Rimgailė Explained

Rimgailė (also Rymgajla, Rimgaila, Ringaila, Polish: Ryngałła, Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Ringala) (b. ~1370 CE)^[1] was daughter of Birutė and Kęstutis, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and thus sister of Vytautas the Great.^[2]

Rimgailė (feminine) or Rimgailas (masculine) is a typical dual-stemmed pagan Lithuanian name constructed from rim- (rimti - "be calm") + gail- (*gailas - "strong"), which is quite common in Lithuania at present.^[3]

By marriage with Henry of Masovia, she was Princess of Masovia for about one year, until the death of her husband (winter of 1392 - 1393).^{[4] [5]} Jan Długosz in his chronicles wrote that to marry her Henry resigned from the title of Bishop of Płock. Henry's death was allegedly due to poison, with Rimgailė as one of the potential suspects.^[6]

Her second marriage (1419–1421) was with Alexander the Good, Voivode of Moldavia (1400 - 1432).^{[7] [8]} Upon their politically motivated divorce she was given the customs of the town of Siret and 40 villages.^{[9] [10]} Also, as part of the divorce settlement Alexander the Good promised to pay her lifetime income worth 600 Hungarian gold ducats or florins payable in two installments.^[11]

Notes and References

1. Book: Kultūros barai . 2013 . LTSR Kultūros ministerija . lt.
2. Book: Revista de istorie . 1982 . Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România. . ro.
3. Meaning of the name
4. Gudavičius, Edvardas (1999). Lietuvos istorija. Nuo seniausių laikų iki 1569 metų, p.173. .
5. Book: Stoian, Mihai . Nici cuceritori, nici cuceriți . 1982 . Editura Eminescu . ro.
6. Book: Urban, William . The Last Years of the Teutonic Knights: Lithuania, Poland and the Teutonic Order . 2018-11-30 . Greenhill Books . 978-1-78438-358-9 . en.
7. Book: Ruzé, Alain . La Moldova: entre la Roumanie et la Russie : de Pierre le Grand à Boris Eltsine . 1997 . L'Harmattan . 978-2-7384-6018-9 . fr.
8. Book: Radvan, Laurentiu . At Europe's Borders: Medieval Towns in the Romanian Principalities . 2010-01-28 . BRILL . 978-90-474-4460-2 . en.
9. Book: Solcan, Sarolta . Femeile din Moldova, Transilvania și Țara Românească în evul mediu . 2005 . Editura Universității din București . 978-973-737-066-2 . ro.
10. Book: Rădvan, Laurenţiu . Orașele din Țările Române în Evul Mediu: (sfârșitul sec. al XIII-lea-începutul sec. al XVI-lea) . 2011 . Laurentiu Radvan . 978-973-703-693-3 . ro.
11. Octavian Iliescu, "The History of Coins in Romania", Editura Encyclopedica, Bucharest, 2002