Tautvilas (or Tautvila; died 1263) was Duke of Polotsk and one of Dausprungas' sons and nephews of

King of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Kingdom of Lithuania, Lithuania, which was established as an Absolute monarchy, absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three Duke, ducal D ...

Mindaugas Mindaugas (german: Myndowen, la, Mindowe, orv, Мендог, be, Міндоўг, pl, Mendog, c. 1203–1263) is the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or ...

. Tautvilas together with his brother

Gedvydas Gedvydas (or Edivid) (believed to have died ca. 1253) was one of the sons of Dausprungas and nephews of King of Lithuania Mindaugas. Gedvydas together with his brother Tautvilas and uncle Vykintas waged a civil war against Mindaugas. Gedvydas' ...

and uncle

Vykintas 200 px, Monument to Duke Vykintas in Tverai Vykintas (died ) was Duke of Samogitia and a rival to the future King of Lithuania, Mindaugas. In 1236 he probably led the Samogitian forces in the Battle of Saule against the Livonian Order. The Order ...

waged a civil war against Mindaugas. The war resulted in Mindaugas'

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...

. In 1248, Mindaugas sent Tautvilas, Edivydas, and Vykintas to conquer

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

promising that they could keep what they would conquer. On the

Protva The Protva () is a river in Moscow and Kaluga Oblasts in Russia, left tributary of the Oka. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .

River they defeated the Duke of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

but lost to the Duke of

Vladimir-Suzdal Vladimir-Suzdal (russian: Владимирско-Су́здальская, ''Vladimirsko-Suzdal'skaya''), also Vladimir-Suzdalian Rus', formally known as the Grand Duchy of Vladimir (1157–1331) (russian: Владимиро-Су́здальс ...

. After discovering about the failure, Mindaugas took their land and property for himself. At the beginning of 1249, Tautvilas, Edivydas, and Vykintas fled to

Daniel of Galicia Daniel of Galicia ( uk, Данило Романович (Галицький), Danylo Romanovych (Halytskyi); Old Ruthenian: Данило Романовичъ, ''Danylo Romanovyčъ''; pl, Daniel I Romanowicz Halicki; 1201 – 1264) was a King ...

, who was married to Tautvilas' sister. They formed a powerful coalition with the

Samogitia Samogitia or Žemaitija ( Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

ns, the Livonian Order, and Vasilko of Volhynia in opposition to Mindaugas. An internal war erupted. While Daniel and the Livonian Order were organizing military campaigns into Mindaugas lands, Tautvilas travelled to Riga, where he was baptized by the Archbishop in 1250. Mindaugas thwarted the coalition by agreeing to baptize and relinquish control over some lands in the western Lithuania, for which he was to receive a crown in return. The Livonian Order became an ally. In 1252, Tautvilas and the remaining allies attacked Mindaugas in

Voruta Voruta may have been the capital city of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Lithuania during the reign of king Mindaugas in the 13th century. Voruta is mentioned briefly in a written source only once and its exact location is unknown ...

, sometimes considered to be the first capital of Lithuania. The attack failed and Tautvilas' forces retreated to defend themselves in Vykintas castle in the present-day

Rietavas Municipality Rietavas Municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. According to the 2021 Lithuanian census, Rietavas Municipality had the highest fertility rate The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that ...

. Neither side seems to have won, but Vykintas died in or about 1253, and Tautvilas was forced to flee to Galicia. There he helped Daniel in an unsuccessful campaign against Bohemia. Daniel reconciled with Mindaugas in 1254 and Tautvilas recognized Mindaugas' superiority. In return he received

Polotsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Dist ...

as a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

dom. While governing Polatsk, his main concern was to secure a trading route from Polatsk along the

Daugava , be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic ...

to the upper

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and ...

River. Tautvilas managed to take away the

Principality of Vitebsk The Principality of Vitebsk ( be, Віцебскае княства) was a Ruthenian principality centered on the city of Vitebsk in modern Belarus, that existed from its founding in 1101 until it was inherited into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in ...

from the Dukes of Novogrudok. His son Constantine became the ruler of Vitebsk. After Mindaugas was assassinated by

Treniota Treniota ( be, Транята; ''Troniata''; c. 1210–1264) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania (1263–1264). Treniota was the nephew of Mindaugas, the first and only king of Lithuania. While Mindaugas had converted to Christianity in order to di ...

and

Daumantas Daumantas ( Ruthenian: ''Dowmont'' or ''Domont''; be, Daǔmont; russian: Довмонт) is a given name and a surname. It is the name of two early dukes of Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Because they were contemporaries, they are often confused with ...

, Tautvilas wished to assume the title of

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Kingdom of Lithuania, Lithuania, which was established as an Absolute monarchy, absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three Duke, ducal D ...

, but was killed by his cousin Treniota in 1263.

References

* * {{cite book , others= Vytautas Spečiūnas (compiler), title= Lietuvos valdovai (XIII-XVIII a.): enciklopedinis žinynas , year=2004 , publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas , location=Vilnius , isbn=5-420-01535-8 , pages=20–21, language=lt 1263 deaths 13th-century Lithuanian nobility Year of birth unknown Lithuanian masculine given names

See also

References