Vytautas escapes Krėva in the maid’s clothes¶

What the chronicles say [Historical record]¶

Vytautas escaped from Krėva in the autumn of 1382 with the help of his wife Ona. The accounts disagree on how. In the Lithuanian chronicles she brings two maids and persuades one to exchange clothes with Vytautas; Wigand of Marburg has him wearing Ona’s own clothes; other versions have him lowered in a wicker basket from a window. Ona’s role never varies. The fate of the maid, and of Ona, is unclear; Ona probably stayed in Krėva. Vytautas fled to Masovia, to his sister Danutė and her husband Janusz I of Warsaw (the English Wikipedia adds Siemowit IV), and finally to the Teutonic Knights.

Vytautas escapes Krėva in the maid’s clothes


Tipas	įvykis
Metai	1382
Status	Istoriniai duomenys
Knyga	I · Vilko Tremtis
Skyriai	13, 14
Pastaba	Vytautas escapes Krėva disguised in Ona’s maid’s clothes in late autumn 1382.

Where: Krėva (on the map)

What really happened [The saga’s invention]¶

On the eve of Vėlinės, with the Wind at its zenith, Birutė in Palanga raises a real sea-fog over the Krėva yard, through the amber pebble she anchored with her blood. The Law of Truth forbids illusion, so no one is deceived: they simply cannot see. The fog costs her voice. The maid is called Elena in the saga; she takes his bed and stays, and is executed. Ona plays the broken widow, smuggling in the dress and a draught, and when a drunk guard stops Vytautas in the yard the fog does the rest.

Consequences¶

Caused by the death of Kęstutis. It leads to the rescue through the Dykra and the refuge in Masovia.

Dramatisation¶

Book I ch. 12 „Gedulo Skraistė“ (Ona, Krėva), ch. 13 „Keitimas“ (Vytautas; the dress and the haircut), ch. 14 „Šešėlis Naktyje“ (Vytautas; the fog), autumn 1382. The text places ch. 12 on the day of the death, the record some weeks later.

Ryšiai

Caused by: Kęstutis strangled at Krėva

Causes: Eglė leads Vytautas through the Dykra · Vytautas shelters with Janusz I in Masovia

Location: Krėva

Participants: Birutė — Via the pebble anchor (fog). · Elena (Ona’s maid) · Ona

Sąsajos¶

graph LR
  birute["Birutė"]
  elena["Elena (Ona's maid)"]
  ev_dykra_rescue["Eglė leads Vytautas through the Dykra"]
  ev_kestutis_death["Kęstutis strangled at Krėva"]
  ev_kreva_escape["Vytautas escapes Krėva in the maid's clothes"]
  ev_masovia_refuge["Vytautas shelters with Janusz I in Masovia"]
  kreva["Krėva"]
  ona["Ona"]
  ev_kreva_escape -->|Causes| ev_dykra_rescue
  ev_kreva_escape -->|Causes| ev_masovia_refuge
  ev_kreva_escape -->|Location| kreva
  ev_kestutis_death -->|Causes| ev_kreva_escape
  ona -->|Took part in| ev_kreva_escape
  elena -->|Took part in| ev_kreva_escape
  birute -->|Took part in| ev_kreva_escape
  style ev_kreva_escape stroke-width:3px