Birutė (Grand Duchess)

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Artist's impression of Birutė from the 19th century
A bronze sculpture by Birutė near her presumed grave in Palanga.

Birutė (* before 1350; † 1382 ) was the second wife of Kęstutis , the Grand Duke of Lithuania and the mother of Vytautas the Great . Very little is known about Birutė's life, but after her death a strong cult around her arose among the Lithuanians , especially in Samogitia .

Life

marriage

She was probably born near Palanga as the child of a Samogite or Curonian magnate family. The story of her marriage to Kęstutis became a romantic legend in Lithuania . Chronicles mention that Birutė was a priestess ( Lithuanian vaidilutė ) and served the pagan gods by guarding the sacred fire. When Kęstutis heard of her beauty, he visited the shrine and asked her to marry him. She refused because she had promised the gods to keep her virginity until her death. Kęstutis then dragged her to Trakai against her will and organized a big wedding. She and Kęstutis each had three sons and daughters. Vytautas, their first son, was born around 1350. This indicates that the marriage took place in 1349 at the latest.

Historian Stephen Christopher Rowell suggests that marrying a pagan princess rather than an Orthodox Slavic princess helped win the support of the Lithuanian people after Kęstutis and his brother Algirdas dethroned Grand Duke Jaunutis in 1345.

death

The circumstances of Birutė's death are not fully understood. Between 1381 and 1382 her husband Kęstutis waged a civil war against his nephew Jogaila , who became the Grand Duke of Lithuania and concluded a treaty with the Teutonic Order against Kęstutis . Her husband was arrested and taken to Krewa Castle . A week later, Kęstutis was dead and some chronicles indicate that he was murdered. Despite the unclear circumstances, a chronicle written by the Teutonic Order briefly mentions that Birutė was brought to Brest for security reasons , where she was drowned in autumn 1382 (presumably in retaliation for Vytautas' escape from Krewa). However, there are no other sources to support or disprove this claim. 35 years later, a Samogitian delegation at the Council of Constance denied her murder and another legend claims that Birutė returned to the shrine where she once served in Palanga, resumed her service to the gods there and did not die until 1389.

Legend has it that she was buried in Palanga at the foot of a hill named after her in Birutė's honor.

worship

A grotto at the foot of Birutė Hill, of Édouard André designed

A cult developed around Birutė that was strong long after her death. She was viewed by the Lithuanians as a goddess or the pagan equivalent of a saint . In 1989, archaeologists discovered evidence of a pagan sanctuary and observatory that existed on the top of Birutė Hill in the late 14th or early 15th century. It was probably built in Birutė's honor. There are many stories of people who worshiped Birute and asked her to bring her health or happiness. To deter people from worshiping pagan gods and Birute's tomb, a chapel for St. George was built on the hill in 1506 . The chapel was rebuilt in 1869 and is still there today. It is a popular tourist destination.

Birutė Hill is the highest coastal dune in the seaside resort of Palanga on the Baltic Sea and is now part of the botanical garden in the Palanga Amber Museum . Archaeological research shows that there was a village at the foot of the hill in the 10th century. When the German and Livonian orders invaded in the 13th century , the villagers built a defense system with a tower. After a first defeat, the defense system was rebuilt and reinforced with another tower and a wall. However, when it burned down in the second half of the 14th century, a pagan shrine and observatory were built in its place.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ SC Rowell: Pious Princesses or Daughters of Belial: Pagan Lithuanian Dynastic Diplomacy, 1279-1423. In: Medieval Prosopography. Volume 15, 1994, ISSN  0198-9405

literature

personal data
SURNAME Birutė
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Grand Duchess of Lithuania
DATE OF BIRTH before 1350
DATE OF DEATH 1382