The Kingdom of Poland, a remarkably egalitarian society, officially had no title rankings within its nobility. It therefore had very few families with the titles duke or princes within its borders—those that did bear higher titles received them from foreign powers, either the Holy Roman Empire or Russia. Amongst these, one stands out as alsoContinue reading “Jablonowski—Polish princes, kin to French royals”
Category Archives: Poland, Russia and the East
Cantacuzino: Byzantine survivors, Romanian patriots and Russian princes
One of the most interesting aspects of the high aristocracy in European history is its fluidity. In the centuries before the rise of nationalism, elites could and often did move from place to place and adapt to new scenarios with relative ease. On this site, we’ve seen examples of this already with the Scottish HamiltonsContinue reading “Cantacuzino: Byzantine survivors, Romanian patriots and Russian princes”
The Lieven Princes: How minor nobles from the Baltic spread their wings on the currents of Swedish and Russian empires
The Baltic states of Estonia and Latvia were long dominated by German nobles who settled in the wake of conversion crusades led by military orders in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Over the centuries that followed, they formed a fairly closed set of families, intermarrying and retaining their authority over the local native populations (Estonians,Continue reading “The Lieven Princes: How minor nobles from the Baltic spread their wings on the currents of Swedish and Russian empires”
Cantemir Princes in Moldavia and Russia
Sometimes a princely family rises in prominence from fairly humble origins, burns brightly, then disappears. Often this occurs in zones of conflict between great powers, where huge opportunities can be seized by the bold or the crafty. One such family were the Cantemir, ruling princes of Moldavia, then princes of the Russian Empire. Their dynasticContinue reading “Cantemir Princes in Moldavia and Russia”
The de Beauharnais Dukes of Leuchtenberg and Princes Romanovsky: French? German? Russian?
Readers of this site will know by now that I am slightly obsessed with trans-national noble families that moved effortlessly across Europe in the 18th and 19th century, blissfully ignoring the boundaries of nationalism and attempting, in their way, to hold the continent together through kinship networks and cultural exchange. The recent new film NapoleonContinue reading “The de Beauharnais Dukes of Leuchtenberg and Princes Romanovsky: French? German? Russian?”
Wiśniowiecki: Ruthenian princes for Ukraine’s history
One of the arguments put forth by the government in Moscow in support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was that this region was not a ‘real’ country, with its own separate history, but merely one historical region of the greater Russian people, which includes White Russians (Belarusians), Red Russians (Ukrainians), and soContinue reading “Wiśniowiecki: Ruthenian princes for Ukraine’s history”
House of the Dragon: The Basarab Princes of Wallachia and the Legend of Count Dracula
One of the most persistent and popular legends in the history of eastern Europe, and in the steep Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania, is the story of an undead prince, a vampire, the ultimate blood-sucker, Count Dracula. His purported residence, Bran Castle, is the top tourist destination of Romania, with hundreds of thousands of visitors perContinue reading “House of the Dragon: The Basarab Princes of Wallachia and the Legend of Count Dracula“
Giedroyć Princes
At the start of a recent episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, British comedian and presenter Sue Perkins meets with her long-time sparring partner Mel Giedroyc, and shares hopes that she would discover in the programme that one of her ancestors originated from Lithuania, as it would be an amazing thing for themContinue reading “Giedroyć Princes”
Princes of Transylvania, part II
(see here for Part I) The seventeenth century was a century of great conflict in Transylvania, but also so its longest periods of stable autonomy and the emergence of its most famous national heros. Prince Gábor Bethlen’s 15-year reign, 1613 to 1629, and the 18 years of the reign of György I Rákóczy, 1630-1648, areContinue reading “Princes of Transylvania, part II”
Princes of Transylvania, part I
Transylvania. The name conjures up images of vampires and werewolves, and the most famous vampire of all, Count Dracula. But really, his story is part of the Principality of Wallachia and the Carpathian mountains which separate that region from Transylvania. The potential historic inspiration for Dracula, Vlad the Impaler, thus belongs to another blog post,Continue reading “Princes of Transylvania, part I”
Dukes and Princes 