Mindaugas

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For the 20th-century claimant to the Lithuanian throne, see Wilhelm Karl, Duke of Urach. For other people named Mindaugas, see Mindaugas (name).

Mindaugas
Grand Duke of Lithuania
Reign1236–1253
SuccessorTreniota
Bornc. 1203
Died12 September 1263
SpouseSister of Morta
Morta
Issue
at least 3 more...		Vaišvilkas
HouseHouse of Mindaugas

Mindaugas (

Roman Catholic; this action enabled him to establish an alliance with the Livonian 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 got nicknamed as Mindaugas the Sapient by the Livonians.[5][6]

While Mindaugas's ten-year 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 the Tatars. He broke peace with the Livonian Order in 1261, possibly renouncing Christianity, and was assassinated in 1263 by his nephew Treniota and another rival, Duke Daumantas of Pskov. His three immediate successors were assassinated as well. The disorder was not resolved until Traidenis 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;

kings of Poland, the titles remained separate. Now generally considered the founder of the Lithuanian 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 historian Edvardas Gudavičius published research supporting an exact coronation date – 6 July 1253. This day is now an official national holiday in Lithuania, Statehood Day
.

Background

Sources

Main article: House of Mindaugas
Baptism of Mindaugas, 17th century portrait

Contemporary written sources about Mindaugas are very scarce. Much what is known about his reign is obtained from the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle and the Hypatian Codex. Both of these chronicles were produced by enemies of Lithuania and thus have anti-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] Other important sources are the papal 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 the Livonian Order, but their authenticity is disputed. Due to lack of sources, some important questions regarding Mindaugas and his reign cannot be answered.[9]

Family

Because written sources covering the era are scarce, Mindaugas's origins and family tree have not been conclusively established. The

Svarn 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 by scribes into Ruklys and Rupeikis.[14]

Name

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.

Latin; Mindouwe, Myndow, Myndawe, and Mindaw in German; Mendog, Mondog, Mendoch, and Mindovg in Polish; and Mindovg, Mindog, and Mindowh in Old Church Slavonic, among others.[16][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 was Mindovg, which can quite easily and naturally be reconstructed as Mindaugas or Mindaugis.[16][need quotation to verify] In 1909 the Lithuanian linguist Kazimieras Būga published a research paper supporting the suffix -as, which has since been widely accepted. Mindaugas is an archaic disyllabic Lithuanian name, used before the Christianization of Lithuania, and consists of two components: min and daug.[17] Its etymology may be traced to "daug menąs" (much wisdom) or "daugio minimas" (much fame).[16]

Rise to power

Šeimyniškėliai Hillfort, possibly the site of Voruta Castle, alleged capital of Mindaugas
The presumed dominion controlled by Mindaugas during the start of the 13th century

Lithuania was ruled during the early 13th century by a number of dukes and princes presiding over various

fiefdoms and tribes.[18] They were loosely bonded by commonalities of religion and tradition, trade, kinship, joint military campaigns, and the presence of captured prisoners from neighboring areas.[13][19] Western merchants and missionaries began seeking control of the area during the 12th century, establishing the city of Riga, Latvia in 1201. Their efforts in Lithuania were temporarily halted by defeat at the Battle of Saule in 1236, but armed Christian orders continued to pose a threat.[20] The country had also undergone incursions by the Mongol Empire.[21]

A treaty with

Galicia–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.[22] The treaty's signatories include twenty Lithuanian dukes and one dowager duchess; it specifies that five of these were elder and thus took precedence over the remaining sixteen.[23] Mindaugas, despite his youth, as well as his brother Dausprungas are listed among the elder dukes, implying that they had inherited their titles.[24] The Livonian Rhymed Chronicle describes him as the ruler of all Lithuania in 1236.[25][26] His path to this title is not clear. Ruthenian chronicles mention that he murdered or expelled several dukes, including his relatives.[8][22] Historian S.C. Rowell has described his rise to power as taking place through "the familiar processes of marriage, murder and military conquest."[27] 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.[27] The conversion was purely for political gain with Catholic Europe; Mindaugas was known to continue to sacrifice to his old gods after his "conversion."[28] In order to consolidate his power, Mindaugas married into rival families, defeated some in battle, and exiled the rest of his rivals.[27]

During the 1230s and 1240s, Mindaugas strengthened and established his power in various Baltic and Slavic lands.

Edivydas, the sons of his brother Dausprungas, along with Vykintas, the Duke of Samogitia, to conquer Smolensk, 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.[25]

Path to coronation

Bishop of Rome
, and discussing Mindaugas's baptism and coronation

Tautvilas, Edivydas, and Vykintas formed a powerful coalition in opposition to Mindaugas, along with the

Vasilko of Volhynia.[25] 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.[13] In 1250, the Order organized a major raid through the lands of Nalšia into the domains of Mindaugas in Lithuania proper, and a raid into those parts of Samogitia that still supported him.[26] 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 the Archbishop 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 the Battle of Saule in 1236, by sending him "many gifts".[24][26][31]
In 1250 or 1251, Mindaugas agreed to receive baptism and relinquish control over some lands in western Lithuania, in return for an acknowledgment by
Bishop of Chełmno to crown Mindaugas as King of Lithuania, appoint a bishop for Lithuania, and build a cathedral.[33] The other bull specified that the new bishop was to be directly subordinate to the Holy See, rather than to the Archbishop of Riga.[26] This autonomy was a welcome development.[22] The precise date of Mindaugas's baptism is not known.[13] 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.[13]

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's crossbow-men in Voruta Castle. The attack failed, and Tautvilas' forces retreated to defend themselves in Tviremet Castle (presumed to be Tverai in Samogitia).[34] Vykintas died in 1251 or 1252, and Tautvilas was forced to rejoin Daniel of Galicia.[25]

The Kingdom of Lithuania

Mindaugas's acts granting territories
to the Livonian Order[35]
Date Territory
July 1253 Portions of Samogitia (half of Raseiniai, Betygala, Ariogala, and Laukuva – the other half went to Bishop Christian in March 1254), half of Dainava and Nadruva[36]
October 1255 Selonia
1257
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 wife

Morta were crowned during the summer of 1253. Bishop Henry Heidenreich of Kulm presided over the ecclesiastical ceremonies and Andreas Stirland conferred the crown.[13] 6 July is now celebrated as Statehood Day (Lithuanian: Valstybės diena); it is an official holiday in modern Lithuania.[37] The exact date of the coronation is not known; the scholarship of historian Edvardas Gudavičius, who promulgated this precise date, is sometimes challenged.[38]
The location of the coronation also remains unknown.

The Seal of Mindaugas, attached to the Act of October 1255, could be a medieval forgery by the Teutonic Knights

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 in

noble court, an administrative system, and a diplomatic service were initiated.[14] Silver long coins, an index of statehood, were issued.[14] He sponsored the construction of a cathedral in Vilnius, possibly on the site of today's Vilnius Cathedral.[39]

King Mindaugas Monument in front of the National Museum of Lithuania and Gediminas' Tower in Vilnius

Immediately after his coronation, Mindaugas transferred some lands to the Livonian Order – portions of Samogitia, Nadruva, and Dainava—although his control over these western lands was tenuous.[21][38] 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;[25] 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[22] and by various irregularities in treaty witnesses and seals.[35]

Mindaugas and his antagonist Daniel reached a reconciliation in 1255; the Black Ruthenian lands were transferred to

Novgorod Chronicle describes the following action as a defeat of the Lithuanians, but it has also been seen as a net gain for Mindaugas.[31]

A single sentence in the

Hypatian Chronicle mentions Mindaugas defending himself in Voruta 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, including Kernavė and Vilnius.[41] The ongoing formal archeological digs at Kernavė began in 1979 after a portion of the site named "Mindaugas Throne hill-fort" collapsed.[42] The town now hosts a major celebration on Statehood Day.[43]

Assassination and aftermath

Expansion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania between the 13th and 15th centuries

The Livonian Order used their alliance with Mindaugas to gain control over Samogitian lands. In 1252 he approved the Order's construction of

Great Prussian Rebellion, which lasted for 14 years.[14] Encouraged by these developments and by his nephew Treniota, Mindaugas broke peace with the Order. The gains he had expected from Christianization had proven to be minor.[20]

Mindaugas may have reverted to paganism afterwards. His motivation for conversion is often described by modern historians as merely strategic.[45][46] The case for his apostasy rests largely on two near-contemporary sources: a 1324 assertion by Pope John XXII that Mindaugas had returned to error, and the Galician–Volhynian Chronicle.[13] The chronicler writes that Mindaugas continued to practice paganism, making sacrifices to his gods, burning corpses, and conducting pagan rites in public.[47] Historians have pointed to the possibility of bias in this account, since Mindaugas had been at war with Volhynia.[13][48] Pope Clement IV, on the other hand, wrote in 1268 of "Mindaugas of happy memory" (clare memorie Mindota), expressing regret at his murder.[13]

In any event, the Lithuanians were not prepared to accept Christianity, and Mindaugas's baptism had little impact on further developments.[14] The majority of the population and the nobility remained pagan; his subjects were not required to convert.[5][46] The cathedral he had built in Vilnius 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.[14][20][32]

Regional conflicts with the Order escalated.

Morta died, and Mindaugas took her sister as his new wife. The only problem was that the sister was already married to Daumantas.[7][26][49] In retaliation, Daumantas and Treniota assassinated Mindaugas and two of his sons in fall 1263.[22] According to a late medieval tradition, the assassination took place in Aglona.[50] He was buried along with his horses, in accordance with ancestral tradition.[51] 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 of Traidenis, designated Grand Duke c. 1270.[27]

Legacy

Litas Commemorative coin
dedicated to King Mindaugas, with the inscription Mindaugas King of Lithuania

Mindaugas held a dubious position in Lithuanian

Navahrudak, mentioned by Adam Mickiewicz in his 1828 poem Konrad 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 drama Mindowe, by Juliusz Słowacki, one of the Three Bards.[56][57] He has been portrayed in several 20th-century literary works: the Latvian author Mārtiņš Zīverts' tragedy Vara (Power, 1944), Justinas Marcinkevičius' drama-poem Mindaugas (1968), Romualdas Granauskas' Jaučio aukojimas (The Offering of the Bull, 1975), and Juozas Kralikauskas' Mindaugas (1995).[58] Coronation of Mindaugas and creation of the Grand Duchy is the main topic of the 2002 Belarusian novel Alhierd's Lance by Volha Ipatava [be] dedicated to the 750th anniversary of the coronation.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mindaugas.

References

  1. Encyclopedia Britannica
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  2. Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia
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  3. ^ Mägi, Marika (2018). In Austrvegr: The Role of the Eastern Baltic in Viking Age Communication through the Baltic Sea. Brill Publishers. 76 p. ISBN 978-90-04-21665-5.
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  6. ^ Salynė, Roberta (6 July 2021). "Kur gimė tikroji Lietuva: prasidėjo ten, kur šiandien nė neįsivaizduotume?". 15min (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  7. ^
    ISBN 9986-780-68-3. Archived from the original
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  8. ^
    ISBN 5-415-01495-0
    . Retrieved 20 February 2009. 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."
  9. ^
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  11. ^ Jonynas, Ignas (1935). "Bychovco kronika". In Vaclovas Biržiška (ed.). Lietuviškoji enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Vol. III. Kaunas: Spaudos Fondas. pp. 875–878.
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  30. ^ Dubonis, Artūras. "The Myth of Navahrudak". LDKistorija.lt. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
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  44. ^ "The Gimpse on the History of Klaipeda Port". Klaipeda State Seaport Authority. Archived from the original on 17 February 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
  45. ISBN 0-313-32355-0
    . 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.
  46. ^
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  51. ISBN 0-300-06078-5
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  54. ^ "Polish President pleased with the opportunity to celebrate the anniversary of King Mindaugas' coronation together with the people of Lithuania". President of the Republic of Lithuania. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
  55. ^ "Lithuania's Cooperation with Estonia". Foreign Ministry of Lithuania. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
  56. Polski Słownik Biograficzny (in Polish). Vol. XXXIX/1. 1999. pp. 58–73. Archived from the original
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  58. ISSN 0024-5089
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Mindaugas
Born: c. 1203 Died: 1263
New title
Mindaugas's consolidation of power
Ruler of Lithuania

Grand Duke: 1236–1253, King: 1253–1263
1236–1263 		Succeeded byas Grand Duke
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mindaugas&oldid=1225077809"