Tautvilas or
Tautvila (died in 1263) was Duke of
Polatsk and one of the sons of
Dausprungas and nephews of
King of Lithuania Mindaugas. Tautvilas together with his brother
Edivydas and uncle
Vykintas waged a civil war against Mindaugas. The war resulted in
coronation of Mindaugas.
In 1248, Mindaugas sent Tautvilas, Edivydas, and Vykintas to conquer
Smolensk promising that they could keep what they would conquer. On the
Protva River they defeated Duke of
Moscow but lost to the Duke of
Vladimir-Suzdal. After discovering about the failure, Mindaugas took their land and property for himself. At the beginning of 1249, Tautvilas, Edivydas, and Vykintas fled to
Daniel of Halych, who was married to Tautvilas' sister. They formed a powerful coalition with the
Samogitians, the
Livonian Order, and Vasilko of
Volhynia in opposition to Mindaugas. An internal war erupted. While Daniel and the Livonian Order were organizing military campaigns into Mindaugas lands, Tautvilas travelled to
Riga, where he was baptized by
the Archbishop in 1250.
Mindaugas thwarted the coalition by agreeing to baptize and relinquish control over some lands in the western Lithuania, for which he was to receive a crown in return. The Livonian Order became an ally. In 1252, Tautvilas and the remaining allies attacked Mindaugas in
Voruta, sometimes considered to be the first capital of Lithuania. The attack failed and Tautvilas' forces retreated to defend themselves in Vykintas castle in the present-day
Rietavas municipality. Neither side seems to have won, but Vykintas died in or about 1253, and Tautvilas was forced to flee to Halych. There he helped Daniel in an unsuccessful campaign against
Bohemia. Daniel reconciled with Mindaugas in 1254 and Tautvilas recognized Mindaugas' superiority. In return he received
Polatsk as a
fiefdom.
While governing Polatsk, his main concern was to secure a trading route from Polatsk along the
Daugava to the upper
Dnieper River. Tautvilas managed to take away
Vitebsk from Dukes of
Navahradak. His son Constantine became the ruler of Vitebsk. After Mindaugas was assassinated by
Treniota and
Daumantas, Tautvilas wished to assume the title of
Grand Duke of Lithuania, but was killed by cousin Treniota in 1263.