Agreement of Ostrów¶

What the chronicles say [Historical record]¶

The Ostrów Agreement, 4 August 1392. The place is uncertain (Ostrów Lubelski, or a manor near Lida); talks had begun at Ritterswerder near Kaunas. Henry of Masovia, bishop-elect of Płock, was Jogaila’s secret envoy; to avoid the Order’s suspicion he married Vytautas’s sister Rymgajla. Jogaila handed the government of Lithuania to Vytautas as regent, Grand Duke in all but name under Jogaila as supreme duke. In the summer Vytautas had invited the Knights to a feast at Ritterswerder, taken most of the guests prisoner and destroyed Ritterswerder, Metenburg and Neugarten. Skirgaila was moved from Trakai to Kyiv (1395). (Wikipedia, Ostrów Agreement; Koncius, Ivinskis, Urban.)

Agreement of Ostrów


Tipas	įvykis
Metai	1392-08-04
Status	Istoriniai duomenys
Knyga	II · Auksinis Šešėlis
Pastaba	Pact of Ostrów: Vytautas reconciled with Jogaila, becoming actual ruler of Lithuania (1392).

Where: Ostrów (on the map)

What really happened [The saga’s invention]¶

Jogaila’s hands shake as they always do when he has to sign. Henė changes masters in front of everyone and bows to Vytautas, Skirgaila’s stone still in his hand. Ona will not look at her husband after the boys (by the contested tradition). Trakai is Vytautas’s again, and the flame moves from the flooded foundations to the dry vault. A new phase of his arc begins (Form 5 in the arc notes).

Consequences¶

Caused by the break at Ritterswerder (summer 1392) and so, through it, by the siege of Vilnius. In the book (and in Grunau’s contested tradition) the boys die first, in the Order’s revenge: see the poisoning of the hostage sons. Ona, released by the Order in May, confirms Ostrów in two letters, to Jogaila and Jadwiga.

Dramatisation¶

Book II ch. 10 „Astravo Sutartis“ (Jogaila; 4–5 August 1392, summer), ch. 9 „Kraujo Puta“ (the spring and summer lead-up) and ch. 11 „Trakų Raktai“ (Vytautas, autumn 1392).

Ryšiai

Caused by: The break: Ritterswerder guests seized, Order forts burned

Location: Ostrów

Participants: Jogaila · Vytautas

Sąsajos¶

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  ev_ostrow["Agreement of Ostrów"]
  ev_ritterswerder_1392["The break: Ritterswerder guests seized, Order forts burned"]
  jogaila["Jogaila"]
  ostrow["Ostrów"]
  vytautas["Vytautas"]
  ev_ostrow -->|Location| ostrow
  vytautas -->|Took part in| ev_ostrow
  jogaila -->|Took part in| ev_ostrow
  ev_ritterswerder_1392 -->|Causes| ev_ostrow
  style ev_ostrow stroke-width:3px