200 px, Monument to Duke Vykintas in Tverai Vykintas (died ) was Duke of

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 ...

and a rival to the future

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 ...

. In 1236 he probably led the Samogitian forces in the

Battle of Saule The Battle of Saule ( lt, Saulės mūšis / Šiaulių mūšis; german: Schlacht von Schaulen; lv, Saules kauja) was fought on 22 September 1236, between the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and pagan troops of Samogitians and Semigallians. Betwe ...

against the Livonian Order. The Order suffered a great defeat and was near the brink of collapse, forcing it to become a branch 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 1248

sent Vykintas, Tautvilas, and Edivydas on a military campaign against

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 ...

. They were unsuccessful and Mindaugas tried to deprive them of their estates. The three men then organized a vast coalition against Mindaugas which included Tautvilas' brother-in-law Daniel of Halych, the Livonian Order, and the

Samogitians Samogitians ( Samogitian: ''žemaitē'', lt, žemaičiai, lv, žemaiši) are an ethnographic group of Lithuanians of the Samogitia region, an ethnographic region of Lithuania. Many speak the Samogitian language, which in Lithuania is mostly co ...

. The dukes of Halych-Volhynia managed to gain control over Black Ruthenia, an area ruled by

Vaišvilkas Vaišvilkas or Vaišelga (also spelled as ''Vaišvila'', ''Vojszalak'', ''Vojšalk'', ''Vaišalgas''; killed on 18 April 1267) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania (1264–1267). He was son of Mindaugas, the first and only Christian King of Lithu ...

. In 1250, the Livonian Order organized two major raids, one against the

Nalšia Nalšia or Nalšėnai (sometimes Nalsen, Nalse) was an ancient land (regional duchy, a subject of Polatsk) in the early stages of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It is mentioned in written sources from 1229 to 1298. The references to it cease as it wa ...

lands and the other against the domains of Mindaugas and those parts of Samogitia that still supported him. However, Mindaugas succeeded in bribing Andreas von Stierland, the Master of the Order, who was still at odds with Vykintas from the defeat of the Order in 1236. Agreeing to relinquish control over some lands in western Lithuania, Mindaugas was to be baptized and crowned as King of Lithuania. In 1252, Tautvilas and his 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 Tverai 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 ...

. Vykintas died around 1253 and Tautvilas escaped to his brother-in-law to Halych-Volhynia. In 1253 Mindaugas was crowned as promised. Vykintas' sister was married to Dausprungas, Mindaugas' brother.

References

* {{cite book , editor-first= Vytautas , editor-last=Spečiūnas , title= Lietuvos valdovai (XIII-XVIII a.): enciklopedinis žinynas , year=2004 , publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas , location=Vilnius , isbn=5-420-01535-8 , pages=15–21, language=lt 1250s deaths 13th-century Lithuanian nobility Samogitian people

See also

References

References