The break: Ritterswerder guests seized, Order forts burned¶
What the chronicles say [Historical record]¶
Ritterswerder was built by the Order in autumn 1391 on a Nemunas island near Lampėdžiai. In summer 1392 (July) Vytautas invited the Knights to festivities there, took most of the prominent guests prisoner, and destroyed Ritterswerder, Metenburg and Neugarten near Grodno (en.wikipedia, Civil War 1389-92 and Ostrów Agreement). No source gives a day. In May the Order had released Ona so that she could travel to Lithuania and spread pro-Lithuanian rumours; Žygimantas stayed a hostage.
The break: Ritterswerder guests seized, Order forts burned
The break: Ritterswerder guests seized, Order forts burned · event¶
Tipas |
įvykis |
Metai |
1392-07 |
Status |
Istoriniai duomenys |
Knyga |
|
Skyriai |
9 |
Pastaba |
Summer 1392; no source gives a day (the saga’s Rasos night is invention). |
What really happened [The saga’s invention]¶
The important guests are seized and the rest of the garrison is put out alive. The Rasos (St John’s) night of the burning is the saga’s invention. The Order hears of the burned forts; by a contested tradition it takes its revenge on the hostage sons.
Consequences¶
Caused by the siege of Vilnius. Leads to the Agreement of Ostrów and, by the tradition, the poisoning.
Dramatisation¶
Book II ch. 9 „Kraujo Puta“ (Vytautas; spring to summer 1392, the Nemunas and Prussia).
Ryšiai
Caused by: Siege of Vilnius (11 Sep - 7 Oct); Crooked Castle falls 16 Sep
Causes: Agreement of Ostrów · Vytautas’s hostage sons poisoned (Grunau tradition, contested) — Contested tradition: the Order’s revenge after the break, before Ostrów.
Location: Ritterswerder (Nemunas island near Lampėdžiai)
Participants: Vytautas
Sąsajos¶
graph LR
ev_ostrow["Agreement of Ostrów"]
ev_ritterswerder_1392["The break: Ritterswerder guests seized, Order forts burned"]
ev_sons_poisoned["Vytautas's hostage sons poisoned (Grunau tradition, contested)"]
ev_vilnius_siege_1390["Siege of Vilnius (11 Sep - 7 Oct); Crooked Castle falls 16 Sep"]
ritterswerder["Ritterswerder (Nemunas island near Lampėdžiai)"]
vytautas["Vytautas"]
ev_ritterswerder_1392 -->|Location| ritterswerder
ev_ritterswerder_1392 -->|Causes| ev_sons_poisoned
ev_ritterswerder_1392 -->|Causes| ev_ostrow
ev_vilnius_siege_1390 -->|Causes| ev_ritterswerder_1392
vytautas -->|Took part in| ev_ritterswerder_1392
style ev_ritterswerder_1392 stroke-width:3px