Gediminas' Cap

Gediminas' Cap (Gedimino kepurė) was the most important regalia of the Lithuanian monarchs who ruled the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until the Union of Lublin in 1569. During the inaugurations of Lithuanian monarchs, Gediminas' Cap was placed on the monarch's heads by the Bishop of Vilnius in Vilnius Cathedral.

Its name comes from Grand Duke Gediminas (c. 1275–1341), the founder of the Gediminids dynasty and patrilineal ancestor of Lithuanian rulers from the Kęstutaičiai and Jagiellonian dynasties,  and symbolized the dynasty's continuity.

The cap is mentioned in 16th-century sources and was kept in the Lithuanian state treasury. It is depicted as a round unsegmented headdress in an armorial compiled for Paweł Holszański. Since 1547 Gediminas' Cap was minted on Lithuanian coins above the coat of arms of Lithuania.

Gediminas' Cap lost its significance following the Union of Lublin in 1569 which abolished a separate inauguration of the Lithuanian monarchs in Vilnius Cathedral.

In the 20th century, following the Act of Independence of Lithuania, Lithuanian litas banknotes were issued with a portrait of Vytautas the Great wearing Gediminas' Cap to commemorate his 500th death anniversary in 1930. In 1936, new design 10 litas coins were minted also with a portrait of Vytautas the Great wearing Gediminas' Cap.

Titles of Lithuanian monarchs


Following the recognition by Pope Innocent IV, Mindaugas was crowned as King of Lithuania in July 1253 with a crown manufactured in Riga and provided by Andreas von Stirland, the master of the Livonian Order. Moreover, Pope Alexander IV granted a right to crown Mindaugas' son. In the fall of 1263, Mindaugas and his sons Ruklys and Rupeikis were killed and the fate of his royal crown remains unknown.

Subsequent Lithuanian monarchs initially were titled as kings when communicating with Western countries and as Grand Dukes in communications with Ruthenia and tatars. Gediminas titled himself as King of Lithuania and Ruthenians, Duke of Semigallia while Pope John XXII referred to Gediminas as King of Lithuania and many Ruthenians.

Since 1377, Jogaila titled himself as King of Lithuania, however in 1385 he agreed in the Union of Krewo that the Lithuanian monarchs would be titled only as the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. The title of the Grand Duke of Lithuania mostly came into force during the reign of Grand Duke Vytautas the Great, who concluded the Ostrów Agreement with his cousin Jogaila in 1392 and the agreement was confirmed in the Pact of Vilnius and Radom in 1401. Since then Jogaila was titled the Supreme Duke of Lithuania. Vytautas the Great gained the factual rule of Lithuania, which was recognized by the treaties. In 1398, the Lithuanian nobility declared Vytautas the Great as the King of Lithuania and, following the Congress of Lutsk in 1430, the crowning was sanctioned by Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor. However, Vytautas died before the crown arrived.

Jogaila's brother Švitrigaila also sought to be crowned as King of Lithuania and Emperor Sigismund planned to arrive at Švitrigaila's crowning in Prussia, but the Lithuanian Civil War (1432–1438) broke out in which Švitrigaila and his supporters were defeated.

Jogaila's son Władysław III also titled himself as the Supreme Duke of Lithuania. John I Albert unilaterally declared himself as the Supreme Duke of Lithuania in 1492, but this title was rejected by the Lithuanian Council of Lords.

In 1544–1548 Sigismund I the Old expressed his supreme monarchical authority in Lithuania by again using the Supreme Duke of Lithuania title when his son Sigismund II Augustus was his vicegerent in Lithuania.

Inaugurations of Lithuanian monarchs


The inaugurations of the Lithuanian monarchs were held in Vilnius Cathedral and consisted of the placement of Gediminas' Cap on the Lithuanian ruler's head and the presentation of a sword. The cap was placed on the head by the Bishop of Vilnius and the sword was presented by the Grand Marshal of Lithuania. The regalia of Vytautas the Great consisted of Gediminas' Cap, sword, ring, flag, and seal.

The first inauguration ceremony of a Lithuanian Grand Duke about which there is reliable information is that of Casimir IV Jagiellon, as reported by Jan Długosz. Casimir IV was sent by his older brother King of Poland and Hungary, Supreme Duke of Lithuania Władysław III, to Lithuania to rule in his name. But instead he was elected as Grand Duke upon his arrival to Vilnius on June 29, 1440, with the ringing of church bells and the singing of the Te Deum laudamus. This was breaching the agreements of the Union of Grodno (1432) and terminating the Polish–Lithuanian union. It manifested Lithuania as a sovereign state and its ruler Casimir IV Jagiellon stressed himself as a "free lord" (pan – dominus). According to historian Edvardas Gudavičius, Bishop of Vilnius put a Gediminas' Cap in the Vilnius Cathedral on his head, despite the Polish nobility's opposition.

Another documented inauguration is the enthronement of Alexander Jagiellon in 1492. Alexander was appointed Grand Duke by his father, nevertheless, a formal election of the ruler was held as part of a general assembly, which was attended for the first time by representatives from all the lands of the Grand Duchy. The course of the ceremony was documented by Maciej Stryjkowski, who reported that after the election lords elevated Alexander in the cathedral. The newly elected ruler was dressed "in a ducal cap with pearls and precious stones set in it, also the usual robe that today the princes of the Reich wear at the imperial coronation." Then Bishop of Vilnius Wojciech Tabor blessed him and held a pastoral exhortation over him. Then the Grand Marshal of Lithuania Petras Jonaitis Mantigirdaitis handed Alexander a bare sword and a sceptre. Subsequently, the Poles considered electing Alexander Jagiellon as the King of Poland, however instead of him John I Albert was elected as the King of Poland in August 1492 and this led to another termination of the Polish–Lithuanian union.

Stryjkowski also relayed the election and inauguration of Sigismund I as Grand Duke of Lithuania on October 20, 1509. The ceremony was again attended by Bishop Wojciech Tabor, who this time not only blessed but also placed a cap on the ruler's head. In turn, Grand Marshal Michael Glinski presented him with a sword. Sigismund received the oath of the Lithuanian lords while sitting on the throne. According to Stryjkowski, the cap was: "of red velvet with gold spheres set with precious stones".

The last ceremony to elevate a grand duke took place on October 18, 1529, when Sigismund Augustus was elevated to this dignity during his father's lifetime. The ceremony occurred in the great hall of the newly built lower castle, as the cathedral burned down that same year. The young Sigismund Augustus sat on the throne between his parents, surrounded by members of the council of lords. The cap was placed on the ruler's head by the Bishop of Vilnius, while the Grand Marshal presented him with a sword.

Following the Union of Lublin, which formed the federative Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569, and the death of the last Gediminid ruler Sigismund II Augustus in 1572, separate inaugurations in Vilnius Cathedral were abolished, therefore Gediminas' Cap lost its ceremonial significance. The insignias of the Lithuanian rulers were not preserved and following the Union of Lublin only the seal (kept by the Grand Chancellor of Lithuania) and the flag (carried near the ruler by the Grand Flag Bearer of Lithuania) remained.

The demand of a separate inauguration ceremony of the Grand Duke of Lithuania was raised by the nobles of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (e.g. Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł, Eustachy Wołłowicz, Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, Konstanty Ostrogski) during the negotiations of the Union of Lublin, however it was not officially included into it. On 20 April 1576 a congress of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania's nobles was held in Grodno which adopted an Universal, signed by the participating Lithuanian nobles, which announced that if the delegates of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania will feel pressure from the Poles in the Election sejm, the Lithuanians will not be obliged by an oath of the Union of Lublin and will have the right to select a separate monarch. On 29 May 1580, bishop Merkelis Giedraitis in the Vilnius Cathedral presented Grand Duke Stephen Báthory (King of Poland since 1 May 1576) a luxuriously decorated sword and a hat adorned with pearls (both were sanctified by Pope Gregory XIII himself), while this ceremony manifested the sovereignty of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and had the meaning of elevation of the new Grand Duke of Lithuania, this way ignoring the stipulations of the Union of Lublin. Nevertheless, per Union of Lublin the rulers of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were elected in joint Polish–Lithuanian election sejms until the Third Partition in 1795 and received separate titles of the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. During the coronations of joint Polish–Lithuanian monarchs, the Polish crown was also announced as a property of both the Polish and Lithuanian nobles.