Sigismund Kęstutaitis ( lt, Žygimantas I Kęstutaitis, pl, Zygmunt Kiejstutowicz; 136520 March 1440) was 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 ...

from 1432 to 1440.

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it '' Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

was his

baptismal name A Christian name, sometimes referred to as a baptismal name, is a religious personal name given on the occasion of a Christian baptism, though now most often assigned by parents at birth. In English-speaking cultures, a person's Christian name ...

, while his pagan Lithuanian birth name is unknown. He was the son of the

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 ...

and his wife

Birutė Birutė (died 1382) was the second wife of Kęstutis, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and mother of Vytautas the Great. There is very little known about Birutė's life, but after her death a strong cult developed among Lithuanians, especially in Samogi ...

. After the death of

, he was a prisoner of Jogaila from 1382 to 1384. Sigismund was baptized in Catholic rite in 1383. In 1384, he escaped captivity and joined 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 ...

, who allied himself 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 ...

. When Vytautas allied with the Teutonic Knights for the second time to fight

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 ...

, Sigismund was a hostage of the Teutonic Knights, together with his family from 1389 to 1398. He became Duke of

Navahradak 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 A ...

(1390–1440), and

Starodub Starodub ( rus, links=no, Староду́б, p=stərɐˈdup, ''old oak'') is a town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, on the Babinets River (the Dnieper basin), southwest of Bryansk. Population: 16,000 (1975). History Starodub has been known ...

from 1406. He participated in the Battles of

Vorskla The Vorskla (; ) is a river that runs from Belgorod Oblast in Russia southwards into northeastern Ukraine, where it joins the Dnieper. It has a length of , and a basin area of .Grunwald. After the death of Vytautas, he supported his cousin

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� ...

in his fight against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, but later was convinced by nobles to join a conspiracy against him. On 1 September 1432, Sigismund became the Grand Duke of

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. He signed the Union of Grodno with Jogaila and ceded some territories in

Volhynia Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. Th ...

and

Podolia Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...

to Poland. However, Švitrigaila was still active and had the support of many Eastern Orthodox nobles. In 1434, in an attempt to attract support from these nobles, he issued a privilege to nobles of

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

faith, making their rights equal to those of noble

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He guaranteed that no noble, regardless of religion, could be imprisoned or punished without a court order. The privilege was an important development and accelerated formation of a

feudal system Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

. Sigismund's army defeated

in the

Battle of Wiłkomierz The Battle of Wiłkomierz (see other names) took place on September 1, 1435, near Ukmergė in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. With the help of military units from the Kingdom of Poland, the forces of Grand Duke Sigismund Kęstutaitis soundly defea ...

on 1 September 1435. The

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after the ...

, an ally of Švitrigaila, suffered a major defeat. After strengthening his positions in Lithuania, he tried to loosen his ties with Poland and negotiated between 1438 and 1440 with

Albert of Hungary Albert the Magnanimous KG, elected King of the Romans as Albert II (10 August 139727 October 1439) was king of the Holy Roman Empire and a member of the House of Habsburg. By inheritance he became Albert V, Duke of Austria. Through his wife ('' ...

(who was also the German king) for an anti-Polish alliance, but was killed by supporters of Švitrigaila (possibly led by Alexander Czartoryski) at the

Trakai Peninsula Castle Trakai Peninsula Castle is one of the castles in Trakai, Lithuania. It is located on a peninsula between southern Lake Galvė and Lake Luka. Built around 1350–1377 by Kęstutis, Duke of Trakai, it was an important defensive structure protect ...

on 20 March 1440. Sigismund had one son, named Michael Boleslaw, who died shortly before 10 February 1452.

References

* * {{Authority control 1360s births 1440 deaths Grand Dukes of Lithuania Gediminids Burials at Vilnius Cathedral People in the Battle of Grunwald 15th-century monarchs in Europe Date of birth unknown

See also

References