Vytautas baptised ‘Wigand’ (a lie)¶

What the chronicles say [Historical record]¶

Vytautas was baptised in the Catholic rite at Tapiau (Tepliava) on 21 October 1383 and took the name Wigand. The Order and Jogaila’s alliance (the Treaty of Dubysa of 31 October 1382) collapsed in June 1383, and in early September the Knights and Vytautas briefly took Trakai and unsuccessfully attacked Vilnius. Konrad Zöllner von Rotenstein had been elected Grand Master after Kniprode’s death on 24 June 1382. The date is attested in the Order’s records. The Königsberg treaty followed on 30 January 1384.

Vytautas baptised ‘Wigand’ (a lie)


Type	event
Years	1383-10-21
Status	Historical record
Book	I · The Wolf’s Exile
Chapters	19
Note	Vytautas accepts tactical baptism as ‘Wigand’ at Tapiau on 21 October 1383.

Where: Tapiau (Tepliava) (on the map)

What really happened [The saga’s invention]¶

A lying baptism. Vytautas kneels before the bishop of Sambia in a chapel full of incense that smells of cellars; every “Amen” is a nail driven into his ancestors. The stained glass cracks at the promise: Perkūnas’s warning. His amber pebble dies, cold, a plain stone: the lie breaks the connection to the elements, and the baptismal font is a consecrated place (magic §5.4). He receives the Order’s sword. Henė is among the knights in German furs.

Consequences¶

Caused by the audience at Marienburg, which follows the Dykra rescue and the refuge in Masovia. It leads to the Treaty of Königsberg.

Dramatisation¶

Book I ch. 18 “Geležinis Magistras” (Vytautas; winter 1382–83, Marienburg) and ch. 19 “Velnio Sandėris” (Vytautas; the text jumps the winter, spring and summer to 21 October 1383, Tepliava chapel).

Relations

Caused by: Vytautas before Zöllner at Marienburg

Causes: Treaty of Königsberg (Samogitia ceded)

Location: Tapiau (Tepliava)

Participants: Konrad Zöllner von Rotenstein · Vytautas

Connections¶

graph LR
  ev_konigsberg["Treaty of Königsberg (Samogitia ceded)"]
  ev_marienburg_audience["Vytautas before Zöllner at Marienburg"]
  ev_tapiau_baptism["Vytautas baptised 'Wigand' (a lie)"]
  tapiau["Tapiau (Tepliava)"]
  vytautas["Vytautas"]
  zollner["Konrad Zöllner von Rotenstein"]
  ev_tapiau_baptism -->|Location| tapiau
  ev_tapiau_baptism -->|Causes| ev_konigsberg
  zollner -->|Took part in| ev_tapiau_baptism
  vytautas -->|Took part in| ev_tapiau_baptism
  ev_marienburg_audience -->|Causes| ev_tapiau_baptism
  style ev_tapiau_baptism stroke-width:3px