Duchy of Trakai

Duchy of Trakai Trakų Kunigaikštystė (Lithuanian)
Duchy of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
1345–1413
Coat of arms
Trakai Voivodeship (in red) in the 17th century
Capital	Senieji Trakai, later Trakai
History
• Established by Kęstutis	1345
• Union of Horodło	1413
Preceded by Succeeded by Duchy of Lithuania Trakai Voivodeship

Duchy of Trakai (Lithuanian: Trakų Kunigaikštystė) was a subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the 14th and early 15th centuries.[1] The Duke of Trakai was an important position held either by the Grand Duke of Lithuania himself or his second-in-command.[1]

History

After the demise of Gediminas in December 1337, the Duchy of Lithuania was divided into two parts: Grand Duke Algirdas ruled Vilnius and the Eastern Aukštaitija while his brother Kęstutis received the Duchy of Trakai.[1][2] The ruler of the Duchy of Vilnius also was the Grand Duke of Lithuania.[2][3]

Lithuanian Civil Wars

1381–1384

In 1382, during the Lithuanian Civil War, Kęstutis was imprisoned at the Kreva Castle and died. His nephew Skirgaila was named the new Duke of Trakai by his brother Grand Duke Jogaila.

1389–1392

Vytautas, son of Kęstutis, then waged a new Lithuanian Civil War to regain his patrimony in Trakai and seize power in Lithuania. The war was ended by the Ostrów Agreement on August 4, 1392. The agreement transferred the Duchy from Skirgaila to Vytautas.

Union of Horodło in 1413

On October 2, 1413, Vilnius and Trakai Voivodeships were created by the Union of Horodło from the Duchy of Trakai. The voivodeships were ruled by an appointed official and not by the dukes.

Geography

One could delineate the boundaries of the Duchy of Trakai by referring to the donative writ of Grand Duke Jogaila: from the Livonian border (Upytė) to Kobrynin (Masuria), and eastward from Podlesie to Pinsk. Naugardukas was still part of the Duchy of Trakai.

Dukes of Trakai

Name	Lifespan	Reign start	Reign end	Notes	Family	Image
Kęstutis	(1297-01-01)1 January 1297 – 1 January 1382(1382-01-01) (aged 85)	1337	1382	First Duke of Trakai	Gediminids
Skirgaila	(1354-01-01)1 January 1354 – 11 January 1397(1397-01-11) (aged 43)	1382	1392	Speculated to have murdered Kęstutis. Skirgaila's death itself happened in unclear circumstances.	Gediminids
Vytautas the Great	(1350-01-01)1 January 1350 – 27 October 1430(1430-10-27) (aged 80)	1392	1413	Son of Kęstutis; cousin of Skirgaila	Gediminids

References

1. Gudavičius, Edvardas. "Trakų kunigaikštystė". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2 November 2023.
2. Gudavičius, Edvardas. "Vilniaus kunigaikštystė". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2 November 2023.
3. "Vilniaus istorija". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2 November 2023.

Bibliography

• A. Prochaska, Codex Epistolaris Vitoldi, p. 3
• Memorandum of the Eastern and Southern Boundaries of Ethnographic Lithuania May 23, 1967

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