Vytenis was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from c. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė old literary Lithuanian Didi Kunigiste Letuvos, Ruthenian: Wialikaje Kniastwa Litowskaje 1295 to c. 1316. He became the first of the Gediminid dynasty to rule for a considerable amount of time. The Gediminids ( Lithuanian: Gediminaičiai, singular Gediminaitis) were a Dynasty of Monarchs of the medieval Lithuania In the early 14th century his reputation outshone that of Gediminas, who is regarded by modern historians as one of the greatest Lithuanian rulers. Gediminas (ca 1275 – winter 1341 was the Monarch of medieval Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the title lt didysis kunigaikštis (вялікі князь [1] The rule of Vytenis was marked by constant warfare in an effort to consolidate the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the Ruthenians, Masovians, and the Teutonic Order. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė old literary Lithuanian Didi Kunigiste Letuvos, Ruthenian: Wialikaje Kniastwa Litowskaje Ruthenia is a geographic and culturo-ethnic name applied to the parts of Eastern Europe populated by Eastern Slavic peoples, as well as to the past various Masovia or Mazovia (Mazowsze is a geographic and historic region situated in eastern Poland 's Masovian Plain. The Teutonic Order is a German Roman Catholic religious order.
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Warfare
Vytenis is mentioned for the first time in 1292 during his father's invasion of Masovia: an army of 800 men reached as far as Łęczyca. Masovia or Mazovia (Mazowsze is a geographic and historic region situated in eastern Poland 's Masovian Plain. Łęczyca (in full The Royal Town of Łęczyca, Polish: Królewskie Miasto Łęczyca; other names Lenczyk, Lentschütz [2] After his father's death, c. 1295, he became Grand Duke. Vytenis was soon involved in succession disputes in Poland, supporting Boleslaus II of Masovia, who was married to a Lithuanian duchess Gaudemunda, and opposing Władysław I of Poland. Gaudemunda Sophia Princess of Lithuania (also Gaudimantė; ca Władysław the Short or Elbow-high (or Ladislaus I of Poland) ( Władysław I Łokietek) (1261 - March 2 1333 was a King of Poland. [1] In Ruthenia, Vytenis managed to recapture lands lost after the assassination of Mindaugas and capture the principalities of Pinsk and Turaŭ. Mindaugas (ˈmındoʊgʌs ca 1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania, a title he gained ca Pinsk (Пінск a town in Belarus, in the Polesia region traversed by the river Pripyat, at the confluence of the Strumen and Turaŭ or Turaw (Ту́раў Ту́ров ( Turov) Turava is a town in the Zhytkavichy district Zhytkavichy Raion of Homiel Province [3]
The crusade against pagan Lithuania and Samogitia intensified and reached a new level in the 1290s as Prussians and other Baltic tribes were conquered by the Teutonic Knights and Livonian Order. The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents Lithuanian mythology is an example of pagan Mythology containing archaic elements developed by Lithuanians throughout the centuries Samogitia ( Samogitian: Žemaitėjė, Žemaitija literally lowlands) is one of the five Ethnographic Regions of Lithuania. "Prussians" redirects here "Prussians" may also refer to citizens of the former German state of Prussia. The Balts or Baltic peoples (People who live by the Baltic Sea) defined as speakers of one of the Baltic languages, a branch of the Indo-European The Teutonic Order is a German Roman Catholic religious order. The Livonian Order was autonomous Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order and a member of the Livonian Confederation from 1418&ndash1561 During Vytenis's reign a network of defensive castles was established and strengthened along the banks of the Neman and Jūra rivers; the Knights matched this with their own castles on the opposite bank. "Nieman" and "Niemen" redirects here For other uses see Neman and Nieman (disambiguation. The Jūra is a River in western Lithuania and a right Tributary of the Nemunas. [1] During this time, the Teutonic Order was attempting to establish a corridor along the Baltic Sea, in Samogitia, to link up with the Livonian Order to the north. The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude. The Livonian Order was autonomous Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order and a member of the Livonian Confederation from 1418&ndash1561 During the reign of Vytenis, the Teutonic Knights organized some 20 raids into Samogitia. [2] Vytenis took measures to undermine influence of local Samogitian nobles, as evidenced by an increasing numbers of traitors and refugees. [4] It seems that Gediminas was helping Vytenis to control the nobles, who seriously considered resettling in Prussia as vassals of the Teutonic Knights. [5] The Order also consolidated its control over Semigalia, where Lithuanians had their garrisons since the Battle of Aizkraukle. Zemgale, also known under Latinized names Semigalia or Semigallia (Zemgale Semgallen Žiemgala is an historical region of Latvia, sometimes also including The Battle of Aizkraukle or Ascheraden was a battle fought on March 5 1279 between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led by Traidenis The Order captured Dynaburg Castle, controlled by Lithuanians since 1281, in 1313. Daugavpils (daugavpils) is the second largest City in Latvia. [3]
Alliance with Riga
One of the most celebrated achievements of Vytenis was an alliance with Riga. Riga (Rīga riːga) the Capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava. In 1297 disagreements between the Archbishop of Riga, burghers of Riga, and the Livonian Order grew into an internal war. The Archbishopric of Riga (Archiepiscopatus Rigensis Erzbisdom Riga was an independent Archbishopric established in 1255. The Livonian Order was autonomous Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order and a member of the Livonian Confederation from 1418&ndash1561 Vytenis offered help to the citizens of Riga and even made some vague promises to convert to Christianity, to ease religious tensions between the pagan soldiers and Christian residents. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Lithuanian mythology is an example of pagan Mythology containing archaic elements developed by Lithuanians throughout the centuries [1] Vytenis successfully invaded Livonia, destroyed Karkus castle north of Riga, and defeated the order in the Battle of Turaida, killing Grand Master Bruno and 22 knights. [2] When Livonia was secured, Vytenis organized eleven campaigns into territories of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia in 1298-1313,[3] including one to Brodnica, where entire population was massacred. The Teutonic Order is a German Roman Catholic religious order. Brodnica (Strasburg is a town in northern Poland with 27400 inhabitants as of 1995 [6] His cause was helped by the fact that in 1308 the Teutonic Knights conquered Pomerania and started its quarrels with Poland. The Teutonic Order is a German Roman Catholic religious order.
A Lithuanian garrison, situated in a "Lithuanian castle" outside the city, guarded Riga until 1313 when the city residents gave it to the Order and sent the pagans away. Friendship with Riga fostered trade and commerce, and helped to consolidate Lithuanian influence in the Daugava basin, where c. The Daugava or Western Dvina (Daugava Западная Двина́ (Zapadnaya Dvina Заходняя Дзвiна za'xodnʲaja dzʲvʲi'na Dźwina Düna Väina 1307 Polatsk, a major trade post, was annexed by Lithuania. Polotsk ( Polatsk, По́лацк Полоцк Polockas Połock is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina river [4] Due to close contacts with Riga Vytenis invited Franciscan monks to maintain a Catholic church in Navahrudak for German merchants in 1312. The term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic Navahrudak, Novgorodok or Novogrudok (Навагрудак nava'ɣrudak Новогрудок also known as Nowogródek and Naugardukas is a city in the Hrodna [1] In the field of religion, it seems that Vytenis laid the groundwork for the creation of the Metropolitanate of Lithuania c. 1316. [1] The metropolitanate was a tool in the competition between Vilnius and Moscow for the religious leadership in Ruthenia. Ruthenia is a geographic and culturo-ethnic name applied to the parts of Eastern Europe populated by Eastern Slavic peoples, as well as to the past various
Death and succession
Vytenis died ca. 1315 without an heir. The circumstances surrounding his death are not known. For a long time Russian historians claimed that he was struck by lightning. Lightning is an atmospheric discharge of Electricity, which typically occurs during Thunderstorms and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or However, that was a mistake of a Russian scribe: it was an inadequate translation of Teutonic propaganda that Gediminas killed his master Vytenis and usurped his throne. "Usurp" redirects here You might be also looking for WikipediaChanging username/Usurpations. [2] Vytenis is mentioned for the last time in September of 1315 during the unsuccessful Siege of Christmemel, the first castle built by the Teutonic Knights on the right bank of the Neman River. The Siege of Christmemel was an unsuccessful Siege of the Teutonic Knights ' castle of Christmemel ( Skirsnemunė) by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Historians know only about one son of Vytenis, Žvelgutis (Swalegote), who possibly died before his father. [1] Such a situation allowed Gediminas, brother of Vytenis, to become the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Gediminas (ca 1275 – winter 1341 was the Monarch of medieval Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the title lt didysis kunigaikštis (вялікі князь During his reign the Grand Duchy became a major military and political power in the Eastern Europe. [1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Rowell, C. S. (1994). Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire Within East-Central Europe, 1295-1345, Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series. Cambridge University Press, 55-59. ISBN 9780521450119.
- ^ a b c d "Vytenis". Encyclopedia Lituanica VI. Encyclopedia Lituanica (likely named after Encyclopædia Britannica or Encyclopedia Americana) is a six-volume (about 3600-page English language Encyclopedia (1970-1978). Ed. Simas Sužiedėlis. Boston, Massachusetts: Juozas Kapočius. 221-222. LCC 74-114275. The Library of Congress Classification ( LCC) is a system of Library classification developed by the Library of Congress.
- ^ a b c (Lithuanian) Gudavičius, Edvardas; Rokas Varakauskas (2004). Edvardas Gudavičius (born on September 6, 1929 in Kaunas) is one of the best known historians in modern Lithuania specializing in history of "Vytenis". Lietuvos valdovai (XIII-XVIII a. ): enciklopedinis žinynas. Ed. Vytautas Spečiūnas. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. 32-33. ISBN 5-420-01535-8.
- ^ a b Kiaupa, Zigmantas; Jūratė Kiaupienė, Albinas Kunevičius [1995] (2000). The History of Lithuania Before 1795, English, Vilnius: Lithuanian Institute of History, 112-114. ISBN 9986-810-13-2.
- ^ Rowell, C. S. Lithuania Ascending, 63
- ^ Christiansen, Eric (1997). The Northern Crusades, 2nd ed. , Penguin Books, 146-147. ISBN 0-14-026653-4.
See also
- House of Gediminas – family tree of Vytenis
- Gediminids
| Preceded by Butvydas |
Grand Duke of Lithuania 1294/1295-1316 |
Succeeded by Gediminas |
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