Birutė

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birutė hill chapel at the end of the 19th century
Birutė hill chapel at the end of the 19th century
A bronze sculpture of Birutė near her presumed grave
A bronze sculpture of Birutė near her presumed grave

Birutė (died in 1382) was the second wife of Kęstutis, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and mother of Vytautas the Great. There is very little known about Birutė's life but her cult was strong among Lithuanians and Samogitians.

Contents

[edit] Life

[edit] Marriage

Most likely she was born around Palanga city to a Samogitian or Curonian magnate family. The story of her marriage with Kęstutis became a romantic legend in Lithuania. Chronicles mention that Birutė was a priestess (Lithuanian: vaidilutė) and served Pagan gods by guarding the sacred fire. When Kęstutis learned about 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 took her by force to Trakai and threw a big wedding. She and Kęstutis had three sons and three daughters. Vytautas, 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 deposed of Jaunutis in 1345.[1]

[edit] Death

The circumstances surrounding her death are not entirely clear. In 1381-1382 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 against Kęstutis. He was arrested and transported to the Kreva castle. A week later Kęstutis was found dead and some chronicles hint that he was murdered. In such light, one chronicle written by the Teutonic Knights briefly mentions that Birutė for safety reasons moved to Brest, Belarus and was drowned in fall of 1382 (likely in response to Vytautas escape from Kreva). However, no other sources confirm or refute this claim. Since Samogitian delegation to the Council of Constance some 35 years later denied the murder, another legend sprang up that Birutė returned to the Palanga shrine and continued to serve the gods until her death in circa 1389.

It is believed that she was buried in Palanga at the bottom of a hill named in her honor.

[edit] Worship

A grotto at the bottom of Birutė Hill, designed by Édouard André
A grotto at the bottom of Birutė Hill, designed by Édouard André

Birutė's cult developed and was strong long after her death. She was considered to be a goddess or a pagan equivalent to 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 in late 14th - early 15th century. Likely it was built in Birutė's honor. There are many historical accounts concerning people praying to Birutė, asking for good health or fortune. To prevent people from worshiping their pagan gods and Birutė's grave, a chapel for Saint George was built on the top of the hill in 1506. In 1869 the chapel was re-built and survives till today. It is a popular destination for many tourists.

Birutė Hill is the highest dune at the seaside of Palanga about 150 meters from the Baltic Sea shore, now a part of the Palanga Botanical Garden. 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 started attacking, the village built a defense system with a tower. After a defeat, the system was rebuilt even stronger: it had two towers, the top of the hill was surrounded by a wall. However, it was burned in the second half of the 14th century. A pagan shrine and observatory was built instead.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Rowell, S. C. (Spring 1994). "Pious Princesses or Daughters of Belial: Pagan Lithuanian Dynastic Diplomacy, 1279–1423". Medieval Prosopography 15: 12. ISSN 0198-9405. 

[edit] References