Daumantas of Pskov

Daumantas^[a] (c. 1221/1240 – 20 May 1299) was a Lithuanian nobleman who reigned as Prince of Pskov from 1266 until he died in 1299. Originally a Duke of Nalšia in the Kingdom of Lithuania, Daumantas fled internal political conflict and sought refuge in Pskov, eventually becoming its ruler. Under his leadership, Pskov asserted greater political autonomy and achieved de facto independence from Novgorod.^[2][3][4]

Daumantas of Pskov
Fresco of Dovmont in the Trinity Cathedral, Pskov c. 14th century
Duke of Nalšia
Reign	1255 – 1266
Predecessor	Daujotas (?)
Successor	Gerdenis
Prince of Pskov
Reign	1266 – 1299
Predecessor	Svyatoslav of Tver
Successor	David of Grodno
Born	c. 1221/1240
Died	20 May 1299
Burial	Trinity Cathedral, Pskov
Issue	David of Grodno (?)
Religion	Lithuanian polytheism (c. 1221/1240–1265) Orthodox (1265–1299)

Our Lady of Mirozh with Daumantas and his wife Maria from the Mirozhsky Monastery

Daumantas was later canonized by the Eastern Orthodox Church for his righteous rule and defense of the city. He is venerated as a local saint, with his feast day commemorated on 20 May.^[5]

Life in Lithuania

Until 1265, Daumantas^[6] was Duke of Nalšia, a northern province of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Daumantas is first mentioned indirectly in historical sources around 1252 as Lithuanian King Mindaugas' brother-in-law, who participated in the defence of the king's castle in Voruta. Young, noble, and loyal to Mindaugas, Duke Daumantas of Nalšia was elevated to the heights of kinship with the king himself. Daumantas married the sister of Mindaugas' second wife, Queen Morta of Lithuania. When Queen Morta died in 1262, King Mindaugas offended his brother-in-law Daumantas by inviting his wife to mourn the deceased queen, and after the funeral, he kept her as his wife so that she could raise his young children – allegedly at Morta's request before she died.^[7]

At that time, two relatives of Mindaugas secretly sought the Lithuanian throne: his cousin, the Duke of Samogitia Treniota and his brother, the Duke of Polotsk Tautvilas. Daumantas conspired with them to remove the King of Lithuania in revenge. In the autumn of 1263, Daumantas killed Mindaugas and his sons Ruklys and Repeikis, and Treniota became the de facto new King of Lithuania. During Treniota's reign in 1263–1264, Daumantas lived undisturbed in Lithuania and retained the title of Duke of Nalšia.^[7] According to the Bychowiec Chronicle (a late and not very reliable source), Daumantas additionally received the title of Duke of Utena as his reward.^{[citation needed]}

Treniota did not remain in power for long, as Mindaugas' supporters soon assassinated him. In 1264, supported by Lithuanian soldiers from Navahrudak, Pinsk, and allied with Duke Shvarn of Galicia–Volhynia, Mindaugas' son Vaišelga returned to Lithuania in 1264 to reclaim his father's throne. He started wiping out his family's enemies in the Duchies of Nalšia, and Deltuva. Seeing this, Daumantas fled to Pskov Republic with his family and army of 300 men.^[7]

Ruler of Pskov

Daumantas on the Millennium of Russia monument in Veliky Novgorod

The sudden arrival of hundreds of Lithuanians in Pskov frightened and angered the people of Novgorod Republic, who even attempted to kill the fugitives. They were defended and baptized into Eastern Orthodoxy by Prince Sviatoslav, the son of Prince Yaroslav of Novgorod.^[7] Daumantas was given the baptismal name of Timothy (Timofey) and married a daughter of Dmitry of Pereslavl, son of Alexander Nevsky. After settling in Pskov, Daumantas led Pskovian armies against the Lithuanians and forced them to retreat to the banks of the Daugava River. He directed his revenge against the new Duke of Nalšia, Gerdenis, who was loyal to Vaišelga. In 1266–1267, Daumantas attacked his enemies in northeastern Lithuania three times. During the attacks, he kidnapped Girdenis' wife and two sons (one of whom would later become Bishop Andrius of Tver).^[7] Daumantas' success of his military expertise persuaded the Pskovians to elect him as their knyaz, or military leader.^[8]

Daumantas' election was never sanctioned by the Novgorod Republic, which had traditionally controlled the Pskovian affairs. Prince Yaroslav of Novgorod planned to punish the Pskovians for making that choice and oust Daumantas from the city, but the Novgorodians refused to support Yaroslav's campaign and, joining their forces with the Pskovians, invaded Lithuania the following year. Daumantas was again in command and returned to Pskov in triumph.^{[citation needed]}

In January 1268, the Pskovian-Novgorodian alliance was cemented when they invaded Danish Estonia together. The Pskovians, led by Daumantas, joined their forces with the Novgorodians led by Alexander Nevsky's son Dmitry and looted the Danish Estonian countryside, but were defeated by the combined forces of vassals of the Danish crown, Livonian Knights and local Estonian militia^[9] in the Battle of Rakvere (18 February 1268, near modern-day Rakvere). The following year Master of the Livonian Order, Otto von Lutterberg, led the Livonian forces to the territory of Pskov, burned Izborsk castle and laid siege to Pskov itself, but Daumantas, after receiving support from the Novgorodians, managed to conclude a truce with the Livonians.^[10]

Later years and legacy

Daumantas Town in Pskov.

In 1270, Yaroslav again attempted to interfere in Pskovian affairs and to replace Daumantas with a puppet ruler. The Pskovians stood up for Daumantas, forcing Yaroslav to abandon his plans. In order to strengthen his position, Daumantas married Dmitry's daughter, Maria. In 1282, when his father-in-law was ousted from Vladimir to Koporye, Daumantas made a sally into Ladoga, where he captured Dmitry's treasury from the Novgorodians and transported it to Koporye. Thereupon, his name disappears from the chronicles for some seventeen years.

In 1299, the Livonian Order unexpectedly invaded north-western Russia and laid siege to Pskov. Having expelled them from the republic, Daumantas abruptly lapsed into illness and died, survived by his alleged son, David of Hrodna. He was buried in the Trinity Cathedral, where his sword and personal effects would be on exhibit until the 20th century.

The remains of Daumantas are held in Pskov's main Trinity Cathedral

According to the Pskovian Chronicles, no ruler was loved by the citizens of Pskov more than Daumantas; they particularly praised his military skills and wisdom. After the Russian Orthodox Church canonized him, he came to be regarded as a patron saint of Pskov (on par with Vsevolod Mstislavich). The fortifications erected by Dovmont in Pskov's downtown became known as the "Daumantas Town". A church to the memory of the blessed prince Daumantas-Timofei was consecrated there in 1574.

In the 1990s, Russian author Sergey Kalitin wrote a novel, Hour of the Wolf, about the life of Daumantas and his transition from a "minor Lithuanian noble" to Prince of Pskov.

Notes

1. For the sake of simplicity, the original Lithuanian personal name Daumantas is used in the first part of this article concerning his activities in Lithuania, while the Russian version Dovmont is used in his affairs connected with Pskov. Daumantas is also known as Daumantas Pskoviškis, Domantas, Dovmont, Russian: Довмонт and a Christian name: Timothy (Тимофей)^[1]