Vytautas the Great was the Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Prince of Grodno, Prince of Lutsk, and the postulated king of the Hussites. He ruled in troubled times but managed to consolidated his country’s possessions, helped to build up a national consciousness, and broke the power of the Teutonic Knights. He exercised great power over Poland and turned the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into a great European state.
Background
Vytautas was born about the year 1350 in the castle of present-day Old Trakai (Senieji Trakai), on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was the son of Kęstutis, Duke of Trakai, and his second wife Birutė from western Samogitian region of Lithuania. Prior to her marriage to Kęstutis, Birutė guarded an eternal flame in a pagan sanctuary on a hill near today's town of Palanga on the Baltic Sea coast. Vytautas was Birutė's oldest son. Vytautas' uncle Algirdas had been Grand Duke of Lithuania until his death in 1377. Algirdas and Vytautas' father Kęstutis had ruled jointly, with Algirdas governing the east and Kęstutis the west, primarily responsible for defense against the Teutonic Order. Vytautas was a cousin and childhood friend of Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło), who became King of Poland in 1386.
Career
When Vytautas was just 18 years old, he was already participating in military expeditions against Moscow. At age 20 he fought the Teutonic Knights and their Prussian militias at Rudava. By his mid-twenties Vytautas was ruling as the Duke of Gardinas (Grodno).
His father Kęstutis for years had waged a struggle with his brother Algirdas for control of Lithuania. The conflict between the two branches of the family continued into the next generation, as Vytautas vied with Algirdas’ son Jogaila. When the conflict between his father Kęstutis and Grand Duke Jogaila was provoked by deceptive actions of the Teutonic Knights, Vytautas tried to defend Jogaila and convince his father that Jogaila was not plotting against him. Uconvinced, Kęstutis removed Jogaila from power in 1382 and warfare broke out between the two. Kęstutis and Vytautas were captured and imprisoned: Vytautas in Vilnius and Kęstutis in Krevo. Kęstutis was killed by servants sent from Vilnius. Vytautas escaped and went to seek help from the Teutonic Knights in Prussia, where he converted to Christianity and was baptised as Wigand (Vigand, Vygandas).
The Teutonic Order were negotiating with Jogaila at the time. Jogaila and the Order agreed to the Treaty of Dubysa, by which Jogaila promised to accept Christianity, become an ally of the Order, and give the Order part of Samogitia up to the Dubysa River. However, the treaty was never ratified. In summer 1383, the war between Jogaila and the Order resumed. Vytautas participated in several raids against Jogaila. In January 1384, Vytautas promised to cede part of Samogitia to the Teutonic Order, up to the Nevėžis River in return for recognition as Grand Duke of Lithuania. However, in July of the same year, Vytautas broke with the Order and reconciled with Jogaila. He then burned three important Teutonic castles, and regained all Kęstutis' lands, except for Trakai.
In an effort to consolidate his position and widen his power, Jogaila concluded the Union of Krewo with Poland in 1385, under which he married the 12-year-old Polish queen Jadwiga and was crowned king of Poland in Kraków on Feb. 15, 1386, as Władysław II Jagiełło. Vytautas participated in the Union and in 1386 was re-baptised as a Catholic, receiving the name Alexander.
Jogaila left his brother Skirgaila as regent in Lithuania. However, Skirgaila was unpopular with the people and Vytautas saw an opportunity to become Grand Duke. In 1389, he attacked Vilnius but failed. In early 1390, Vytautas again allied with the Teutonic Order. Vytautas had to confirm his agreement of 1384, and cede Samogitia to the Order. His army now invaded Lithuania. Also, to gain more influence, Vytautas married his only daughter Sophia to Vasili I of Russia in 1391.
Vytautas’ popularity grew until his cousin was forced to adopt a conciliatory position. Jogaila offered to make Vytautas his vice regent over all of Lithuania. The offer was accepted, and in August 1392 a formal compact was signed. Vytautas again broke with the Order, burned 3 Teutonic castles and returned to Vilnius. Jogaila and Vytautas signed the Astrava Treaty in which Vytautas recovered all Kęstutis' lands, including Trakai, and was given more. Vytautas would rule Lithuania in the name of Władysław. After Vytautas' death, all his lands and powers would revert to Władysław. As time was to show, Vytautas by this act became supreme ruler of Lithuania in fact if not in law.
Vytautas began his rule by subduing and banishing rebellious and ineffective nobles and trying to conquer the Mongols in the east. His forces, however, were defeated by the Mongols in the Battle of the Vorskla River in present-day Russia on Aug. 12, 1399.
In this same period, union between Poland and Lithuania was proclaimed in the Treaty of Vilnius and Radom concluded in January 1401. Under the terms of the treaty, the Lithuanian boyars promised that in the event of Vytautas’ death they would recognize Jogaila as grand prince of Lithuania, and the Polish nobility agreed that if Jogaila died they would not elect a new king without consulting Vytautas.
Vytautas and Jogaila then turned their attention westward, and there followed a series of wars with the Teutonic Order, which recognized Švitrigaila (Swidrygiełło), a brother of Jogaila, as grand prince of Lithuania. Vytautas was able to drive Svidrigaila out of the country, but the Teutonic Order was able to retain control of a portion of Lithuania.
When in 1409, Jogaila warned the Teutonic Knights' grandmaster to stop his attacks on Samogitia because Jogaila considered Lithuania to be part of his domain, the Teutonic Knights responded by declaring war on Poland and invading parts of northern Poland. The outbreak of fighting in Poland alarmed King Wenceslas of Hungary who helped to broker a temporary truce lasting until June 26, 1410. In December of 1409, Vytautas and Jogaila met at Brest for secret talks to plan joint action against the Teutonic Knights in Prussia. Plans were made and preparations began in early 1410. In June armies were assembled near Plock in Poland, were provisioned, and by the end of the month set out toward the Teutonic Knights' stronghold of Marienburg in Prussia. The Polish army with Moldovan allies was led by Jogaila and the Lithuanian army with Tatar and Smolensk allies was led by Vytautas. The battle took place on July 15, 1410 near the towns of Grunwald and Tannenberg. The Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg) altered the course of history in the Baltic region, the Teutonic Knights suffered a blow from which they never recovered. German supremacy in the Baltic area was broken and Poland-Lithuania began to be regarded in the West as a great power. Vytautas proved his military skills and came to be known as Vytautas the Great.
In 1411, the Peace of Thorn was concluded, under which Vytautas received Žemaitija (Samogitia) for his lifetime. However, the parties could not agree on the border. Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, agreed to mediate the dispute. In 1413, it was declared that the whole right bank of the Nemunas (Neman River) was Žemaitija and therefore belonged to Lithuania. The Teutonic Knights disagreed and a new war started in 1414. The war lasted for just a few months, and the dispute was brought to the Council of Constance. Even though the dispute was not resolved, the Samogitians had a chance to present their case to the leaders of Europe. It is seen as an important event in the diplomatic history of Lithuania. Several other mediation attempts failed, and yet another war with the Teutonic Order started in 1422. After several months of fighting, the Treaty of Lake Melno was signed. Žemaitija/Samogitia was returned to Lithuania in perpetuity, while the city of Memel (present-day Klaipėda) and surrounding territories stayed with the Order. With peace established, Vytautas could now concentrate on reforms and the relationship with Poland.
Vytautas continued to rule Lithuania very ably, but his ambition to be crowned King of Lithuania was not realized. In January 1429, at the Congress of Lutsk Vytautas received the title of King of Lithuania with the backing of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, but the envoys who were transporting the crown were stopped by Polish magnates in autumn of 1430. Another crown was sent, but Vytautas died in the Trakai Island Castle several days before it reached Lithuania.
Vytautas the Great was one of the most distinguished rulers in Lithuania both in the eyes of his contemporaries and in historical memory, the creator of the early Lithuanian state, its structures and power, and defender of its sovereignty, a proponent of bringing Christianity to Lithuania and Samogitia, an apt diplomat, talented commander and hero of the victory at Grunwald, one of the most eminent rulers of his era in Europe who was offered the royal crowns of Bohemia and Lithuania, and due to the tactical reasons even the king’s crown of Poland.
In Vytautas’ times, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania reached the height of its power. The state’s borders stretched from the Baltic to the Black seas. A whole line of duchies – Pskov, Novgorod, Ryazan and even Muscovy – ended up in Vytautas’ sphere of influence. Pope Martin V recognized Vytautas as the apostolic vicar of Pskov and Novgorod. The congress of European rulers in Lutsk in 1429 confirmed Vytautas’ international authority and the geopolitical significance of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Vytautas backed the economic development of his state and introduced many reforms. The Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas was offered the crown of Lithuania by Sigismund von Luxemburg, who was later to become the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. But death in 1430 prevented Vytautas from being crowned King of Lithuania and from achieving one of his most important political goals – the Kingdom of Lithuania.
Religion
As a young man, Vytautas had the advantage of a thorough familiarity with both Christian and pagan doctrines. The later, he learned from the teaching of his pagan mother, Birute, and the former in both his previous association with the Teutonic Knights and Slavs of the Oriental Church. These were under the government of Lithuania but they were extended the fullest freedom in the practice of their religion. It was the Latin Catholic Church that Vytautas showed his stronger leaning towards. Latin or Western Christianity represented a higher culture than the schismatic Easterners, who symbolized a lost cause in the struggle for supremacy. It was in 1383, when Vytuatas went to the Teutonic Knights and was baptized.
Realizing the important existential significance of Christianity, Vytautas rapidly engaged in spreading the new faith: in 1417 Samogitians were baptized and the Samogitian (Medininkų) Diocese was founded, a parish network grew, and the first monasteries and schools were established. The acceptance of Christianity determined the state’s choice of political and cultural directions, putting into place the foundations for its further successful development and integration into the Latin European civilized space. Vytautas was among the most generous of patrons.
It is true that Vytautas did not only confine his support to the Catholic Church. It is also true that he erected Orthodox monasteries and churches in Russian provinces of his domain, but his policy was to give aid to any agency that concerned itself with driving his people away from paganism and so enlarging the resources from which adherents to Christianity might be drawn.
Vytautas is also known for his role in beginning the history of non-Christian communities in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – namely, the arrival and settlement of Tatar, Karaim and Jewish communities in the country. This was in part a result of the favourable legal environment that Vytautas had a hand in forming, as well as religious and ethnic tolerance. In the Tatar and Karaim communities, Vytautas is still considered the most important military hero.
Politics
Vytautas’s most important political goal was to establish the Kingdom of Lithuania and become its King, but it never happened due to his death in 1430.
Personality
Vytautas was the most imposing personality of his day in Eastern Europe, and his martial valour was combined with statesmanlike foresight. He is known as a ruler who wasn't afraid of anything new and introduced many reforms to improve the economical development of his country. He always thought of his people and his country trying to protect them from any aggression and invasion. Many European monarchs and kings, as well as rulers of Eastern countries, were eager to make friends with him and live in peace. Vytautas was a very great general. He fought heroically against the Golden Horda and the Teutonic Order, or crusaders, for independence.
Connections
Vitautis married Anna, the daughter of Sudimantas, a Lithuanian noble, in about 1370. Vytautas and Anna had a daughter named Sofia, who married Grand Prince Vasily I of Moscow in January 1390. Sofia was mother and regent to their son Vasili II. Vytautas' other children must have died young and are not known. After Anna's death in 1418, Vytautas married her niece Uliana Olshanska, the daughter of Ivan Olshanski who outlived him.
Father:
Kęstutis
He was the Duke of Trakai and governed the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 1342–82, together with his brother Algirdas (until 1377), and with his nephew Jogaila (until 1381).
Mother:
Birutė
She was the second wife of Kęstutis, Grand Duke of Lithuania.
Grandfather:
Gediminas
He was the Grand Duke of Lithuania, the strongest contemporary ruler of eastern Europe. As part of his legacy, he gained a reputation for being a champion of paganism, who successfully diverted attempts to Christianize his country by skillful negotiations with the Pope and other Christian rulers.
Wife:
Anna
She probably was the first wife of Vytautas and mother of Sophia of Lithuania, the only child of Vytautas and wife of Vasily I of Moscow. She is best remembered for helping Vytautas to escape from a prison in Kreva in 1382 and thus probably saving his life.
Wife:
Uliana Olshanska
After the death of his first wife Anna on 31 July 1418, Vytautas wished to marry Uliana, daughter of one of his closest allies Ivan Olshansky. However, Anna was sister of Agripina, who was wife of Ivan and mother of Uliana. That made Vytautas uncle-in-law of Uliana. Piotr Krakowczyk, Bishop of Vilnius, refused to perform the wedding ceremony due to this relationship and demanded they seek approval from the pope. Jan Kropidło, Bishop of Włocławek, performed the ceremony before Christmas 1418 and, eventually, Vytautas obtained a matrimonial dispensation from Pope Martin V. It appears that the marriage was a loving one, but they had no children. Vytautas died in October 1430 and Uliana's further life is unknown.
She was the only daughter of Vytautas the Great of Lithuania and his first wife, Anna. On 21 January 1391, while her father was engaged in the Lithuanian Civil War, she married Vasili I of Russia. She was the longest serving consort of Russia. After Vasili's death in 1425 she became regent for their ten-year-old son Vasili II. Her father supported Vasili's claim to the throne, which was disputed by his uncle, Yuri of Zvenigorod.
Uncle:
Algirdas
He was the grand duke of Lithuania from 1345 to 1377, who made Lithuania one of the largest European states of his day. His son Jogaila became Władysław II Jagiełło, king of united Poland and Lithuania.
Cousin:
Jogaila, Władysław II Jagiełło
He was the Grand Duke of Lithuania (as Jogaila, 1377–1401) and king of Poland (1386–1434), who joined two states that became the leading power of eastern Europe. He was the founder of Poland’s Jagiellon dynasty.
Grandson:
Vasily II of Moscow
His long reign (1425–1462) was plagued by the greatest civil war of Old Russian history.
