Birutė (died 1382) was the
Grand Duchess of Lithuania
The Queen consort, consort (or spouse) of the Monarchy, royal rulers of Lithuania and of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was in all cases a woman and nearly all took the title of Grand Duchess.
Queen consort of Kingdom of Lithuania, Lithua ...
as the second wife of
Kęstutis
Kęstutis ( – 3 or 15 August 1382) was sole Duke of Trakai from 1342 to 1382 and List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1342 to 1382, together with his brother Algirdas (until 1377), and with his nephew Jogaila (from 1377 to ...
,
Grand Duke of Lithuania
This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...
, and mother of
Vytautas the Great
Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites.
In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...
.
There is very little known about Birutė's life, but after her death a cult worshiping her developed among
Lithuanians
Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...
, especially in
Samogitia
Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...
.
Life
Marriage
She was probably born near
Palanga
Palanga (; ; ) is a resort town, resort city in western Lithuania, on the shore of the Baltic Sea.
Palanga is the busiest and the largest summer resort in Lithuania and has sand, sandy beaches (18 km, 11 miles long and up to 300 metres, 10 ...
to a
Lithuanian,
Samogitia
Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...
n or
Curonian magnate family. The story of her marriage to Kęstutis became a romantic legend in
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
. Chronicles mention that Birutė was a priestess () and served the
Pagan gods by guarding the sacred fire. When Kęstutis heard of her beauty, he visited the shire and asked her to marry him. She refused because she had promised the gods to guard her virginity until her death. Kęstutis then abducted her, and took her by force to
Trakai
Trakai (; see Trakai#Names and etymology, names section for alternative and historic names) is a city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania or just from the administrative limits of the Lithuanian capi ...
where he threw a large wedding.
She and Kęstutis had three sons and three daughters.
Vytautas
Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites.
In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...
, their first son, was born around 1350. This suggests that the marriage took place in 1349 or a bit earlier.
Historian S.C. Rowell suggests that a marriage to a pagan duchess rather than to an Orthodox duchess from Slavic lands helped to win pagan Lithuanian support after Kęstutis and his brother
Algirdas
Algirdas (; , ; – May 1377) was List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his brother Kęstutis (who defended the western border of the Duchy) he created an empire stretching from the pre ...
deposed
Jaunutis
Jaunutis (; ; ; Christian name: Ioann; also ''John'' or ''Ivan''; – after 1366) was List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania after his father Gediminas died in 1341 until he was deposed by his elder brothers Algirdas and Kęstutis ...
in 1345.
Death
The circumstances surrounding Birutė's death are not entirely clear. Between 1381 and 1382 her husband Kęstutis waged a war against his nephew
Jogaila who became the Grand Duke of Lithuania and signed a treaty with the
Teutonic Knights
The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...
against Kęstutis. Her husband was arrested and transported to the castle at
Kreva.
A week later Kęstutis was dead and some chronicles hint that he was murdered.
In spite of the circumstances being unclear, one chronicle written by the Teutonic Knights briefly mentioned that Birutė was, for reasons of safety, moved to
Brest, Belarus
Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk and Brest-on-the-Bug, is a city in south-western Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the Polish town of Terespol, where the Bug (river), Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet, making it a border town. It serves as ...
, where she was drowned in fall of 1382 (perhaps in response to Vytautas escape from Kreva).
However, there are no other sources that confirm or refute this claim. Thirty-five years later, a Samogitian delegation to the
Council of Constance
The Council of Constance (; ) was an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church that was held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance (Konstanz) in present-day Germany. This was the first time that an ecumenical council was convened in ...
denied her murder, and another legend claimed that Birutė returned to the shrine where she had served earlier in Palanga, and resumed serving the gods until her death there circa 1389.
Legend has it that she was buried in Palanga at the bottom of the hill named in her honor.
Worship
A cult around Birutė developed and remained strong long after her death. She was considered to be a goddess or the pagan equivalent of a saint by the local people. In 1989 archaeologists found evidence of a pagan sanctuary and observatory, which had existed on the top of
Birutė Hill
Birutė (died 1382) was the Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Kęstutis, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and mother of Vytautas the Great. There is very little known about Birutė's life, but after her death a cu ...
in the late 14th or early 15th century. It was likely built in Birutė's honor. There are many accounts of people praying to Birutė, asking her to bestow good health or fortune upon them. To discourage people from worshiping pagan gods and Birutė's grave, a chapel for
Saint George
Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...
was built on the top of the hill in 1506. In 1869 the chapel was re-built and survives to this day. It is a popular destination for tourists.
Birutė Hill is the highest dune at the seaside resort of Palanga on the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
shore, and now a part of the
Palanga Botanical Garden
The Palanga Amber Museum (), near the Baltic Sea in Palanga, Lithuania, is a branch of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art. It is housed in the restored 19th-century Tiškevičiai Palace and is surrounded by the Palanga Botanical Garden. The m ...
. Archaeological research shows that there was a village at the bottom of the hill in the 10th century. In the 13th century, when the Teutonic Knights and
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 thei ...
invaded, the villagers built a defense system with a tower. After an initial defeat, the system was rebuilt and made even stronger; it now had two towers and a wall surrounded the top of the hill. However, when this was burned in the second half of the 14th century, a pagan shrine and observatory was built in its place instead.
Eponym
* Asteroid
212977 Birutė
Notes
References
History: Birutė, from "Encyclopedia Lituanica," II, Boston, 1972, pages 361–362, Palanga Botanical Park, Lithuanian Art Museum. Accessed May 24, 2006.
*
Vykintas VaitkevičiusRašytiniai Šaltiniai apie Birutės Kalną, Palanga Botanical Park, Lithuanian Art Museum. Accessed May 24, 2006.
* Dr. Libertas Klimka
, Palanga Botanical Park, Lithuanian Art Museum. Accessed May 24, 2006.
* Vladas Žulkus
, part II, from Palangos istorija, Klaipėda: Libra Memelensis, 1999, Palanga Botanical Park, Lithuanian Art Museum. Accessed May 24, 2006.
* Inga Deidulė
Birutės kultas, Vartiklis. Accessed May 24, 2006.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birute
Year of birth unknown
1382 deaths
14th-century Lithuanian women
Deified women
Lithuanian goddesses
Grand duchesses of Lithuania
14th-century Lithuanian nobility
Samogitian people
People from Palanga