Jonas Kęsgaila or Kęsgailaitis (, , died 1485) was a Lithuanian nobleman, son of

Mykolas Kęsgaila Mykolas Kęsgaila Valimantaitis''Mykolas'' (Michael) is his Christian given name, ''Kęsgaila'' is his pagan given name, and ''Valimantaitis'' is his patronymic used as last name. His sons used ''Kęsgaila'' as their last name. (died ) was a Lit ...

of the

Kęsgaila family Kęsgaila is a Pre-Christian Lithuanian name belonging to the Lithuanian noble Kęsgaila family. It was Polonized as Kieżgajło. It may also be pronounced as Kensgaila, Kenzgaila, or Kinzgaila. Notable people with the surname include: * Jonas ...

He fathered two sons (

Stanislovas Kęsgaila Stanislovas Jonavičius Kęsgaila (; died 1527) was a Lithuanian nobility, Lithuanian nobleman, son of Jonas Kęsgaila from the Kęsgaila family. Stanislovas Kęsgaila was the Elder of Samogitia (1486–1522), Grand Hetman of Lithuania (1501–150 ...

and

) and two daughters. Jonas Kęsgaila was Elder of Samogitia (1449–1485),

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

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 ...

(1477) and

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

(1478–1485). Jonas was a powerful magnate in Samogitia and even conducted independent foreign policy 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 ...

. During the

Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466) The Thirteen Years' War (; ), also called the War of the Cities, was a conflict fought in 1454–1466 between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order. After the Battle of Grunwald, enormous defeat suffered by the German Ord ...

, the Samogitians attacked the Knights, including their stronghold in

Klaipėda Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...

(Memel) in 1455. The Samogitian border was closed, disrupting communication between the Teutonic Knights in

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and its branch in

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

. These actions are usually interpreted as direct support to

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

. However, this might be

oversimplification The fallacy of the single cause, also known as complex cause, causal oversimplification, causal reductionism, root cause fallacy, and reduction fallacy, is an informal fallacy of questionable cause that occurs when it is assumed that there is a si ...

as the attacks were possibly carried out by unruly Samogitians looking for loot, closing of the border was not considered an act of war, and Lithuanian nobles generally did not support the war.

References

Sources

* * 1485 deaths

Kęsgaila Kęsgaila is a Pre-Christian Lithuanian name belonging to the Lithuanian noble Kęsgaila family. It was Polonized as Kieżgajło. It may also be pronounced as Kensgaila, Kenzgaila, or Kinzgaila. Notable people with the surname include: * Jonas ...

Year of birth unknown Jonas Elders of Samogitia {{Lithuania-noble-stub