia was said told by the messenger Andrew of Galicia’s child wife Elisabeth is the long lost sister of Kunigunde of Kuyavia, the wife of Wenceslaus III the Great since during the time Vladislaus the Elbowhigh died he had an infant daughter, Elisabeth, the mother of Kunigunde of Kuyavia, Hedwig of Kalisch was also there in Galicia, Andrew of Galicia visited Prague to see both Kunigunde of Kuyavia and Wenceslaus III the Great.


The two were happy about the people who supported their coronation, the regalia of Lithuania survived to the present.