Morta of Lithuania
Morta was the Grand Duchess and subsequently Queen consort of Lithuania upon the accession of her husband, Mindaugas, who was crowned as King of Lithuania in 1253. Very little is known about her life. Probably, Morta was Mindaugas' second wife as Vaišvilkas, the eldest son of Mindaugas, was already a mature man active in international politics when Morta's sons were still young and dependent on the parents. After her death, Mindaugas married her sister, the wife of Daumantas. In revenge, Daumantas allied with Treniota and assassinated Mindaugas and two of Morta's sons in 1263.
Origin
Her pagan name is unknown. The only clue into her origin or birthplace is a short mention in the comments following the treaty signed in 1219 between the Lithuanian dukes and Galicia–Volhynia. It says that Mindaugas killed many members of the Bulaičiai family, including Vismantas, whose wife Mindaugas took for himself. The Hypatian Codex elaborates that Vismantas was killed in 1251–1253 during an attack against Vykintas' castle. It is generally assumed that Morta was Vismantas' wife. Lithuanian historian Edvardas Gudavičius analyzed toponyms and determined that the Bulaičiai family most likely hailed from the Šiauliai region. Based on this extrapolation, residents of Šiauliai call the city home of Morta.In the 16th-century Preussische Chronik, it is mentioned that Morta was actually from Sweden since at the time it was a common practice for pagan rulers who were seeking the throne to marry Christian brides from foreign countries. However, historians consider this claim to be untrue, suggesting that German chroniclers only thought so because they could not believe that a Lithuanian pagan could be such a fierce defender of Western Christianity.