Ostrów Agreement
Encyclopedia
Jogaila
Jogaila, later 'He is known under a number of names: ; ; . See also: Jogaila : names and titles. was Grand Duke of Lithuania , king consort of Kingdom of Poland , and sole King of Poland . He ruled in Lithuania from 1377, at first with his uncle Kęstutis...
(Władysław II Jagiełło), King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his cousin Vytautas the Great
Vytautas the Great
Vytautas ; styled "the Great" from the 15th century onwards; c. 1350 October 27, 1430) was one of the most famous rulers of medieval Lithuania. Vytautas was the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which chiefly encompassed the Lithuanians and Ruthenians...
, signed on August 4, 1392. The treaty ended the destructive Lithuanian Civil War
Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392)
The Lithuanian Civil War of 1389–1392 was the second civil conflict between Jogaila, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his cousin Vytautas the Great. At issue was control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, then the largest state in Europe. Jogaila had been crowned King of Poland in...
, launched in 1389 by Vytautas who hoped to gain political power, and concluded the power struggle between the two cousins that erupted in 1380 after Jogaila secretly signed the Treaty of Dovydiškės
Treaty of Dovydiškes
The Treaty of Dovydiškės , Daudiske, or Daudisken was a secret treaty signed on May 31, 1380 between Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Winrich von Kniprode, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights...
with the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
. The Ostrów Agreement did not stop attacks from the Teutonic Knights and the territorial dispute over Samogitia continued up to 1422. The treaty made Vytautas Jogaila's viceroy in Lithuania. The details of the Polish–Lithuanian relationship were clarified in several later treaties, including the Union of Vilnius and Radom in 1401 and Union of Horodło in 1413.
Background
In 1389, Vytautas started a civil war against SkirgailaSkirgaila
Skirgaila , also known as Ivan; ca. 1353 or 1354 – 11 January 1397 in Kiev; baptized 1383/1384 as Casimir) was a regent of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for his brother Jogaila from 1386 to 1392. He was son of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his second wife Uliana of Tver.-Biography:After...
, Jogaila's unpopular regent in Lithuania. Skirgaila was appointed after Jogaila signed the Union of Krewo
Union of Krewo
In a strict sense, the Union of Krewo or Act of Krėva was a set of prenuptial promises made in the Kreva Castle on 14 August 1385 by Jogaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania, in exchange for marriage to the underage reigning Queen Jadwiga of Poland...
in 1385 and was crowned King of Poland in 1386. The Lithuanians were dissatisfied with the growing Polish influence in Lithuania. Vytautas promised Samogitia
Samogitia
Samogitia is one of the five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. It is located in northwestern Lithuania. Its largest city is Šiauliai/Šiaulē. The region has a long and distinct cultural history, reflected in the existence of the Samogitian dialect...
to the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
in reward for their military assistance. Their joint armies made frequent incursions into Lithuania; the largest attack was launched in the early fall of 1390 when Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
was besieged for five weeks. Invaders managed to capture the Crooked Castle
Vilnius Castle Complex
The Vilnius Castle Complex , is a group of cultural, and historic structures on the left bank of the Neris River, near its confluence with the Vilnia River, in Vilnius, Lithuania. The buildings, which evolved between the 10th and 18th centuries, were one of Lithuania's major defensive...
and turn much of the suburbs into ruins, but failed to take the city. Both sides realized that a quick victory would be impossible and raids were devastating the same country which they sought to rule. Polish nobles were dissatisfied that Jogaila is spending so much attention to Lithuanian matters and that Union of Krewo did not bring expected results. In such situation Jogaila decided to seek a compromise with Vytautas.
Negotiations and treaty
Jogaila sent a secret envoy, Henry of MasoviaHenry of Masovia
Henry of Masovia was a noble and a bishop of the Kingdom of Poland.- Biography :Henry of Masovia, born between 1368 and 1370 in Rawa Mazowiecka was the youngest child of one of the Piast dynasty princes of Masovia, Siemowit III of Masovia, and his second wife, the princess of Ziębice, Anna...
, Bishop of Płock, to negotiate with Vytautas and convince him to accept Jogaila's compromise. The negotiations were started in the Ritterswerder
Ritterswerder
Ritterswerder was a short-lived wooden castle built by the Teutonic Knights in fall 1391. It was located on an island in the Neman River near Lampėdžiai, now part of the city of Kaunas....
Castle on an island the Neman River
Neman River
Neman or Niemen or Nemunas, is a major Eastern European river rising in Belarus and flowing through Lithuania before draining into the Curonian Lagoon and then into the Baltic Sea at Klaipėda. It is the northern border between Lithuania and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast in its lower reaches...
near Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
, where Vytautas resided at the time. To avoid arousing the suspicion of the Teutonic Knights, Henry proposed to Vytautas' sister Rymgajla
Rymgajla
Rymgajla was daughter of Birutė and Kęstutis, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and thus sister of Vytautas the Great. Rimgailė is a typical dual-stemmed pagan Lithuanian name constructed from rim- + gail- , which is quite common in Lithuania at present.By marriage with Henry of Masovia, she was Princess of...
and they soon married. The quick marriage of a Catholic official (though he had not received the Holy Orders
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
of priesthood) and his sudden death within a year were scandalous and sparked many rumors and speculations.
Vytautas accepted Jogaila's proposal, but could not act immediately, as the Knights held many Vytautas' relatives as hostages. It took some time for him to receive permission from the Knights to transfer the relatives to relative safety. For example, his wife Anna was freed so that she could travel to Lithuania and spread pro-Lithuanian rumors and convert remaining pagans; many nobles were asked to take part in military campaigns. In July 1392 Vytautas openly turned against the Teutonic Knights. He spread false rumors that the army of Jogaila and Skirgaila was moving towards Hrodna
Hrodna
Grodno or Hrodna , is a city in Belarus. It is located on the Neman River , close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania . It has 327,540 inhabitants...
and organized his forces for a campaign against them. However, instead of marching to Hrodna, Vytautas attacked Ritterswerder and two other understaffed Teutonic castles on the Neman River before returning to Vilnius. His brother Sigismund Kęstutaitis
Sigismund Kestutaitis
Sigismund Kęstutaitis was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1432 to 1440. Sigismund was his baptismal name; Sigismund's pagan Lithuanian birth name is unknown. He was son of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Kęstutis and his wife Birutė....
remained in Prussia as prisoner until the Treaty of Salynas
Treaty of Salynas
Treaty of Salynas was a peace treaty signed on October 12, 1398 by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great and the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights Konrad von Jungingen. It was signed on an islet of the Neman River, probably between Kulautuva and the mouth of the Nevėžis River...
in 1398. Simon Grunau
Simon Grunau
Simon Grunau was the author of Preussische Chronik,Full title: Cronika und beschreibung allerlüstlichenn, nützlichsten und waaren historien des namkundigenn landes zu Prewssen or Chronicle and description of the most amusing, useful and true known history of the Prussian land the first...
spread a false rumor that Iwan and Georg, two young sons of Vytautas, were poisoned by a knight to revenge their father for the betrayal. No reliable historical sources know about such incident or any sons that Vytautas fathered.
During the summer Jogaila met Vytautas in person in the Ostrovo (Polish: Ostrów, Lithuanian: Astravas) mansion near Lida
Lida
Lida is a city in western Belarus in Hrodna Voblast, situated 160 km west of Minsk. It is the fourteenth largest city in Belarus.- Etymology :...
in modern Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. Its exact location is not know, but one suggested site is near Dzitva River to the east of the village of Yantsavichy. Jogaila handed over the government of Lithuania to his cousin in exchange for peace. Vytautas was to rule Lithuania as its Grand Duke
Grand Prince
The title grand prince or great prince ranked in honour below emperor and tsar and above a sovereign prince .Grand duke is the usual and established, though not literal, translation of these terms in English and Romance languages, which do not normally use separate words for a "prince" who reigns...
(Magnus Dux), while Jogaila adopted the higher title Supreme Prince (Prince Supremus). Thus Vytautas recognized that he was Jogaila's vassal whose lands upon his death would pass to the King of Poland. Skirgaila was removed from the Duchy of Trakai
Trakai
Trakai is a historic city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies 28 km west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. Trakai is the administrative centre of Trakai district municipality. The town covers 11.52 km2 of...
to become Duke of Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. The treaty was ratified in separate documents of the Polish and Lithuanian states as well as in separate documents signed by Anna, wife of Vytautas, and Jadwiga
Jadwiga of Poland
Jadwiga was monarch of Poland from 1384 to her death. Her official title was 'king' rather than 'queen', reflecting that she was a sovereign in her own right and not merely a royal consort. She was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou, the daughter of King Louis I of Hungary and Elizabeth of...
, wife of Jogaila. The treaty was enacted in several phases, adjusting the equivocal points stated in the Union of Krewo
Union of Krewo
In a strict sense, the Union of Krewo or Act of Krėva was a set of prenuptial promises made in the Kreva Castle on 14 August 1385 by Jogaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania, in exchange for marriage to the underage reigning Queen Jadwiga of Poland...
. The treaty strengthened Lithuania's central government as well.
Aftermath
Vytautas began his reign as the Grand Duke. It is not entirely known what powers were given to him by Jogaila, but he had considerable independence. He replaced some of Jogaila's brothers and supporters with trusted viceroys appointed from Lithuanian nobles: SkirgailaSkirgaila
Skirgaila , also known as Ivan; ca. 1353 or 1354 – 11 January 1397 in Kiev; baptized 1383/1384 as Casimir) was a regent of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for his brother Jogaila from 1386 to 1392. He was son of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his second wife Uliana of Tver.-Biography:After...
was removed from Polotsk, Švitrigaila
Švitrigaila
Švitrigaila Švitrigaila Švitrigaila (ca 1370 – 10 February 1452; was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1430 to 1432. He spent most of his life in largely unsuccessful dynastic struggles against his cousins Vytautas and Sigismund Kęstutaitis.-Struggle against Vytautas:...
from Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
, Kaributas from Severian Novgorod, Vladimir
Vladimir Olgerdovich
Vladimir Olgerdovich was a son of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his first wife Maria of Vitebsk. He was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1362 to 1394. His sons Ivan and Alexander started the Belsky and Olelkovich families....
from Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Fyodor Koriatovych
Fyodor Koriatovych
Fyodor Koriatovych was a Ruthenian prince of Lithuanian origins, son of Karijotas, Duke of Navahrudak, and grandson of Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. Fedir inherited Navahrudak Castle from his father and after his other brothers died ca. 1389, became ruler of all Podolia as a result of the...
from Podolia
Podolia
The region of Podolia is an historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, corresponding to Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Vinnytsia Oblast. Northern Transnistria, in Moldova, is also a part of Podolia...
, and Fyodor Lubartovich from Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
. He also made territorial secession in 1398 without approval from Jogaila. While Skirgaila always signed documents first in the name of Jogaila and only then in his own name, Vytautas used only his own name. Lithuania was drifting away from Poland, but the defeat of Vytautas army in the Battle of the Vorskla River
Battle of the Vorskla River
The Battle of the Vorskla River was a great battle in the medieval history of Eastern Europe. It was fought on August 12, 1399, between the Tatars, under Edigu and Temur Qutlugh, and the armies of Tokhtamysh and Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania...
against the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
in 1399 forced to renew the union and conclude the Union of Vilnius and Radom in 1401. It legalized Vytautas independence in the Grand Duchy giving him all the powers of sovereign ruler. However, after his death all lands and powers were to return to the King of Poland. The two countries turned their joint forces against the Teutonic Knights delivering a crushing defeat in the Battle of Grunwald
Battle of Grunwald
The Battle of Grunwald or 1st Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410, during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Jogaila and Grand Duke Vytautas , decisively defeated the Teutonic Knights, led...
in 1410.
Ostrów Agreement ended the civil war and over decade of power struggle, but not the war with the Teutonic Knights. They sought Samogitia
Samogitia
Samogitia is one of the five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. It is located in northwestern Lithuania. Its largest city is Šiauliai/Šiaulē. The region has a long and distinct cultural history, reflected in the existence of the Samogitian dialect...
, which was promised to them by Vytautas. In January 1393 Hrodna fell; in 1394 a large army assembled in Prussia. Grand Master Konrad von Jungingen
Konrad von Jungingen
Konrad von Jungingen was the 25th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1393 to 1407...
led crusaders to Kaunas and then south along the Neman River to Merkinė
Merkine
Merkinė is a town in Dzūkija National Park in Lithuania, located at the confluence of the Merkys and Neman Rivers.First mentioned in 1359, Merkinė is one of the oldest Lithuanian settlements. It received the Magdeburg rights in 1569. The town is the location of The Mount of Queen Bona, a mound...
. One body of the invaders was left to plunder the countryside and secure route of retreat, another marched about sixty miles east of Hrodna, and the main force reached Navahrudak deep inside Lithuania. Later the same year another campaign was organized. The crusaders marched through Kernavė
Kernave
Kernavė was a medieval capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and today is a tourist attraction and an archeological site . It is located in the Širvintos district municipality located in southeast Lithuania...
and on August 29, 1394 attacked Vilnius. While the siege failed it prompted Vytautas to start negotiations. He was still busy establishing his newly acquired power in the east. The Knights contemplated expedition against the Victual Brothers
Victual Brothers
The Victual Brothers were a companionship of privateers who later turned to piracy. They were hired in 1392 by the Dukes of Mecklenburg to fight against Denmark, because the Danish Queen Margaret I had imprisoned Albrecht of Mecklenburg and his son in order to subdue the kingdom of Sweden...
in Gotland
Gotland
Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
as their piratical activities interfered with trade of the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
. A preliminary truce was signed in 1396 and final Treaty of Salynas
Treaty of Salynas
Treaty of Salynas was a peace treaty signed on October 12, 1398 by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great and the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights Konrad von Jungingen. It was signed on an islet of the Neman River, probably between Kulautuva and the mouth of the Nevėžis River...
in 1398. It was only a temporary peace and hostilities would lead to the Battle of Grunwald
Battle of Grunwald
The Battle of Grunwald or 1st Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410, during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Jogaila and Grand Duke Vytautas , decisively defeated the Teutonic Knights, led...
in 1410 and would drag until the Treaty of Melno
Treaty of Melno
The Treaty of Melno or Treaty of Lake Melno was a peace treaty ending the Gollub War. It was signed on September 27, 1422, between the Teutonic Knights and an alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at Lake Melno , east of Graudenz...
in 1422.