Anna (Grand Duchess of Lithuania)

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Artist's impression of Anna from the 19th century.

Anna ( Lithuanian : Ona Vytautienė ; * before 1370; † July 31, 1418 in Trakai ) was the Grand Duchess of Lithuania from 1392 to 1418 . She was probably the first wife of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas . Anna was the mother of Sofia of Lithuania , the only child of Vytautas and later wife of Vassilis I of Moscow . She is best known for helping Vytautas escape from prison in Krewa , and thus presumably saving his life. Little is known about Anna's life and even her origins are controversial among historians.

Life

During the civil wars

Anna and Vytautas were probably married around 1370. Anna first appeared in 1382 when her husband was imprisoned by his cousin Jogaila in Krewa Castle during the Lithuanian Civil War from 1381 to 1384 . While all historical accounts agree that she freed her husband, the details vary from source to source. It is unclear how much freedom Anna had in Krewa and whether she was guarded. The Lithuanian chronicles say that she had two maids with her. She is said to have persuaded one of them to swap clothes with Vytautas, who then escaped undetected. Wigand von Marburg claimed that Vytautas was released in Anna's clothes instead of those of one of her maids. Anna is believed to have stayed in Krewa and there is no information available on how she escaped or was freed. Teodor Narbutt (1784–1864) later added many colorful details to the story, for example that Vytautas was sick and one of the maids named Alena sacrificed herself to save her master.

Anna was in Hrodna when her husband's coup in 1389 , aimed at conquering Vilnius , failed. After the failed coup, Anna followed her husband to the Teutonic Order , where Vytautas asked for an alliance against his cousins ​​Jogaila and Skirgaila in the Lithuanian civil war from 1389 to 1392 . At times she was held hostage to guarantee that Vytautas would not break the alliance. After the disagreements were resolved in 1392, Anna confirmed the Ostrów Agreement , the peace treaty that made Vytautas Grand Duke of Lithuania. She signed two letters, one for Jogaila and the other for his wife Hedwig of Poland . Anna was still active in politics and took part in negotiations on the Treaty of Salinwerder in 1398.

Kęstutis and his son Vytautas were imprisoned by Jogaila in Krewa Castle in 1382 . Kęstutis died after a week. Vytautas remained imprisoned for a few months until he was rescued by his wife Anna.

Next life

In 1400 Anna visited the grave of Dorothea von Montau in Marienwerder (Polish: Kwidzyn) and prayed in the churches of St. Anne in Brandenburg and St. Barbara in Oldenburg . She was accompanied by her brother-in-law Sigismund Kęstutaitis and an escort of 400 men and greeted with expensive gifts and lavish receptions. Anna continued to maintain good relations with the Teutonic Order, which sent her expensive gifts; these included a clavichord and portative in 1408 and rare wine in 1416. She died in 1418 and it was all churches in Prussia ordered Requiems to keep. Various chronicles and documents mention less positive interactions between Anna and Poland. It is believed that the Church of St. Anne, built in Vilnius Castle before 1390, was named after her. It was later renamed the Church of St. Barbara, but has not survived to the present day. The Flemish traveler Ghillebert de Lannoy wrote positively about the Grand Duchess.

Before 1396, she and her husband traveled to Kežmarok to meet King Sigismund of Hungary and to establish a friendly relationship. While they talked for a long time, a fire broke out that devastated half the town, leading the Hungarian nobles to believe that Vytauta's entourage was involved. Sigismund intervened, clarified the situation and resumed negotiations. After the visit, the Grand Duke and his wife gave King Sigismund many gifts, including a cloak, hat and a gold-trimmed sable fur glove . The details of all these gifts, which were "given by Vytauta's wife", were recorded in a chronicle written by Eberhard Windeck , a close confidante of the Hungarian king, who later also became King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor .

After Anna's death in 1418, Vytautas wanted to marry her niece Uljana Olschanski , the daughter of Ivan Olschanski . Polish historian Jan Długosz adds that Ivan von Karachev , Ulyan's first husband, was murdered by Vytautas in order to marry her. The Bishop of Vilnius refused the marriage because of the close relationships (Vytautas was Uljanas-law uncle) and demanded of them, but only the consent of the Pope to obtain. Eventually they were married by the Bishop of Włocławek .

origin

There is intense debate in academia about who Anna's parents were. The Chronicle of Bychowiec , a late and unreliable source said, Anna was the sister Yuri Swjatoslawitschs , the last sovereign ruler of Smolensk . A document from 1413 mentions a "Russian prince named Basil" as Vytauta's brother-in-law. In fact, the name of one of Anna's (and Juri's) brothers was Basil. For a long time this was the only theory about their origins, although no other contemporary source mentions this relationship, although Lithuania and Smolensk were at war with each other on several occasions. The first Lithuanian chronicle, written while Vytautas was still alive, describes in detail how the wars against Smolensk were fought in 1386, 1395, 1401 and 1404, but mentions nothing about Vytautas and Yuri being brothers-in-law.

In 1933, the Lithuanian historian Ignas Jonynas published a study attempting to refute the Bychowiec Chronicle and show that Anna was not an Orthodox Slavic princess, but the daughter of a local Lithuanian nobleman . He claimed that Anna was the sister of Sudimantas, a nobleman from Eišiškės (in present-day Lithuania) and the commander of Vytauta's army. The Chronicle of the Teutonic Order mentions Sudimantas as Swoger (brother-in-law) of Vytautas. Another document dating from 1416 referred to Sudimantas as stomach , a word usually used to refer to a blood relative. Since Jonyna's study, Sudimantas has been presented in various sources as Anna's brother, father, or sister's husband.

The Polish historian Jan Tegowski contradicted Jonynas, claiming that both Sudimantas and Lev von Drutsk (who is also mentioned as Vytautas Swoger ) were married to sisters of Vytautas' first wife, Princess Maria von Lukoml . Jonynas expressed serious doubts as to whether Maria, Andreis' daughter, even existed. Information about them is also found in Bychowiec's unreliable chronicle. The only contemporary source that mentions Maria von Lukoml dates back to 1440-1443 and deals with the division of her property after her death, but does not mention any relationship with Vytautas.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Vytautas Spečiūnas and other authors (2004). "Ona". Lietuvos valdovai (XIII-XVIII a.): Enciklopedinis žinynas. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų Leidybos institutas. Page 88. ISBN 5-420-01535-8 (Lithuanian).
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Simas Sužiedėlis and other authors (1970–1978). "Anne". Encyclopedia Lituanica I. Boston, Massachusetts: Juozas Kapočius. Pages 102-103. LCC 74-114275 .
  3. ↑ a b c Ignas Jonynas (1984) [1932]. "Vytauto šeimyna". Istorijos baruose . Vilnius: Mokslas. Pages 35-38. LCC 84212910 (Lithuanian).
  4. ↑ Stephen R. Turnbull , Richard Hook (2003). Tannenberg 1410: Disaster for the Teutonic Knights . Osprey Publishing . Page 15. ISBN 1-84176-561-9 .
  5. ^ A b William Urban (2006). Samogitian Crusade . Chicago: Lithuanian Research and Studies Center. Pages 204-205. ISBN 0-929700-56-2 .
  6. ^ A b William Urban (2003). Tannenberg and After . Chicago: Lithuanian Research and Studies Center. Pages 88, 262. ISBN 0-929700-25-2 .
  7. ↑ a b c Ignas Jonynas (1984) [1932]. "Vytauto šeimyna". Istorijos baruose . Vilnius: Mokslas. Pages 68-71. LCC 84212910 (Lithuanian).
  8. ^ Bronius Kviklys (1985). Vilniaus arkivyskupija I dalis . Lietuvos bažnyčios 5. Chicago: Lithuanian Library Press. Page 399. ISBN 0-932042-54-6 (Lithuanian)
  9. ↑ Eberhard Windecke (2008). Zsigmond királyról és kora . MTA. Budapest. Page 28.
  10. ^ A b S. C. Rowell: Pious Princesses or Daughters of Belial: Pagan Lithuanian Dynastic Diplomacy, 1279-1423. In: Medieval Prosopography. Volume 15, 1994, ISSN  0198-9405
  11. ↑ a b Хроника Быховца , vostlit.info. Mikałaj Ułaščyk. (1966). Page 79. (Russian)
  12. ↑ a b c Ignas Jonynas (1984) [1932]. "Vytauto šeimyna". Istorijos baruose . Vilnius: Mokslas. Pages 51-54. LCC 84212910 (Lithuanian).
  13. ↑ a b Jan Tęgowski (1995). "Małżeństwa księcia Witolda Kiejstutowicza". Rocznik polskiego towarzystwa heraldycznego heraldycznego 2 (13). Pages 177-182. ISSN 1230-803X (Polish).
  14. ↑ Ignas Jonynas (1984) [1932]. "Vytauto šeimyna". Istorijos baruose . Vilnius: Mokslas. Page 59.LCC 84212910 (Lithuanian).
  15. ^ A b Rimvydas Petrauskas (2003). Lietuvos diduomenė XIV a. pabaigoje - XV a. Aidai. Page 86. ISBN 9955-445-67-X (Lithuanian).
  16. ↑ a b Ignas Jonynas (1984) [1932]. "Vytauto šeimyna". Istorijos baruose . Vilnius: Mokslas. Pages 47-50. LCC 84212910 (Lithuanian).
personal data
SURNAME Anna
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ona
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Grand Duchess of Lithuania
DATE OF BIRTH before 1370
DATE OF DEATH July 31, 1418
Place of death Trakai