Vytautas dies at Trakai; the Last Flame goes out¶

What the chronicles say [Historical record]¶

Vytautas (born c. 1350; a minority puts it at 1354–55) died on 27 October 1430 at Trakai Island Castle, uncrowned. He had been well until a sudden decline after a fall from his horse on the road from Vilnius to Trakai about 15–16 October, while escorting Jogaila (Długosz, written c. 30 years later; Petrauskas doubts details; Kraszewski adds an ulcer between the shoulder blades). On 21 October he issued a testamentary donation to Vilnius cathedral naming his burial place, St Michael’s altar beside Ona. He was bedridden about eleven days. He died „in Jogaila’s arms“ (pl.wikipedia, Kraszewski), with Julijona and Bishop Matthias hearing confession; Švitrigaila was already acting as lord at Trakai (Kraszewski). He was buried in Vilnius cathedral about eight days later (Kraszewski: 7 November). The crown embassy had been blocked in August (the crown intercepted). Whether the fall was an accident, a fever, a plot (some later writers suspected one; there is no evidence) or all three is unrecorded. Sources: pl.wikisource, Litwa za Witolda (1430); en/pl Wikipedia on Vytautas; the 15min.lt summary of Petrauskas’s argument.

Vytautas dies at Trakai; the Last Flame goes out


Tipas	įvykis
Metai	1430-10-27
Status	Istoriniai duomenys
Knyga	IV · Nematoma Karūna
Pastaba	Vytautas dies at Trakai on 27 October 1430; the secret Last Flame goes out.

Where: Trakai (on the map)

What really happened [The saga’s invention]¶

On the morning of 27 October he feels better, eats soup and sees the lake through the window with a thin film of ice and cranes going south. He has turned Giltinė once, buying a week, which he spent on Žiežirba: the pebble and the silver wolf will go to him through Pilkoji. He dies as one promise is kept: „Neužgeso.“ The pebble cracks and a small hard round thing falls on the floor and rolls: Henė’s stone, two to one. In the vault below, the Last Flame goes out, „like a pot taken off the fire“. He hears with both ears at last, and his mother says his true name, the one she whispered once in the tower at Trakai forty-eight years before. He waits for thunder. There is none: Perkūnas holds his storm, not from anger but out of respect. The vilkatai feel their true names go up the last smoke. Jogaila sits in the corridor outside, not asking to be let in.

Consequences¶

His death ends the Last Flame promise and leads to Žygimantas’s coup at Ašmena (the war of the heirs) and to the seizure of Podolia. The vilkatai die with the flame: new wolves can be made only at a living flame.

The vilkatai die with the flame: new wolves can be made only at a living flame.

Dramatisation¶

Book IV ch. 24 „Vilniaus Laukimas“ (Jogaila), ch. 25 „Kritimas“ (Vytautas; mid-October), ch. 26 „Paskutinis Susitikimas“ (Jogaila), ch. 27 „Šaknų Motinos Atsisveikinimas“ (Eglė; the night of 19–20 October), ch. 28 „Giltinė prie Lovos“ (20–26 October), ch. 29 „Vilko Mirtis“ (Vytautas; 27 October 1430, evening; the Trakai island castle) and ch. 30 „Epilogas: Nematoma Karūna“ (Henė; Lake Galvė, late autumn). The same night is replayed from the vault in Book V ch. 1 „Paskutinis Atodūsis“ (Birutė frame; Žiežirba).

Ryšiai

Caused by: Crown embassy blocked at the Polish border (Aug 1430); Vytautas refuses Henė — Vytautas postpones the coronation and dies uncrowned.

Causes: Polish lords seize Podolia after Vytautas’s death · Žygimantas’s coup at Ašmena

Ends: The Last Flame promise

Location: Trakai

Participants: Pilkoji (the Grey One, Vilkų Motina) — Eglė’s four names fall into her as the flame dies. · Vytautas · Zacharijas (Elijas’s younger son, Karaim) — At the vault door in 1430. · Žiežirba (the Flame-Keeper, Book V POV) — Witness of the flame going out.

Sąsajos¶

graph LR
  ev_coup_1432["Žygimantas's coup at Ašmena"]
  ev_crown_intercepted["Crown embassy blocked at the Polish border (Aug 1430); Vytautas refuses Henė"]
  ev_podolia_seized["Polish lords seize Podolia after Vytautas's death"]
  ev_vytautas_dies["Vytautas dies at Trakai; the Last Flame goes out"]
  flame_keeper["Žiežirba (the Flame-Keeper, Book V POV)"]
  flame_promise["The Last Flame promise"]
  pilkoji["Pilkoji (the Grey One, Vilkų Motina)"]
  trakai["Trakai"]
  vytautas["Vytautas"]
  zacharijas["Zacharijas (Elijas's younger son, Karaim)"]
  ev_vytautas_dies -->|Location| trakai
  ev_vytautas_dies -->|Ends| flame_promise
  ev_vytautas_dies -->|Causes| ev_coup_1432
  ev_vytautas_dies -->|Causes| ev_podolia_seized
  vytautas -->|Took part in| ev_vytautas_dies
  ev_crown_intercepted -->|Causes| ev_vytautas_dies
  pilkoji -->|Took part in| ev_vytautas_dies
  flame_keeper -->|Took part in| ev_vytautas_dies
  zacharijas -->|Took part in| ev_vytautas_dies
  style ev_vytautas_dies stroke-width:3px