Daugirutis or Dangerutis (''Dangeruthe'' or ''Daugeruthe'') was an early Lithuanian duke who committed suicide in 1213. He is the second (after Žvelgaitis) Lithuanian duke whose name is known from reliable sources. His life is recorded in the

Chronicle of Henry of Livonia The ''Livonian Chronicle of Henry'' ( la, Heinrici Cronicon Lyvoniae) offers a Latin narrative of events in Livonia (roughly corresponding to today's inland Estonia and the northern part of Latvia) and surrounding areas from 1180 to 1227. It was ...

; even though no other sources mention his name, he is considered to be one of the most influential pre-

Mindaugas Mindaugas (german: Myndowen, la, Mindowe, orv, Мендог, be, Міндоўг, pl, Mendog, c. 1203–1263) is the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or ...

Lithuanian nobles. Daugirutis attacked Latvian and

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n lands many times. His domain or lands he ruled are unknown. His daughter was married to

Visvaldis Visvaldis (Latin language, Latin: Vissewalde rex de Gerzika, Russian language, Russian: Всеволод, Belarusian language, Belarusian: Усевалад) was a Latgalians, Latgalian nobleman, Duke of the Principality of Jersika in the 12th-13th ...

, Duke of

Jersika The principality of Jersika ( la, Gerzika, terra Lettia, german: Gerzika, Zargrad, russian: Ерсика, Герцике; also known as ''Лотыголa'') was an early medieval Latgalian principality in eastern modern-day Latvia and one of th ...

(in the present-day Līvāni municipality). This marriage protected Visvaldis from attacks of Lithuanians, but he had to provide food and shelter for the troops of Daugirutis on their expeditions to plunder the Estonian or Russian lands. In 1213, Daugirutis traveled to

Velikiy Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...

to sign a peace treaty with Mstislav. The chronicles of Novgorod do not mention the treaty. While the purpose of the agreement is not explicitly mentioned, historians assume it was directed against the Livonian Order. On his way back Daugirutis was attacked and captured by the Livonian Order. He was imprisoned in the

Cēsis Castle Cēsis Castle () is one of the most iconic and best preserved medieval castles in Latvia. The foundations of the castle were laid 800 years ago by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. The most prosperous period Cēsis Castle experienced was durin ...

and a large ransom was requested for his release. When his friends arrived to discuss the terms of release, but did not bring enough money for the ransom, Daugirutis killed himself. That Daugirutis was a powerful man is evidenced by his agreement with Novgorod. If Daugirutis was weak or ruled only small territories there would be no point for Novgorod in negotiating with a petty noble. The Lithuanian raids to

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

and other lands decreased greatly in number after the deaths of Daugirutis and Steksys. This is considered a period of decline in the unification of the

Baltic tribes The Balts or Baltic peoples ( lt, baltai, lv, balti) are an ethno-linguistic group of peoples who speak the Baltic languages of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. One of the features of Baltic languages is the number ...

into the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

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External links

* {{in lang, lv}
Visvaldis, Duke of Jersika
1213 deaths Suicides in Latvia Year of birth unknown 13th-century rulers in Europe 13th-century Lithuanian nobility

See also

References

External links