Love and politics : Traidenis marries off his daughter

Abstract

During the reign of Traidenis, the Grand Duke of Lithuania (1268–1282), the relationship between Lithuania and Masovia, then an important Polish principality, became ever more strong. A new turn in the politics was manifested by the then usual act of establishing a marriage alliance: in 1279 the daughter of Traidenis was given in marriage to one of the two Masovian princely sons, Boleslaw II. This article attempts to give an answer to the questions why and how the closer political relations came to be established between the Masovian dukes and Lithuania. The answer is provided by taking into consideration the different politico-military camps and their activities within Polish principalities and Halich-Volhyn’, in which Lithuania was also involved. The investigation of the circumstances of the marriage allows to make a conclusion that the marriage of Traidenis’s daughter was a deal that was agreed upon by Traidenis, Duke Lev Danilovich of Halich-Volhyn’, and Boleslaw II of Masovia. Lev Danilovich drew Traidenis closer to himself becoming his relative. In turn, Traidenis gained a strong ally in the lands south of Lithuania. It may be stated that Boleslav II’s becoming a son-in-law of Traidenis was a premeditated step which seemed attractive to Traidenis owing to his efforts to safeguard good relations only with such strong partners as Lev Danilovich and the Tartar warlord Nogay. Perhaps he was also able to discern another strong political camp whose members were the Polish allies of Boleslaw II, Leszko the Black, and Wladyslaw Łokietek, sons of the Duke of Kujavja, and thus may have been interested in gaining political benefits from cooperation with this camp. Playing two cards at the same time, Traidenis was an excellent leader of his state without becoming a puppet of either any Polish or any Russian political faction