{{Short description|Grand Duke (1236–1251) and King (c. 1251–1263) of Lithuania}} {{for-multi|the 20th-century claimant to the Lithuanian throne|Wilhelm Karl, Duke of Urach|other people named Mindaugas|Mindaugas (name)}} {{good article}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}} {{Infobox royalty | name = Mindaugas | title = | image = Mindoŭh. Міндоўг (A. Guagnini, 1611).jpg | caption = Mindaugas, as depicted in the chronicles of Alexander Guagnini (1611) | coronation = 1253 | succession = King of Lithuania | reign = 17 July 1251{{efn|{{cite journal |last1=Baranauskas |first1=Tomas |title=Mindaugo karūnavimo ir Lietuvos karalystės problemos |journal=Voruta |date=23 March 2002 |issue=54 |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051026174819/http://www.voruta.lt/article.php?article=87 |access-date=4 January 2026|quote=(...) Mindaugas' coronation was a consequence of the establishment of the Kingdom of Lithuania, not a cause. The Kingdom of Lithuania had been officially legalized (...) on July 17, 1251 by a bull of Pope Innocent IV. It was then that the Pope gave permission and an order to crown Mindaugas the King of Lithuania. This was the true international recognition of the Kingdom of Lithuania.}}}}–12 September 1263 | predecessor = Himself (as Grand Duke) | successor = Treniota (as Grand Duke) | succession1 = Grand Duke of Lithuania | reign1 = 1236–17 July 1251 | successor1 = Himself (as King) | house = House of Mindaugas | birth_date = c. 1203 | death_date = 12 September 1263 | spouse = Unknown first wife<br />Morta<br /> Sister of Morta | issue = Vaišvilkas | issue-link = #Family | issue-pipe = at least 3 more... | religion = {{Plainlist| Lithuanian polytheism<br>(1203–1251; 1261-1263) Roman Catholic<br>(1251–1261) }} }}
'''Mindaugas'''{{efn|in other languages Mindaugas is known as: {{langx|de|Myndowen}}, {{langx|la|Mindowe}}, {{langx|orv|Мендог|Mendog}}, {{langx|be|Міндоўг|Mindowh}}, {{langx|pl|Mendog}}}} (c. 1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mindaugas {{!}} ruler of Lithuania |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mindaugas |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=25 June 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Gudavičius |first1=Edvardas |authorlink1=Edvardas Gudavičius |title=Mindaugas |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/mindaugas/ |website=Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia |access-date=18 July 2021}}</ref> 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. The contemporary and modern sources discussing his ascent mention strategic marriages along with banishment or murder of his rivals. He extended his domain into regions southeast of Lithuania proper during the 1230s and 1240s. In 1250 or 1251, during the course of internal power struggles, he was baptised as a Roman Catholic; this action enabled him to establish an alliance with the Livonian Order, a long-standing antagonist of the Lithuanians. By 1245, Mindaugas was already being referred to as "the highest king" in certain documents.<ref>Mägi, Marika (2018). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=CGdjDwAAQBAJ&q=lit In Austrvegr: The Role of the Eastern Baltic in Viking Age Communication through the Baltic Sea]''. Brill Publishers. 76 p. ISBN 978-90-04-21665-5.</ref> During the summer of 1253, he was crowned king,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Galeotti |first1=Mark |title=Teutonic Knight Vs Lithuanian Warrior: The Lithuanian Crusade 1283–1435 |date=17 January 2023 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |page=78 |isbn=978-1-4728-5150-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_FuoEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> ruling between 300,000 and 400,000 subjects, and was nicknamed as ''Mindaugas the Sapient'' by the Livonians.<ref name=oconnor15/><ref>{{cite news | last=Salynė | first=Roberta | title=Kur gimė tikroji Lietuva: prasidėjo ten, kur šiandien nė neįsivaizduotume? | work=15min | date=6 July 2021 | url=https://www.15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/lietuva/kur-gime-tikroji-lietuva-prasidejo-ten-kur-siandien-ne-neisivaizduotume-56-1530848 | language=lt | access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref>
While Mindaugas's reign as king was marked by many state-building accomplishments, his conflicts with relatives and other dukes continued. The western part of Lithuania – Samogitia – strongly resisted the alliance's rule. His gains in the southeast were challenged by the Tatars. He broke peace with the Livonian Order in 1261, possibly renouncing Christianity, and was assassinated in 1263 by his nephew Treniota and another rival, Duke Daumantas of Pskov. His three immediate successors were assassinated as well. The disorder was not resolved until Traidenis gained the title of grand duke c. 1270.
Although his reputation was unsettled during the following centuries and his descendants were not notable, he gained standing during the 19th and 20th centuries. Mindaugas was the only king of Lithuania;<ref name=dubonis/> while most of the Lithuanian grand dukes from Jogaila onward also reigned as kings of Poland, the titles remained separate. Now generally considered the founder of the Lithuanian state, he is also now credited with stopping the advance of the Tatars towards the Baltic Sea, establishing international recognition of Lithuania, and turning it towards Western civilization.<ref name=dubonis/><ref name=barana/> In the 1990s the historian Edvardas Gudavičius published research supporting an exact coronation date – 6 July 1253. Although disputed, this day is now an official national holiday in Lithuania, Statehood Day.
==Background==
===Sources=== {{main|House of Mindaugas}}
thumb|250px|Baptism of Mindaugas, 17th century portrait Contemporary written sources about Mindaugas are very scarce. Much of what is known about his reign is obtained from the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle and the Hypatian Codex. Both of these chronicles were produced by enemies of Lithuania and thus have anti-Lithuanian bias, particularly the Hypatian Codex.<ref name=ivin-153/> They are also incomplete: both of them lack dates and locations even for the most important events. For example, the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle devoted 125 poetry lines to Mindaugas's coronation, but failed to mention either the date or the location.<ref name=ivin-mk/>
''Kronika polska, litewska, żmódzka i wszystkiej Rusi'', published by Maciej Stryjkowski in 1582, asserts that in 1240 Mindaugas ascended to his father's throne in Navahrudak. While ruling in Navahrudak and other Rus' castles, he began to eliminate his friends, seduced by the greed for power.<ref name=Stryjkowski>{{Cite book | publisher = nakład Gustawa Leona Glücksberga, Księgarza | first = Maciej | last = Stryjkowski | title = Kronika polska, litewska, żmódzka i wszystkiej Rusi Macieja Stryjkowskiego. T. 1 | year = 1846 | language = Polish | location = Warszawa | url = https://rcin.org.pl/dlibra/publication/23157/edition/66623/content }}</ref>{{rp|285}}
''Boguchwala i Godyslawa Paska'' Chronicle describes Mindaugas as a ruthless king of Prussia, who, in 1260, withdrew from the Christian faith and obliterated Mazovian city Płock and Prussia committing a great slaughter among the Christian people.<ref name=Boguchwala-chronicle>{{Cite book| publisher = August Bielowski| editor = Alexander Maciejowski| title = Monumenta Poloniae Historica. Pomniki Dziejowe Polski. T.2| chapter = VI. Kronika Boguchwala i Godyslawa Paska| year = 1872| volume = 2|page = 586| location = Lwow| url = https://kpbc.umk.pl/dlibra/publication/10066/edition/17159/content}}</ref> Other important sources are the papal bulls regarding baptism and coronation of Mindaugas. The Lithuanians did not produce any surviving records themselves, except for a series of acts granting lands to the Livonian Order, but their authenticity is disputed. Due to lack of sources, some important questions regarding Mindaugas and his reign cannot be answered.<ref name=ivin-153/>
===Family=== Because written sources covering the era are scarce, Mindaugas's origins and family tree have not been conclusively established. The Bychowiec Chronicles, dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, have been discredited in this regard, since they assert an ancestry from the Palemonids, a noble family said to have originated within the Roman Empire.<ref name=jonynas/> His year of birth, sometimes given as c. 1200, is at other times left as a question mark.<ref name=stone/><ref name=suzied/> His father is mentioned in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle as a powerful duke (''ein kunic grôß''), but is not named; later chronicles give his name as Ryngold.<ref name=kiaupa/><ref name=ivin-le/> Dausprungas, mentioned in the text of a 1219 treaty, is presumed to have been his brother, and Dausprungas' sons Tautvilas and Gedvydas his nephews. He is thought to have had two sisters, one married to Vykintas and another to Daniel of Halych. Vykintas and his son Treniota played major roles in later power struggles. Mindaugas had at least two wives, Morta and Morta's sister, whose name is unknown, and possibly an earlier wife; her existence is presumed because two children – a son named Vaišvilkas and an unnamed daughter married to Svarn in 1255 – were already leading independent lives when Morta's children were still young. In addition to Vaišvilkas and his sister, two sons, Ruklys and Rupeikis, are mentioned in written sources. The latter two were assassinated along with Mindaugas. Information on his sons is limited and historians continue to discuss their number. He may have had two other sons whose names were later conflated by scribes into Ruklys and Rupeikis.<ref name=kiaupa/>
===Name=== In the 13th century Lithuania had little contact with foreign lands. Lithuanian names sounded obscure and unfamiliar to various chroniclers, who altered them to sound more like names in their native language.<ref name=salys/> Mindaugas's name in historic texts was recorded in various distorted forms:<ref name=zinkev/> Mindowe, Mendog, Mindog, Mendolphus<ref name=Boguchwala-chronicle/><ref name=Mendolphus-name>{{Cite book| publisher = apud Bernardum Albinum| first = Alessandro Guagnini| last = Guagnini| title = Sarmatiae Europeae descriptio, quae regnum Poloniae, Lituaniam, Samogitiam, Russiam, Massouiam, Prussiam, Pomeraniam, Liuoniam, et Moschouiae, Tartariaeque partem complectitur. Alexandri Guagnini Veronensis, ... Cui supplementi loco, ea quae gesta sunt superiori anno, inter serenissimum regem ...| year = 1581| pages = 46–47| language = Latin| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=o4TeyzZjmP0C}}</ref> in Latin; Mindouwe, Myndow, Myndawe, and Mindaw in German; Mendog, Mondog, Mendoch, and Mindovg in Polish; and Mindovg, Mindog, and Mindowh in Old Church Slavonic, among others.<ref name=salys/>{{request quotation|date=December 2023}} Since Old Church Slavonic sources provide the most information about Mindaugas's life, they were judged the most reliable by linguists reconstructing his original Lithuanian name. The most popular Old Church Slavonic rendition was ''Mindovg'', which can quite easily and naturally be reconstructed as ''Mindaugas'' or ''Mindaugis''.<ref name=salys/>{{request quotation|date=December 2023}} In 1909 the Lithuanian linguist Kazimieras Būga published a research paper supporting the suffix ''-as'', which has since been widely accepted. ''Mindaugas'' is an archaic dithematic Lithuanian name, used before the Christianization of Lithuania, and consists of two components: ''min'' and ''daug''.<ref name=zinkev/> Its etymology may be traced to "daug menąs" (much wisdom) or "daugio minimas" (much fame).<ref name=salys/>
==Rise to power== [[File:Seimyniskeliai hillfort.jpg|thumb|Šeimyniškėliai Hillfort, possibly the site of Voruta Castle, alleged capital of Mindaugas]] thumb|The presumed dominion controlled by Mindaugas during the start of the 13th century Lithuania was ruled during the early 13th century by a number of dukes and princes presiding over various fiefdoms and tribes.<ref name=frucht/> They were loosely bonded by commonalities of religion and tradition, trade, kinship, joint military campaigns, and the presence of captured prisoners from neighboring areas.<ref name=suzied/><ref name=urban/> Western merchants and missionaries began seeking control of the area during the 12th century, establishing the city of Riga, Latvia in 1201. Their efforts in Lithuania were temporarily halted by defeat at the Battle of Saule in 1236, but armed Christian orders continued to pose a threat.<ref name=vardys/> The country had also undergone incursions by the Mongol Empire.<ref name=bojtar/>
A treaty with Galicia–Volhynia, signed in 1219, is usually considered the first conclusive evidence that the Baltic tribes in the area were uniting in response to these threats.<ref name=gerutis/> The treaty's signatories include twenty Lithuanian dukes and one dowager duchess; it specifies that five of these were elder and thus took precedence over the remaining sixteen.<ref name=rowell705/> Mindaugas, despite his youth, as well as his brother Dausprungas are listed among the elder dukes, implying that they had inherited their titles.<ref name=kiaupa2/> The Livonian Rhymed Chronicle describes him as the ruler of all Lithuania in 1236.<ref name=speciun/><ref name=butkev/> His path to this title is not clear. Ruthenian chronicles mention that he murdered or expelled several dukes, including his relatives.<ref name=barana/><ref name=gerutis /> Historian S.C. Rowell has described his rise to power as taking place through "the familiar processes of marriage, murder and military conquest."<ref name="rowell" /> In Rowell's interpretation, Mindaugas recognized the advantage to Christianity in attracting foreign merchants and military support from the Teutonic Order. As a result, in 1251, he was baptised Catholic.<ref name="rowell" /> The conversion was purely for political gain with Catholic Europe; Mindaugas was known to continue to sacrifice to his old gods after his "conversion."<ref name="rowell2" /> In order to consolidate his power, Mindaugas married into rival families, defeated some in battle, and exiled the rest of his rivals.<ref name="rowell" />
During the 1230s and 1240s, Mindaugas strengthened and established his power in various Baltic and Slavic lands.<ref name=kiaupa/> Warfare in the region intensified; he battled German forces in Kurland, while the Mongols destroyed Kiev in 1240 and entered Poland in 1241, defeating two Polish armies and burning Kraków.<ref name=urban/> The Lithuanian victory in the Battle of Saule temporarily stabilized the northern front, but the Christian orders continued to make gains along the Baltic coast, founding the city of Klaipėda (Memel). Mindaugas established his residence in Navahrudak and succeededed in becoming master of the so-called Black Ruthenia on the upper Neman and its affluents with the cities of Hrodna, Vawkavysk, and Slonim, and also of the Principality of Polotsk.<ref name=dvornik/> In about 1239 he appointed his son Vaišvilkas to govern these areas, then known as Black Ruthenia.<ref name=speciun /> In 1248, he sent his nephews Tautvilas and Edivydas, the sons of his brother Dausprungas, along with Vykintas, the Duke of Samogitia, to conquer Smolensk, but they were unsuccessful. His attempts to consolidate his rule in Lithuania met with mixed success; in 1249, an internal war erupted when he sought to seize his nephews' and Vykintas' lands.<ref name=speciun />
==Path to coronation== [[File:Papal bull regarding Lithuanian ruler Mindaugas 1251.jpg|thumb|The Papal bull issued by Pope Innocent IV establishing Lithuania's placement under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, and discussing Mindaugas's baptism and coronation]] Tautvilas, Edivydas, and Vykintas formed a powerful coalition in opposition to Mindaugas, along with the Samogitians of western Lithuania, the Livonian Order, Daniel of Galicia (Tautvilas and Edivydas' brother-in-law), and Vasilko of Volhynia.<ref name=speciun/> The princes of Galicia and Volhynia managed to gain control over Black Ruthenia, disrupting Vaišvilkas' supremacy. Tautvilas strengthened his position by traveling to Riga and accepting baptism by the Archbishop.<ref name=suzied/> In 1250, the Order organized a major raid through the lands of Nalšia into the domains of Mindaugas in Lithuania proper, and a raid into those parts of Samogitia that still supported him.<ref name=butkev/> Attacked from the north and south and facing the possibility of unrest elsewhere, Mindaugas was placed in an extremely difficult position, but managed to use the conflicts between the Livonian Order and the Archbishop of Riga to further his own interests. He succeeded in bribing Order Master Andreas von Stierland, who was still angry at Vykintas for the defeat at the Battle of Saule in 1236, by sending him "many gifts".<ref name=kiaupa2 /><ref name=butkev/><ref name=meyen/> In 1250 or 1251, Mindaugas agreed to receive baptism and relinquish control over some lands in western Lithuania, in return for an acknowledgment by Pope Innocent IV as king. The Pope welcomed a Christian Lithuania as a bulwark against Mongol threats; in turn, Mindaugas sought papal intervention in the ongoing Lithuanian conflicts with the Christian orders.<ref name=suzied/><ref name=vauchez/> On 17 July 1251, the pope signed two crucial papal bulls. One ordered the Bishop of Chełmno to crown Mindaugas as King of Lithuania, appoint a bishop for Lithuania, and build a cathedral.<ref name=church/> The other bull specified that the new bishop was to be directly subordinate to the Holy See, rather than to the Archbishop of Riga.<ref name=butkev/> This autonomy was a welcome development.<ref name=gerutis /> The precise date of Mindaugas's baptism is not known.<ref name=suzied/> His wife, two sons, and members of his court were baptized; Pope Innocent wrote later that a multitude of Mindaugas's subjects also received Christianity.<ref name=suzied/>
The process of coronation and the establishment of Christian institutions would take two years. Internal conflicts persisted; during the spring or summer of 1251, Tautvilas and his remaining allies attacked Mindaugas's warriors and the Livonian Order's crossbow-men in Voruta Castle. The attack failed, and Tautvilas' forces retreated to defend themselves in Tviremet Castle (presumed to be Tverai in Samogitia).<ref name=semaska/> Vykintas died in 1251 or 1252, and Tautvilas was forced to rejoin Daniel of Galicia.<ref name=speciun/>
==The Kingdom of Lithuania== {| class="wikitable" style="width:375px; font-size:100%; border: 0px; padding:5px;margin: .75em 0 1em 1em; float:right;" !colspan=2| Mindaugas's acts granting territories<br />to the Livonian Order<ref name=ivin-178/> |- ! width=90px|Date || Territory |- | July 1253 || Portions of Samogitia <small>(half of Raseiniai, Betygala, Ariogala, and Laukuva – the other half went to Bishop Christian in March 1254)</small>, half of Dainava and Nadruva<ref name=gudavi239/> |- | October 1255 || Selonia |- | 1257 || Karšuva, Nadruva, portions of Samogitia |- | 7 August 1259 || Portions of Dainava, all of Skalva and Samogitia |- | June 1260 || All of Lithuania (if Mindaugas died without an heir) |- | 7 August 1261 || All of Selonia |}
Mindaugas and his wife Morta were crowned during the summer of 1253. Bishop Henry Heidenreich of Kulm presided over the ecclesiastical ceremonies and Andreas Stirland conferred the crown.<ref name=suzied/> 6 July is now celebrated as Statehood Day (Lithuanian: ''Valstybės diena''); it is an official holiday in modern Lithuania.<ref name=seimas/> The exact date of the coronation is not known; the scholarship of historian Edvardas Gudavičius, who promulgated this precise date, is sometimes challenged.<ref name=barana2/> The coronation ceremony supposedly took place in Navahrudak in the presence of many dignitaries, such as Bishop of Chełmno Heidenreich, Livonian Master Andreas von Stierland and his brothers Andreas, Johannes the cupbearer, Sittherus the steward, and Theoderic of Hassendorp; from the Preaching Brothers (Dominicans), Brother Sinderamus; from the Minor Brothers (Franciscans), Brother Adolfus and his companions, and many others.<ref name=August-Seraphim>{{Cite book | editor = August Seraphim | title = Preußisches Urkundenbuch. Politische (allgemeine) Abteilung. Band I. Zweite Hälfte | year = 1909 | page = 35 | language = German | location = Königsberg | url = https://prussia.online/books/preussisches-urkundenbuch-1-2 }}</ref>{{r|Stryjkowski|p=289}}
[[File:Seal of Mindaugas.jpg|thumb|left|The Seal of Mindaugas, attached to the Act of October 1255, could be a medieval forgery by the Teutonic Knights]] Relative peace and stability prevailed for about eight years. Mindaugas used this opportunity to concentrate on the expansion to the east, and to establish and organize state institutions. He strengthened his influence in Black Ruthenia, in Polatsk, a major center of commerce in the Daugava River basin, and in Pinsk.<ref name=speciun /> He also negotiated a peace with Galicia–Volhynia, and married his daughter to Svarn, the son of Daniel of Galicia, who would later become Grand Duke of Lithuania. Lithuanian relationships with western Europe and the Holy See were reinforced. In 1255, Mindaugas received permission from Pope Alexander IV to crown his son as King of Lithuania.<ref name=butkev/> A noble court, an administrative system, and a diplomatic service were initiated.<ref name=kiaupa /> Silver long coins, an index of statehood, were issued.<ref name=kiaupa/> He sponsored the construction of a cathedral in Vilnius, possibly on the site of today's Vilnius Cathedral.<ref name=kajackas/>
[[File:Main entrance to the National Museum of Lithuania, King Mindaugas Monument and Gediminas' Tower in 2023.jpg|thumb|King Mindaugas Monument in front of the National Museum of Lithuania and Gediminas' Tower in Vilnius]] Immediately after his coronation, Mindaugas transferred some lands to the Livonian Order – portions of Samogitia, Nadruva, and Dainava{{snd}}although his control over these western lands was tenuous.<ref name=bojtar/><ref name=barana2/> There has been much discussion among historians as to whether in later years (1255–1261) Mindaugas gave even more lands to the order. The deeds might have been falsified by the order;<ref name=speciun /> the case for this scenario is bolstered by the fact that some of the documents mention lands that were not actually under the control of Mindaugas<ref name=gerutis /> and by various irregularities in treaty witnesses and seals.<ref name=ivin-178/>
Mindaugas and his antagonist Daniel reached a reconciliation in 1255; the Black Ruthenian lands were transferred to Roman, Daniel's son. Afterwards Mindaugas's son Vaišvilkas received baptism as a member of the Orthodox faith, becoming a monk and later founding a convent and monastery.<ref name=kiaupa/><ref name=rowell149/> Tautvilas's antagonism was temporarily resolved when he recognized Mindaugas's superiority and received Polatsk as a fiefdom.<ref name=speciun /> A direct confrontation with the Mongols occurred in 1258 or 1259, when Berke Khan sent his general Burundai to challenge Lithuanian rule, ordering Daniel and other regional princes to participate. The Novgorod Chronicle describes the following action as a defeat of the Lithuanians, but it has also been seen as a net gain for Mindaugas.<ref name=meyen/>
A single sentence in the Hypatian Chronicle mentions Mindaugas defending himself in Voruta against his nephews and Duke Vykintas; two other sources mention "his castle". The location of Voruta is not specified, and this has led to considerable speculation, along with archeological research, concerning the seat of his court. At least fourteen locations have been proposed, including Kernavė and Vilnius.<ref name=zabiela/> The ongoing formal archeological digs at Kernavė began in 1979 after a portion of the site named "Mindaugas Throne hill-fort" collapsed.<ref name=kernave/> The town now hosts a major celebration on Statehood Day.<ref name=tourism/>
==Assassination and aftermath== [[File:Lithuanian state in 13-15th centuries.png|thumb|300px|Expansion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania between the 13th and 15th centuries]] The Livonian Order used their alliance with Mindaugas to gain control over Samogitian lands. In 1252 he approved the Order's construction of Klaipeda Castle.<ref name=klaipeda/> Their governance, however, was seen as oppressive. Local merchants could only conduct transactions via Order-approved intermediaries; inheritance laws were changed; and the choices among marriage partners and residencies were restricted.<ref name=urban/> Several pitched battles ensued. In 1259 the Order lost the Battle of Skuodas, and in 1260 it lost the Battle of Durbe. The first defeat encouraged a rebellion by the Semigalians, and the defeat at Durbe spurred the Prussians into the Great Prussian Rebellion, which lasted for 14 years.<ref name=kiaupa /> Encouraged by these developments and by his nephew Treniota, Mindaugas broke peace with the Order. The gains he had expected from Christianization had proven to be minor.<ref name=vardys/>
Mindaugas may have reverted to paganism afterwards. His motivation for conversion is often described by modern historians as merely strategic.<ref name=oconnor/><ref name=ignat/> The case for his apostasy rests largely on two near-contemporary sources: a 1324 assertion by Pope John XXII that Mindaugas had returned to error, and the Galician–Volhynian Chronicle.<ref name=suzied/> The chronicler writes that Mindaugas continued to practice paganism, making sacrifices to his gods, burning corpses, and conducting pagan rites in public.<ref name=jones/> Historians have pointed to the possibility of bias in this account, since Mindaugas had been at war with Volhynia.<ref name=suzied/><ref name=plokhy/> Pope Clement IV, on the other hand, wrote in 1268 of "Mindaugas of happy memory" (''clare memorie Mindota''), expressing regret at his murder.<ref name=suzied/>
In any event, the Lithuanians were not prepared to accept Christianity, and Mindaugas's baptism had little impact on further developments.<ref name=kiaupa /> The majority of the population and the nobility remained pagan; his subjects were not required to convert.<ref name=oconnor15/><ref name=ignat/> The cathedral he had built in Vilnius was superseded by a pagan temple, and all the diplomatic achievements made after his coronation were lost, although the practice of Christianity and intermarriage were well tolerated.<ref name=kiaupa /><ref name=vardys/><ref name=vauchez/>
Regional conflicts with the Order escalated. Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod, Tautvilas, and Tautvilas's son Constantine agreed to form a coalition in opposition to Mindaugas, but their plans were unsuccessful.<ref name=suzied/> Treniota emerged as the leader of the Samogitian resistance; he led an army to Cēsis (now in Latvia), reaching the Estonian coast, and battled Masovia (now in Poland). His goal was to encourage all the conquered Baltic tribes to rise up against the Christian orders and unite under Lithuanian leadership.<ref name=suzied/> His personal influence grew while Mindaugas was concentrating on the conquest of Ruthenian lands, dispatching a large army to Bryansk. Treniota and Mindaugas began to pursue different priorities.<ref name=kiaupa2 /> The Rhymed Chronicle mentions Mindaugas's displeasure at the fact that Treniota did not create any alliances in Latvia or Estonia; he may have come to prefer diplomacy.<ref name=suzied/> In the midst of these events his wife Morta died, and Mindaugas took her sister as his new wife. The only problem was that the sister was already married to Daumantas.<ref name=dubonis/><ref name=butkev/><ref name=marcin/> In retaliation, Daumantas and Treniota assassinated Mindaugas and two of his sons in fall 1263.<ref name=gerutis /> According to a late medieval tradition, the assassination took place in Aglona.<ref name=ivin-195/> He was buried along with his horses, in accordance with ancestral tradition.<ref name=lieven/> After Mindaugas's death, Lithuania lapsed into internal disorder. Three of his successors{{snd}}Treniota, his son-in-law Svarn, and his son Vaišvilkas{{snd}}were assassinated during the next seven years. Stability did not return until the reign of Traidenis, designated Grand Duke c. 1270.<ref name=rowell/>
==Legacy== [[File:LT-1996-50litų-Mindaugas-b.png|thumb|left|Litas Commemorative coin dedicated to King Mindaugas, with the inscription ''Mindaugas King of Lithuania'']] Mindaugas held a dubious position in Lithuanian historiography until the Lithuanian national revival of the 19th century.<ref name=dubonis/> While pagan sympathizers held him in disregard for betraying his religion, Christians saw his support as lukewarm.<ref name=dubonis/> He received only passing references from Grand Duke Gediminas and was not mentioned at all by Vytautas the Great.<ref name=dubonis/> His known family relations end with his children; no historic records note any connections between his descendants and the Gediminids dynasty that ruled Lithuania and Poland until 1572.<ref name=nikzen/> A 17th-century rector of Vilnius University held him responsible for the troubles then being experienced by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ("the seed of internal discord among the Lithuanians had been sown".)<ref name=dubonis/> A 20th-century historian charged him with the "destruction of the organization of the Lithuanian state".<ref name=dubonis/> The first academic study of his life by a Lithuanian scholar, Jonas Totoraitis (''Die Litauer unter dem König Mindowe bis zum Jahre 1263'') was not published until 1905.<ref name=dubonis/> In the 1990s historian Edvardas Gudavičius published his findings<ref name=dubonis/> pinpointing a coronation date, which became a national holiday. The 750th anniversary of his coronation was marked in 2003 by the dedication of the Mindaugas Bridge in Vilnius, numerous festivals and concerts, and visits from other heads of state.<ref name=american/><ref name=president/><ref name=foreign/> In Belarus, there is the legendary {{interlanguage link|Mindaugas's Hill|be|Гара_Міндоўга}} in Navahrudak, mentioned by Adam Mickiewicz in his 1828 poem ''Konrad Wallenrod''. A memorial stone on the Mindaugas's hill was installed in 1993 and a metal sculpture of Mindaugas in 2014.
Mindaugas is the primary subject of the 1829 drama ''Mindowe'', by Juliusz Słowacki, one of the Three Bards.<ref name=polski/><ref name=sesplaukis/> He has been portrayed in several 20th-century literary works: the Latvian author Mārtiņš Zīverts' tragedy ''Vara'' (Power, 1944), Justinas Marcinkevičius' drama-poem ''Mindaugas'' (1968), Romualdas Granauskas' ''Jaučio aukojimas'' (The Offering of the Bull, 1975), and Juozas Kralikauskas' ''Mindaugas'' (1995).<ref name=dunzila/> Coronation of Mindaugas and creation of the Grand Duchy is the main topic of the 2002 Belarusian novel ''Alhierd's Lance'' by {{interlanguage link|Volha Ipatava|be|Вольга Міхайлаўна Іпатава}} dedicated to the 750th anniversary of the coronation. {{clear}}
==See also== {{Commons category|Mindaugas}} * {{portal-inline|Lithuania}} * History of Lithuania (1219–1295) * List of rulers of Lithuania * Early dukes of Lithuania
==Notes== {{notelist}}
== References == {{reflist|2|refs= <ref name=american>{{cite web|title=Celebrations in Honor of Mindaugas the King|url=http://javlb.org/bridges/2003/april2003/april2003_8-9.pdf|publisher=Lithuanian American Community, Inc.|access-date=24 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305213419/http://javlb.org/bridges/2003/april2003/april2003_8-9.pdf|archive-date=5 March 2009}}</ref> <ref name=barana>{{cite book |author-link=Tomas Baranauskas |first=Tomas |last=Baranauskas |title=Lietuvos valstybės ištakos |chapter=The Formation of the Lithuanian State |publisher=Vaga |year=2000 |chapter-url=http://viduramziu.istorija.net/en/state.htm |pages=245–272 |access-date=20 February 2009 |isbn=5-415-01495-0 |quote=The Volhynian Chronicle gives the following description of Mindaugas' activity: Mindaugas "was a duke in the Lithuanian land, and he killed his brothers and his brothers' sons and banished others from the land and began to rule alone over the entire Lithuanian land. And he started to put on airs and enjoyed glory and might and would not put up with any opposition." |archive-date=16 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416022111/http://viduramziu.istorija.net/en/state.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> <ref name=barana2>{{cite journal |first=Tomas |last=Baranauskas |date=23 March 2003 |title=Mindaugo karūnavimo ir Lietuvos karalystės problemos |url=http://www.voruta.lt/mindaugo-karunavimo-ir-lietuvos-karalystes-problemos/ |journal=Voruta |volume=6 |issue=504 |issn=1392-0677 |access-date=17 September 2006 |language=lt }}</ref> <ref name=bojtar>{{cite book|first=Endre |last=Bojtár| title=Foreword to the Past: A Cultural History of the Baltic People| year=1999| publisher=Central European University Press| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5aoId7nA4bsC&pg=PA179 |page=179 |isbn=963-9116-42-4}}</ref> <ref name=butkev>{{cite journal|last=Butkevičienė |first=Birutė |author2=Vytautas Gricius |date=July 2003 |title=Mindaugas – Lietuvos karalius |journal=Mokslas Ir Gyvenimas |volume=7 |issue=547 |issn=0134-3084 |url=http://ausis.gf.vu.lt/mg/nr/2003/07/7mlk.html |access-date=17 September 2006 |language=lt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070523045154/http://ausis.gf.vu.lt/mg/nr/2003/07/7mlk.html |archive-date=23 May 2007 }}</ref> <ref name=church>{{cite web|title=History of the Catholic Church in Lithuania|publisher=Catholic Church in Lithuania|url=http://www.lcn.lt/en/bl/istorija/1/blistorija1.html|access-date=20 February 2009}}</ref> <ref name=dubonis>{{cite book|first=Artūras|last=Dubonis|title=Mindaugo knyga: istorijos šaltiniai apie Lietuvos karalių|chapter=Belated Praise for King Mindaugas of Lithuania|publisher=Lithuanian Institute of History|year=2005|chapter-url=http://www.istorija.lt/html/body_mindaugo2005_belated.html|isbn=9986-780-68-3|pages=17–22|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928105727/http://www.istorija.lt/html/body_mindaugo2005_belated.html|archive-date=28 September 2011}}</ref> <ref name=dunzila>{{cite journal|title=King and Power|first=Audrius Vilius|last=Dundzila|journal=Lituanus|volume=1|date=Spring 1990|issue=36|url=http://www.lituanus.org/1990_1/90_1_03.htm|access-date=8 February 2009|issn=0024-5089|archive-date=16 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316034151/http://www.lituanus.org/1990_1/90_1_03.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> <ref name=dvornik>{{cite book|title=The Slavs in European History and Civilization |first=Francis |last=Dvornik |year=1992 |publisher=Rutgers University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LACpYP-g1y8C&pg=PA215 |page=215 |isbn=0-8135-0799-5}}</ref> <ref name=foreign>{{cite web|title=Lithuania's Cooperation with Estonia|url=http://www.urm.lt/index.php?-1986879202|publisher=Foreign Ministry of Lithuania|access-date=24 February 2009}}</ref> <ref name=frucht>{{cite book|first=Richard C. |last=Frucht| title=Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture| year=2005| publisher=ABC-CLIO| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lVBB1a0rC70C&pg=PA169 |page=169 |isbn=1-57607-800-0 }}</ref> <ref name=gerutis>{{cite book |last=Jakštas |first=Juozas |editor= Albertas Gerutis|others= translated by Algirdas Budreckis|title= Lithuania: 700 Years |url=https://archive.org/details/lithuania700year00geru |url-access=registration |year=1969 |publisher=Manyland Books|location= New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/lithuania700year00geru/page/43 43–58] |chapter= Lithuania to World War I|lccn=75-80057 }}</ref> <ref name=gudavi239>{{cite book| first=Edvardas |last=Gudavičius |author-link=Edvardas Gudavičius |title=Mindaugas | location=Vilnius |publisher=Žara |year=1998 |isbn=9986-34-020-9 |pages=239–240|language=lt}}</ref> <ref name=ignat>{{cite book|title=Transnational Identity Politics and the Environment|first=Gabriel |last=Ignatow| year=2007|publisher=Lexington Books |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Z3zQ9gPsSAC&pg=PA100 |page=100 |isbn=978-0-7391-2015-6}}</ref> <ref name=ivin-le>{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia=Lietuvių enciklopedija | title=Ringaudas |first=Zenonas |last=Ivinskis | location=Boston, Massachusetts | publisher=Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla |year=1953–1966 |volume=25 |pages=308–309 | lccn=55020366 |language=lt}}</ref> <ref name=ivin-153>{{cite book |first=Zenonas |last=Ivinskis |title=Lietuvos istorija iki Vytauto Didžiojo mirties |year=1978 |location=Rome |publisher=Lietuvių katalikų mokslo akademija |pages=153–154 |lccn=79346776 |language=lt}}</ref> <ref name=ivin-178>{{cite book |first=Zenonas |last=Ivinskis |title=Lietuvos istorija iki Vytauto Didžiojo mirties |year=1978 |location=Rome |publisher=Lietuvių katalikų mokslo akademija |pages=178–179, 186 |lccn=79346776 |language=lt}}</ref> <ref name=ivin-195>{{cite book |first=Zenonas |last=Ivinskis |title=Lietuvos istorija iki Vytauto Didžiojo mirties |year=1978 |location=Rome |publisher=Lietuvių katalikų mokslo akademija |page=195 |lccn=79346776 |language=lt}}</ref> <ref name=ivin-mk>{{cite book |first=Zenonas |last=Ivinskis |chapter=Mindaugas ir jo karūna. Kritiškos pastabos septynių šimtmečių (1253–1953) perspektyvoje |editor=Vytautas Ališausklas |title=Mindaugas karalius |publisher=Aidai |year=2008 |isbn=978-9955-656-56-2 |page=66|language=lt}}</ref> <ref name=jones>{{cite book|title=A History of Pagan Europe|first=Prudence |last=Jones |author2=Nigel Pennick| year=1997 |publisher=Routledge |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vYtrv5qD9isC&pg=PA172 |page=172 |isbn=0-415-15804-4}}</ref> <ref name=jonynas>{{cite encyclopedia | last = Jonynas | first =Ignas | editor = Vaclovas Biržiška |editor-link=Vaclovas Biržiška | encyclopedia = Lietuviškoji enciklopedija | title = Bychovco kronika | year = 1935 | publisher=Spaudos Fondas | volume = III | location = Kaunas | pages = 875–878|language=lt}}</ref> <ref name=kajackas>{{cite journal|journal=Lituanus|date=Spring 1990|volume=1|issue=36|first=Algimintas|last=Kajackas|title=The History and Recent Archeological Investigations of the Vilnius Cathedral|url=http://www.lituanus.org/1990_1/90_1_04.htm|issn=0024-5089|access-date=20 February 2009|archive-date=18 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318101718/http://www.lituanus.org/1990_1/90_1_04.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> <ref name=kernave>{{cite web| title=Reserve – Archaeological Site| publisher=Administration of the State Cultural Reserve of Kernavė| url=http://www.kernave.org/archeo_en.htm| access-date=5 February 2009| archive-date=21 July 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200721064637/https://www.kernave.org/archeo_en.htm| url-status=usurped}}</ref> <ref name=kiaupa>{{cite book |last=Kiaupa | first=Zigmantas |author2=Jūratė Kiaupienė |author3=Albinas Kuncevičius |title= The History of Lithuania Before 1795 |orig-year= 1995|edition= English|year= 2000|publisher=Lithuanian Institute of History|location= Vilnius|isbn= 9986-810-13-2|pages=43–127}}</ref> <ref name=kiaupa2>{{cite book |last=Kiaupa |first=Zigmantas |title=Gimtoji istorija. Nuo 7 iki 12 klasės |url=http://mkp.emokykla.lt/gimtoji/index.php |access-date=11 March 2007 |year=2002 |publisher=Elektroninės leidybos namai |location=Vilnius |isbn=9986-9216-9-4 |chapter=Baltų žemių vienijimosi priežastys |chapter-url=http://mkp.emokykla.lt/gimtoji/?id=821 |language=lt}}</ref> <ref name=klaipeda>{{cite web|title=The Gimpse on the History of Klaipeda Port|url=http://www.portofklaipeda.lt/en.php/port_of_klaipda/about_the_port/history/7737|publisher=Klaipeda State Seaport Authority|access-date=24 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217154007/http://www.portofklaipeda.lt/en.php/port_of_klaipda/about_the_port/history/7737|archive-date=17 February 2009}}</ref> <ref name=lieven>{{cite book|title=The Baltic Revolution|first=Anatol |last=Lieven |year=1993| publisher=Yale University Press| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iz3NACNOpCAC&pg=PA47 |page=47 |isbn=0-300-06078-5}}</ref> <ref name=marcin>{{cite journal|journal=Lituanus|date=Winter 1971|volume=4|issue=17|title=Honor and Suffering, The Second Part of the Drama-Poem Mindaugas|first=Justinas|last=Marcinkevičius|url=http://www.lituanus.org/1971/71_4_04.htm|access-date=20 February 2009|issn=0024-5089|archive-date=16 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316182357/http://www.lituanus.org/1971/71_4_04.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> <ref name=meyen>{{cite book|author=John Meyendorff|title=Byzantium and the Rise of Russia|year=1981|publisher=Cambridge University Press, reprinted by St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1989|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ndUgrTtvbkC&pg=PA56 |isbn=978-0-88141-079-2|page=56}}</ref> <ref name=nikzen>{{cite book | title=Gediminas | first=Alvydas | last=Nikžentaitis | publisher=Vyriausioji enciklopedijų redakcija | location=Vilnius | year=1989 | page=8 |oclc=27471995|language=lt}}</ref> <ref name=oconnor>{{cite book|title=Culture and Customs of the Baltic States|first=Kevin |last=O'Connor|year=2006 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IpR0-OrrwssC&pg=PA42|quote=Unlike the insincere conversion of the Lithuanian chief Mindaugas in 1251, Jogaila's embrace of Christianity, although strategic to be sure – it was the price he paid for the Polish crown – was permanent. |page=42 |isbn=0-313-32355-0}}</ref> <ref name=oconnor15>{{cite book|first=Kevin |last=O'Connor|title=The History of the Baltic States |year=2003 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b3b5nU4bnw4C&pg=PA14 |page=15 |isbn=0-313-32355-0}}</ref> <ref name=plokhy>{{cite book|title=The Origins of the Slavic Nations: Premodern Identities in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus|first=Serhii |last=Plokhy|year=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCdUmCWxwJ8C&pg=RA1-PA91 |page=91 |isbn=0-521-86403-8}}</ref> <ref name=polski>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://niniwa2.cba.pl/psb_juliusz_slowacki.htm |title=Juliusz Słowacki |encyclopedia=Polski Słownik Biograficzny |year=1999 |volume=XXXIX/1 |pages=58–73 |language=pl |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304191440/http://niniwa2.cba.pl/psb_juliusz_slowacki.htm |archive-date=4 March 2009 }}</ref> <ref name=president>{{cite web|title=Polish President pleased with the opportunity to celebrate the anniversary of King Mindaugas' coronation together with the people of Lithuania|url=http://paksas.president.lt/en/one.phtml?id=4120|publisher=President of the Republic of Lithuania|access-date=24 February 2009}}</ref> <ref name=rowell>{{cite book | title=Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire Within East-Central Europe, 1295–1345 | first=S. C. | last=Rowell | pages=51–52 | year=1994 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | series=Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series| isbn=978-0-521-45011-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i4hpVJ51y4oC&pg=PA52}}</ref> <ref name=rowell2>{{cite book | title=Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire Within East-Central Europe, 1295–1345 | first=S. C. | last=Rowell | pages=120 | year=1994 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | series=Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series| isbn=978-1-107-65876-9}}</ref> <ref name=rowell149>{{cite book| title=Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire Within East-Central Europe, 1295–1345 |first=S.C. |last=Rowell |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1994 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i4hpVJ51y4oC&pg=PA149 |page=149 | series=Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series| isbn=978-0-521-45011-9}}</ref> <ref name=rowell705>{{cite book | first=S.C. |last=Rowell | title=The New Cambridge Medieval History, c.1300–c.1415| volume=VI |chapter=Baltic Europe |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1995 |page=705|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LOS1c0w91AcC&pg=RA1-PA705 |isbn=0-521-36290-3}}</ref> <ref name=salys>{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia=Lietuvių enciklopedija | title=Mindaugas |first=Antanas |last=Salys | location=Boston, Massachusetts | publisher=Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla |year=1953–1966 |volume=XXVIII |pages=493–495 | lccn=55020366 |language=lt}}</ref> <ref name=seimas>{{in lang|lt}} [http://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter3/dokpaieska.showdoc_l?p_id=134377 Lietuvos Respublikos švenčių dienų įstatymas], Žin., 1990, Nr. 31-757, Seimas. Retrieved on 17 September 2006.</ref> <ref name=semaska>{{cite book | last=Semaška | first=Algimantas | title=Kelionių vadovas po Lietuvą: 1000 lankytinų vietovių norintiems geriau pažinti gimtąjį kraštą | edition=4th | year=2006 | publisher=Algimantas | location=Vilnius | isbn=9986-509-90-4 | page=510|language=lt}}</ref> <ref name=sesplaukis>{{cite journal|first=Alfonsas|last=Šešplaukis|title=Shakespearian Traits in Lithuanian Literature|journal=Lituanus|volume=3|issue=16|date=Fall 1970|url=http://www.lituanus.org/1970/70_3_01.htm|access-date=15 February 2009|issn=0024-5089|archive-date=19 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119065837/http://www.lituanus.org/1970/70_3_01.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> <ref name=speciun>{{cite book |others= Vytautas Spečiūnas (compiler)|title= Lietuvos valdovai (XIII-XVIII a.): enciklopedinis žinynas |year=2004 |publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas |location=Vilnius |isbn=5-420-01535-8 |pages =15–78|language=lt}}</ref> <ref name=stone>{{cite book|first=Daniel |last=Stone|title=A History of East Central Europe|year=2001|publisher=University of Washington Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LFgB_l4SdHAC&pg=PA3 |page=3|isbn=0-295-98093-1}}</ref> <ref name=suzied>{{cite encyclopedia | editor=Sužiedėlis, Simas | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Lituanica | title=Mindaugas| year=1970–1978 | publisher=Juozas Kapočius | volume=III | location=Boston, Massachusetts | pages=538–543| lccn=74-114275 }}</ref> <ref name=tourism>{{cite web|title=Cultural life|url=http://www.lithuaniatourism.co.uk/index.php?id=421|publisher=Lithuanian National Tourism Office|access-date=4 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202171811/http://www.lithuaniatourism.co.uk/index.php?id=421|archive-date=2 February 2009}}</ref> <ref name=urban>{{cite journal |journal=Lituanus |title=The Prussian-Lithuanian Frontier of 1242 |author-link=William Urban |first=William |last=Urban |volume=4 |issue=21 |date=Winter 1975 |url=http://www.lituanus.org/1975/75_4_01.htm |access-date=17 February 2009 |issn=0024-5089 |archive-date=3 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103190442/http://www.lituanus.org/1975/75_4_01.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> <ref name=vardys>{{cite book|first=Vytas Stanley |last=Vardys |author2=Judith B. Sedaitis|year=1997 |publisher=Westview Press |title=Lithuania: The Rebel Nation| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ueHRten9pX0C&pg=PA10 |page=10 |series=Westview Series on the Post-Soviet Republics |isbn=0-8133-1839-4}}</ref> <ref name=vauchez>{{cite book|first=Andre |last=Vauchez |author2=Richard Barrie Dobson |author3=Adrian Walford |author4=Michael Lapidge | title=Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages| year=2000|publisher=Routledge| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OSTvzR8FQlYC&pg=PA855 |page=855 |isbn=1-57958-282-6}}</ref> <ref name=zabiela>{{cite book |title=Lietuvos medinės pilys |first=Gintautas |last=Zabiela |year=1995 |publisher=Diemedis |location=Vilnius |isbn=9986-23-018-7 |page=175|language=lt}}</ref> <ref name=zinkev>{{cite book |first=Zigmas |last=Zinkevičius |author-link=Zigmas Zinkevičius |title=Senosios Lietuvos valstybės vardynas |location=Vilnius |year=2007 |publisher=Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Institute |isbn=978-5-420-01606-0 |pages=48–49|language=lt}}</ref> }}
{{s-start}} {{s-hou|House of Mindaugas||c. 1203||1263}} {{s-new|reason=Mindaugas's consolidation of power}} {{s-ttl|title=Ruler of Lithuania<br /><small>Grand Duke: 1236–1251, King: 1251–1263</small>| years=1236–1263}} {{s-aft|after=Treniota|as=Grand Duke}} {{s-end}}
{{Monarchs of Lithuania}} {{Authority control}}
Category:1200s births Category:Year of birth uncertain Category:1263 deaths Category:Founding monarchs in Europe Category:Grand dukes of Lithuania Category:Kings of Lithuania Category:Christians of the Prussian Crusade Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from paganism Category:13th-century Lithuanian nobility Category:13th-century monarchs in Europe Category:13th-century Roman Catholics Category:Roman Catholic monarchs Category:13th-century murdered monarchs