Vaidotas ( fl. 1362) was a son of

Kęstutis Kęstutis ( la, Kinstut, ; – 3 or 15 August 1382) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He was the Duke of Trakai and governed the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 1342–1382, together with his brother Algirdas (until 1377), and with his nephew Jogaila ...

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 ...

. In reliable historical sources he is mentioned only twice: as defender of

Kaunas Castle Kaunas Castle is a medieval castle in Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. Archeological evidence suggests that it was originally built during the mid-14th century, in the Gothic style. Its site is strategic – a rise on the banks o ...

in 1362 and as ruler of

Navahrudak Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus. In the Middle ...

. Due to very limited information, his life is subject to wide-ranging theories by historians.

Historical mentions

According to the chronicles of

Wigand of Marburg Wigand of Marburg (german: Wigand von Marburg)Note that ''von Marburg'' is a purely descriptive title added to his original name of Wigand by later historians, rather than a proper surname. Also the ''von'' should not be confused with a preposition ...

, he was the commander of the garrison of the newly built

during the three-week siege in April 1362. After strong resistance the castle was taken over and then destroyed. Vaidotas with 36 men tried to break through, but was taken prisoner. The defeat was one of the largest and important military victories of the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...

in the 14th century against Lithuania. In a 1401 document his brother Grand Duke

Vytautas Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

wrote that some years before Vaidotas and his brother Tautvilas Kęstutaitis were given to rule

equally, but it is unclear when that occurred. Historians proposed 1365 as the most likely date.

Interpretations

Because of very limited historical sources, Vaidotas is sometimes confused with Vaidutis (Waydutte), son of

Butautas Butautas (baptized ''Henryk''; died on May 7, 1380 in Prague) was a son of Kęstutis, Grand Duke of Lithuania. He attempted to depose his uncle Algirdas and usurp power in Lithuania, but failed and was forced into exile. He joined the court of th ...

and grandson of Kęstutis. Further confusion is introduced by the

Bychowiec Chronicle The Bychowiec Chronicle (also spelled ''Bykhovets'', ''Bykovets'' or '' Bychovec'') is an anonymous 16th-century chronicle of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Although one of the least reliable sources of the epoch, it is considered the most extensive ...

, an unreliable chronicle from the 16th century, which claims that Vaidotas died in his youth in Lithuania. C. S. Rowell argued that Butautas and Vaidotas were the same person and their names were recorded differently because of different dialects. In his 1999 monograph on the early

Gediminids The House of Gediminid or simply the Gediminids ( lt, Gediminaičiai, sgs, Gedėmėnātē, be, Гедзімінавічы, pl, Giedyminowicze, uk, Гедиміновичі;) were a dynasty of monarchs in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that reig ...

, Polish historian provided the following biography of Vaidotas: he was the eldest son of

and Birutė; was captured at Kaunas in 1362, but returned before 1365 and received Navahrudak; converted to Eastern Orthodoxy and was baptized as Ivan; had two sons Jerzy and Konrad; in 1384, during the

Lithuanian Civil War (1381–84) Lithuanian Civil War may refer to: * Lithuanian Civil War (1381–1384), a war between Jogaila and his uncle Kęstutis with son Vytautas * Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392), a war between Jogaila and his cousin Vytautas * Lithuanian Civil War (1 ...

, accompanied

to the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

; in 1389, visited the Order as Vytautas' envoy; died after 1390. Many of these conclusions are based on many conjectures and the assumptions that Ivan accompanying Vytautas is not Ivan Olshansky, that son Jerzy is not , and that son Konrad is not Tautvilas Kęstutaitis.

References

{{reflist, 2, refs= {{cite encyclopedia , editor-first=Simas , editor-last=Sužiedėlis , encyclopedia= Encyclopedia Lituanica , title=Vaidotas , year=1970–1978 , publisher=Juozas Kapočius , volume=VI , location=Boston, Massachusetts , id={{LCC , 74-114275 , page=21 {{cite book , title=Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire Within East-Central Europe, 1295–1345 , first=S. C. , last=Rowell , year=1994 , publisher=Cambridge University Press , series=Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series, isbn=978-0-521-45011-9 , no-pp=true , page=xxxiii {{cite encyclopedia , editor-first=Vytautas , editor-last=Spečiūnas , encyclopedia=Lietuvos valdovai (XIII-XVIII a.): enciklopedinis žinynas , title=Vaidotas , year=2004 , publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas , location=Vilnius , isbn= 5-420-01535-8 , page=76 , language=lt {{cite journal, first=Vytas , last=Jankauskas , title=Kunigaikštis Vaidotas Kęstutaitis , url=http://vddb.library.lt/fedora/get/LT-eLABa-0001:J.04~2013~ISSN_1822-2617.V_13.PG_7-15/DS.002.0.01.ARTIC , journal=Kauno istorijos metraštis , year=2013 , volume=13 , issn= 1822-2617 , language=lt , pages=7–15 14th-century births Gediminids Military personnel from Kaunas History of Kaunas 14th-century Lithuanian people

Historical mentions

Interpretations

See also

References