Tautvilas (or Tautvila; died 1263) was a Lithuanian Duke of Polotsk and one of Dausprungas' sons and nephews of King of Lithuania Mindaugas. Tautvilas together with his brother Gedvydas and uncle Vykintas waged a civil war against Mindaugas. The war resulted in Mindaugas'

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

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

Smolensk Smolensk 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 cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

promising that they could keep what they would conquer. On the Protva River they defeated the Duke of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

but lost to the Duke of Vladimir-Suzdal. 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 Romanovich (1201–1264) was Prince of Galicia (1205–1207; 1211–1212; 1230–1232; 1233–1234; 1238–1264), Prince of Volhynia, Volhynia (1205–1208; 1215–1238), Grand Prince of Kiev (1240), and King of Ruthenia (1253–1264). B ...

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

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after thei ...

, 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 Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, 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, 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. 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 Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. Daniel reconciled with Mindaugas in 1254 and Tautvilas recognized Mindaugas' superiority. In return he received Polotsk as a

fief A fief (; ) 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 of feudal alle ...

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

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called 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. Approximately long, with ...

River. Tautvilas managed to take away the Principality of Vitebsk from the Dukes of Novogrudok. His son Constantine became the ruler of Vitebsk. After Mindaugas was assassinated by Treniota and Daumantas, Tautvilas wished to assume the title of

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

, 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 Masculine given names

See also

References