Mykolas Kęsgaila Valimantaitis''Mykolas'' (Michael) is his Christian given name, ''Kęsgaila'' is his pagan given name, and ''Valimantaitis'' is his

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

used as last name. His sons used ''Kęsgaila'' as their last name. (died ca. 1450) was a Lithuanian nobleman from

Deltuva Deltuva is a small town in Ukmergė district, Vilnius County, Lithuania. It is located 6 km north-west of Ukmergė, near the road to Kėdainiai. It has about 500 inhabitants. Its alternate names include Deltuvos, Dziewałtów (Polish), Konst ...

. He established the Kęsgailos family in

Samogitia Samogitia or Žemaitija ( Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, where their power rivaled that of the

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Kingdom of Lithuania, Lithuania, which was established as an Absolute monarchy, absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three Duke, ducal D ...

. Mykolas Kęsgaila was the deputy of

Ukmergė Ukmergė (; previously ''Vilkmergė''; pl, Wiłkomierz) is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, located northwest of Vilnius, with a population of about 20,000. Etymology and variant names The city took its original name ''Vilkmergė'' from t ...

(1409–1412),

Elder of Samogitia The Duchy of Samogitia ( lt, Žemaičių seniūnija, sgs, Žemaitėjės seniūnėjė, pl, Księstwo żmudzkie)Grzegorz Błaszczyk, ''Żmudź w XVII i XVIII wieku: zaludnienie i struktura społeczna'', Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Pozn ...

(1412–32, 1440–41, and 1443–50), and castellan of

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

(1443–1448). He was a father of Jonas Kęsgaila and Mykolas Kęsgaila the Younger. Mykolas, son of Valimantas, was first mentioned in the Pact of Vilnius and Radom of 1401. He was a strong supporter of Grand Duke

Vytautas Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

, who awarded the loyal ally with the seat of Elder of Samogitia as Mykolas' mother was of Samogitian stock. Mykolas presided over Christianization of Samogitia in 1413, subdued a peasant rebellion in 1418, and foiled a plot by nobles against Vytautas in 1419. In 1430, after the death of Vytautas, Mykolas Kęsgaila and his brothers Rumbaudas and Jaunius Valimantaitis supported the accession of

Švitrigaila Švitrigaila (before 1370 – 10 February 1452; sometimes spelled Svidrigiello) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1430 to 1432. He spent most of his life in largely unsuccessful dynastic struggles against his cousins Vytautas and Sigismund K� ...

to the Lithuanian throne. He signed the Treaty of Skirsnemunė of 1431 – alliance of Švitrigaila with the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...

during the

Lithuanian Civil War (1432–38) Lithuanian Civil War may refer to: * Lithuanian Civil War (1381–1384), a war between Jogaila and his uncle Kęstutis with son Vytautas * Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392), a war between Jogaila and his cousin Vytautas * Lithuanian Civil War (1432 ...

. After

Sigismund Kęstutaitis Sigismund Kęstutaitis ( lt, Žygimantas I Kęstutaitis, pl, Zygmunt Kiejstutowicz; 136520 March 1440) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1432 to 1440. Sigismund was his baptismal name, while his pagan Lithuanian birth name is unknown. He was ...

seized power, Mykolas and his brothers were imprisoned. Rumbaudas and Jaunius were executed, while Mykolas managed to restore his power and domains. Possibly, such an outcome was influenced by Mykolas' daughter, the wife of Sigismund's influential ally

Jonas Goštautas Jonas Gostautas or Goštautas ( pl, Jan Gasztołd; c. 1383 in Geranainys – 1 September 1458 in Vilnius) was a Lithuanian nobleman from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania of the Gasztołd (Goštautai) noble family, a politician and skillful la ...

. Mykolas witnessed the Union of Grodno of 1432 between Sigismund and Jagiełło, King of Poland. According to the

Bychowiec Chronicle The Bychowiec Chronicle (also spelled ''Bykhovets'', ''Bykovets'' or '' Bychovec'') is an anonymous 16th-century chronicle of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Although one of the least reliable sources of the epoch, it is considered the most extensive ...

, after the murder of Sigismund in 1440, Mykolas was among supporters of

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the m ...

for the throne of Grand Duke. For such support, he was reinstated as Elder of Samogitia, but the Samogitians did not want to recognize Casimir's authority. As a compromise, Casimir granted a privilege affirming semi-autonomic status of the region and granting new freedoms to the nobles. Mykolas was able to return to the office.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kesgaila, Mykolas Kęsgaila family 1450s deaths Year of birth unknown Elders of Samogitia