Zenovichi

The origin of the genus is associated with Serbian or Moldavian despots (governors of the provinces), who after the Turkish invasion at the end of the 14th century fled to Lithuania .

The first representative of this kind in Lithuania was Bratosha (Bratsha) , in 1387 he was mentioned among the members of the council of the Polotsk prince Andrei Olgerdovich , in 1397 he was the Lithuanian ambassador to Veliky Novgorod .

In 1398 - 1404 he was already a permanent member of the council of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas . In 1401, his son Zinovy ​​(Zeno) was mentioned with him, on behalf of which the family name of the Zenovich subsequently occurred.

In 1409 , Grand Duke Vytautas - Alexander endowed Bratoshin Zenovich with the right to perpetual use of the village and Lake Pastavy ^[2] .

In 1410, father and son participated as governor in the Battle of Grunwald .

Bartosz Paprotsky in his book "Coats of Arms of Polish Chivalry" (Krakow, 1584 ) argues that Vytautas, taking into account the great merits of Zenovich, gives him huge estates stretching for fifty miles. The deed of gift in the original has not been preserved. However, its lists and evidence of its existence at the beginning of the 17th century have been preserved. The Brest voivode Krishtof Zenovich in his spiritual testament ( 1611 ) says that, among the letters left to his son, is Vitovt's privilege to own the said estates. It is written on parchment, the princely seal is attached to it, and on its back is the personal seal of Vytautas. In the Oshmyany Zemstvo Acts, a record was preserved that this privilege was presented in the original in 1626 . The same privilege says that all the estates listed there, occupying a vast space between Pripyat, Disna and Massa, were formerly granted by Jagail to Zenov’s father, and now they only confirm to the son the rights to these estates. This evidence is confirmed by the fact that Zenovichi were in Lithuania already at the end of the 14th century.

Representatives of one of the branches of the genus moved back to the end of the 15th century from Lithuania to Moscow , where their surname took the form of Zinoviev ^[1] .

Main Branch

Ivan (Ivashko) Zenovich (? - before 1486 ), son of Zenov Bratoshich.

Yuri Ivanovich Zenovich (about 1450 - after 1516 ), the son of Ivan, governor of Braslav in 1494 - 1499 , Smolensky in 1507 - 1508 and Mogilev from 1514 , from 1516, the marshal at the court of Grand Duke Sigismund I the Old . In 1495, he was among the ambassadors of Grand Duke Alexander , who traveled to Moscow for Princess Elena , the future wife of Alexander, and in 1503, among the VKL ambassadors at the talks in Moscow .

Nikolai Yurievich Zenovich (? -?), The eldest son of Yuri Ivanovich, a participant in the Moscow-Lithuanian war of 1500-1503, was captured after the battle on the Vedrosh River with Konstantin Ostrozhsky .

Yuri Nikolayevich Zenovich (circa 1510 - 1583 ), son of Nikolai Yurievich, the elder of Chechersk and Propoisky in 1547 - 1570 , Lepelian in 1570 and Disna in 1577 , Castellan of Polotsk in 1566 - 1570 and Smolensky from 1579 . He was a member of the Livonian War (1558-1583) , during the period of the reformation he converted to Calvinism .

Krishtof Yurievich Zenovich (circa 1540 - 1614 ), son of Yuri Nikolayevich, head of the Checher and Propoisky years from 1577 to 1590 , castellan from 1585 to 1588 and governor of Brest from 1588 . He was educated at the University of Zurich . He built a stone Calvin collection in Smorgon, opened a school with him and assembled a library. He wrote a manuscript in Polish, “Tragedy, or the Beginning of a Significant Decline in the House of the Principality of Lithuania”.

Nikolai Boguslav Zenovich (? - 1621 ), son of Christophe, the elder of the Checher and propoisky since 1614 , castellan of Polotsk since 1618 . He converted to Catholicism . He died in September 1621 during the war between the Commonwealth and Turkey in the battle of Khotyn . He was the last representative of the main branch of the genus.

Other members of the clan

• Yan Yanovich Zenovich (circa 1550-1614) - the sub - capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1576-1594, the castellan of Vitebsk in 1594-1600 and Smolensky from 1600 .
• Stanislav Zenovich (circa 1610–1672) - Vilkomir subcommittee in 1653 , castellan of Novogrudok from 1671.
• Krishtof Zenovich (? -1717) - a marshal in 1687 and an elder in 1701, Oshmyansky , a great clerk of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1703-1709, colonel of the army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, governor of Minsk since 1709 .
• Alexander Ivanovich Despot-Zenovich (1829-1895) - Tobolsk governor in 1863-1867.
• Stanislav Ivanovich Despot-Zenovich (1833-1900), the mayor of Baku in 1879-1894.

• Nasevich V. L. Zyanovich (Belorussian) // Belarusian encyclopedia: At 18 t / Redkal .: G.P. Pashkoў і іnsh .. - Mn. : BelEn, 1998. - T. 7: Frontier - Cantata . - S. 134 . - ISBN 985-11-0130-3 .
• Chagadaeva S.M. Smargon іе uladary (Belorussian) // Memory: Gistoryk-documentary chronicle of the Smargonsk ryan / Redkal: G.P. Pashkoў іnsh .. - Minsk: BelEN, 2004. - P. 53-60 .
• Despot-Zenovich // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.

• Zinovievs
• Smorgon. The possession of the Zenovics (XV century - 1628)