Mykolas Kęsgaila

Who was Mykolas Kęsgaila?

Mykolas Kęsgaila Valimantaitis was a Lithuanian nobleman from Deltuva. He established the Kęsgailos family in Samogitia, where their power rivaled that of the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Mykolas Kęsgaila was the deputy of Ukmergė, Elder of Samogitia, and castellan of Vilnius. He was a father of Jonas Kęsgaila and Mykolas Kęsgaila the Younger.

Mykolas, son of Valimantas, was first mentioned in the Union of Vilnius and Radom of 1401. He was a strong supporter of Grand Duke Vytautas, who awarded the loyal ally with the seat of Elder of Samogitia as Mykolas' mother was of Samogitian stock. Mykolas presided over Christianization of Samogitia in 1413, subdued a peasant rebellion in 1418, and foiled a plot by nobles against Vytautas in 1419.

In 1430, after the death of Vytautas, Mykolas Kęsgaila and his brothers Rumbaudas and Jaunius Valimantaitis supported the accession of Švitrigaila to the Lithuanian throne. He signed the Treaty of Skirsnemunė of 1431 – alliance of Švitrigaila with the Teutonic Knights during the Lithuanian Civil War. After Sigismund Kęstutaitis seized power, Mykolas and his brothers were imprisoned. Rumbaudas and Jaunius were executed, while Mykolas managed to restore his power and domains. Possibly, such an outcome was influenced by Mykolas' daughter, the wife of Sigismund's influential ally Jonas Goštautas. Mykolas witnessed the Union of Grodno of 1432 between Sigismund and Jogaila, King of Poland.