Jaunė (Belarusian:Еўна,Lithuanian:Jaunė, literally,young woman in Lithuanian; died ca. 1344) was daughter of Prince Ivan ofPolatsk and wife ofGediminas, theGrand Duke ofLithuania (1316–1341). She is mentioned in written sources only once – theBychowiec Chronicle, a late and unreliable source. Therefore, some historians cast a serious doubt on her existence, but modern reference works still widely cite her as the ancestress of theGediminids dynasty.
There are considerable doubts about how many wives Gediminas had. TheBychowiec Chronicle mentions three wives: Vida fromCourland, Olga fromSmolensk, and Jaunė.[1] Some modern historians suggest that Gediminas had two wives, one from localpagan nobles, and Jaunė, anOrthodox. HIstorianS. C. Rowell claims that Gediminas had only one wife, an unknown pagan duchess. He argues that an important marriage to a Ruthenian or Polish princess like Jaunė would have been noted in contemporary sources.[2]
TheBychowiec Chronicle mentions that after Jaunė's death, brothersAlgirdas andKęstutis became displeased withJaunutis, whom Gediminas chose as his heir. Soon they deposed Jaunutis. This episode is interpreted that weak Jaunutis was protected by his mother. If such interpretation was accurate, then it would testify the power and influence ofqueen mother in pagan Lithuania.[3]