The Treaty of Lyck was a treaty between

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 ...

, future

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— Ho ...

, and 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 ...

, represented by

Marquard von Salzbach Marquard (or Markward) von Salzbach was a Teutonic Knight, who played a prominent role in shaping the relationship between the Knights and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania between 1389 and 1410. He was taken captive in July 1384 by Vytautas, Grand Du ...

, '' komtur'' Arnold von Bürglen, and Thomas, son of Lithuanian duke Survila. It was signed on 19 January 1390 in Lyck,

State of the Teutonic Order The State of the Teutonic Order (german: Staat des Deutschen Ordens, ; la, Civitas Ordinis Theutonici; lt, Vokiečių ordino valstybė; pl, Państwo zakonu krzyżackiego), also called () or (), was a medieval Crusader state, located in Cent ...

, (now Ełk, Poland). Vytautas, in exchange for a military alliance against his cousin Jogaila during the Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392), agreed to cede

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 ...

up to the

Nevėžis River The Nevėžis () is the sixth longest river in Lithuania and one of the main tributaries of the Nemunas. Its length is , and it flows only within the geographical confines of Lithuania.vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...

. In essence Vytautas confirmed the

Treaty of Königsberg (1384) The Treaty of Königsberg was signed in Königsberg (Królewiec) on 30 January 1384, during the Lithuanian Civil War (1381–1384) between Vytautas the Great and representatives of the Teutonic Knights. Vytautas waged a civil against his cousin ...

that he had signed with the Knights during the Lithuanian Civil War (1381–1384). Once betrayed, the Knights now asked for hostages as a guarantee of Vytautas' loyalty. The Order demanded as hostages his two brothers Sigismund and Tautvilas, wife

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

, daughter Sophia, sister Rymgajla, brother-in-law Ivan Olshanski, and a number of other nobles. Vytautas initiated the negotiations when he failed to capture

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 urba ...

, capital of 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 Partitions of Poland, partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire, Habsburg Empire of ...

. He sent Marquard von Salzbach and the Count of

Rheineck Rheineck is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Rheineck is first mentioned about 1163 as ''castellum Rinegge''. In 1218 it was mentioned as ''Rinegg''. An older ...

, two knights held captive since 1384, to negotiate on his behalf. The treaty was signed in secret as not to alert Jogaila and his brother Skirgaila. The Knights managed to convince Skirgaila that they were ready to negotiate peace with him, and he even returned from

Polotsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Dist ...

anticipating the Teutonic envoy. The Treaty of Lyck was strengthened by the Treaty of Königsberg (1390), signed between the Knights and a Samogitian delegation, which promised its loyalty to the "Samogitian king" Vytautas. The Knights helped Vytautas to wage a war against Jogaila, but the cousins reconciled in 1392 and signed the Ostrów Agreement. The Knights were once again betrayed: Vytautas burned three of their castles and did not cede Samogitia. They continued to wage war until the

Treaty of Salynas The Treaty of Salynas (german: Frieden von Sallinwerder, lt, Salyno sutartis) was a peace treaty signed on 12 October 1398 by Vytautas the Great, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Konrad von Jungingen, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights. ...

of 1398; territorial disputes over Samogitia dragged until the

Treaty of Melno The Treaty of Melno ( lt, Melno taika; pl, Pokój melneński) or Treaty of Lake Melno (german: Friede von Melnosee) was a peace treaty ending the Gollub War. It was signed on 27 September 1422, between the Teutonic Knights and an alliance of th ...

of 1422.

References

{{Samogitian dispute 1390 in Europe Lyck Lyck Lyck 14th century in the State of the Teutonic Order History of Samogitia 14th century in Lithuania