Saint Daumantas of Pskov

Daumantas (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. 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. Until 1265, Daumantas 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. 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.