Daumantas of Pskov
Encyclopedia
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: Довмонт, Belarusian
Belarusian language
The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
: Даўмонт), Christian name Timothy , ; c. 1240? – May 17, 1299), was a Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n princeling best remembered as a military leader of the Pskov Republic
Pskov Republic
Pskov, known at various times as the Principality of Pskov or the Pskov Republic , was a medieval state on the south shore of Lake Pskov. The capital city, also named Pskov, was located at the southern end of the Peipus–Pskov Lake system at the southeast corner of Ugandi, about southwest of...
between 1266 and 1299. During his term in office, Pskov became de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
independent from Novgorod.
He is venerated as a saint in the Orthodox Church with his feast day observed on May 20
May 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
May 19 - Eastern Orthodox Church calendar - May 21All fixed commemorations below celebrated on June 2 by Old Calendarists-Saints:* Saint Lydia of Thyatira , mentioned in Acts 16:14-15, * Saint Plautilla the Roman, martyr,...
.
In Lithuania
Until 1265, Daumantas was Duke of NalšiaNalšia
Nalšia or Nalšėnai was an ancient land in the early stages of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It is mentioned in written sources from 1229 to 1298. The references to it cease as it was fully incorporated into the Grand Duchy...
, a northern province of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
, and was an ally of King Mindaugas
Mindaugas
Mindaugas was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a 1219 treaty as an elder duke, and in 1236 as the leader of all the Lithuanians...
. Mindaugas' and Daumantas' wives were sisters. In spite of the family relationship, Daumantas chose to ally himself with Mindaugas' nephew Treniota
Treniota
Treniota was the Grand Duke of Lithuania .Treniota was the nephew of Mindaugas, the first and only king of Lithuania. While Mindaugas had converted to Christianity in order to discourage Livonian Order and Teutonic Knights attacks on Lithuania, becoming king in the process, Treniota remained a...
, who was Duke of 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...
. Treniota had been steadily increasing his personal power within the kingdom as he tried to spark an all-Balts
Balts
The Balts or Baltic peoples , defined as speakers of one of the Baltic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family, are descended from a group of Indo-European tribes who settled the area between the Jutland peninsula in the west and Moscow, Oka and Volga rivers basins in the east...
rebellion against 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...
and the Livonian Order
Livonian Order
The Livonian Order was an autonomous Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order and a member of the Livonian Confederation from 1435–1561. After being defeated by Samogitians in the 1236 Battle of Schaulen , the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights...
.
In 1263, Treniota assassinated Mindaugas and two of his sons. It has been suggested that he acted in collusion with Daumantas. As a result the Grand Duchy of Lithuania relapsed into paganism
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
for another one hundred and twenty years. Some Ruthenian chronicles say that Treniota's motive for the murder was to further his power, and Daumantas' was revenge: after Queen Morta's death c. 1262, Mindaugas took Daumantas' wife for himself. When Mindaugas dispatched a large army towards Bryansk
Bryansk
Bryansk is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Moscow. Population: -History:The first written mention of Bryansk was in 1146, in the Hypatian Codex, as Debryansk...
, Daumantas participated in the expedition, but suddenly returned and killed Mindaugas and two of his sons.
According to the Bychowiec Chronicle
Bychowiec Chronicle
The Bychowiec Chronicle named the Letopis of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania is an anonymous 16th century chronicle of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Although one of the least reliable sources of the epoch, it is considered the most complete redaction of the Lithuanian Chronicles...
(a late and not very reliable source), Daumantas received the title, Duke of Utena
Utena, Lithuania
Utena is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the settlement has been known since 1261.Utena is an...
, as his reward.
When Vaišelga, the eldest son of Mindaugas, entered into an alliance with Shvarn of Halych-Volhynia
Halych-Volhynia
The Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia or Kingdom of Rus or Galicia–Vladimir was a Ruthenian state in the regions of Galicia and Volhynia during 1199–1349. Along with Novgorod and Vladimir-Suzdal, it was one of the three most important powers to emerge from the collapse of Kievan Rus'...
in 1264, he was able to take revenge for his father's death by killing Treniota. Daumantas and his followers fled to Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
.
Ruler of Pskov
Timotheus
Timotheus may refer to:*Timotheus , Athenian statesman and general*Timotheus of Miletus, 5th century BCE Greek poet*Timotheus , a musician at the court of Alexander the Great...
(Ruthenian: Timofei) and married a daughter of Dmitry of Pereslavl
Dmitry of Pereslavl
Dmitry Alexandrovich was Grand Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal from 1276 until 1281 and then from 1283 until 1293.Dmitry was the second son of Alexander Nevsky. When his elder brother Vasily died young, Dmitry remained the chief heir to his illustrious father. As early as 1259, he was left by Alexander...
, son of Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky was the Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir during some of the most trying times in the city's history. Commonly regarded as the key figure of medieval Rus, Alexander was the grandson of Vsevolod the Big Nest and rose to legendary status on account of his military...
. He led Pskovian armies against Lithuanians and defeated them on the bank of the Western Dvina, proceeded to devastate the land of Duke Gerdenis, and captured his two sons and wife. Dovmont's daring spirit, his friendly ways, and the success of his military enterprise persuaded the Pskovians to elect him as their knyaz
Knyaz
Kniaz, knyaz or knez is a Slavic title found in most Slavic languages, denoting a royal nobility rank. It is usually translated into English as either Prince or less commonly as Duke....
, or military leader.
Dovmont's election was never sanctioned by the Novgorod Republic
Novgorod Republic
The Novgorod Republic was a large medieval Russian state which stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains between the 12th and 15th centuries, centred on the city of Novgorod...
, which had traditionally controlled the Pskovian affairs. Prince Yaroslav of Novgorod
Yaroslav III of Tver
Yaroslav III Yaroslavich was the first Prince of Tver and the tenth Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1264 to 1271. Yaroslav and his son Mikhail Yaroslavich presided over Tver's transformation from a sleepy village into one of the greatest centres of power in medieval Russia...
planned to punish the Pskovians for their willfulness and oust Dovmont from the city, but the Novgorodians refused to support Yaroslav's campaign and, joining their forces with the Pskovians, invaded Lithuania the following year. Dovmont was again in command and returned to Pskov in triumph.
In the next year the Pskovian-Novgorodian alliance was cemented by the invasion of the Livonian Order
Livonian Order
The Livonian Order was an autonomous Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order and a member of the Livonian Confederation from 1435–1561. After being defeated by Samogitians in the 1236 Battle of Schaulen , the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights...
. The Pskovians, led by Dovmont, joined their forced with the Novgorodians, led by Yaroslav and Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky was the Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir during some of the most trying times in the city's history. Commonly regarded as the key figure of medieval Rus, Alexander was the grandson of Vsevolod the Big Nest and rose to legendary status on account of his military...
's son Dmitry
Dmitry of Pereslavl
Dmitry Alexandrovich was Grand Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal from 1276 until 1281 and then from 1283 until 1293.Dmitry was the second son of Alexander Nevsky. When his elder brother Vasily died young, Dmitry remained the chief heir to his illustrious father. As early as 1259, he was left by Alexander...
, and inflicted a crushing defeat on the knights in the Battle of Rakvere (1268, near modern-day Rakvere
Rakvere
Rakvere is a town in northern Estonia and the county seat of Lääne-Viru County, 20 km south of the Gulf of Finland.-History:The earliest signs of human settlement dating back to the 3rd-5th centuries AD have been found on the present theatre hill. Probably to protect that settlement, a wooden...
). The following year Grand Master of the Order, Otto von Lutterberg
Otto von Lutterberg
Otto von Lutterberg was the Ordensmeister of the Livonian Order of the Teutonic Knights from 1266 to 1270, and was in command of the Livonian Order in 1268 when the Knights were heavily defeated by a Russian army at the Battle of Rakvere...
, laid siege to Pskov, but Dovmont, supported by the Novgorodians, repelled the attack, personally wounding Lutterberg in battle. The knights sought peace at any cost and their attacks on Pskov and Novgorod ceased for thirty years.
Later years and legacy
Vladimir
Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. Population:...
to Koporye
Koporye
Koporye is a historic village in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located about 100 km to the west of St. Petersburg and 12 km south of the Koporye Bay of the Baltic Sea...
, Dovmont made a sally into Ladoga
Staraya Ladoga
Staraya Ladoga , or the Aldeigjuborg of Norse sagas, is a village in the Volkhovsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Volkhov River near Lake Ladoga, 8 km north of the town of Volkhov. The village used to be a prosperous trading outpost in the 8th and 9th centuries...
, where he captured Dmitry's treasury from the Novgorodians and transported it to Koporye. Thereupon his name disappears from chronicles for some seventeen years.
In 1299, the Livonian Order
Livonian Order
The Livonian Order was an autonomous Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order and a member of the Livonian Confederation from 1435–1561. After being defeated by Samogitians in the 1236 Battle of Schaulen , the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights...
unexpectely invaded North-Western Ruthenia and laid siege to Pskov. Having expelled them from the republic, Dovmont abruptly lapsed into illness and died, survived by his alleged son, David of Hrodna
David of Hrodna
David was a castellan of Hrodna and one of the most famous warleaders of Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. He might have been the son of Daumantas of Pskov and great grandson of Alexander Nevsky. Maciej Stryjkowski claims that David was married to one of the daughters of Gediminas...
. His body was buried in the Trinity Cathedral, where his sword and personal effects would be on exhibit until the 20th century.
According to Pskovian chronicles, no ruler was loved by the citizens of Pskov more than Dovmont; they particularly praise his military skills and wisdom. After the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
canonized him, he came to be regarded as a patron saint of Pskov (on the par with Vsevolod Mstislavich). The fortifications erected by Dovmont in Pskov's downtown became known as the "Dovmont Town". A church to the memory of the blessed prince Dovmont-Timofei was consecrated there in 1574.
In the 1990s, Russian author Sergey Kalitin wrote a novel, Hour of the Wolf, about the life of Dovmont and his transition from a "minor Lithuanian noble" to Prince of Pskov.