Å vitrigaila

Swidrygiello (Polish Boleslaw Świdrygiełło Lithuanian Svitrigaila ) (* 1370, † February 10, 1452 ) was a Lithuanian Grand Duke.

Life and work

In the years 1430-1432 Grand Duke of Lithuania. His father was the Grand Duke Olgierd, the mother, Juliana, came the princes of Tver. As an opponent of the union between Poland and Lithuania, he allied himself several times with the Teutonic Knights against his older brother Jogaila, who now as Władysław II Jagiello King of Poland has been, or against his cousin Wigand (Lithuanian Vytautas ), the Grand Duke of Lithuania was. After his death in 1430, he teamed up again with the Teutonic Knights, the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg, which led to a civil war from 1432 to 1439. Defeated in 1435 by the new, appointed by the King Jagiello Grand Duke of Lithuania, Swidrygiello fled to Pokutien. From there, he should return to Lithuania until 1440 and after giving the supremacy of his nephew, the new Polish king Casimir IV Jagiello, recognized, was greeted with Volhynia. His wife was also a princess of Tver. The only son died in childhood.