Vaidotas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kaunas Castle was unsuccessfully defended by Vaidotas

Vaidotas or Wojdat (14th century - after 1401) was a son of Kęstutis, Grand Duke of Lithuania. In reliable historical sources he is mentioned only twice.^[1]

According to the chronicles of Wigand of Marburg, he was the commander of the garrison of the Kaunas Castle during a three-week-long siege in April of 1362. After strong resistance the castle was taken over and then destroyed. Vaidotas with 36 men tried to break through, but was captured.^[1] The defeat was one of the largest and important military victories of the Teutonic Knights in the 14th century.

From a document by his brother Vytautas the Great from 1401 it is know that Vaidotas and his brother Tautvilas Kęstutaitis were given to rule Navahrudak equally.^[2] His further fate is unknown.

Because of very limited historical sources, Vaidotas is sometimes confused with Vaidutis (Waydutte), son of Butautas and grandson of Kęstutis.^[1] Some historians also argue that Butautas and Vaidotas were the same person and their names are different because of a different dialect.^[3] Further confusion is introduced by Bychowiec Chronicle, an unreliable chronicle from the 16th century, which claims that Vaidotas died in his youth in Lithuania.

[edit] See also

Gediminids
House of Kęstutis – family tree of Vaidotas

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Vaidotas". Encyclopedia Lituanica VI. (1970-1978). Ed. Simas Sužiedėlis. Boston, Massachusetts: Juozas Kapočius. 21. LCC 74-114275.
^ (Lithuanian) "Vaidotas". Lietuvos valdovai (XIII-XVIII a.): enciklopedinis žinynas. (2004). Ed. Vytautas Spečiūnas. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. 76. ISBN 5-420-01535-8.
^ Rowell, S. C. (1994). Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire Within East-Central Europe, 1295-1345, Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series. Cambridge University Press, xxxiii. ISBN 9780521450119.