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There are many unknown facts in the life of Mindaugas, because there are almost no sources about his life that would have been created in Lithuania at the time. And yearbooks created in other countries first emphasized all things relevant to those countries, such as the Mindaugas military expeditions. Furthermore, some of them were born where Mindaugas’ competitors ruled.
The text was prepared according to the historian, current rector of the professor at the University of Vilnius. An interview given by Rimvydas Petrauskas a few years ago. 15 minutes, complementing the text with other previously published articles on Mindaugas. You can read the interview here.
7. Where and when was Mindaugas born?
We do not know the place and date of Mindaugas’ birth, we do not know anything about his childhood, who his father was.
Sources only mention that Mindaugas’ father was a great ruler. However, sources from that time mention more than one of those rulers in Lithuania. Mindaugas was likely prepared to rule from a minority, but there is no exact evidence for this.
6. Was Mindaugas really crowned on July 6?
Although we celebrate King Mindaugas’ coronation day on July 6, there is no completely reliable evidence that this king was crowned at the time.
Historical sources only mention the fact that Mindaugas was crowned in July. The fact that he was probably crowned on July 6 was calculated only in these times, when he realized that the date of the coronation of Mindaugas could become an important holiday.
The coronation was to take place on some holy day or Sunday. There were no major holidays in July of that year. Therefore, Professor Edvardas Gudavičius, taking into account various circumstances, chose July 6 of the 4 possible Sundays.
Julius Kalinskas photo / 15min / Edvardas Gudavičius
5. Where was Mindaugas crowned?
Historical sources do not mention the place where Mindaugas was crowned. There is a historical document with a geographical indication, but it also only says that Mindaugas was crowned in Lithuania, at the ruler’s mansion. The exact location of that mansion is not specified.
Like many medieval rulers of the time, Mindaugas was a traveling monarch. It did not have a permanent residence that could be considered the capital in the current sense. He traveled a lot, visited several mansions, thus consolidating his power in various parts of the country. Therefore, the chroniclers of that time did not find it important to mention a specific mansion.
Voruta Castle is mentioned by some when it comes to the coronation site of Mindaugas. But Voruta is mentioned in historical sources in a completely different context, unrelated to the coronation, and without indicating the geographic location of the castle.
4. What was the name of Mindaugas first and third wife?
We especially know about Mindaugas’ second wife, Martha. She was crowned along with Mindaugas. We know next to nothing about his other wives.
Painting by the artist Janina Malinauskaitė / King Mindaugas and his wife Morta
Mortai is known to have married his sister Mindaugas after his death, but her name is unknown. There is also almost no information on Mindaugas’ first wife.
3. Was Mindaugas really cruel and forced Lithuania together?
Some historical sources portray Mindaugas as a ruthless and cruel ruler who united Lithuania with only a sword, even killing relatives by his power.
Some Lithuanians have a similar image. But here again, it’s important to understand that the historical sources available were largely created by Mindaugas’ competitors, whose goal was not to portray Mindaugas in a positive way.
What Mindaugas himself or the people around him thought about himself, the unification of the state, the future, etc., we simply do not know. Mindaugas did not have its historian, nor did he, nor anyone around him, write memoirs, a yearbook or anything else.
The culture of writing had not yet been established in Lithuania at that time. So when it comes to Mindaugas character and actions, we only know one side of the coin.
However, historians have no doubt that Mindaugas could not create a state only through conflict and force. State building certainly took place peacefully, based on the formation of political alliances, kinship ties, or marital ties.
For example, there is no doubt that Mindaugas’ wife’s father, Martha, should have been an important prince. While running it, Mindaugas also established political ties.
According to R. Petrauskas, Mindaugas established contacts with Andrew Stirland, Master of the Livonian Order, in time and used this friendship both to resist the coalition formed against him and to establish contacts with the Pope, achieve baptism and coronation. This shows that he was truly capable of acting strategically and diplomatically.
2. How sincere was the conversion of Mindaugas to Christianity?
The Halich-Volyn chronicle, one of the sources that provides the most knowledge about Mindaugas, states that the conversion of Mindaugas to Christianity was only external, and in fact continued to follow pagan customs.
But, as with the Mindaugas character, it is necessary to remember that this yearbook was born in an unfavorable environment for the Mindaugas competitor, Mindaugas, so it can distort the image.
There is knowledge in Livonia’s chronicle about the Christianity of Mindaugas’ wife. Mindaugas’s wife, Martha, is described in the Livonian Chronicle as a good Christian who has her own confessor and cares about Christians. But it is unknown if Mindaugas behaved the same way.
It is not known whether Mindaugas really “departed” from Christianity before his death and began to persecute Christians.
He was really angry at the Teutonic Order for Samogitia and the Order treated him as a renunciation of Christianity, but it is now impossible to say whether Mindaugas really became a Gentile again and persecuted a Christian, or if the Order only tried to portray him for his own benefit.
As in other cases, when it comes to Mindaugas, we don’t know the Lithuanian version of this story.
1. Where was Mindaugas killed and buried?
Mindaugas and his children are known to have been killed after a conspiracy in 1263. And it happened somewhere in his mansion. But it is not known where he was killed or where he was buried.
There are several theories: Agluona in Latvia, Lutsk in Ukraine, Novgorod in Belarus.
One of the most common sounding theories is Agluona, near Daugavpils, where Mindaugas’ wife, Martha, may have originated. Here, it is believed, Mindaugas may have been killed while visiting Martha’s parents.
Photo from en.wikipedia.org/Agluona Basilica
There are legends that in the 17th century. A headstone was found in this area, which testifies that the tomb of King Mindaugas was here: it is true that it disappeared from the local church where it was guarded after 1863. uprising. It survived only in 1690. A copy was made.
It is also said that until the Second World War there was a pile of stones called the King’s Throne. However, it is not possible to say with certainty that the King of Lithuania was actually buried somewhere here, because in the 13th century. sources do not mention at least an approximate location.
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