Letters of Gediminas

Gediminas enumerated many crimes and damages done by the knights; for example, he claimed that his predecessor Vytenis sent a letter to the Franciscan friars asking for two brothers who could come to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to look after a local church.

Gediminas invited knights, squires, merchants, doctors, smiths, wheelwrights, cobblers, skinners, millers, and others to come to the Grand Duchy and practice their trade and faith without any restrictions.

The third letter addressed to Lübeck, Rostock, Sund, Greifswald, Stetin, Gotland cities was written on May 26, 1323.

Gediminas, in anticipation of his baptism, invited priests and friars to come to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

In the letter to the Dominicans, Gediminas mentioned that his seal was burned by the Teutonic Knights.

The last surviving letter was written on September 22, 1324 and was addressed to the bishop of Tartu, Erzel, ruler of Tallinn land, and Council of Riga.

Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania
Transcript of Gediminas' letter, which is the oldest known mentioning of Lithuanian capital Vilnius in written sources (25 January 1323)