Kestutis

Died 1382. Prince of Trakai and Žemaitija. The son of Gediminas.

After 1345, Kęstutis essentially shared power in the Grand Principality of Lithuania with his elder brother, Grand Prince Algirdas. Kęstutis played a significant role in the struggle of the Lithuanian people against the aggression of the Teutonic Order. He dealt an especially severe blow to the forces of the order in 1370, when an army of his troops and those of Algirdas and other Lithuanian princes, as well as Russian regiments, vanquished the crusaders at Rūdava, not far from Königsberg. Kęstutis also took part in the expansionist campaigns of Algirdas directed against the Russian lands. In 1381, Kęstutis rebelled against the son of Algirdas, Jogaila (Jagello), who at the time was collaborating with the Teutonic Order. He was killed in 1382 at the order of Jogaila.