Švitrigaila
gigatos | January 20, 2022
Summary
Svidrigajlo (1355
The year and place of birth of Svidrigailo are not reliably known. Various researchers have given dates ranging from 1355 to 1376. There are also two views on whether he was baptized before 1386. Reliably known that Svidrigajlo was Olgerd”s son from his second marriage to Juliana of Tver, which took place in 1350. In this marriage (between 1350 and 1377) was born a lot of children (there are up to 16 people). But researchers have discrepancies about what place among the children born in this marriage, took Svidrigailo.
The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron in 1900 wrote, that Svidrigajlo was born in 1355 and received the name Leo in orthodox christening. Leonty Vojtovich in the book “Princely Dynasties of Eastern Europe” in 2000 attributed his birth to 1365
Sergei Polekhov (author of article about Svidrigajlo in BRE) in the journal article “Svidrigajlo and Lithuanian Rus…” explained the fact that the works referred to the two christenings by the fact that the decisions of the Seimas of Lublin in 1566 mentioned princes Svidrigajlo and Lev (Danilovich) and in the XVIII edition between them there is no comma. And because the Catholic baptism in 1386, he received the name Boleslaw, researchers believed that Leo is the name received before 1386 in the Orthodox baptism.
The Great Russian Encyclopedia wrote that after his father”s death, Svidrigailo was brought up by Yagaila, and after his father”s departure for Poland, by his mother Ulyana. Other researchers report no data about Svidrigailo”s childhood.
The Thorn Annals, wrote that in July 1379 the “brother of the Lithuanian king” Svidrigailo, the former “Duke of Rus” arrived in Rezenburg with 30 horses, and then went further, to the King of Hungary and to the Roman king. The commentator, referring to Wigand of Marburg, claimed that it was another brother of Skirgailo.
In February 1386 with his older brother, the Lithuanian Grand Duke Jagailo, Svidrigailo traveled to Krakow, where, along with other brothers and nobles, adopted Catholicism and received the Christian name Boleslav.
The biography of Svidrigailo in the 1390s-1410s varies greatly in the chronicles and works of researchers, and sometimes they contradict each other – either omitting biographical elements, or placing them in a different historical period. During these years, Svidrigailo: fought several times with the Order against Vitovt (possibly participated in the battle of Vorskla; (was a prisoner of Vitovt. The authors have differences in the number and dates of these events and whether Svidrigailo took part in them.
According to the Chronicle of Bykhovets, Svidrigailo received the towns of Vitebsk and Crevo as his appanage after his father”s death. The ESBE claimed (probably confusing him with Skirgailo) that by 1392 he owned Polotsk. “World History – in 24 volumes” writes that Vitebsk was the widow”s inheritance of Princess Ulyana and after her death (1391) was to be received by her son “Yakov of Vitebsk”. I.V. Turchinovich argued that Ulyana, during her lifetime, passed the Vitebsk principality to Svidrigailo.
In 1392 Yagaylo made peace with Vitovt and appointed him governor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
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Data from chronicles and studies of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
The chronicle of Jan Dlugosh does not write about the fact that Svidrigaila was sitting in Vitebsk and about the conflict with the Falconer Fyodor Vesna. And the reasons for the war between Svidrigaila and Vitovt, which began in “1392”, is called “malignant envy”: Jagaila preferred to appoint his cousin as the Duke of Lithuania, bypassing his family. And if Skirgaila prepared a “rebellion” against this, then Svidrigaila fled in “1392” to the Crusaders and in “1394” in the entourage of Master Konrad von Jungingen is involved in the campaign against Lithuania and the siege of Vilna. In “1397” is reconciled with Vitovt and receives some land. In 1399 Svidrigailo took part in the battle on the Vorksle River, and after his defeat fled. In “1403” again with the crusaders attacked Lithuania, but after the reconciliation received Podolsk and Zydachov lands, Stryj, Shidlov, Stobnica, Drognja and Usce poviats, and one thousand four hundred marks a year. But Svidrigailo again goes to the crusaders “hoping to obtain the principality of Lithuania.
The Chronicle of Bykhovets did not always indicate the dates and described the development of events differently. When Vitovt became Grand Duke of Lithuania he met resistance only from Koribut. And the conflict with Svidrigailo began after Yagailo gave the city of Vitebsk to his falconer Fedor Vesna. Svidrigailo kills Vesna and at Yagaylo”s will Vitovt and Skirgailo besiege Orsha, Vitebsk and force him to surrender and submit. The next mention of Svidrigailo dates back to 1430
Matej Stryjkowski, who used the works of Dlugosz, Mechowski and Kromer in his chronicle, described the events somewhat differently. He wrote that soon after Skarigailo and Svidrigailo, dissatisfied with the appointment “in 1392” Vitovt as the Lithuanian prince began to prepare for war. Skirigailo “who was of great courage and a fiery heart and in addition had great treasure” was gathering troops, and Svidrigailo “was neither so bold nor so powerful, in addition had less means and treasure and was not particularly popular among his own” fled for help to Prussia to the new master Konrad Jungingen. Svidrigailo with crusaders “in 1393” took the castles of Surazh, Grodno and Stramele (owned by Vitovtu) and captured three thousand people. In this situation Jagailo reconciled Vitovt with Svidrigailo and the latter negotiated a large inheritance. “In 1394.” Svidrigailo and crusaders besieged Vilna for two months, Matej Stryjkowski in the chapter between the events of “1394” and “1396” placed a quote from Cromer, that Svidrigailo reconciled with Yagaylo and promised not to disturb Vitovt received Podolia (bought back from the sons of Spytok Melshtynsky) land. But does not specify that Spytko of Melshtyn was killed in 1399 in Vorskla. In the chapter dated 1396 he wrote that Svidrigajlo “being on the run in Prussia” together with crusaders ruined Lithuania, moreover, with reference to Dlugosz and Kromer indicates that in the campaign “1403” (“on the day of St. Dorothea”) he participated by Master Conrad Jungingen. These events forced Jagailo to make peace with Svidrigailo who received as his inheritance the lands of Podolia and Zhydachovo, and also the castles with the poviats: Stryj, Sidlov, Stobnice, Druhnia and Ujce, as well as he was assigned payments in the form of one thousand four hundred hryvnias in royal jupiahs. But he promised not to disturb Vitovt. But the promise was broken, because “soon” Princess Ulyana died (her death the sources date 1391
The Thorn annalist reports the arrival of Svidrigaila in January 1402 in Thorn and the conclusion in March 1402 of an agreement with the Master of the Order.
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In the works of contemporary researchers
In 1392 the new Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt (who ruled in 1392-1430) decided to add Vitebsk to the Great Duchy”s possessions and appointed there his deputy – falconer Fedor Vesna. Svidrigaila easily seized Vitebsk and killed Vesna. Drutsk and Orsha sided with him. Vitovt, having received the help from Poland under the command of Skirgailo, first moved on Drutsk. Local princes swore to Vitovt the oath of vassal obedience. In exchange Vitovt left to the Drutsk princes all their former possessions, but already in the form of a grant of a grand duke. Koribut, who did not wish to support Vitovt against Svidrigailo, was deprived of Novgorod-Siversky.
Then Vitovt forced Orsha to capitulate after a two-day siege, left his governor there, supplemented his army with detachments from Drutsk and Orsha, and besieged Vitebsk, where Svidrigailo was stationed. To the aid of Vitovtu came Yuri Svyatoslavich Smolensk. After a four-week siege the allies occupied the Lower castle and began preparing to storm the Upper castle, but the Vitebskers surrendered, as they had run out of food. The principality of Vitebsk was turned into a viceroyalty. E. Gudavicius and the Great Russian Encyclopedia dated the war for Vitebsk to 1392-1393, and F. Shabuldo 1391 to May 1393.
“World History” (in 24 volumes), ESSE following the “Chronicle” of Matej Stryjkowski claimed that Svidrigajlo fled (or “was forced out”) to the possessions of the Teutonic Order, from where he began to make raids.
Э. Gudavicius, A. Barbashev, BRE, following the Chronicle of Bykhovets, wrote that in 1393, after the fall of Vitebsk, Svidrigailo surrendered to Vitovt and was sent to Krakow, to the court of Jagailo. M. Grushevski writes, like Matej Stryjkowski, that in 1393 he sent in shackles (ukr. kaidany), E. Gudavicius, A. Barbashyov, BRE do not mention shackles.
Jagaila pardoned his rebellious brother and released him from custody.
И. Turchinovich wrote in an 1857 book that “in 1393” Svidrigajlo surrendered and received Kreva. But following Matej Strykojski the author spoke about a new war for Vitebsk: “in 1393″ he ran to the crusaders and in 1396 the prince with a detachment of Livonian crusaders, having passed through the Pskov lands, captured Vitebsk for the second time. The citizens of the city, who retained their sympathy for him, opened the castle gates to Svidrigaille and recognized him as their prince. Vitovt undertook a new campaign to Vitebsk. The townspeople once again desperately defended their city. After a thirty-day siege the Lower Castle was taken by storm. Svidrigaila with defenders and inhabitants retreated to the Upper Castle. A lot of people had accumulated there, and Svidrigailo decided to take people out of the castle. While they were leaving the castle, a Lithuanian army burst through the open gates. The city fell, Svidrigaila”s supporters were executed, and the prince himself was sent in chains to Krakow, but Yagaylo once again pardoned his younger brother.
А. Kotzebue, in a book of 1835, constructed a different chronology. After Vitovt”s appointment, Svidrigailo fled to the crusaders and in 1393 together with them devastated Lithuania, taking 3,000 prisoners. In 1394 he led them in the siege of Vilna. In 1396 Svidrigaila from Livonia captured Vitebsk, where he killed “Yagayla”s favorite. And Svidrigaila was joined to Orsha and the surrounding area. But Vitovt occupied Orsha and, forcing the Drutsk and Smolensk princes to join him, besieged Vitebsk for a month. Because of hunger, the “Livonian army” betrayed Svidrigailo and Vitovt expelled him to Yagayla. But Jagaila released his brother. According to Kotzebou”s version which referred to the letter of the Dinaburg garrison commander to the Teutonic grandmaster, this happened thanks to the interference of Princes Drutsky, “George of Smolensk”, and probably also of the Ryazan prince. Kotzebue assumed that Svidrigailo joined the army of “George of Smolensk”, who was devastating the outskirts of Orsha. And it was this that forced Jagaila to hand over Podolia to his brother.
Э. Gudavicius, describing the wars of crusaders in 1392-1396, speaks about the siege of Vilnius in August 1394 (but does not name Svidrigailo), about Vitebsk (without mentioning the Order) indicates only in 1392-1393.
Soon Svidrigailo went to Silesia to Przemyslaw I of Teszyn, and from there to Hungary, hoping for help from Sigismund of Luxembourg, who was at enmity with Jagail. After spending many years in Hungary, which he had not received, in 1398 he attempted to persuade the Teutonic Order to form an alliance against Vitovt. Kotzebue gave the answer of Count Kyburga, the former commander in Rehden, that he was not authorized to enter into negotiations with Svidrigailo. He has also informed that Vitovt”s peace with the Order has been declared, but it has not come into force yet and not wishing to break it, crusaders cannot negotiate with Svidrigailo.
According to A. Barbashev already in 1399 received Podolia, Novgorod-Seversk land, a number of cities of Czerwona Rus
On August 12, 1399 there was a battle on the Vorskla between the army of Vitovt (and his allies) and the Tatar armies of Timir-Kutlug and Yedigei. Vitovt lost. Researchers have different answers to the question whether Svidrigailo took part in this battle. The Great Russian Encyclopedia wrote that he participated. Kotzebou thought that Svidrigailo unlikely took part in the battle on Vorskla, as in 1398 he tried to persuade crusaders to make war with Vitovt. A. Kotzebu believed that having received an indefinite answer, Svidrigailo simply waited for favorable circumstances for himself.
In the battle of the Vorskla River, the death of Stytyko of Melshtyn, who had governed western Podolia since 1395. His sons were young and Yagaylo bought these lands from the widow. In 1400 the Polish king gave Svidrigajlo Podolia and a number of other possessions (Zhidachevo land). A. Barbashev claimed that Svidrigailo received Podolia from the Lithuanian prince Vitovt
While in Podolia, Svidrigailo made grants to the Franciscan and Dominican monks of Kamenetz. The Dominican monastery of St. Nicholas.
Н. Molchanovsky wrote that in 1400 Svidrigailo interfered in the struggle between the brothers Roman and Ivashko who were figuring out who should be the governor of Moldova. Svidrigailo arrested Roman. A. Baluch specified, that in 1400 the struggle for Moldavian throne was started between the son of Peter Musata, Ivasco and his nephew Alexander, son of Roman Musata. Being in Brest and expecting help from Poland, Ivashko swore allegiance to King Vladislav and Prince Vitovt on December 9, 1400. Also Ivashko promised to cede the land of Shypin to Yagaylo.
In 1401 Jagailo and Vitovt concluded the Union of Vilna and Radom, under which after Vitovt”s death all his possessions in Lithuania went to Poland. Svidrigailo, who had claims to the Lithuanian throne, was dissatisfied with this. Invited to Vilna, he was dissatisfied with the document, but, according to Lindenblatt, pretended to be pleased, attached a false seal to the document, and then, disguised in merchant”s dress, fled to Prussia. In 1401 he allied himself with the Mazovian prince Zemovit IV. The crusaders were also displeased with Vitovt, who supported Zmovid in violation of the treaty. In January 1402 Svidrigailo was in Torun, and on March 2 he made a treaty with the Order which was almost identical to Vitovt”s Salinas treaty with the crusaders. The order recognized him as a pretender to the Lithuanian throne, the prince promised the crusaders, in addition to Zhemaitija, the land of Polotsk.
In January 1402 the crusaders began a war, ravaged the neighborhood of Grodno, in July 1402 an army of almost forty thousand men, commanded by Grand komtur Hellfenstein, invaded the Lithuanian lands and approached Vilna. Along with the German knights was Svidrigailo. He counted on his secret supporters in the Lithuanian capital. But Vitovt, who led the defense of Vilna, identified them and had them executed. Having burned Miadininkai and Oshmyany, the crusaders returned home via Pärlam and Isrutis. The Lithuanians and Poles also ravaged the Order lands.
June 23, 1402 Yagaylo sent a message to the Svidrigailov headman in Podolia Grigory Kerdeyevich, issued in Vislici the queen, where he demanded to give Kamenetz and other castles Yagaylo man Derslav Konopka. Yagaylo went to Podolia. In August, he visited Kamenetz and Chervonograd, where he granted several privileges for Podolia. Head of the garrison Kamenets closed the gates of the castle to the king and let him in only after Yagaylo promised that he would not give Podolia or its castles to the princes, but only the Polish nobles. Grushevski attributed these events to 1402, and N. Molchanovsky dated 1404.
After his return from the campaign, Svidrigailo received from the Grand Master the possession of the border castle of Beeslak near Rastenburg, where he was able to receive his adherents. In June 1403 Vitovtas promised Yagaylo that Lithuania would not make peace separately from Poland. He stated this during negotiations in September 1403. In turn, Master Konrad von Jungingen rejected the demand to send Svidrigailo away. But on September 2, 1403, Pope Boniface IX by his bull forbade the crusade. The conclusion of peace became a matter of time. Peace was signed in May 1404.
Having lost the support of the Teutonic Order, Svidrigailo left Prussia and returned to his homeland, where he reconciled with Jagail and Vitovt once again. He was forced to take a vassal oath of allegiance to his brothers, and in return he received from them as hereditary possession of a large appanage duchy (the Chernigov-Seversk land together with the cities of Chernigov, Novgorod-Seversky, Trubchevsk, Starodub and Bryansk). The Great Russian Encyclopedia dates the return and obtaining of the “Bryansk principality” to 1403. F.Shabuldo and N.Molchanovsky considered that Svidrigailo received Seversk land at the same time as Podolia in 1399. Kotzebou wrote that Svidrigailo received Bryansk, Starodub and Seversk land after Podolia had been taken away from him, and he returned from the Order (that is in 1403).
In 1404 Svidrigailo took part in Vitovt”s march on Smolensk. He also took part in the Russo-Lithuanian war of 1406-1408. In 1406, according to A. Barbashev, Svidrigailo went to the Moscow prince, but later changed sides.
Svidrigailo, having received from his brothers a vast appanage dukedom, did not abandon his claims to the Lithuanian grand duke”s throne. He still maintained relations with the Teutonic and Livonian knights-crusaders. But unlike Vitovt (who publicly concluded the Treaty of Kaunas in September 1404, and the trade treaty with Riga in 1405) he did it in secret.
Vitovt”s centralizing policy provoked strong resistance from the clergy and nobility (as early as 1405 Antony, Bishop of Turov, urged Shadibek to attack the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and a number of representatives of the Lithuanian nobility “departed to Moscow”).
In July 1408 Svidrigailo together with a group of princes and boyars left Bryansk for Moscow to Vasily I Dmitrievich. According to M. Grushevsky, the departure was caused by the fact that Svidrigailo was conducting pro-Moscow agitation, and Vitovt planned to arrest him. According to N. Molchanovsky, Vitovt believed that in this case, besides Moscow, crusaders could also be involved. By trying to arrest Svidrigailo, Vitovt could have solved several problems, but failed. Before he left, Svidrigailo burned the castles in Bryansk and Starodub, and gave Novgorod-Seversky to the Moscow prince.
On July 26, 1408, Svidrigailo entered Moscow. According to the Voskresensky chronicle, he was accompanied by orthodox “lord of Dybryan” Isakiy, brothers princes Patrikei and Alexander Fedorovich Zvenigorod, prince Fyodor Alexandrovich Putivl, prince Semen Ivanovich Peremyshsky, prince Mikhail Ivanovich Hotetovsky, prince “Urustay of Men” with his cohorts, and also Chernigov, Bryansk, Starodub, Lyubut and Rostov boyars. Kotzebu A., referring to a letter of March, 10 received by the Grandmaster of the Teutonic Order from the Ober-Marshal, wrote, that Svidrigajlo informed the head of the Order, that he is planning to go to Russia together with “Russian metropolitan”. But he plans to stay there no longer than things take a different turn.
Svidrigailo received from the Moscow prince a number of cities to feed: Vladimir, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, Yuryev-Polsky, Volok Lamsky and Rzhev, as well as half of Kolomna.
Svidrigailo expected, with the support of Moscow, to overthrow Vitovt and seize the Lithuanian Grand Ducal throne.
Encouraged by the arrival of Svidrigailo, Vasily Dmitrievich resumed military action against Vitovt. Researchers assess Svidrigailo”s contribution to this war in different ways. According to A. Kotzebou, he entrusted Svidrigailo the command of the troops. According to E. Gudavicius, Vitovt, having received assistance from the Order (1800 horsemen) and Poland, came to meet Vasiliy”s troops.
In September 1408 the Moscow and Lithuanian armies met on the banks of the river Ugra, a tributary of the Oka. According to A. Kotsebu, Svidrigailo with Russians and Tatars persistently defended the passage between the swamps making sudden attacks from the forests and swamps, capturing the advanced Lithuanian units, and acted so successfully that they put Vitovt”s army on the brink of death. In this situation, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, flanking the Moscow army, ravaged the “Moscow region,” forcing Vasily Dmitrievich to make peace. The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron wrote that Vassily entrusted Svidrigaila to command the army sent against the Lithuanians. But Svidrigaila did not achieve a single major victory. E. Gudavicius without mentioning the commander of the Moscow army, wrote that during this campaign Vasili I adhered to the defensive tactics, and Vitovt, fearing a repetition of Vorskla, “also did not risk. S.M.Solovjev wrote: “In July Svidrigajlo came, in September Vasili with his regiments and Tatar already stood on the borders, on the bank of the Ugra, and on the other bank of the river was Vitovt with Lithuania, Poles, Germans and Zhemuda. But here too there was no battle: having stood for many days against each other, the princes concluded peace and parted”.
Soon the Grand Duke of Lithuania and the Grand Duke of Moscow entered into peace negotiations. On September 14, 1408 Vasily Dmitrievich and Vitovt concluded a treaty on the so-called eternal peace. According to it Vasily took the obligation to expel Svidrigailo from his possessions.
In December 1408 a Tatar army under the command of the Murza Yedigei made a raid on the lands of Moscow. Svidrigailo, having ruined the Moscow city of Serpukhov, joined Yedigei and “departed for the Horde”.
In 1409 Svidrigailo returned to the GDL. But Svidrigailo did not intend to renounce his long-standing claim to the Lithuanian grand-ducal throne and did not cease his secret negotiations with all of his cousin”s enemies. While in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, he negotiated with the crusaders about the possible overthrow of Vitovt.
In the autumn of 1409, Svidrigailo was captured by order of Vitovt and imprisoned in the Kremenets castle. By order of Vitovt, two Russian princes, Svidrigailo”s associates, were captured and executed. In prison Kremenets Svidrigajlo was within nine years (1409-1418). However, numerous Lithuanian-Russian appanage princes, associates and associates of Svidrigailo remained at large. Despite his own imprisonment in Kremenets prison, he still remained the recognized leader (banner) of the so-called “Russian” Orthodox party. His adherents, the Russian-Lithuanian appanage princes, dissatisfied with the seizure by the Polish magnates of the Lithuanian borderlands, the imposition of the Roman-Catholic faith, and the spread of Polish orders in the ancient Russian lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, decided to release their leader by force from imprisonment.
According to Ilovaysky, the commandant of the Kremenets castle Konrad Frankenberg was from Prussia, and he treated the prisoner respectfully and did not prevent him from visiting various guests. In March 1418 princes Daniil Feodorovich Ostrozhsky, Alexander Ivanovich Pinsky (Nos) and Andrey Smolensky captured Kremenets and freed Svidrigaila. According to Ilovaysky and Tatishchev, Daniel (Dashko) Ostrozhsky sent to Kremenets two loyal men Ilya and Dimitry, who managed to please Kremenets voivode Konrad and entered his service. At the appointed time the spies were to open the gates of Kremenets and let the associates of Svidrigaila into the fortress. The night before Easter princes Daniil Feodorovich Ostrozhsky and Alexander Ivanovich Pinsky with a large cohort secretly approached the gates of the castle. Ilya and Dimitri opened the gate and lowered the bridge. Kremenets voivode Konrad Frakenberg was killed with a sword in his hands, and all the Lithuanian and Polish bailiffs guarding Svidrigaila were also killed. Kotzebou gave extracts from the letter of Commodore Ragnitsky to the marshal of the order, where it was said, that after release Svidrigaila together with Andriy Smolensky and 200 horsemen escaped from captivity. And according to some rumors, he took possession of “small Wallachia”, according to others of Podolia, where everyone swore an oath to him. And Vitovt, fearing a relative, held Svidrigaila”s wife as a prisoner. The information about the capture of “lesser Wallachia” (Pokutia) is not confirmed. But P. Molchanowski believed that a certain Pridrigaila”s unrest in Podolia had risen. He argued that Jagailo obliged the inhabitants of Podolia to take an oath of allegiance and obedience to Vitovt.
Svidrigailo and his associates occupied Lutsk. When he learned of the approach of the great prince”s army, he left the principality. E. Gudavicius wrote that Svidrigailo went to Hungary through Wallachia, and then through Austria to Kostanets, where Emperor Sigismund was. A. I. Barbashev claimed that Svidrigailo wooed the sister of Conrad IV of Olesnitz. Svidrigailo with the help of Dashko Ostrozhsky resumed relations with the Order. But the Order used Svidrigailo as a means of pressure during negotiations with Jagailo and Vitovt.
In the second half of May 1419 in Kezmark (Kežmarok) Yagaylo met with the German Emperor Sigismund. The emperor helped to reconcile Svidrigailo with Yagaylo (A.V. Baryshev argued that this occurred in the summer of 1420) However, Vitovt continued to refuse any contact with him. In the summer of 1420, Svidrigailo negotiated with the Order for the resumption of previous treaties. Then Jagaila became an intermediary in the negotiations. An important role was played by the Polish nobles, who sent a delegation to Vilna, and vouched for his cousin before the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and in the event that Olgerdovich violated the treaty, to help Vitovt against Svidrigailo. Only then did Vitovt agree to be reconciled with Svidrigailo and return him his former inheritance. On August 10, 1420 Vytautas met with Svidrigailo. Svidrigailo received Chernigov, Trubchevsk, Bryansk, Novgorod-Siversky.The Great Russian Encyclopedia wrote that Svidrigailo participated in the war with the Teutonic Order and the conclusion of the Peace of Melne in 1422. A.Kotsebu gave extracts of a letter of 1422 from Svidrigailo to the Order, in which Olgerdovich declared himself a rival of the Order and a faithful servant and ally of “the oldest brothers” Vitovt and Jagaila. The letter specifies the title Svidrigailo Prince of Lithuania, ruler of Chernigov, Bzwor and Trubeczen dominus (lat. Dux Luttwaniae et terrarum Czirncow, Bzwor et Trubeczen dominus)
In 1428 Svidrigailo participated in Vitovt”s campaign against Novgorod.
The Great Russian Encyclopedia wrote that Svidrigailo took part in the coronation convention in Troki in 1430.
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The Grand Duke of Lithuania
On October 27, 1430 eighty-year-old Vitovt died in Troki. In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania began a fierce and bloody civil war for the grand ducal throne between Svidrigail, the leader of the Russian Orthodox party, and Sigismund Keistutovich, the leader of the Lithuanian Catholic party.
As to what and how it happened, sources and researchers describe differently.According to the version set out by J.Dlugosz, Jagailo, without consulting with Polish and Lithuanian prelates and pans (fearing that they would prohibit the act), sent to his brother Jan Mezhyk (Polish Jan Mężyk z Dąbrowy), through whom he passed the appointment Svidrigajlo prince. On learning of this deed, the Lithuanian nobility not only abandoned Jagailo and swore an oath to Svidrigailo, but also vowed to destroy all Poles in a race. Many of them believed that Svidrigailo”s rule would bring prosperity to the principality and help Orthodoxy. Jagailo and Svidrigailo escorted Vitovt”s body from Trok to Vilna, where they buried it. Svidrigailo occupied the Lithuanian castles (Vilna, Troki, and then others) without looking back at Yagaylo. And then arrested his brother, appealing to the fact that he had once spent nine years in his brother”s captivity, and now it was Jagailo”s turn. But the Poles visited Jagailo freely. Svidrigaila”s anger at his brother grew when he learned that after Vitovt”s death the Poles had seized Podolia. And demanding the return of Podolia, he threatened Yagaylo with imprisonment and even death. In response, the Polish retinue engaged in an altercation with Svidrigailo, but then made a plan: kill Svidrigailo, seize the castle of Vilna, and wait for the Polish army to approach. Yagaylo sent Mikhail Buchatsky an order to give Podolia and its castles to Svidrigailo”s men, but he disobeyed the king. At the same time, Svidrigailo received a letter from Pope Martin V, where he demanded the release of Yagaylo. After Svidrigailo”s return, the Poles began a war for Podolia.
The Lithuanian-Belarusian “Chronicle of Bykhovets” described the situation differently, but sometimes in its story greatly simplified the development of events. It was written: “After the death of Grand Duke Vitovt, King Jagaila asked the princes and pans of Lithuania, that they took his brother, Svidrigaila, and the princes and pans of Lithuania, during the stay of King Jagaila planted Grand Duke Svidrigaila in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia. A new meeting takes place two years later, when Yagaylo comes to his brother for hunting. Svidrigailo demands before the departure of the Polish king: “Dear brother, why do you hold Podolsk land, the patrimony of that land of Lithuania; return it to me, and if you do not want to return it to me, I will not let you out of Lithuania. After this Svidrigailo put Jagailo in custody. Jagaila appealed on one side: “My dear brother, I do not take the land of Podol from you, but there is our niece, the owner of that land of Podol, Princess Sofia Zhedividovna, wife of Prince Mitka Zubrevitsky, who entrusted it to me, as his uncle and protector, and although I manage it, she receives all the income.” And also reminded the Lithuanian nobility: “Remember that when my brother Grand Duke Vitovt, your sovereign, lived, I made a treaty with him in your presence with my brother Grand Duke Vitovt on such terms: If the Grand Duke Vitovt had sons and I had none, then the children of the Grand Duke Vitovt were to rule after my death the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland, and if my brother Vitovt had no children but I did, then after our demise my children were to rule the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.” And referring to the infancy of his sons he recommended “to take as sovereign my elder brother Sigismund, the brother of the Grand Duke Vitovt”. After these words, Svidrigailo “realized that he had done wrong, and let” his brother go. After that Yagaylo went to Poland, from where he sent ambassadors to the pope to take the oath from the Lithuanian nobility. And after receiving this letter on the first of September, the Lithuanian nobles chose Sigismund as grand duke, and the war began.
Matej Stryjkowski, basically repeating J. Dlugosz”s story. Dlugosz, added some details. He wrote that after Vitovt”s death the Lithuanian nobility split between different candidates: Alexander (or Oleko) Vladimirovich, Zhigmont Dimitrovich Koribut, Boleslav Svidrigailo. Moreover, most wanted Dmitry Koribut, who had fought for the Hussites in Bohemia. Jagailo sided with his brother and sent all the Poles away from Trok. Seeing this, the Lithuanian, Russian and Rzmudian nobility joined Svidrigaila. At Vitovt”s funeral in Vilna, Svidrigaila arrived surrounded by a large retinue, “and immediately, thanks to the support of his supporters, took Vilna, Trok and other important castles, seized them, and began to write the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King Jagiello, without regard for his will. After that Svidrigailo, reminding his brother of his nine-year captivity, began to “shame and disgrace” him, but then he calmed down. Svidrigailo was enthroned to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by King Jagailo and Bishop Matvei of Vilna (whom Stryjkovsky erroneously refers to as Mikolai). But when he learned about the capture of Podolia by the Poles, he again became enraged and even “fiercely clawed at his beard, despite his royal rank and gray hair. And he threatened the Poles present with prison, gallows and various deaths, as well as the king, if he does not immediately return Podolia, traitorously taken and stolen (as he said) from his Lithuanian fatherland. After this Jagaila wrote a letter demanding the return of Podolia to the Poles, and his nobles wrote another, which demanded the opposite, and hiding the second in a candle sent with a messenger. The Poles of Podolia, having received both letters, refused to return Podolia. After a letter from Pope Martin V, Svidrigailo let his brother go.
Researchers of the nineteenth century, informing about the events of 1430-1431, usually told one of the previous versions. A. Kotzebu, citing a variant close to M. Stryjkowski”s variant. But referring to the archives of the Order”s archive, he doubted that Svidrigailo tugged his brother”s beard or caused him other insults, because there are no mentions of such behavior in the letters. He also doubted that the pope threatened Svidrigailo with a curse.
Of modern researchers, the period is described in detail in the works of E. Gudavicius and S. V. Polevichov. E. Gudavicius wrote that before Vitovt died, an agreement had been reached between him and Yagailo that Vitovt would become king, but Yagailo”s son would be his heir. On October 10, 1430, Yagaylo arrived in Vilna. On October 16, Yagaylo sent the Polish nobles to Poland and he and Vitovt rode to Troki, where the Lithuanian prince fell off his horse. Both researchers (with a reference to J. Dlugoshou) report, that after Vytautas” imminent death became clear, Svidrigailo began touring the grand duke”s courts, demanding obedience from the headmen of the castles. Prior to his death on October 27, Vitaut had had time to complain to Yagaila through his ambassadors: the Vilna voivode Gedigold, Marshal Rumbold and secretary Mikolaj Sėpenski. E. Gudavičius was inclined to admit Długosz”s version that Vitaut bequeathed the Grand Duchy to Yagaila before his death. He explained this by the hatred he felt towards Svidrigailo. On November 3 Vytautas was buried in the Vilnius Cathedral of Saints Stanislaus and Wladyslaus. But during the funeral, which lasted eight days, while Jagailo participated in the funeral ceremonies, Svidrigailo”s supporters were able to take the two castles of Vilnius and Trokai, and he was proclaimed grand duke. Jagailo had no choice but to approve and bless this decision. But Svidrigailo did not refuse to have the great duke”s ring sent as an investiture (from the Polish king”s point of view), albeit through a petty nobleman, and did not make it the main element at the inauguration. In his letter to the Council of Basel a few years later he explained this by the fact that he was elected “by the nobles and the people”, and by giving the ring Jagailo simply recognized who the head of the Grand Duchy. According to S.V. Polekhov”s version, Svidrigailo was chosen by the “ruling elite” of the Grand Duchy, which, on the one hand, wanted to maintain good relations with Poland, and on the other, to have their own ruler. At the time of Vitovt”s funeral, Svidrigailo did not have sufficient forces at hand to seize power by force. His supporters lived far away, but he suited his personal qualities.
On November 7, an agreement was signed in Troki, in which (in both the Polish and Lithuanian versions) Svidrigailo is referred to as the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Yagaylo in the Lithuanian original is referred to as “King of Poland”, and in the Polish version – both the Polish king and supreme prince of Lithuania. The parties agree to live in peace and on the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (August 15) in 1431 to arrange a convention to discuss and resolve the differences.
In the autumn of 1430 hostilities broke out on the border between the Polish kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Polish magnates Gritsko Kerdeevich, Teodorich, Michal and Michal Muzhilo Buchatsky, and Jan Krushina, having received news of Vitovt”s death, gathered the Polish noblemen”s militia in Chervonaya Rus” and moved on Kamenetz. The bishop of Kamenetz, Pavel. They lured into a trap and arrested the Kamenetz governor and head of the Lithuanian garrison, John Dovgird, who did not know of Vitovt”s death. Then the Buchatski brothers occupied Smotrych, Chervonograd, Skala, Bakota and all the other Podol fortresses, and the Lithuanian viceroys were expelled. The Poles also attempted to occupy Volhynia, but their attempts to take the cities of Lutsk and Volodymyr-Volynsk ended in vain.
Svidrigajlo, learning about the capture of the Polish cities of Podolia, took Yagaylo and his cronies under house arrest. С. V. Polekhov wrote that on November 29, a new agreement between Yagaylo and Svidrigailo was concluded. The parties agreed that Yagailo shall give his brother Podolia with the castles of Kremenets, Smotrich, Chervonograd and Skala before the Congress (scheduled for August 15, 1431). This agreement could be reconsidered if the Polish councillors did not agree or if the king died. Svidrigajlo promised not to prosecute noblemen who captured Podolia.
Э. Gudavicius (and, for example, M. Grushevsky) probably mistakenly wrote only about one Troki agreement and dated it as November 7, 1430. E. Gudavicius connects it with the letter of Pope Martin threatening anathema.
King Jagiello wrote a letter to the Polish headmen in Kamenetz, ordering them to return the towns and castles of Podolia to the Lithuanian governors. But royal advisors, dissatisfied with the transfer of Podolia to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, decided to thwart their king”s decision. According to S.V. Polekhov, the nobles acted with the knowledge and consent of the king, because by order of the royal couple, as early as November 24, 11 horses “with guns and shells” were sent from the outskirts of Krakow to Kremenets, and on November 25, a certain Piotr with two horses.
Jagailo and Svidrigailo sent their representatives Tarlo Szczekarewicz and Prince Michael Baba to Kamenetz, so that they could present the royal decree to the Polish nobles. Polish nobles secretly told Kamenetz governor Michael Buchatski not to execute the royal decree and not to give the castles of Podol to Lithuanian starosts, but arrested the envoys. So Mikhail Buchatski, becoming Kamenets starosta, did not carry out royal decree and flatly refused to transfer captured Podolsk cities to Lithuanian governors. By order of Mikhail Buchatski representatives of Yagaila and Svidrigaila were captured and imprisoned.
Yagaylo again detained in Poland – until the end of 1430 or early 1431. According to S.V. Polekhov, only Poland”s preparation for war forced the king”s release. E. Gudavicius pointed out similar dates: December 6, 1430 at the convention in Warta called on the Polish nobility to release Jagaila. In January 1431, at the Congress of Sandomierz, the Grand Duchy of Poland was demanded to surrender Podolia and Volhynia to Poland, and Svidryhailo was to be asked to be vassals.
Then the Lithuanian Grand Duke Svidrigaila himself went to Podolia with a large army and retained only the northeastern lands of Podolia. At the end of 1430 Svidrigaila”s supporters laid siege to the Polish-occupied town of Smotrych in Podolia, but were soon repulsed by the Polish nobles who came to their aid from Kamenetz. Armed clashes broke out between Russian-Lithuanian and Polish detachments in the lands of Podolia, Volhynia and Galicia. The Poles invaded the Lithuanian possessions and seized the Volyn border castles of Zbarazh, Kremenets and Olesko. However, the Russian-Lithuanian magnates seized Volyn towns from the Poles and carried out devastating raids on the Terebovlian, Lvov and Bielsk lands, which were part of the Polish crown. Thus, an open war began between Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Svidrigailo began active diplomacy. As early as November 8, 1430, he sent to Emperor Sigismund a proposal for an alliance. The Teutonic Order was to join this alliance. He concluded an anti-Polish military alliance with the Teutonic Order, the Livonian Order, the Czech Taborites and Great Novgorod. Under the terms of the treaty with Svidrigailo, the Teutonic Knights began a war with the Kingdom of Poland, fighting continued in Podolia and Volhynia.
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The Lutsk War
In the summer of 1431 war broke out between Poland and Lithuania. On June 25, Jagiello and his Polish army marched from Peremyshl into the Volhynian lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and on July 9 he settled on the banks of the Bug River, which served as the border between Lithuania and Poland. The Lithuanian Grand Duke Svidrigailo was not prepared for the beginning of the war with Poland and was in Vilna. Having learned of the invasion of the Polish-Lithuanian army in Volyn, Svidrigailo summoned his allies, the German knights-crusaders, to attack the Polish lands, and he himself with the Russian-Lithuanian army moved to Volyn. On June 25, 1431 Svidrigajlo in a message to the crusaders reported that the Poles had invaded the Lithuanian lands in three places and burned out Gorodlo. When the Polish noble army approached, Lithuanian detachments left and burned Zbarazh and Volodymyr-Volynsky. The Polish king Jagaila did not share the military ardor of the Poles and therefore was in no hurry to invade deep into the Lithuanian territory. Initially he himself sent an embassy to Svidrigailo, urging him to make peace and vassal submission. Svidrigailo, however, refused to make peace with Yagaylo and recognize his vassal dependence on Poland. Then Yagaylo at the head of the Polish army moved from Gorodl to Vladimir, abandoned and burned by the Lithuanians. The Polish king with armies without resistance took Vladimir and granted the Vladimir-Volyn principality to his cousin Fyodor Lubartovich, and he assigned fiefdoms to his four sons. Poles have ruined and burnt out vicinities of Vladimir-Volynsk and have gone to Lutsk. The Lithuanian Grand Duke Svidrigailo Olgerdovich with the Russian-Lithuanian army also immediately marched on Lutsk, the capital of Volyn.
On July 31, 1431 on the river Styr, near Lutsk, there was a battle between the Polish and Lithuanian armies. The Polish army easily defeated and repulsed the small Russian-Lithuanian detachments guarding the crossings over the Styr. Then Svidrigaila with the main forces of the army retreated from Lutsk behind the river Horyn, and he left a four thousand garrison in the city, headed by his talented commander Jursha. Svidrigailo refused a decisive battle with the Polish army. Reporting to his allies about the battle on the banks of the Styr, he wrote that he inflicted heavy losses on the Polish army and left a large garrison in Lutsk for defense. The Polish army under the command of Jagaila completely surrounded and besieged Lutsk. The Lithuanian garrison burned the city and took refuge with the locals in the upper castle. Polish troops, besieging the city, began firing cannons into the castle. On August 13, 1431 the Poles made the first assault on Lutsk, which ended in defeat. The defenders, led by voivode Jursa, successfully repulsed Polish attacks. Then Lutsk governor Jursha entered into peace negotiations with the Polish king Yagayl and achieved a truce. During the truce, Jursha restored the city fortifications and refused further negotiations with the Poles. The Poles began to accuse their king of sympathizing with the inhabitants of Lutsk. The unsuccessful siege of Lutsk by the Poles continued. At this time the Lithuanian grand duke Svidrigailo with the Russian-Lithuanian army was stationed beyond the Horyn river, in Stepan, and he did nothing to help the people of Lutsk. Svidrigailo only asked for military assistance from his allies, then continued peace negotiations with the Polish king and concluded a temporary truce. During the truce, the Poles planned a surprise attack to take Lutsk, but were defeated again. Then Lutsk governor Jursha concluded with the Polish king Yagaylo another truce. Meanwhile, the Polish-Lithuanian war was fought in the lands neighboring Lutsk. Russo-Lithuanian troops invaded the land of Bielsk, where they captured and burned Buzhsk. A six-thousand Polish army, which marched from Vladimir, dispersed and expelled Lithuanians from the crown lands. Then the Polish army laid siege to the border fortress of Olesko. The defense of the fortress was led by the Galician magnate Bogdan Rogatinsky, who entered the service of Svidrigaille. By order of King Jagiello all estates of Bogdan Rogatinsky were confiscated. The Poles were unsuccessful during the siege and tried to negotiate with Bogdan Rogatinsky, who agreed to surrender the fortress if he surrendered Lutsk. Russo-Lithuanian troops ravaged the hill country, where they captured and burned the town of Ratno, which the citizens themselves surrendered to them. The Polish garrison from Holm quickly defeated the small Russian-Lithuanian detachments. Prince Mikhail Semenovich Golshansky, the governor of Kremenets, repulsed the Polish garrison from the town of Kremenets. At the request of the Lithuanian grand duke Svidrigaila, the Moldavian king Alexander the Good (1400-1432) entered the war against Poland. Alexander with the Moldavian army attacked the southern Polish possessions and ruined Podolia, Pokuttia and the Galich land. Jagaila sent against Alexander a crown army led by the brothers Michael and Friedrich of Buchatsk, who defeated Alexander in a battle near Kamenetz.
In August 1431 the Teutonic knights, aiding their ally, the Lithuanian grand duke Svidrigailo, in the war against Poland, ravaged the northern border lands. Instead of rallying Russian and Lithuanian forces around himself, Svidrigaila attempted to seek help from his allies, the German Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg, the knights of the Teutonic and Livonian Orders, but could not prevent the Poles from ravaging and occupying the Lithuanian borderlands. Despite the successful campaigns of the Teutonic Knights against the northern possessions of Poland, he entered into negotiations with the Polish King Jagiello, expressing his consent to an armistice. In September 1431 the Moldavian ruler Alexander the Good, defeated by the Polish army, was forced to sign an armistice with Poland.
On August 26, 1431, King Yagaylo in the camp of the Polish army near Lutsk signed an armistice with Svidrigailo for two years. On September 1, 1431 in Chertorizhsk Svidrigailo ratified the truce with Poland. Under the terms of the Polish-Lithuanian armistice, Svidrigailo retained Eastern Podolia (the cities of Bratslav and Vinnitsa) and Volhynia as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Polish King Wladyslaw II Jagiello kept Western Podolia together with the towns of Kamenetz, Smotrich, Bakota, Skala and Chervonograd and the surrounding districts. The Polish government had to accept the de facto independence of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the Polish crown.
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Civil War
On the night of August 31 to September 1, 1432 Svidrigailo was attacked by Lavrenty Zaremba”s men while spending the night in Oshmyany. Abandoning his pregnant wife, Svidrigaila managed to escape at the last moment and fled to Polotsk surrounded by 14 supporters. On his way Svidrigailo received messages that Vilnius did not support him, that Vilnius, Grodno, Berestye, Podlasie were under the control of the conspirators. Immediately after the coup, the conspirators and Sigismund Keistutovich accused Svidrigailo of damaging the Catholic faith in the Grand Duchy, that his wife “lived unchristian” (had not converted to Catholicism) and mocked the image of St. George. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania has split. A civil war broke out.
Sigismund Keistutowicz appealed to Krakow for support and asked for approval as grand duke. On October 15, 1432 he concluded a treaty with Poland. On this day, the bishop of Krakow Zbigniew Olesnicki made investiture on behalf of Jagaila, giving Sigismund a sword (a more prestigious symbol than the ring, which Svidrigaila received from Jagaila in 1430).
In the conflict that began, Sigismund positioned himself as a fighter against Svidrigailo, who wanted to “schizmatize” Lithuania. Svidrigalo positioned himself as a fighter against the traitors who had violated the oath, to return to the fulfillment of which he urged
Svidrigailo received the support of many Orthodox princes and part of the Lithuanian nobility. In Polotsk in 1432 he was seated on the “great reign of Russian”.
Seeking the support of Orthodox princes and clergy, Svidrigaila achieved the elevation of Bishop Gerasimus of Smolensk to the Kiev metropolitanate in 1433. From 1433 Svidrigailo, in an effort to prove his adherence to Catholicism, pursued a policy of unification between the Orthodox and Catholic churches.
But in 1435 metropolitan Gerasim was caught in communications with Svidrigailo”s opponent Sigismund Keystutovich. By agreement, Gerasim promised to bend the Smolensk and Kiev lands to Sigismund”s side. Svidrigailo subjected the metropolitan to imprisonment and burning on July 24, 1435. On September 1, 1435, in the decisive battle of Vilkomir, Svidrigailo was defeated. Sigismund took advantage of this, occupying Smolensk, Mtsensk and Starodub.
During the campaign of 1436 Svidrigailo repulsed Mtsensk, Starodub, but September 4, 1437 was forced to sign an agreement with Poland, recognizing himself a vassal of it, to transfer Lutsk and agree that after his death all the land will go to the Poles.
And as a result of the campaigns of Sigismund”s troops in late 1438
On March 25, 1440, the conspirators (supporters of Svidrigailo) murdered Sigismund. After his death, part of the nobility proclaimed Michael, the son of the murdered, as Grand Duke, and part – Svidrigailo. In 1440, Svidrigailo received a principality in Poland, created out of the Grudska (near Gorodok) and Szcherecka (Szcherecki) lands. On June 6, 1440 in Tlumac he promulgated an act, in which he proclaimed himself Grand Duke of Lithuania, but a vassal of the Kingdom of Poland. A new clash of supporters and opponents of Svidrigailo was brewing. In this situation Jan Gaštold invited Casimir, Jagaila”s youngest son, to the great ducal throne. On June 29, 1440 Kazimir was declared grand duke.
In the summer of 1441, Svidrigailo visited the Polish king and received the land of Chełm.
Soon after the Vilna Seim (January 1442), Svidrigailo was summoned to reign in Lutsk by the Volyn nobility. In the spring of 1443, Svidrigajlo recognized the supremacy of Kazimir, and the Volyn principality was left to his lifetime (Svidrigajlo”s only son died as a child).
In 1444 the Polish king Wladyslaw III died, and the Poles invited his brother Casimir of Lithuania to be their king. For the sake of deciding what kind of alliance with Poland the Sejm was convened in Vilna on November 30, 1445. It was attended by Svidrigailo and Oleko. At the Seim, Svidrigailo supported the Grand Duchy”s aspirations for sovereignty. Kazimir became the ruler of both states, which had equal rights.
In 1451 Svidrigailo”s health worsened. At the September congress in Parchev, where representatives of Lithuania and Poland met, the question of who would get Volhynia after Svidrigailo”s death was also raised. By the end of 1451, with the consent of Svidrigajlo, Lithuanian troops, headed by Radziwill Ostikovich, George Olshansky, Braslav headman Jursa and Pinsk prince Juri arrived in Volyn. In turn, the Polish nobility demanded that Casimir annex Volhynia to Poland. In early 1452 the Volhynian nobility inclined to the Polish side, but Svidrigajlo forced her to swear allegiance to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
On February 10, 1452 Svidrigajlo died in Lutsk. After his death the tension between Lithuania and Poland reached such a level that the Poles who gathered at the Sandomierz congress in March 1452 put forward the idea of Kazimir”s detronization, but it failed.
Svidrigailo was married twice to Russian Orthodox princesses. According to L. Vojtovich”s compilation, Svidrigailo first married the daughter of Ivan Svyatoslavich, an appanage prince of Smolensk, and in 1430 he married Anna Ivanovna, the daughter of Ivan Ivan Ivanovich, an appanage prince of Staritsk. According to other reports, Svidrigailo first married Yelena Yurievna, daughter of Grand Prince Yuri Svyatoslavovich of Smolensk (1401-1404), and married Anna Borisovna, daughter of his ally, Tver Grand Prince Boris Alexandrovich (1426-1461) in 1430.
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