Ivan Chodkiewicz

Who was Ivan Chodkiewicz?

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 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 and voivode of Kiev. 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.