Vaisvilkas
- Birth and Baptism
- Conflict with Mindaugas
- Monastic Life and Pilgrimage
- Return to the Throne
- Grand Duke of Lithuania
- Abdication and Death
Birth and Baptism
Voyshelk was born in 1223, the son of Mindaugas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. Around 1245, Voyshelk and his family, including Mindaugas and his boyars, were baptized into Orthodox Christianity in Navahrudak (present-day Navahrudak).
Conflict with Mindaugas
After his baptism, Voyshelk became the deputy ruler of Navahrudak. He may have been the anonymous "son of Mindaugas" who fought in the vicinity of Turyisk in Volhynia in 1251-1252. In 1253-1254, Voyshelk became the Prince of Navahrudak. This appointment coincided with the Newgorodians' dissatisfaction with Mindaugas's conversion to Catholicism, leading to a conflict between Voyshelk and his father.
Monastic Life and Pilgrimage
In 1254, Voyshelk concluded peace with the Galician-Volhynian princes and gave his sister in marriage to Shvarn Danylovych. He then surrendered the Principality of Navahrudak to Roman Danylovych and entered the Polonsky Monastery in Polonne, Volhynia, where he took the monastic name Lavrish.
After three years at Polonsky Monastery, Voyshelk embarked on a pilgrimage to Mount Athos around 1256 or 1257. However, he was forced to return from Bulgaria due to a war. Around 1257, he founded the Lavryshevsky Monastery on the Neman River, which would later be named after him.
Return to the Throne
Voyshelk lived in the monastery for about a year until the Mongol invasion of Lithuania in 1258. He joined forces with his cousin Tautvilas to defeat Roman Danylovych and recaptured Navahrudak.
Grand Duke of Lithuania
In 1263, after the assassination of Mindaugas and Tautvilas, Voyshelk briefly fled to Pinsk. In 1264, he returned to Navahrudak with an army from Pinsk and defeated his enemies, establishing his rule over Lithuania.
Voyshelk acknowledged the authority of Vasylko Romanovich and ruled alongside Shvarn Danylovych. Together, they conquered the territories of Nalshan and Dzyavaltva.
Abdication and Death
In 1267, Voyshelk abdicated and returned to a monastery in Volhynia. On a visit to Vasylko Romanovich, he was assassinated by Lev Danylovych, a pretender to the Lithuanian throne, between April 18 and 23, 1267.
