Mykolas Kęsgaila Valimantaitis''Mykolas'' (Michael) is his Christian given name, ''Kęsgaila'' is his pagan given name, and ''Valimantaitis'' is his patronymic used as last name. His sons used ''Kęsgaila'' as their last name. (died ca. 1450) was a

Lithuanian nobleman The Lithuanian nobility or szlachta (Lithuanian: ''bajorija, šlėkta'') was historically a legally privileged hereditary elite class in the Kingdom of Lithuania and Grand Duchy of Lithuania (including during period of foreign rule 1795–1918) ...

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, where their power rivaled that of the

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power—House ...

. 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 th ...

(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 A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...

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 Jonas Kęsgaila or Kęsgailaitis ( pl, Jan Kieżgajło, la, Johannes Kyensgalowicz, died 1485) was a Lithuanian nobleman, son of Mykolas Kęsgaila of the Kęsgaila family. He fathered two sons (Stanislovas Kęsgaila and Mykolas Kęsgaila) and two ...

and Mykolas Kęsgaila the Younger. Mykolas, son of Valimantas, was first mentioned in the

Pact of Vilnius and Radom The Pact of Vilnius and Radom ( pl, Unia wileńsko-radomska, lt, Vilniaus-Radomo sutartis) was a set of three acts passed in Vilnius, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and confirmed by the Crown Council in Radom, Kingdom of Poland in 1401. The union ame ...

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 on ...

during the Lithuanian Civil War (1432–38). 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. Mykolas witnessed the Union of Grodno of 1432 between Sigismund and Jagiełło,

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

. According to the Bychowiec Chronicle, after the murder of Sigismund in 1440, Mykolas was among supporters of Casimir IV Jagiellon 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