Everything about The Grand Duchy Of Lithuania totally explained
The
Grand Duchy of Lithuania (old literary Lithuanian:
Didi Kunigiste Letuvos,
Ruthenian:
Wialikaje Kniastwa Litowskaje, Ruskaje, Żamojckaje,,,,,
Russian:
Великое Княжество Литовское) was an Eastern and Central European state from the 12th /13th century until the 18th century. It was founded by
Lithuanians, one of the
pagan Baltic tribes, whose initial lands covered the eastern part of present day Lithuania,
Aukštaitija. It later expanded its territory to include large parts of former
Kievan Rus. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania covered the territory of present-day
Lithuania,
Belarus,
Ukraine,
Transnistria and parts of
Poland and
Russia. At its greatest size, in the 15th century, it was the largest state in Europe.
Consolidation of Lithuanian lands started in the 12th century, as marked by extensive raids by Lithuanians of wealthy cities such as
Novgorod and
Pskov. The 13th century saw the beginning of the wars with the
Teutonic Knights and the
Livonian Order. It witnessed the rise of
Mindaugas, who was crowned as
King of Lithuania in 1253. The title of "Grand Duchy" was consistently applied to
Lithuania from the 14th century onward,. The multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state emerged only at the late reign of
Gediminas. During the reign of his son
Algirdas, the grand Duchy expanded more than under any other ruler.
Algirdas's successor
Jogaila opened a new chapter in the history of Lithuania by signing the
Krėva agreement in 1386. This treaty joined the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the
Kingdom of Poland, and obligated Vytautas to accept Christianity on behalf of the Lithuanian people, who had been the last remaining pagans in Europe. to the Catholic faith.
Soon afterwards,
Vytautas the Great acquired supreme power in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Vytautas led the army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into the
Battle of Grunwald in 1410, which signified the downfall of the
Teutonic Order. After Vytautas's death, Lithuania's relationship with the
Kingdom of Poland greatly deteriorated. Lithuanian noblemen tried to break the personal union with the Kingdom of Poland. Unsuccessful wars with the
Grand Duchy of Moscow forced the union to remain intact, despite the opposition from some noblemen like the
Radvilos.
Eventually, the
Union of Lublin in 1569 created the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In this
federation, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania had a separate government, laws, army, and treasury. During Commonwealth times, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was involved in many wars, like the
Livonian War, the
Northern War and others. The Union with Poland failed to prevent territorial losses to the ascending Russians. In 1795, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was destroyed and
partitioned between
Imperial Russia,
Prussia and
Austria.
Establishment of the state
Rise to power
The
first written reference to Lithuania is found in the Quedlinburg Chronicle, which dates from 1009. This contemporary account mentions little of the state or its social structure, except that Lithuania bordered
Rus and that there were active pagans in the region.
References to Lithuania appear and in Slavic chronicles, as one of the areas that
the Rus' attacked; apparently their initial raid was unsuccessful, but the grand dukes of
Kiev continued to mount forays into Lithuanian territory. Pagan
Lithuanians in the early 12th century paid
tribute to
Polatsk, including the
Semigallians, the
Curonians and the
Lettigallians. In 1131, Lithuania suffered a major attack by
Mstislav the Great. However, as Mstislav's army was returning home, laden with plunder, Lithuanians beat the regiments which had lagged behind the main Mstislav's army. It wasn't the only victory for Lithuanians and it did indicate that Lithuania was gaining strength. The Russian chronicles of the time write about Lithuanians "who have emerged from their swamps, which in the past they dared not leave, to plunder their neighbours." The chronicles also write about the "enlarged Lithuanian nation" that has an army "that hasn't existed since the beginning of the world."
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During this time Lithuanians usually constructed alliances with one or another
Rurikid ruler and apparently didn't initiate full-scale attacks towards the principalities of Rus. At some point between 1180 and 1183 the situation began to change, and the Lithuanians started to organize sustainable military raids on the
Slavic provinces, raiding the
Polatsk duchy as well as
Pskov, and even threatening
Novgorod. After a successful Lithuanian raid of
Livonia in 1185, the local inhabitants built several castles in the region, trying to protect the population. From the twelfth century on, the Lithuanians represented a real threat to their western neighbours and missions as well as to their Slavic neighbors. possibly by the end of the 12th century the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was already formed in these lands. The treaty was also signed by dukes from
Samogitia, which showed increasing levels of cooperation among the Lithuanians. Although they'd battled in the past, the Lithuanians and the Samogitians spoke a similar dialect and now faced a common enemy. The formal acknowledgment of common interests, and the establishment of a hierarchy among the participants of the treaty, foreshadowed the emergence of the state.
Mindaugas, one of the mentioned senior dukes, raised Lithuania up among Western European states during later years.
Role of Mindaugas
Mindaugas, duke of southern Lithuania was mentioned in the Halych-Volhynia agreement as senior, but he didn't have a highest power in Lithuania then. Eventually he became sovereign ruler. Mindaugas was mentioned as the ruler of the whole Lithuania in
Livonian Rhymed Chronicle in 1236. How he managed to acquire supreme power in Lithuania isn't exactly known. Slavic chronicles mention that he used to murder or expel various dukes, including his relatives. After securing power in Lithuania, Mindaugas turned his sight towards
Slavic provinces and regions, annexing
Navahradak,
Hrodna and other places, which were regarded as part of
Rus. These regions came into Mindaugas' possession somewhere between 1239 and 1248.
An important event took place in 1236, which had an impact in the whole region: an army led by
Samogitian ruler
Vykintas won the
Battle of the Sun, inflicting a catastrophic outcome to the
Livonian Order, which never regained its full power and was forced to become a branch of the Teutonic Knights. That meant that
Samogitia became the main target of both Orders, because only this land prevented them from physical union. The battle's outcome provided a short break in wars with the Knights and Lithuania exploited this situation, arranging attacks towards Ruthenian provinces.
Around 1248 Mindaugas sent his nephews
Tautvilas and
Edivydas and Vykintas to conquer
Smolensk being a part of
Mongol state. But they were unsuccessful. Most likely due to this unsuccessful campaign, Mindaugas tried to seize their lands and the defeated dukes had to flee from Lithuania. Soon afterwards three men formed a powerful coalition with the Livonian Order,
Daniel of Halych, Vasilko of
Volhynia and partially with Samogitians against Mindaugas, war was inevitable.
The Dukes of Halych and Volhynia managed to get control over Black Ruthenia, lands which were ruled by Vaišvilkas. Tautvilas, seeking support from Knights, went to Riga, where he was baptized by the Archbishop and received military support. Soon afterwards the Order organized two big raids, one to Nalša land and the other to Mindaugas' domain and parts of Samogitia that still supported him. Mindaugas facing extremely difficult position managed to take advantage of Livonian Order and
Archbishop of Riga conflicts – he bribed
Andreas von Stierland, the master of the Order, who was still angry on Vykintas for the defeat in 1236.
Pope Innocent IV supported Mindaugas, because he hoped the new Catholic state could stop the raids of
Mongols-
Tatars.
State lapsed into years of internal fights.
Expansion
After Mindaugas' death, Treniota took over the title of Grand Duke. However, his power was fragile and less than a year later, in 1264 he was killed by Mindaugas' son
Vaišvilkas and his ally from Volhynia,
Svarn. Daumantas ran away to
Pskov, was baptized as Timofei and ruled there successfully in 1266-1299. Vaišvilkas, once a fierce pagan who later became devoted
Orthodox, after three years or rule transferred Grand Duke title to Svarn. Unstable political situation in Lithuania resulted lack support to the rebelling Balts, which were initially supported by Mindaugas and Treniota, thus Baltic rebellion slowly began to calm down.
Svarn took power in 1267. It is likely that he was unable to take control of the entire Lithuania and ruled only southern parts. Vytenis was mentioned as king and overlord of Lithuania in 1296. Under his reign, the construction of castles network alongside
Nemunas begun in end of the 13th century. Gradually this network of castles developed into the main outpost and defensive structures against the Teutonic Order.
Vytenis' reign saw constant warfare with the surrounding lands, particularly with the Order, the Kingdom of Poland, and Ruthenian provinces. In 1295 an army led by Vytenis plundered Polish lands. These attacks on Polish lands continued until 1306. At the 13th century the Kingdom of Poland existed only in the hearts and memories of various Polish noblemen as these years witnessed disintegration of the Kingdom. Vytenis used this situation to his state needs and later on he supported Polish pretender to the Kingdom's throne. Vytenis also intervened into
Duchy of Masovia affairs, as Duke of Masovia Boleslaw II has been married to Lithuanian princes
Gaudemunda.
In the late 13th century conflict between
Riga citizens and Teutonic Knights arose and Vytenis offered aid to citizens of the city by sending a Lithuanian garrison to them in 1298. The Lithuanian garrison had duty to protect city from the Knights. Lithuanians remained in the city until 1313. Securing positions in Riga provided fordable situation to strengthen trade routes in the region and organize military campaigns towards the Teutonic Order and Ruthenian provinces. Between 1298 and 1313 Vytenis arranged around eleven military campaigns into Prussian lands controlled by the Order, inflicting a series of defeats to the foe. Around 1307,
Polatsk was annexed by military force. The annexation of Polatsk led to securing important trade route which enabled consistent trade in the region and also increased Lithuania's influence on remaining Ruthenian provinces.
Vytenis arranged several more military raids into lands ruled by the Teutonic Order until 1315 and for the last time he went into contemporary writing sources at the end of 1315. Further faith of Vytenis is unknown; nevertheless Grand Duke title passed to his brother
Gediminas, the sub-monarch reigning in
Samogitia and probably in
Trakai while Vytenis was still alive. As sovereign ruler Gediminas exchanged Trakai seat to
Vilnius.
The expansion reached its heights under
Gediminas, who created a strong central government and established an empire, which later spread from the
Black Sea to the
Baltic Sea. In 1320, most of the principalities of Western Rus' were either vassalized or annexed by Lithuania. In 1321 Gediminas
captured Kiev sending
Stanislav, the last
Rurikid to ever rule
Kiev, into exile. Gediminas also re-established the permanent capital of Lithuania in
Vilnius, which was presumably moved from
Trakai in 1323.
Lithuania was in an ideal position to inherit west and south part of
Kievan Rus'. While almost every other state around it had been
plundered or defeated by the Mongols, their hordes never reached as far north as Lithuania and its territory was left untouched. The expansion of Lithuania was also accelerated because of the weak control the Mongols had over the areas they'd conquered. (Rus' principalities were never incorporated directly into the
Golden Horde. Instead, they were always vassal states with a fair degree of independence.) The rise of Lithuania occurred at the ideal time when they could expand while meeting very little resistance in the territories populated by East Slavs and only limited opposition from the Mongols.
The Lithuanian state wasn't built only on military aggression. Its existence always depended on diplomacy just as much as on arms. Most, while not all, cities it annexed were never defeated in battle but agreed to be vassals of Lithuania. Since most of them were already vassals of the Golden Horde or of
Grand Prince of Moscow, such decision wasn't one of giving up independence but rather of exchanging one master for another. This can be seen in the case of
Novgorod, which was often brought into the Lithuanian sphere of influence and became an occasional dependency of Lithuania. Rather, Lithuanian control was the result of internal frictions within the city, which attempted to escape submission to Russia. This method of building the state was, however, unstable. The change of internal politics within a city could pull it out of Lithuania's control, as happened on a number of occasions with Novgorod and other Russian cities.
Lithuania was Christianized in 1387. Christianization was led by Jogaila, who personally translated Christian prayers into the
Lithuanian language. The state reached a peak under
Vytautas the Great, who reigned from 1392 to 1430. Vytautas was one of the most famous rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was the
Grand Duke from 1401-1430, also the
Prince of
Hrodna (1370-1382) and the Prince of
Lutsk (1387-1389). Vytautas was the son of
Kęstutis, cousin of
Jogaila, who became King of Poland in 1386, and grandfather of
Vasili II of Russia. In 1410 Vytautas himself commanded the forces of the Grand Duchy in the
Battle of Grunwald (also called the Battle of Tannenberg or Žalgirio mūšis). The battle ended in a decisive Polish-Lithuanian victory. Vytautas backed economic development of his state and introduced many reforms. Under his rule the Grand Duchy of Lithuania slowly became more centralized, as the governors loyal to Vytautas replaced local princes with dynastic ties to the throne. The governors were rich landowners who formed the basis for the Lithuanian nobility. During Vytautas' rule
Radziwill and
Goštautas families started to gain influence.
| "You have made and pronounced a decision over the Samogitian [Lowerland] lands that are our inheritance and our fatherland, lawfully passed on by our ancestors. And even now we hold it in our possession; it's and always was one and the same land of Lithuania, because there's one language and one people. As the Samogitian land is lower than the Lithuania land, it's called Samogitia, because in the Lithuanian language lowland is called in this name. Samogitians call Lithuania as Aukštaitija [Highland], because looking from the lowland it's a highland. From ancient times Samogitians call themselves as Lithuanians and never as Samogitians; and for this sameness we don't write about Samogitia, because all is one, one land and one people." |
| Vytautas the Great. Letter to Emperor of Holy Roman Empire Sigismund. 1420.03.11 |
Decline
The speedy expansion of Russia soon put it into a position to rival Lithuania, however, and after the annexation of Novgorod in 1478 Russia was unquestionably the preeminent state in
Northeast Europe. Between 1492 and 1508
Ivan III, after winning the key
Battle of Vedrosha, regained such ancient lands of
Rus as
Chernigov and
Bryansk. The loss of land to Russia and the continued pressure from the expanding Russian state posed a real threat of destroying the state of Lithuania, so it was forced to make closer alliance with
Poland, uniting with its western neighbour in the
Commonwealth of Two Nations (
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) in the
Union of Lublin of 1569. According to the Union many of the territories formerly controlled by largely Ruthenized Grand Duchy of Lithuania were transferred to the
Crown of the Polish Kingdom, while the gradual
Polonization started the slower process of drawing Lithuania itself under Polish domination. while, the Grand Duchy retained many rights in that
federation (including separate government, treasury and army) until the
May Constitution of Poland was passed in 1791.
Napoleonic period
Following the
Partitions of Poland, most of the lands of the former Grand Duchy were directly annexed by
Imperial Russia rather than attached to the
Kingdom of Poland, a rump state in personal union with Russia. However, in 1812, soon before the
French invasion of Russia, the lands of the former Grand Duchy revolted against the Russians. Soon after his arrival to Vilna, Napoleon proclaimed the creation of a Commissary Provisional Government of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which in turn renewed the
Polish-Lithuanian Union. However, the union was never formalized as only half a year later Napoleon's
Grande Armee was pushed out of Russia and forced to retreat further eastwards. In December of 1812 Vilna was recaptured by Russian forces, bringing all plans of recreation of the Grand Duchy to the end. Latin, German and Polish. Until 1697, the first one was used to write laws (
Statutes of Lithuania) and to correspond with Eastern countries; Latin and German were used in foreign affairs. In 1697, Polish replaced Ruthenian as the chancellery language.
Although usage of
Lithuanian language in ruling the state after
Vytautas and
Jogaila (sons of
Kęstutis and
Algirdas, respectively) is sometimes disputed, it's stated that King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania
Alexander I still could understand and speak Lithuanian. There are no valid later evidences.
Also, at the time nationalism wasn't present, and nobles who migrated from one place to another would adapt to a new locality and take local religion and culture. Therefore those Lithuanian nobles who moved to Slavic areas in generations took up their culture. There is no available information what languages these nobles spoke in their everyday lives.
At the birth of the state, ethnical Lithuanians made 70% of population. With the acquisition of new Slavic territories, this part decreased to 50% and later to 30%. Other important nations were
Jews and
Tatars. By the time of the late Grand Duchy, Slavs made overall majority, and Slavic languages were used to write laws. This is the reason why the late GDL is often called a Slavic country, among
Poland,
Russia etc.
Military
Despite Lithuania's mainly peaceful acquisition of much of its Ruthenian holdings it could call upon military strength if needed and it was the only power in
Eastern Europe that could effectively contend with the Golden Horde. When the Golden Horde did try to prevent Lithuanian expansion they were often rebuffed. In 1333 and 1339 Lithuanians defeated large Mongol forces attempting to regain
Smolensk from the Lithuanian sphere of influence. By about 1355, the State of
Moldavia had formed. The Golden Horde did little to re-vassalize the area. In 1387, Moldavia became a vassal of Poland and in a broader sense, Lithuania. By this time, Lithuania had conquered territory of the Golden Horde all the way to the Dnieper River. In a crusade against the Golden Horde in 1398, (In an alliance with
Tokhtamysh), Lithuania invaded northern Crimea and won a decisive victory. Then in 1399, Lithuania (Intent on placing Tokhtamish on the Golden Horde throne) moved against the Horde. In the
Battle of the Vorskla River however, Lithuania was crushed by the Horde and lost the steppe region.
Religion and Culture
Mindaugas in 1253, Lithuania was recognized as a Christian state until 1260, when Mindaugas supported an uprising in
Courland and (according to the German order) renounced Christianity. Up until 1387, Lithuanian nobles professed their own religion, which was a
pagan belief based on deification of natural phenomena. Ethnic Lithuanians were very dedicated to their faith. The pagan beliefs needed to be deeply entrenched to survive strong pressure from missionaries and foreign powers. Until the seventeenth century there were relics of old faith, like feeding
grass snakes or bringing food to graves of ancestors. The lands of modern-day
Belarus and
Ukraine, as well as local
dukes (princes) in these regions, were firmly
Orthodox Christian (Greek Catholic after the
Union of Brest), though. While pagan beliefs in Lithuania were strong enough to survive centuries of pressure from military orders and missionaries, they did eventually succumb. In 1387, Lithuania converted to
Catholicism, while most of the Ruthenian lands stayed
Orthodox. There was an effort to polarize Orthodoxes after the Union of Brest in 1596, by which Orthodox Greek Catholics acknowledged papal authority and Catholic catechism, but preserved Orthodox liturgy.
In 1579,
Stefan Batory, King of
Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, founded
Vilnius University, one of the oldest universities in
Eastern Europe.
Due to the work of the
Jesuits during the
Counter-Reformation the university soon developed into one of the most important scientific and cultural centers of the region and the most notable scientific center of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Legacy
According to some historians (especially in
Russia), one of the most crucial effects of Lithuanian rule was ethnic divisions amongst the inhabitants of former
Kievan Ruthenia. From this point of view, the creation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania played a major role in the division of
Eastern Slavs. After the Mongolian conquest of
Ruthenia, Mongols attempted to keep Eastern Slavs unified and succeeded in conquering most of Ruthenian lands.
Prussian tribes (of
Baltic origin) were attacking
Masovia, and that was the reason Duke
Konrad of Masovia invited the
Teutonic Knights to settle near the Prussian area of settlement. The fighting between Prussians and the Teutonic Knights gave the more distant Lithuanian tribes time to unite. Because of strong enemies in the south and north, the newly formed Lithuanian state concentrated most of its military and diplomatic efforts on expansion eastward.
The rest of former Ruthenian lands (
Belarusian principalities) joined the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the very beginning. Some other lands in Ukraine were vassalized by Lithuania later. The subjugation of Eastern Slavs by two powers created substantial differences that persist to this day. According to this claim, while under Kievan Ruthenia there were certainly substantial regional differences, it was the Lithuanian annexation of much of southern and western Ruthenia that led to the permanent division between
Ukrainians,
Belarusians, and
Russians.
Others argue, that the ethnic and linguistic divisions amongst inhabitants of Ruthenia were not initiated by division of this area between
Mongols and
Lithuania, and are older than the creation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. They state that until the twentieth century, ethnic and linguistic frontiers between Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Russians coincided with no political borders.
Notwithstanding the above, Lithuania was a Kingdom under Mindaugas I, who was conditionally crowned by authority of Pope Innocent IV in 1253. Gediminas and Vytautas the Great also assumed the title of King, although uncrowned. A failed attempt was made in 1918 to restore the Kingdom under German
Prince Urach.
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