| Mindaugas | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Mindaugas, as depicted in the chronicles ofAlexander Guagnini (1611) | |
| King of Lithuania | |
| Reign | 17 July 1251[a]–12 September 1263 |
| Coronation | 1253 |
| Predecessor | Himself (as Grand Duke) |
| Successor | Treniota (as Grand Duke) |
| Grand Duke of Lithuania | |
| Reign | 1236–17 July 1251 |
| Successor | Himself (as King) |
| Born | c. 1203 |
| Died | 12 September 1263 |
| Spouse | Unknown first wife Morta Sister of Morta |
| Issue at least 3 more... | Vaišvilkas |
| House | House of Mindaugas |
| Religion | |
Mindaugas[b] (c. 1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first knownGrand Duke of Lithuania and the only crownedKing of Lithuania.[1][2] Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a 1219 treaty as an elder duke, and in 1236 as the leader of all theLithuanians. The contemporary and modern sources discussing his ascent mention strategic marriages along with banishment or murder of his rivals. He extended his domain into regions southeast ofLithuania proper during the 1230s and 1240s. In 1250 or 1251, during the course of internal power struggles, he was baptised as aRoman Catholic; this action enabled him to establish an alliance with theLivonian Order, a long-standing antagonist of the Lithuanians. By 1245, Mindaugas was already being referred to as "the highest king" in certain documents.[3] During the summer of 1253, he was crowned king,[4] ruling between 300,000 and 400,000 subjects, and gotnicknamed asMindaugas the Sapient by the Livonians.[5][6]
While Mindaugas's reign as king was marked by many state-building accomplishments, his conflicts with relatives and other dukes continued. The western part of Lithuania –Samogitia – strongly resisted the alliance's rule. His gains in the southeast were challenged by theTatars. He broke peace with the Livonian Order in 1261, possibly renouncing Christianity, and was assassinated in 1263 by his nephewTreniota and another rival, DukeDaumantas of Pskov. His three immediate successors were assassinated as well. The disorder was not resolved untilTraidenis gained the title of grand duke c. 1270.
Although his reputation was unsettled during the following centuries and his descendants were not notable, he gained standing during the 19th and 20th centuries. Mindaugas was the only king of Lithuania;[7] while most of the Lithuanian grand dukes fromJogaila onward also reigned askings of Poland, the titles remained separate. Now generally considered the founder of theLithuanian state, he is also now credited with stopping the advance of the Tatars towards the Baltic Sea, establishing international recognition of Lithuania, and turning it towards Western civilization.[7][8] In the 1990s the historianEdvardas Gudavičius published research supporting an exact coronation date – 6 July 1253. Although disputed, this day is now an official national holiday in Lithuania,Statehood Day.
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Contemporary written sources about Mindaugas are very scarce. Much of what is known about his reign is obtained from theLivonian Rhymed Chronicle and theHypatian Codex. Both of these chronicles were produced by enemies of Lithuania and thus haveanti-Lithuanian bias, particularly the Hypatian Codex.[9] They are also incomplete: both of them lack dates and locations even for the most important events. For example, the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle devoted 125 poetry lines to Mindaugas's coronation, but failed to mention either the date or the location.[10]
Kronika polska, litewska, żmódzka i wszystkiej Rusi, published byMaciej Stryjkowski in 1582, asserts that in 1240 Mindaugas ascended to his father's throne inNavahrudak. While ruling in Navahrudak and other Rus' castles, he began to eliminate his friends, seduced by the greed for power.[11]: 285
Boguchwala i Godyslawa Paska Chronicle describes Mindaugas as a ruthless king of Prussia, who, in 1260, withdrew from the Christian faith and obliterated Mazovian cityPłock andPrussia committing a great slaughter among the Christian people.[12] Other important sources are thepapal bulls regarding baptism and coronation of Mindaugas. The Lithuanians did not produce any surviving records themselves, except for a series of acts granting lands to theLivonian Order, but their authenticity is disputed. Due to lack of sources, some important questions regarding Mindaugas and his reign cannot be answered.[9]
Because written sources covering the era are scarce, Mindaugas's origins and family tree have not been conclusively established. TheBychowiec Chronicles, dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, have been discredited in this regard, since they assert an ancestry from thePalemonids, a noble family said to have originated within theRoman Empire.[13] His year of birth, sometimes given as c. 1200, is at other times left as a question mark.[14][15] His father is mentioned in theLivonian Rhymed Chronicle as a powerful duke (ein kunic grôß), but is not named; later chronicles give his name asRyngold.[16][17]Dausprungas, mentioned in the text of a 1219 treaty, is presumed to have been his brother, and Dausprungas' sonsTautvilas andGedvydas his nephews. He is thought to have had two sisters, one married toVykintas and another toDaniel of Halych. Vykintas and his sonTreniota played major roles in later power struggles. Mindaugas had at least two wives,Morta and Morta's sister, whose name is unknown, and possibly an earlier wife; her existence is presumed because two children – a son namedVaišvilkas and an unnamed daughter married toSvarn in 1255 – were already leading independent lives when Morta's children were still young. In addition to Vaišvilkas and his sister, two sons, Ruklys and Rupeikis, are mentioned in written sources. The latter two were assassinated along with Mindaugas. Information on his sons is limited and historians continue to discuss their number. He may have had two other sons whose names were later conflated byscribes into Ruklys and Rupeikis.[16]
In the 13th century Lithuania had little contact with foreign lands. Lithuanian names sounded obscure and unfamiliar to various chroniclers, who altered them to sound more like names in their native language.[18] Mindaugas's name in historic texts was recorded in various distorted forms:[19] Mindowe, Mendog, Mindog, Mendolphus[12][20] inLatin; Mindouwe, Myndow, Myndawe, and Mindaw in German; Mendog, Mondog, Mendoch, and Mindovg inPolish; and Mindovg, Mindog, and Mindowh inOld Church Slavonic, among others.[18][need quotation to verify] Since Old Church Slavonic sources provide the most information about Mindaugas's life, they were judged the most reliable by linguists reconstructing his original Lithuanian name. The most popular Old Church Slavonic rendition wasMindovg, which can quite easily and naturally be reconstructed asMindaugas orMindaugis.[18][need quotation to verify] In 1909 the Lithuanian linguistKazimieras Būga published a research paper supporting the suffix-as, which has since been widely accepted.Mindaugas is anarchaic dithematic Lithuanian name, used before theChristianization of Lithuania, and consists of two components:min anddaug.[19] Its etymology may be traced to "daug menąs" (much wisdom) or "daugio minimas" (much fame).[18]
Lithuania was ruled during the early 13th century by a number of dukes and princes presiding over variousfiefdoms and tribes.[21] They were loosely bonded by commonalities of religion and tradition, trade, kinship, joint military campaigns, and the presence of captured prisoners from neighboring areas.[15][22] Western merchants and missionaries began seeking control of the area during the 12th century, establishing the city ofRiga, Latvia in 1201. Their efforts in Lithuania were temporarily halted by defeat at theBattle of Saule in 1236, but armed Christian orders continued to pose a threat.[23] The country had also undergone incursions by theMongol Empire.[24]
A treaty withGalicia–Volhynia, signed in 1219, is usually considered the first conclusive evidence that the Baltic tribes in the area were uniting in response to these threats.[25] The treaty's signatories includetwenty Lithuanian dukes and onedowager duchess; it specifies that five of these were elder and thus took precedence over the remaining sixteen.[26] Mindaugas, despite his youth, as well as his brotherDausprungas are listed among the elder dukes, implying that they had inherited their titles.[27] The Livonian Rhymed Chronicle describes him as the ruler of all Lithuania in 1236.[28][29] His path to this title is not clear. Ruthenian chronicles mention that he murdered or expelled several dukes, including his relatives.[8][25] Historian S.C. Rowell has described his rise to power as taking place through "the familiar processes of marriage, murder and military conquest."[30] In Rowell's interpretation, Mindaugas recognized the advantage to Christianity in attracting foreign merchants and military support from the Teutonic Order. As a result, in 1251, he was baptised Catholic.[30] The conversion was purely for political gain with Catholic Europe; Mindaugas was known to continue to sacrifice to his old gods after his "conversion."[31] In order to consolidate his power, Mindaugas married into rival families, defeated some in battle, and exiled the rest of his rivals.[30]
During the 1230s and 1240s, Mindaugas strengthened and established his power in various Baltic and Slavic lands.[16] Warfare in the region intensified; he battled German forces inKurland, while theMongols destroyedKiev in 1240 and entered Poland in 1241, defeating two Polish armies and burningKraków.[22] The Lithuanian victory in the Battle of Saule temporarily stabilized the northern front, but the Christian orders continued to make gains along the Baltic coast, founding the city ofKlaipėda (Memel). Mindaugas established his residence inNavahrudak and succeededed in becoming master of the so-calledBlack Ruthenia on the upperNeman and its affluents with the cities ofHrodna,Vawkavysk, andSlonim, and also of thePrincipality of Polotsk.[32] In about 1239 he appointed his sonVaišvilkas to govern these areas, then known as Black Ruthenia.[28] In 1248, he sent his nephewsTautvilas andEdivydas, the sons of his brother Dausprungas, along withVykintas, the Duke ofSamogitia, to conquerSmolensk, but they were unsuccessful. His attempts to consolidate his rule in Lithuania met with mixed success; in 1249, an internal war erupted when he sought to seize his nephews' and Vykintas' lands.[28]
Tautvilas, Edivydas, and Vykintas formed a powerful coalition in opposition to Mindaugas, along with theSamogitians of western Lithuania, the Livonian Order,Daniel of Galicia (Tautvilas and Edivydas' brother-in-law), andVasilko of Volhynia.[28] The princes of Galicia and Volhynia managed to gain control over Black Ruthenia, disrupting Vaišvilkas' supremacy. Tautvilas strengthened his position by traveling to Riga and accepting baptism by the Archbishop.[15] In 1250, the Order organized a major raid through the lands ofNalšia into the domains of Mindaugas inLithuania proper, and a raid into those parts of Samogitia that still supported him.[29] Attacked from the north and south and facing the possibility of unrest elsewhere, Mindaugas was placed in an extremely difficult position, but managed to use the conflicts between the Livonian Order and theArchbishop of Riga to further his own interests. He succeeded in bribing Order Master Andreas von Stierland, who was still angry at Vykintas for the defeat at theBattle of Saule in 1236, by sending him "many gifts".[27][29][33]In 1250 or 1251, Mindaugas agreed to receive baptism and relinquish control over some lands in western Lithuania, in return for an acknowledgment byPope Innocent IV as king. The Pope welcomed a Christian Lithuania as a bulwark against Mongol threats; in turn, Mindaugas sought papal intervention in the ongoing Lithuanian conflicts with the Christian orders.[15][34] On 17 July 1251, the pope signed two crucialpapal bulls. One ordered theBishop of Chełmno to crown Mindaugas as King of Lithuania, appoint a bishop for Lithuania, and build a cathedral.[35] The other bull specified that the new bishop was to be directly subordinate to theHoly See, rather than to the Archbishop of Riga.[29] This autonomy was a welcome development.[25] The precise date of Mindaugas's baptism is not known.[15] His wife, two sons, and members of his court were baptized; Pope Innocent wrote later that a multitude of Mindaugas's subjects also received Christianity.[15]
The process of coronation and the establishment of Christian institutions would take two years. Internal conflicts persisted; during the spring or summer of 1251, Tautvilas and his remaining allies attacked Mindaugas's warriors and the Livonian Order'scrossbow-men inVoruta Castle. The attack failed, and Tautvilas' forces retreated to defend themselves in Tviremet Castle (presumed to beTverai in Samogitia).[36] Vykintas died in 1251 or 1252, and Tautvilas was forced to rejoinDaniel of Galicia.[28]
| Mindaugas's acts granting territories to the Livonian Order[37] | |
|---|---|
| Date | Territory |
| July 1253 | Portions ofSamogitia(half ofRaseiniai,Betygala,Ariogala, andLaukuva – the other half went to BishopChristian in March 1254), half ofDainava andNadruva[38] |
| October 1255 | Selonia |
| 1257 | Karšuva,Nadruva, portions of Samogitia |
| 7 August 1259 | Portions of Dainava, all of Skalva and Samogitia |
| June 1260 | All of Lithuania (if Mindaugas died without an heir) |
| 7 August 1261 | All of Selonia |
Mindaugas and his wifeMorta were crowned during the summer of 1253. Bishop Henry Heidenreich of Kulm presided over the ecclesiastical ceremonies and Andreas Stirland conferred the crown.[15] 6 July is now celebrated asStatehood Day (Lithuanian:Valstybės diena); it is an official holiday in modern Lithuania.[39] The exact date of the coronation is not known; the scholarship of historianEdvardas Gudavičius, who promulgated this precise date, is sometimes challenged.[40] The coronation ceremony supposedly took place inNavahrudak in the presence of many dignitaries, such as Bishop of Chełmno Heidenreich, Livonian Master Andreas von Stierland and his brothers Andreas, Johannes the cupbearer, Sittherus the steward, and Theoderic of Hassendorp; from the Preaching Brothers (Dominicans), Brother Sinderamus; from the Minor Brothers (Franciscans), Brother Adolfus and his companions, and many others.[41][11]: 289
Relative peace and stability prevailed for about eight years. Mindaugas used this opportunity to concentrate on the expansion to the east, and to establish and organize state institutions. He strengthened his influence inBlack Ruthenia, inPolatsk, a major center of commerce in theDaugava River basin, and inPinsk.[28] He also negotiated a peace with Galicia–Volhynia, and married his daughter toSvarn, the son of Daniel of Galicia, who would later become Grand Duke of Lithuania. Lithuanian relationships with western Europe and theHoly See were reinforced. In 1255, Mindaugas received permission fromPope Alexander IV to crown his son as King of Lithuania.[29] Anoble court, an administrative system, and a diplomatic service were initiated.[16] Silver long coins, an index of statehood, were issued.[16] He sponsored the construction of a cathedral in Vilnius, possibly on the site of today'sVilnius Cathedral.[42]
Immediately after his coronation, Mindaugas transferred some lands to the Livonian Order – portions ofSamogitia,Nadruva, andDainava – although his control over these western lands was tenuous.[24][40] There has been much discussion among historians as to whether in later years (1255–1261) Mindaugas gave even more lands to the order. The deeds might have been falsified by the order;[28] the case for this scenario is bolstered by the fact that some of the documents mention lands that were not actually under the control of Mindaugas[25] and by various irregularities in treaty witnesses and seals.[37]
Mindaugas and his antagonist Daniel reached a reconciliation in 1255; the Black Ruthenian lands were transferred toRoman, Daniel's son. Afterwards Mindaugas's son Vaišvilkas received baptism as a member of theOrthodox faith, becoming a monk and later founding a convent and monastery.[16][43] Tautvilas's antagonism was temporarily resolved when he recognized Mindaugas's superiority and receivedPolatsk as afiefdom.[28] A direct confrontation with the Mongols occurred in 1258 or 1259, whenBerke Khan sent his generalBurundai to challenge Lithuanian rule, ordering Daniel and other regional princes to participate. TheNovgorod Chronicle describes the following action as a defeat of the Lithuanians, but it has also been seen as a net gain for Mindaugas.[33]
A single sentence in theHypatian Chronicle mentions Mindaugas defending himself inVoruta against his nephews and Duke Vykintas; two other sources mention "his castle". The location of Voruta is not specified, and this has led to considerable speculation, along with archeological research, concerning the seat of his court. At least fourteen locations have been proposed, includingKernavė and Vilnius.[44] The ongoing formal archeological digs at Kernavė began in 1979 after a portion of the site named "Mindaugas Throne hill-fort" collapsed.[45] The town now hosts a major celebration onStatehood Day.[46]
The Livonian Order used their alliance with Mindaugas to gain control over Samogitian lands. In 1252 he approved the Order's construction ofKlaipeda Castle.[47] Their governance, however, was seen as oppressive. Local merchants could only conduct transactions via Order-approved intermediaries; inheritance laws were changed; and the choices among marriage partners and residencies were restricted.[22] Several pitched battles ensued. In 1259 the Order lost theBattle of Skuodas, and in 1260 it lost theBattle of Durbe. The first defeat encouraged a rebellion by theSemigalians, and the defeat at Durbe spurred thePrussians into theGreat Prussian Rebellion, which lasted for 14 years.[16] Encouraged by these developments and by his nephewTreniota, Mindaugas broke peace with the Order. The gains he had expected from Christianization had proven to be minor.[23]
Mindaugas may have reverted topaganism afterwards. His motivation for conversion is often described by modern historians as merely strategic.[48][49] The case for his apostasy rests largely on two near-contemporary sources: a 1324 assertion byPope John XXII that Mindaugas had returned to error, and theGalician–Volhynian Chronicle.[15] The chronicler writes that Mindaugas continued to practice paganism, making sacrifices to his gods, burning corpses, and conducting pagan rites in public.[50] Historians have pointed to the possibility of bias in this account, since Mindaugas had been at war with Volhynia.[15][51]Pope Clement IV, on the other hand, wrote in 1268 of "Mindaugas of happy memory" (clare memorie Mindota), expressing regret at his murder.[15]
In any event, the Lithuanians were not prepared toaccept Christianity, and Mindaugas's baptism had little impact on further developments.[16] The majority of the population and the nobility remained pagan; his subjects were not required to convert.[5][49] The cathedral he had built inVilnius was superseded by a pagan temple, and all the diplomatic achievements made after his coronation were lost, although the practice of Christianity and intermarriage were well tolerated.[16][23][34]
Regional conflicts with the Order escalated.Alexander Nevsky ofNovgorod,Tautvilas, and Tautvilas's son Constantine agreed to form a coalition in opposition to Mindaugas, but their plans were unsuccessful.[15] Treniota emerged as the leader of the Samogitian resistance; he led an army toCēsis (now in Latvia), reaching theEstonian coast, and battledMasovia (now in Poland). His goal was to encourage all the conquered Baltic tribes to rise up against the Christian orders and unite under Lithuanian leadership.[15] His personal influence grew while Mindaugas was concentrating on the conquest of Ruthenian lands, dispatching a large army toBryansk. Treniota and Mindaugas began to pursue different priorities.[27] The Rhymed Chronicle mentions Mindaugas's displeasure at the fact that Treniota did not create any alliances in Latvia or Estonia; he may have come to prefer diplomacy.[15] In the midst of these events his wifeMorta died, and Mindaugas took her sister as his new wife. The only problem was that the sister was already married toDaumantas.[7][29][52] In retaliation, Daumantas and Treniota assassinated Mindaugas and two of his sons in fall 1263.[25] According to a late medieval tradition, the assassination took place inAglona.[53] He was buried along with his horses, in accordance with ancestral tradition.[54] After Mindaugas's death, Lithuania lapsed into internal disorder. Three of his successors – Treniota, his son-in-law Svarn, and his son Vaišvilkas – were assassinated during the next seven years. Stability did not return until the reign ofTraidenis, designated Grand Duke c. 1270.[30]
Mindaugas held a dubious position in Lithuanianhistoriography until theLithuanian national revival of the 19th century.[7] While pagan sympathizers held him in disregard for betraying his religion, Christians saw his support as lukewarm.[7] He received only passing references from Grand DukeGediminas and was not mentioned at all byVytautas the Great.[7] His known family relations end with his children; no historic records note any connections between his descendants and theGediminids dynasty that ruledLithuania and Poland until 1572.[55] A 17th-century rector ofVilnius University held him responsible for the troubles then being experienced by thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ("the seed of internal discord among the Lithuanians had been sown".)[7] A 20th-century historian charged him with the "destruction of the organization of the Lithuanian state".[7] The first academic study of his life by a Lithuanian scholar,Jonas Totoraitis (Die Litauer unter dem König Mindowe bis zum Jahre 1263) was not published until 1905.[7] In the 1990s historianEdvardas Gudavičius published his findings[7] pinpointing a coronation date, which became a national holiday. The 750th anniversary of his coronation was marked in 2003 by the dedication of theMindaugas Bridge in Vilnius, numerous festivals and concerts, and visits from other heads of state.[56][57][58] In Belarus, there is the legendaryMindaugas's Hill [be] inNavahrudak, mentioned byAdam Mickiewicz in his 1828 poemKonrad Wallenrod. A memorial stone on the Mindaugas's hill was installed in 1993 and a metal sculpture of Mindaugas in 2014.
Mindaugas is the primary subject of the 1829 dramaMindowe, byJuliusz Słowacki, one of theThree Bards.[59][60] He has been portrayed in several 20th-century literary works: the Latvian authorMārtiņš Zīverts' tragedyVara (Power, 1944),Justinas Marcinkevičius' drama-poemMindaugas (1968),Romualdas Granauskas'Jaučio aukojimas (The Offering of the Bull, 1975), andJuozas Kralikauskas'Mindaugas (1995).[61] Coronation of Mindaugas and creation of the Grand Duchy is the main topic of the 2002 Belarusian novelAlhierd's Lance byVolha Ipatava [be] dedicated to the 750th anniversary of the coronation.
(...) Mindaugas' coronation was a consequence of the establishment of the Kingdom of Lithuania, not a cause. The Kingdom of Lithuania had been officially legalized (...) on July 17, 1251 by a bull of Pope Innocent IV. It was then that the Pope gave permission and an order to crown Mindaugas the King of Lithuania. This was the true international recognition of the Kingdom of Lithuania.
The Volhynian Chronicle gives the following description of Mindaugas' activity: Mindaugas "was a duke in the Lithuanian land, and he killed his brothers and his brothers' sons and banished others from the land and began to rule alone over the entire Lithuanian land. And he started to put on airs and enjoyed glory and might and would not put up with any opposition."
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Unlike the insincere conversion of the Lithuanian chief Mindaugas in 1251, Jogaila's embrace of Christianity, although strategic to be sure – it was the price he paid for the Polish crown – was permanent.
Mindaugas Born: c. 1203 Died: 1263 | ||
| New title Mindaugas's consolidation of power | Ruler of Lithuania Grand Duke: 1236–1251, King: 1251–1263 1236–1263 | Succeeded byas Grand Duke |
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