Algirdas ( – May 1377) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1345 to 1377.
Early life and rise to power
Algirdas was one of the seven sons of Grand Duke
Gediminas. Before his death in 1341, Gediminas divided his domain, leaving his youngest son
Jaunutis in possession of the capital,
Vilnius. With the aid of his brother, Kęstutis, Algirdas drove out the incompetent Jaunutis and declared himself Grand Duke in 1345. He devoted the next thirty-two years to the development and expansion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
He and Kęstutis appear to rule jointly as
coregency.
After becoming the ruler of Lithuania, Algirdas was titled the King of Lithuania () in the Livonian Chronicles instead of the terms knyaz () or Grand prince (grand prince).
Two factors are thought to have contributed to this result: the political sagacity of Algirdas and the devotion of Kęstutis. The division of their dominions is illustrated by the fact that Algirdas appears almost exclusively in Eastern Slavs sources, while Western chronicles primarily describe Kęstutis. Lithuania was surrounded by enemies. The Teutonic Order in the northwest and the Golden Horde in the southeast sought Lithuanian territory, while Poland to the west and the Moscow principality to the east were generally hostile competitors.
Expansion of Lithuania
Algirdas held his own, also acquiring influence and territory at the expense of the Moscow principality and the Golden Horde and extending the borders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the Black Sea. His principal efforts were directed toward securing the
Slavic peoples lands which were part of the former Kievan Rus'. Although Algirdas engineered the election of his son Andrius as Prince of
Pskov and a powerful minority of Novgorod Republic citizens supported him against the Moscow principality, his rule in both commercial centres was (at best) precarious.
Algirdas occupied the important principalities of Smolensk and Bryansk. Although his relationship with the grand dukes of Moscow principality was generally friendly (demonstrated by his marriages to two Orthodox Russian princesses), he siege Moscow in 1368 and 1370 during the Lithuanian–Muscovite War (1368–1372).
In a 1371 letter to Philotheus Kokkinos, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Algirdas titled himself as a Lithuanian King, demanded a separate metropolitan bishop (from Moscow) for Kyiv, Smolensk, Tver, Little Russia, Novosil, and Nizhny Novgorod, and denied Muscovite complaints that he attacked Moscow without a reason.
Religion and death
According to modern historians, "For Gediminas and Algirdas, retention of paganism provided a useful diplomatic tool and weapon ... that allowed them to use promises of conversion as a means of preserving their power and independence".
[Muldoon, James. Varieties of Religious Conversion in the Middle Ages. University Press of Florida, 1997. Page 140.] Hermann von Wartberge and Jan Długosz described Algirdas as a pagan until his death in 1377. Contemporary Byzantine accounts support the Western sources; future Patriarch Nilus described Algirdas as a "fire-worshipping prince"
[F. Miklosich, J. Mūller. Acta Patriarchatus Constantinopolitan. Vienna, 1862, Vol. 2, p.12] and another patriarch, Philotheus, excommunicated all Ruthenian noblemen who helped the "impious" Algirdas.
[F. Miklosich, J. Mūller. Acta Patriarchatus Constantinopolitan. Vienna, 1862, Vol. 1, pp. 523–524] His pagan beliefs were also mentioned in 14th-century Byzantine historian Nicephorus Gregoras' accounts.
[I. Bekker. Nicephori Gregorae Historiae Byzantinae. Bonn, 1829, Vol. 3 pp. 517–520]
After his death, Algirdas was burned on a ceremonial pyre with 18 horses and many of his possessions in a forest near Maišiagala,["He was cremated with the best horses, clothes, resplendent in gold and girdled with a gilded silver belt and was covered with a gown woven of beads and gems", Marija Gimbutas has observed .] probably in the Kukaveitis forest shrine located at .[ Lokalizavo kunigaikščio Algirdo palaikų kremavimo vietą . retrieved on 22 May 2009] Algirdas' descendants include the Trubetzkoy, Czartoryski and Sanguszko families.
Although Algirdas was said to have ordered the death of Anthony, John, and Eustathius of Vilnius, who were later canonization as martyrs of the Russian Orthodox Church, the 16th-century Bychowiec Chronicle and 17th-century Hustynska Chronicle maintain that he converted to Orthodox Christianity some time before his marriage to Maria of Vitebsk in 1318. Several Orthodox churches were built in Vilnius during his reign, but later assertions about his baptism are uncorroborated by contemporary sources. Despite contemporary accounts and modern studies,[Contributed by Antoni Prochaska, Jan Ochmanski, Gotthold Rhode, Marija Gimbutas, Edvardas Gudavičius etc.]
Following Wojciech Wijuk Kojałowicz and Macarius I, Volodymyr Antonovych writes that Algirdas took monastic vows several days before his death and was interred at the Cathedral of the Theotokos in Vilnius under the monastic name Alexius.
Issue
With Maria of Vitebsk:
-
Andrei of Polotsk (1325 – 12 August 1399 in the Battle of the Vorskla River), Prince of Polotsk (1342–1387), Pskov Republic (1342–1348)
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Demetrius I Starszy (1327 – 12 August 1399 in the Battle of the Vorskla River), Duke of Bryansk (1356–1379 and 1388–1399)
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Constantine (died before 30 October 1390), Prince of Chortoryisk. According to J. Tęgowski, he may be son of Karijotas.
[Tęgowski J. Który Konstanty – Olgierdowic czy Koriatowic – był przodkiem kniaziów Czartoryskich? // Europa Orientalis. – Toruń, 1996. – S. 53-59.]
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Vladimir Olgerdovich (died after October 1398), Grand Prince of Kiev (1362–1394), Kapyl, Slutsk. Ancestor of Olelkovich and Belsky families.
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Fiodor (Theodore; died in 1399), Prince of Rylsk (1370–1399), Ratnie (1387–1394), Bryansk (1393)
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Fiedora, wife of Sviatoslav of Karachev
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Agrypina (baptized Mary; died in 1393), wife of Boris of Suzdal
With Uliana of Tver:
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Jogaila (baptized Władysław; c. 1351/1363 – 1 June 1434), Grand Duke of Lithuania (1377–1334), King of Poland (1386–1434)
[Borkowska, Urszula (2012). Dynastia Jagiellonów w Polsce (in Polish). PWN. p. 476. ISBN .]
-
Skirgaila (baptized Ivan; c. 1354 – 11 January 1397 in Kiev), Duke of Trakai (1382–1395), Kiev (1395–1397), regent of Lithuania
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Kaributas (baptized Dmitry; after 1350 – after 1404), Prince of Novhorod-Siverskyi (1386–1392/93)
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Lengvenis (baptised Simon; died after 19 June 1431), Prince of Mstislavl, regent of Novgorod Republic
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Karigaila (baptized Casimir; after 1350–1390), Prince of Mstislavl
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Vygantas (baptized Alexander; after 1350 – 28 June 1392), Prince of Kernavė
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Švitrigaila (baptized Bolesław; c. 1370 – 10 February 1452 in Lutsk), Grand Duke of Lithuania (1430–1432), Prince of Volhynia (1437–1452)
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Kenna (baptized Joan; c. 1350 – 27 April 1368), wife of Casimir IV, Duke of Pomerania
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Helen (after 1350 – 15 September 1438), wife of Vladimir the Bold
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Maria (born after 1350), wife of Vaidila and David of Gorodets
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Wilheida (baptized Catherine; after 1350 – after 4 April 1422), wife of John II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Stargard
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Alexandra (after 1350 – 19 June 1434), wife of Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia
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Jadwiga (after 1350 – after 1407), wife of Jan III of Oświęcim
Through his son Vladimir, Algirdas is the fifth great-grandfather of Elizabeth Báthory.
Assessment
Algirdas balanced himself between Principality of Moscow and Poland, spoke Lithuanian and Ruthenian (among other languages) and followed the majority of his
paganism and Orthodox subjects rather than to alienate them by promoting Roman Catholicism. His son
Jogaila ascended the Polish throne, converted to Roman Catholicism and founded
Jagiellons which ruled Lithuania and Poland for nearly 200 years.
Algirdas is also widely honoured in Belarus as a unifier of modern-day Belarusian lands within one state, a successful military commander and ruler.[ Князь Альгерд нарэшце вярнуўся ў Віцебск [Duke Alhierd Finally Returns to Viciebsk]][ У Менску адкрылася выстава “Князь Альгерд у выяўленчым мастацтве” [Exhibition "Duke Alhierd in Visual Arts" Opened in Minsk]] A monument to him has been erected in Vitsebsk in 2014, as part of the celebration of the city's 1040th anniversary. Algirdas was Duke of Vitebsk for over 20 years before becoming Grand Duke of Lithuania.
In December 2022, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus issued a commemorative coin dedicated to the Battle of Blue Waters with a portrait of Algirdas.
Popular culture
Algirdas features in the 2021 video game in the
Dawn of the Dukes campaign, detailing the exploits of himself and his brother Kęstutis.
See also
Notes
Sources
