Vytautas the Great
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- Lithuanian:
- Vytautus Didysis
- Polish:
- Witold Wielki
- Born:
- 1350,Lithuania
- Died:
- Oct. 27, 1430, Trakai, Lith. (aged 80)
Vytautas the Great (born 1350, Lithuania—died Oct. 27, 1430, Trakai, Lith.) was a Lithuanian national leader who consolidated his country’s possessions, helped to build up a nationalconsciousness, and broke the power of the Teutonic Knights. He exercisedgreat power over Poland.
Vytautas was the son ofKęstutis, who for years had waged a struggle with his brotherAlgirdas for control ofLithuania. The conflict between the two branches of the family continued into the next generation, as Vytautas vied with Algirdas’ sonJogaila. Both Vytautas and his father were captured by Jogaila in 1382 and Kęstutis was murdered while a prisoner. Vytautas, however, escaped and two years later was able to make peace with Jogaila, who returned to Vytautas the family lands seized earlier. In an effort to consolidate his position and widen his power, Jogaila married the 12-year-old Polish queenJadwiga and was crowned king ofPoland in Kraków on Feb. 15, 1386, as Władysław II Jagiełło.
Vytautas then waged anintermittent struggle for power with Jogaila and on occasion sought further assistance from the Teutonic Order. Vytautas’ popularity grew until his cousin was forced to adopt a conciliatory position. Jogaila offered to make Vytautas his vice regent over all of Lithuania. The offer was accepted, and in August 1392 a formal compact was signed. As time was to show, Vytautas by this act became supreme ruler of Lithuania in fact if not in law.
Vytautas began his rule by subduing and banishing rebellious and ineffective nobles and trying to conquer the Mongols in the east. His forces, however, were defeated by the Mongols in the Battle of the Vorskla River in present-day Russia on Aug. 12, 1399 (seeVorskla River, Battle of the).
In this same period, union between Poland and Lithuania was proclaimed in a treaty concluded atVilnius in January 1401. Under the terms of the treaty, the Lithuanian boyars promised that in the event of Vytautas’ death they would recognize Jogaila asgrand prince of Lithuania, and the Polish nobility agreed that if Jogaila died they would not elect a new king without consulting Vytautas.
Vytautas and Jogaila then turned their attention westward, and there followed a series of wars with theTeutonic Order, which recognized Švitrigaila (Swidrygiełło), a brother of Jogaila, as grand prince of Lithuania. Vytautas was able to drive Svidrigaila out of the country, but the Teutonic Order was able to retain control of a portion of Lithuania. Early in 1409 Vytautas concluded a treaty with Jogaila for acombined attack on the Order, and on June 24, 1410, the Polish-Lithuanian forces crossed the Prussian frontier. In theBattle of Grunwald (Tannenberg) on July 15, 1410, the Teutonic Knights suffered a blow from which they never recovered. German supremacy in the Baltic area was broken and Poland-Lithuania began to be regarded in the West as a great power.
In 1429 Vytautas revived his claim to the Lithuanian crown, and Jogaila reluctantly consented to his cousin’s coronation as king, but before the ceremony could take place Vytautas died.
