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 p35  Chapter V
Jogaila and Lithuania

(The numbers link directly to the sections.)

The accession of Jogaila (1377‑1392), Algirdas'​1 oldest son by Juliana of Tver, to the Lithuanian throne, led in devious ways to the formal adoption of Latin Christianity in Lithuania, and at the same time precipitated a series of internal struggles from which Vytautas, Kestutis' son, emerged as the actual ruler of the country.

1. Jogaila and the Teutonic Knights

The inauguration of Jogaila's regime was not a very happy one. His half-brother, Andrew of Polock, immediately revolted and refused to recognize his supremacy. Having been compelled to abandon Polock, Andrew zealously sought the good-will of the Livonian Order and Moscow, and even established himself as the Duke of Pskov in 1378‑1379.

In view of these events, it is not at all strange that Jogaila anxiously attempted to win the assistance of Lithuania's most confirmed foes, the Teutonic Knights. Nevertheless, for some reason or other, such of his supporters as Juliana, Skirgaila, Vaidila (a boyar of Lyda), and Hannike (a German merchant residing at Vilnius), were quite inimical to Kestutis, who had not only acknowledged  p36 Jogaila as Algirdas' lawful successor, but also scrupulously preserved the same admirable relation­ship that had existed between Algirdas and himself for some thirty-two years.

Early in July, 1379, Jogaila dispatched his brother, Skirgaila, on a mission to Prussia in an apparent effort to gain the favor of the Germans. This ambassador was accorded a splendid welcome in spite of the fact that the Teutons and Kestutis were then engaged in a most violent warfare.​2 In August, a ten-year treaty was signed between the Lithuanians — Jogaila and Kestutis — and the Knights of the Cross at Trakai. The Order agreed not to molest the entire western frontier of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy from Gardinas to Kamenets in Podolia (areas south of the Nemunas), while the Lithuanians agreed not to invade the vicinities of Osterode, Ortelsburg and Allenstein. This was the only pact that ever regulated Kestutis' relations with the Germans. However, it was entirely unsatisfactory, since Lithuanian Samogitia had been excluded from its terms and remained open to the attacks of the Teutons.

In the meanwhile, during the winter of 1379‑1380, abetted by the rebellious Andrew, Muscovy attacked Bryansk and subjugated Demetrius. In order to protect Polock against the coalition formed by Andrew, Jogaila succeeded in engineering a truce of ten weeks (which in no way affected the Lithuanian territories under Kestutis' jurisdiction) with the Livonian Order. Finally, on May 31, 1380, through the agency of Vaidila, Jogaila concluded the secret and traitorous treaty of Dovydiskiai.​3 On this occasion, he pledged himself to the maintenance of peace with the Livonian and Prussian branches of the Teutonic Knights, and promised to give no assistance of any kind to Kestutis. In this manner, he virtually renounced his hereditary rights to the western portions of the Lithuanian state, and surrendered his uncle to the mercies of the warrior-monks.

The sacrifices, which Jogaila seemed willing to make in the West, proved to be of no value whatsoever in dealing with the situation in the East. His alliance with the Tatars of the Golden Horde and Oleg of Ryazan against Moscow failed during the  p37 summer of that very year: the Muscovites with Jogaila's half-brothers, Andrew and Demetrius, decisively routed the Mongols led by Mamai, on the plains of Kulikovo near the Don, before the allies were able to join their forces.

In 1381, Jogaila's intrigues became known to Kestutis. The Teutons (both from Prussia and Livonia) had raided Samogitia and the Kaunas district during the months of February and June. Yet, when the citizens of Polock had taken up arms against Jogaila's appointee, Skirgaila, the latter, promising the cession of some lands in that province, easily enough obtained the assistance of the Livonian Order. Kestutis' suspicions were further increased, when Commander Kuno von Liebenstein of Osterode notified him of the existence of the treaty of Dovydiskiai. And then, in November, Kestutis suddenly and unexpectedly occupied Vilnius, and proclaimed himself the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Soon afterwards he also restored Andrew to Polock.

Kestutis' reign was of brief duration. While attempting to take the fortress Jurbarkas (Georgenburg) on the right bank of the Nemunas in April, 1382, news reached him that Kaributas, whom Jogaila had previously deputed as the administrator of Novgorod-Severski, had revolted. This, in reality, was but a part of the plot mapped out against him by Jogaila, Hannike, and Kaributas. Leaving his son Vytautas in charge of Vilnius, Kestutis departed for the East to quell the rebellion. On June 12th, while Vytautas was at Trakai, the conspirators under the direction of Hannike took possession of Vilnius and announced the restoration of Jogaila, who had hurriedly arrived at the capital from Vitebsk. Vytautas' effort to recapture Vilnius proved futile and he was forced to retreat to Gardinas. On July 6th, at Brazuola, near Trakai, Jogaila signed a mutual assistance pact with the Knights of the Cross. And with their help, two weeks later, he occupied Trakai, where he installed his brother Skirgaila as ducal deputy.

Upon his return late in July, Kestutis made a desperate effort to reestablish his government in Lithuania. Adding to the resources  p38 already available under his own and Vytautas' commands, he enlisted the aid of the Samogitians and his brother, Liubartas, governing in Volhynia.​4 On August 3rd he met Jogaila's troops, who were reenforced by a detachment of Sword Bearers from Livonia. But no battle ensued. Skirgaila and Jogaila immediately suggested that the issue at stake be settled by arbitration. After having received an assurance which guaranteed them personal immunity, Kestutis and Vytautas agreed to begin negotiations. But once they had come to Jogaila's camp, they were imprisoned and taken to Vilnius. Kestutis was then transferred to Kreva, and there murdered by his nephew's associates five days later.

Having become the supreme ruler of Lithuania, Jogaila was required to pay the price for his intrigues against Kestutis. On an island in the Dubysa River, October 31, 1382, Skirgaila acting as his representative, he agreed to three distinct pacts with the Teutonic Knights which bound him to the following conditions: the cession of Lithuanian Samogitia up to the Dubysa, the maintenance of peaceful relations with both branches of the Teutons on the Baltic, and the obligation to Christianize the Lithuanian nation within a period of four years. Momentarily, it seemed that the Germans had finally and suddenly accomplished what they had failed to achieve in the course of an entire century.

2. The Lithuanian-Polish Agreement of 1385

It was not long after the meeting on the Dubysa that the Teutons publicly manifested their insincerity and violated the terms of their agreement with Jogaila. Almost immediately they attempted to assist Duke John of Masovia to retain the districts of Drochin and Mielnik (part of Podlachia), which he had seized from Lithuania in July, and readily supplied him with much needed funds for this purpose (December). Furthermore, when Vytautas succeeded in escaping from prison (apparently during November), they not only gave him refuge at Marienburg but also  p39 pronounced themselves willing to support his claims against Jogaila.

Under such circumstances Jogaila could not reasonably consider himself obligated by the bilateral pact of October 31st, which had called for mutual cooperation. Consequently, Samogitia continued to remain in Lithuanian hands. And despite the wishes of the Knights, Jogaila compelled Masovia to restore the areas of Drochin and Mielnik to Lithuania early in 1383. The subsequent projected conference between Jogaila and the Grand Master, Conrad Zollner von Rotenstein, in July of that year, failed to improve Lithuania's relations with the Germans, who three months afterwards received Kestutis' sons, Vytautas and Tautvila, into the Catholic faith and declared war on the Lithuanian Grand Duchy.

In the late autumn of 1383, Vytautas invaded Lithuania with a force of Teutons and Lithuanian adherents. Being unable to hold Trakai and to take Vilnius, he withdrew to Prussia. The Knights then placed him in charge of one of their fortresses on the Nemunas, New Marienburg. This base was intended to serve as a rallying-point for Vytautas' partisans in Lithuania, whom Jogaila had not hesitated to oppress rather severely. However, the various overtures made by the Grand Duke were not without fruit. And in 1384, the two cousins were reconciled; Jogaila consented to establish Vytautas as the Grand Ducal deputy in all the territories previously governed by Kestutis; Vytautas agreed to content himself with the Gardinas and Brest areas and Volhynia until Skirgaila could be diplomatically transferred from Trakai to Polock. Thereupon, Vytautas abandoned the Knights of the Cross, destroyed their strongholds of Georgenburg, New Marienburg, and New Baierburg, joined Jogaila's troops, burned New Marienwerder, and took up his residence at Gardinas.

Even while he was still carrying on negotiations with Vytautas, the Polish lords had offered Jogaila the Polish throne and the hand of their youthful Queen, Jadwiga, in marriage. It was definitely an opportunity to imitate Gediminas' policies and to expand the western boundaries of the Lithuanian state. Complying with the necessary formalities, Jogaila dispatched his ambassadors to Cracow and to the Queen's mother at Buda. And on August 14,  p40 1385, in Lithuania, by the Act of Kreva (Krewo), Jogaila confirmed all the promises he had made through his representatives to win Jadwiga for his wife and the Polish throne for the Lithuanian Grand Duchy. He agreed to unite the extensive Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland under one head; to Christianize the Lithuanian nation; to make monetary reparations to William of Austria, who had been betrothed to Jadwiga. This pact was approved by Skirgaila, Lengvenis, Kaributas, and Vytautas.

In spite of the bitter opposition of the Teutons, who had attacked Vilnius and Asmena in the meanwhile, Jogaila was baptized at Cracow on February 14, 1386, and four days later wedded to Jadwiga. He was crowned King of Poland on March 4th as Ladislas II.

The official Christianization of Lithuania was then begun among the Highlanders during the early part of 1387. Jogaila, accompanied by such Catholic Lithuanian princes as Vytautas, who acted as interpreters for the Polish nobles and the Polish clergy­men, toured the main Lithuanian centers. Conferring on each Lithuanian, who received the Sacrament of Baptism, a white woolen shirt, symbolic of the soul's innocence, they attempted to instruct the neophytes in the fundamentals of Christianity. They obtained some assistance from the Franciscans, who had been established at Vilnius previously. Needless to say, this mass conversion failed to supply the people with sufficient and adequate knowledge of their new faith. That same year Jogaila sponsored the erection of the Cathedral of Vilnius and the foundation of seven distinct parish churches; namely, at Aina, Kreva, Maisiogala, Medininkai, Nemencine, Obalciai, and Ukmerge. And in 1388, the bull of Pope Urban VI named Vilnius as the episcopal see of the Catholic Church in Lithuania.

At this time, Jogaila introduced a number of internal changes which were of great political and social significance in subsequent Lithuanian history. He granted the gentry (those who had been converted to Catholicism) their first charter (1387). Although this charter did not permit the boyars to participate in the administration of the government, nevertheless, it legally recognized the inviolability of their personal and property rights, and defined their  p41 duties towards the state as constituted almost solely by the necessity of providing for the Grand Duchy's defense in time of war. Similarly, Jogaila exempted the ecclesiastical organization in Lithuania from all civil obligations. In this manner, he created two privileged classes, whose influence was destined to grow gradually and finally attain tremendous political power.

3. The Rise of Vytautas

Andrew of Polock, who had consistently opposed Jogaila, was vanquished by the joint efforts of Skirgaila and Vytautas during 1386. As a matter of fact, even Sviatoslav, Duke of Smolensk, who sympathized with Andrew, lost his life while trying to cooperate with Jogaila's half-brother; his son and successor, George, was compelled to acknowledge his vassalage to Lithuania. Skirgaila then assumed the governor­ship of Polock, and did not manifest the slightest intention of relinquishing Trakai. Jogaila, having decided to live at Cracow, not only exacted an oath of obedience from all of his Grand Ducal deputies, but even appointed Skirgaila as the administrator of the entire Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It is at this point that Vytautas revolted against the existing regime.

While Jogaila contended with Moscow for influence over the independent Republic of Novgorod, Vytautas graciously received Basil of Muscovy, who had field from Tatar captivity,​5 and gave him his daughter, Sophia, to wife. Previously, taking advantage of the general discontent Jogaila had aroused by needlessly garrisoning Vilnius with the foreign Polish soldiers, Vytautas had formulated plans at Luck to seize the Lithuanian capital. However, his conspiracy was discovered before it could mature, and he was once more compelled to retire from Lithuania and to appeal for aid to the Teutonic Knights (1389). The latter had repeatedly questioned Jogaila's conversion, denounced his alliance with Poland, and attempted to discredit him in the West. On this occasion, the Teutons required Vytautas to seal his agreement with  p42 them by sending to Prussia as hostage his brother Zigmantas, his sister Ringaila, his nephew Michael, and approximately a thousand Lithuanian nobles.

Vytautas' great popularity in Lithuania quickly determined the course of this civil war. In 1391, for instance, the Lithuanian troops at Gardinas refused to resist his forces and laid down their arms without a struggle. Ukmerge and Merkine were recovered in similar fashion. Finally, unable to cope with this uncertain loyalty on the part of the subjects of the Grand Duchy, Jogaila was induced to adopt a conciliatory policy. Through the diplomatic services of Henry of Masovia, he expressed his willingness to make Vytautas his viceregent over the entire Lithuanian state. Vytautas accepted this offer and for the second time renounced his associations with the Knights and returned to Gardinas. In 1392, the two cousins completed their pact at Astrava, near Lyda. Theoretically, Jogaila remained the Grand Duke; but as subsequent events plainly revealed, Vytautas had really become the supreme ruler of Lithuania.

---

The Author's Notes:

1 Algirdas had five sons by Mary of Vitebsk. All had been entrusted with positions in the eastern areas of the Grand Duchy; namely, Andrew at Polock, Demetrius at Bryansk and Novgorod-Severski, Constantine at Chernigov, Vladimir at Kiev, and Theodore at Ratne near Brest. His seven sons by Juliana of Tver were: Jogaila, Skirgaila, Kaributas, Lengvenis, Karigaila, Vygantas, and Svitrigaila. With the exception of Jogaila, however, none had been assigned to administrative posts. Quite possibly the hope of remedying this situation may have spurred Juliana to take a very active part in politics after Algirdas' death.

2 During 1379 the Knights had not only ravaged the Samogitian and Highlander territories of the Lithuanians, but had even attacked Gardinas, Mielnik, Bielsk, Drochin, and Kamenets.

3 Situated near Gardinas.

4 John of Masovia replied to Kestutis' appeals by attacking Drochin, Mielnik and even Kamenets.

5 Toktamish, who had merged the forces of the Golden Horde with the Eastern Kipchaks, sacked Moscow in 1382 and reestablished Mongol domination, which had been somewhat endangered by the battle of Kulikovo in 1380.

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