Margiris

Margiris or Margis (died 25 February 1336) was a Lithuanian prince remembered as the defender of Pilėnai. In early 1329, during the Teutonic crusade in which King John of Bohemia captured Medvėgalis, a Lithuanian challenged John to single combat and later paid a ransom.

In February 1336 a Teutonic army stormed Pilėnai, which held some four thousand people. When defense became hopeless Margiris killed his wife and guards and then himself, while the defenders burned the castle rather than surrender. He became a Lithuanian national hero.