Sigismund Kęstutaitis

: "For other nobles of the same name, see Sigismund."

Sigismund Kęstutaitis ( _lt. Žygimantas I Kęstutaitis, _pl. Zygmunt Kiejstutowicz; born ca. 1365, murdered on 20 March 1440 in Trakai Peninsula Castle) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1432 to 1440. Sigismund was his baptismal name; Sigismund's pagan Lithuanian birth name is unknown. He was son of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Kęstutis and his wife Birutė.

After the death of Kęstutis, he was a prisoner of Jogaila from 1382–1384. Sigismund was baptized in Catholic rite in 1383. In 1384 he escaped captivity and joined his brother Vytautas the Great, who allied himself with the Teutonic Knights. When Vytautas allied with the Teutonic Knights for the second time to fight Skirgaila, Sigismund was a hostage of the Teutonic Knights together with his family from 1389–1398. He became Duke of Navahradak, 1390–1440, and Starodub since 1406. He participated in the Battle of Vorskla and the Battle of Grunwald. After the death of Vytautas, he supported his cousin Švitrigaila in his fight against Poland, but later was convinced by nobles to participate in a conspiracy against him.

On September 1, 1432 Sigismund became the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He signed Union of Grodno with Jogaila and ceded some territories in Volhynia and Podolia to Poland. However, Švitrigaila was still active and had support from many Eastern Orthodox nobles. In 1434, in an attempt to attract support from these nobles, he issued a privilege to nobles of Eastern Orthodox faith, making their rights equal to the rights of noble Roman Catholics. He guaranteed that no noble, regardless of religion, of Grand Duchy of Lithuania can be imprisoned and punished without a court. The privilege was an important development and accelerated formation of a feudal system.

Sigismund's army defeated Švitrigaila in the Battle of Pabaiskas on September 1, 1435. Livonian Order, an ally of Švitrigaila, suffered a major defeat. After strengthening his positions in Lithuania, he tried to loosen this ties with Poland and started negotiations 1438–1440 with Albert II, Holy Roman Emperor for an anti-Polish alliance but was killed by supporters of Švitrigaila (possibly led by Alexander Czartoryski) on March 20, 1440. Sigismund had one son, Michael Boleslaw, who died shortly before 10 February 1452.

References

* cite encyclopedia | first=Bronius | last=Dundulis | editor=Vytautas Spečiūnas | encyclopedia=Lietuvos valdovai (XIII-XVIII a.): enciklopedinis žinynas | title=Žygimantas I Kęstutaitis | year=2004 | publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas | location=Vilnius | id=ISBN 5-420-01535-8 | pages=94–96

See also

* Gediminids
* List of Belarusian rulers
* List of Lithuanian rulers