- Tautvilas Kęstutaitis
Tautvilas or Towtwil (c.1352–1355 – September 1390) was one of the sons of
Kęstutis ,Grand Duke of Lithuania , and a strong supported of his brotherVytautas the Great in his struggles against their cousinJogaila .In 1380, Jogaila signed the secret
Treaty of Dovydiškės with theTeutonic Knights against Kęstutis. This sparked a civil war. Kęstutis and his son Vytautas was captured and held prisoners inKreva castle. In 1382 Kęstutis died under suspicious circumstances, while Vytautas managed to escape and sought allies among the Teutonic Knights. Around the same time Jogaila banished Tautvilas fromNavahrudak that he and his brotherVaidotas were ruling. Tautvilas then joined the fight of his brother Vytautas. While visiting the Teutonic Knights, he was baptized as Kondrat onOctober 21 1383 . In 1384 Vytautas and Jogaila reconciled and the civil war ended.When Jogaila signed the
Union of Krewo and became theKing of Poland , he left his unpopular brotherSkirgaila as a regent in Lithuania. Vytautas saw this as an opportunity to gain power and started theLithuanian Civil War (1389–1392) . His first military campaign againstVilnius was not successful and had to turn to the Teutonic Knights for the second time. Tautvilas joined him again. Joint forces of Vytautas and the Knights attacked Vilnius in September 1390. According to the chronicles ofWigand of Marburg , Tautvilas was killed while trying to capture the Crooked Castle.References
* cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia=Lietuvių enciklopedija | title=Tautvilas |first=Zenonas |last=Ivinskis | location=Boston, Massachusetts | publisher=Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla |year=1953–1966 |volume=XXXII |pages=488–489 |id=LCC|55020366
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