Mindaugas I. (Lithuania)

Myndowen, King of Lithuania

The Mindaugas Monument in Vilnius

Mindaugas ( German  Myndowen , Polish Mendog , Belarusian Міндоўг, Mindoug , Russian Миндовг, Mindowg ), (* around 1203; † September 12, 1263 ) ruled between 1238 and 1263 as a Lithuanian prince or later grand prince. In the summer of 1253 he even received the royal crown at the instigation of Pope Innocent IV . Coronation Day is an official holiday in Lithuania today . To make this possible, this was set to July 6, 1253.

Mindaugas is credited with the unification of the five principalities of Lithuania into one state, even if his position of power was controversial. The prerequisite was the formation of military followers, partly separated from the peasant population, partly recruited from fleeing Russians, who strengthened the prince's position of power in the country.

Life

His name is mentioned for the first time in a treaty of 1219 in which he and other Lithuanian princes (his relatives and his brother Dausprungas) entered into an alliance with the Russian prince Daniel Romanovich of Galicia of Halych-Volhynia . Subsequently, he also performed mercenary services for Konrad of Mazovia (1237) and Daniel of Galicia (1245).

Soon the boyars offered him rule of Lithuania, so that he was mentioned as ruler of the country in 1238. 1249 he drove his nephew Taut Vilas and Gedivydas, the sons of his late brother before 1238 Dausprungas, and their maternal uncle, the Samogitians -Fürst Vykintas of Galicia , when used in a campaign against Vladimir - Suzdal were unsuccessful. For the next two years, he rejected attempts to return. Thus, he also achieved actual rule. One of the nephews, Tautvilas, was baptized in Riga and thus won the support of the Teutonic Order . Mindaugas had to follow suit. He too was baptized in 1251 and received the royal crown from the Pope in 1253. He later made up with Tautvilas.

Mindaugas also allied again with Daniel of Galicia († 1264), who then rebelled against the Golden Horde . A marriage between Mindaugas' daughter and Daniel's son Švarno also linked the two ruling families in 1255. The alliance remained fruitless and the Tatars forced both of them to flee in 1258/59. This weakened Mindaugas' position against the Schemeites, who were able to inflict a heavy defeat on the Teutonic Order on July 13, 1260 in the Battle of the Durbe - without Mindaugas.

Mindaugas turned back from Christianity (although this fact remains controversial) and now allied himself with the pagan schemaites of his nephew Treniota, his sister's son with Vykintas, against the order. But the 1261 campaign was unsuccessful and Mindaugas lost the support of his subordinates. In autumn 1263 he and two of his sons were murdered by his brother-in-law Daumantas and his nephew Treniota .

Mindauga's son Vaisalga took over the government in 1264, but resigned and was soon also murdered. Until the end of the century, there was extensive disorder in Lithuania, so that there are still uncertainties about the life data of the grand dukes.

family

Mindaugas was married to Morta Mindaugienė (1210-1262) and had the sons Vaišelga , Rūklys and Rupeikis .

Aftermath

Mindaugas is revered as a national hero in Lithuania and partly also in Belarus . In 2003 a bridge in Vilnius was named after him. A memorial to Mindaugas was also opened in front of the National Museum in the Lithuanian capital.

Web links

Commons : Mindaugas  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• MedLands LITHUANIA , accessed April 22, 2012, engl.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.litauen.info/reise-tipps-litauen/feiertage/staatstag/
2. ↑ http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/LITHUANIA.htm#_Toc186620908
3. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

predecessor	Office	successor
Roman of Ruthenia	King of Lithuania 1238–1263	Treniota