Tautvilas or Towtwil (c.1352–1355 – September 1390) was one of the sons of

Kęstutis Kęstutis ( la, Kinstut, ; – 3 or 15 August 1382) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He was the Duke of Trakai and governed the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 1342–1382, together with his brother Algirdas (until 1377), and with his nephew Jogaila ...

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 ...

, and a strong supporter of his brother

Vytautas the Great 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 ...

in his struggles against their cousin Jogaila. In 1380, Jogaila signed the secret

Treaty of Dovydiškės The Treaty of Dovydiškės ( lt, Dovydiškių sutartis; german: Vertrag von Daudisken), Daudiske, or Daudisken was a secret treaty signed on 31 May 1380 between Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Winrich von Kniprode, the Grand Master of ...

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 ...

against Kęstutis. This sparked a civil war. Kęstutis and his son Vytautas was captured and held prisoners in

Kreva Kreva ( be, Крэва, ; lt, Krėva or Krẽvas; pl, Krewo; russian: Крéво) is a township in the Smarhon District of Grodno Region, Belarus. The first mention dates to the 13th century. The toponym is derived from the name of the Krivi ...

castle. In 1382 Kęstutis died under suspicious circumstances, while Vytautas managed to escape and sought allies among the Teutonic Knights. Around the same time Jogaila banished Tautvilas from

Navahrudak Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus. In the Middle ...

that he and his brother

Vaidotas Vaidotas ( fl. 1362) was a son of Kęstutis, Grand Duke of Lithuania. In reliable historical sources he is mentioned only twice: as defender of Kaunas Castle in 1362 and as ruler of Navahrudak. Due to very limited information, his life is subject ...

were ruling. Tautvilas then joined the fight of his brother Vytautas. While visiting the Teutonic Knights, he was baptized as Kondrat on October 21, 1383. In 1384 Vytautas and Jogaila reconciled and the civil war ended. When Jogaila signed the

Union of Krewo In a strict sense, the Union of Krewo or Act of Krėva (also spelled Union of Krevo, Act of Kreva; be, Крэўская унія, translit=Kreŭskaja unija; pl, unia w Krewie; lt, Krėvos sutartis) comprised a set of prenuptial promises made ...

and became the King of Poland, he left his unpopular brother

Skirgaila Skirgaila ( la, Schirgalo; be, Скіргайла; pl, Skirgiełło, also known as Ivan/Iwan; ca. 1353 or 1354 – 11 January 1397 in Kiev (Kyiv); baptized 1383/1384 as ''Casimir'') was a regent of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for his broth ...

as a regent in Lithuania. Vytautas saw this as an opportunity to gain power and started the

Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392) The Lithuanian Civil War of 1389–1392 was the second civil conflict between Jogaila, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his cousin Vytautas. At issue was control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, then the largest state in Europe. J ...

. His first military campaign against

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 ...

was not successful and had to turn to the Teutonic Knights for the second time. Tautvilas joined him again. Joint forces of Vytautas and the Knights attacked Vilnius in September 1390. According to the chronicles of

Wigand of Marburg Wigand of Marburg (german: Wigand von Marburg)Note that ''von Marburg'' is a purely descriptive title added to his original name of Wigand by later historians, rather than a proper surname. Also the ''von'' should not be confused with a preposition ...

, Tautvilas was killed while trying to capture the Crooked Castle.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kestutaitis, Tautvilas 1350s births 1390 deaths Gediminids