The Treaty of Salynas (german: Frieden von Sallinwerder, lt, Salyno sutartis) was a peace treaty signed on 12 October 1398 by

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 ...

, 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— Ho ...

, and Konrad von Jungingen, the Grand Master of 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 ...

. It was signed on an islet of the

Neman River The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ; ...

, probably between Kulautuva and the mouth of the

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 ...

to the Knights. The territory was important to the Knights as it physically separated the Teutonic Knights in

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

from its branch in

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 ...

. It was the first time that the Knights and Vytautas attempted to enforce the cession of Samogitia. However, it did not solve the territorial disputes over Samogitia and they dragged on 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 ...

in 1422.

Background

When Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, married

Jadwiga of Poland Jadwiga (; 1373 or 137417 July 1399), also known as Hedwig ( hu, Hedvig), was the first woman to be crowned as monarch of the Kingdom of Poland. She reigned from 16 October 1384 until her death. She was the youngest daughter of Louis the Grea ...

and was crowned as King of Poland in 1386, he appointed his unpopular brother Skirgaila as viceroy for Lithuania. Vytautas seized the opportunity to renew his struggle for power and started the Lithuanian Civil War of 1389–1392. He allied himself with the Teutonic Knights, promising them

. However, Jogaila and Vytautas reconciled in 1392 by signing the Treaty of Astrava. The Knights, betrayed by Vytautas, invaded Lithuania in 1394 and unsuccessfully besieged

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 ...

for three weeks. The invaders were driven away by joint Lithuanian and Polish forces, demonstrating that the old raids were no longer effective against the new Polish–Lithuanian alliance. A truce between Vytautas and the Knights was signed in 1396. Vytautas needed to secure his western front as he was planning a massive campaign against the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragmen ...

, which resulted in a disaster at the

Battle of the Vorskla River The Battle of the Vorskla River was a great battle in the medieval history of Eastern Europe. It was fought on August 12, 1399, between the Tatars, under Edigu and Temür Qutlugh, and the armies of Tokhtamysh and Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania. ...

in 1399.

Treaty

Vytautas' friend and former captive,

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 ...

, helped to negotiate the agreement. A preliminary treaty was signed on 23 March 1398, in Hrodna; it was finalized in October 1398. According to the treaty Samogitia was ceded to the Knights roughly up to the Nevėžis River, leaving the mouth of Nevėžis in Vytautas' hands. For the first time the Order also received a portion of Sudovia, an almost uninhabited territory north and west of the

Šešupė River The Šešupė (; ; ; ) is a 298 km long riverStatistical Year ...

. The treaty recognized spheres of influence:

Veliky 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 ...

for Vytautas and

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...

for the Knights. Vytautas also promised to help the Knights build two new castles as compensation for castles he burned in 1392. The Knights promised to help Vytautas in his campaign against the

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different Turki ...

. The treaty also guaranteed freedom of trade. Sigismund Kęstutaitis and other hostages kept by the Knights since the Civil War were released. During the week-long celebration following successful negotiations, Lithuanian nobles proclaimed Vytautas as King of Lithuania. While such a declaration had no political force, it was a reply to demands by

to pay Polish taxes. It showed their determination to keep the Grand Duchy of Lithuania separate from the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

despite the Union of Krewo in 1385. Such a proclamation, known only from the chronicles of Johann von Posilge, raised doubts as to reliability among Polish historians. The treaty is noted among Lithuanian historians as it showed the extent of Vytautas' power in Lithuania: he made territorial concessions without approval from Jogaila, who theoretically was the Supreme Duke of Lithuania.

Aftermath

After signing the treaty, the Order attempted to take control of Samogitia. They took many hostages into Prussia and presented Samogitian nobles with gifts such as wool, salt, and clothes. They also built fortresses – one with Vytautas' help near 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.Dubysa Dubysa, at 131 km, is the 15th longest river solely in Lithuania. It originates just a few kilometers from Lake Rėkyva near Šiauliai city. At first it flows south, but at Lyduvėnai turns southeast and near Ariogala - southwest. Dubysa ...

. The Knights tried to maintain a friendly relationship with Vytautas, warmly welcoming his 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) ...

during her pilgrimage to the tomb of Dorothy of Montau, and sent him gifts. However, disagreements soon arose when the Order demanded the return of about 4000 peasants who had escaped into Lithuania. Vytautas argued that they were free people and had the right to choose where to live. The disagreement grew into a war. Vytautas renounced the Lithuanian sovereignty over

which had been under Lithuanian influence in the second half of 14th century, and accepted that it was in the Teutonic Order's sphere of influence. This caused Pskov to accept the suzerainty of the

Great Duchy of Moscow The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...

in 1399. In March 1401 Vytautas signed the

Union 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 ...

in January 1401. Assured of Polish support, he violated the treaty, supporting a local rebellion of the Samogitians, capturing and burning the two newly built castles. In the fall of 1401 the Knights raided

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Traka ...

and Hrodna; in May 1402 the Samogitians burned

Klaipėda Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuania ...

. Vytautas joined the conflict in 1402 by attacking Raudondvaris (Gotteswerder). Jogaila's brother

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 ...

joined the war on the side of the Teutonic Knights as he had laid claim to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He confirmed the Treaty of Salynas in exchange for Order's military assistance. Neither side could achieve decisive victory, however, and Vytautas wished to concentrate his attention on troubles in

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

, so the Treaty of Raciąż was signed on 22 May 1404. It mirrored the Treaty of Salynas, but did not solve the disputes. The

second Samogitian uprising Samogitian uprisings refer to two uprisings by the Samogitians against the Teutonic Knights in 1401–1404 and 1409. Samogitia was granted to the Teutonic Knights by Vytautas the Great, Grand Duke of Lithuania, several times in order to enlist Kn ...

in 1409 resulted in the

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald, Battle of Žalgiris or First Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respec ...

in 1410.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Treaty Of Salynas 1398 in Europe 14th century in Lithuania Salynas Salynas Salynas 14th century in the State of the Teutonic Order History of Samogitia