Anna, Grand Duchess of Lithuania

Anna, Grand Duchess of Lithuania
16th-century miniature of Anna
Grand Duchess of Lithuania
Reign	4 August 1392 – 31 July 1418
Died	31 July 1418 Trakai
Burial	Vilnius Cathedral
Spouse	Vytautas
Issue	Sophia of Lithuania
Father	Disputed

Anna (Lithuanian: Ona Vytautienė; died on 31 July 1418 in Trakai) was Grand Duchess of Lithuania (1392–1418). She probably was the first wife of Vytautas the Great, Grand Duke of Lithuania. Anna was mother of Sophia of Lithuania, the only child of Vytautas and wife of Vasily I of Moscow. She is best remembered for helping Vytautas to escape from a prison in Kreva in 1382 and thus probably saving his life. Little is known about Anna's life and even her origins remain disputed by historians.

Likely Anna and Vytautas were married around 1370. Anna first comes to light in 1382 when her husband was imprisoned in the Kreva Castle by his cousin Jogaila during the Lithuanian Civil War (1381–1384). While all accounts agree that she freed her husband, details vary from source to source. It is unclear how much freedom Anna had in Kreva and if she was guarded. It is written in the Lithuanian Chronicles that she had two maids with her. She convinced one of them to exchange clothes with Vytautas who then escaped undetected.Wigand of Marburg claimed that Vytautas dressed in Anna's clothes rather than one of Anna's maids. It is believed that Anna remained in Kreva and no information is available on how she escaped or was released.Teodor Narbutt (1784–1864) later added many colorful details to the story, including Vytautas illness and maid Alena, who sacrificed herself to save her master.

In 1389, when her husband's coup to capture Vilnius failed, she was in Hrodna. After the failed coup Anna followed her husband to the Teutonic Knights, where Vytautas asked for an alliance against his cousins Jogaila and Skirgaila in the Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392). For a while she was held hostage to guarantee that Vytautas would not break the alliance. After the disagreements were settled in 1392, Anna confirmed the Ostrów Agreement, the peace treaty which made Vytautas the Grand Duke of Lithuania. She signed two letters, one given to Jogaila and another to his wife Jadwiga of Poland. Anna continued to be active in political life and attended negotiations for the Treaty of Salynas (1398).