Grand Duchy of Lithuania
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The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė, Belarusian: Вялі́кае Кня́ства Літо́ўскае (ВКЛ), Ukrainian: Велике Князівство Литовське (ВКЛ), Polish: Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie) was an Eastern European state of the 12th-18th centuries. Founded by pagan Baltic Lithuanians in the second half of the 12th century, it soon expanded beyond the boundaries of the initial area of Lithuanian settlement, acquiring large parts of former Kievan Rus. It covered the territory of present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Transnistria and parts of Poland and Russia during the period of its greatest extent in the 15th century. Accepting the Union of Kreva, in 1386 the Grand Duchy of Lithuania made a personal union with the Kingdom of Poland. Under the Lublin Union in 1569, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania federated into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In this federation, the GDL had a separate government, laws, army, and treasury. In 1795, the Commonwealth was destroyed by the partitions among Imperial Russia, Prussia and Austria .
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a Baltic state which expanded into the power vacuum left by the collapse of the Mongols. Later it becаme a multinational state, with ethnic and religious differences. Baltic pagan gentes, who later became Catholic united called Lithuanians acquired Ruthenian lands who in the 18th century separated into Belorussian and Ukrainian Nations and were Orthodox. Later because of Ducal politics there was born the new Uniate Church in Ruthenian lands, now almost extinct because of Russian imperial politics in the late 18th and early 19 centuries. Amongst others in the Grand Duchy lived many Poles, Jews, Armenians, Germans, etc. They contributed to its diverse cultural and political life. The multinational character of the state and the cosmopolitan philosophy of its elite after the end of 14th century sparked off a debate over the national legacy of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 19th-20th centuries. This debate involved largely Polish, Russian, Lithuanian, and Belarusian historians and overflowed into national politics. The debate reached its peak during the wars for independence from 1917 to 1920, and contributed to many local disputes such as those involving the Curzon line and politics in Central Lithuania.
The expansion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into modern White Ruthenia in centuries to come generated similar culture. Both peoples, the forefathers of modern Lithuanians and modern Belarusians, called themselves Lithuanians in their own tongue (respectively lietuviai in Lithuanian and litviny in Belarusian). At that time "Lithuanian" had a double meaning. One meant an inhabitant of the GDL, and the other meant a person of Lithuanian language. Such Lithuanians lived in the region of modern Lithuania, but also East Prussia and large parts of modern Belarus. In East Prussia it was used to refer primarily to the large Lithuanian minority (Lithuania Minor), while in the Slavic lands of GDL the first usage was more common. In Belarus, Belarusians (especially Catholics und Uniates) regarded themselves as Lithuanian, while other populations there such as Ukrainians, referred to themselves only as Ruthenians or by some other ethnonym. However, the number nobles considering themselves to be Lithuanians dropped with time due to adoption of Polish culture and language. Eventually most of the GDL nobility considered themselves to be Poles. Lithuanian self-determination of nobles sparked for a short while in sixteenth century, and true nationalism revived in the nineteenth century. By then, the term was mainly associated with persons of Lithuanian language. Belarusians, who had a national revival at about the same time, started to see themselves as a different nation.
Ruins of Kaunas castle
The castle in Trakai. Trakai was one of the main centers of Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Upper part of Vilnius castle. Vilnius became permanent capital of Lithuania from 1323
History
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania began its rise under the reign of Grand Duke Mindaugas (or Mindoŭh in Belarusian) beginning in 1238. Mindaugas was baptized in 1252 and crowned King of Lithuania in 1253 (in 1260, he abandoned Christianity). Lithuania was proclaimed as Kingdom for the first time. On September 12th of 1263, Mindaugas was killed (with his 2 younger sons) and afterwards there was a fight among Lithuanian dukes, but the state survived and expanded southward and eastward, incorporating large parts of Ruthenia. The expansion reached its heights under Gediminas (Belarusian language: Hiedzimin), who created a strong central government and established an empire that spread from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea. Gediminas also re-established permanent capital of Lithuania in Vilnius, which was moved from Trakai in 1323.The ease with which Lithuania built up its empire can be accredited to the diplomatic and tactical skill of Lithuanian grand dukes as well as to the weakness of all Ruthenian principalities; Lithuania was in an ideal position to take advantage of Eastern Slavs. 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 had conquered. (Ruthenia was never incorporated directly into the Golden Horde. Instead, it was always a vassal state with a fair degree of independence.) The rise of Lithuania occurred at the ideal time when they could expand while meeting very little Ruthenian resistance and only limited opposition from the Mongols. The Lithuanian state was not built only on military aggression. Its existence always depended on diplomacy just as much as on arms. Most 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 Muscovy, such decision was not one of giving up the 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, but Lithuanian armies never attacked the city. Rather, Lithuanian control was the result of internal frictions within the city, which attempted to escape submission to Muscovy. 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 Ruthenian cities.
"Christianization of Lithuania in 1387", oil on canvas by Jan Matejko, 1889, Royal Castle in Warsaw.Lithuania reached a peak under Vytautas the Great (Vitaŭt, Vitovt, Witold), 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 as Władysław II, 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 Grand Duchy of Lithuania slowly became more centralized, as local princes with dynastic ties to the throne were replaced by the governors loyal to Vytautas. The governors were rich landowners who formed the basis for the Lithuanian nobility. During Vytautas rule influential Radziwill and Goštautas families started to form.
The speedy expansion of Muscovy soon put it into a position to rival Lithuania, however, and after the annexation of Novgorod in 1478 Muscovy was unquestionably the preeminent state in North East Europe. Between 1492 and 1508 Ivan III seized a part of the former Ruthenian lands from Lithuania. The loss of land to Muscovy and the continued pressure from the expanding Russian state made a real threat of destroying the state of Lithuania, so it was forced to make closer alliances with Poland until it was united with its western neighbour in the Commonwealth of Two Nations (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) under the Union of Lublin of 1569. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania retained many rights in that federation (including separate government, treasury and army) until the May Constitution of Poland was passed in 1791. The chancellery languages of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were Ruthenian (referred to as Old Belarusian by Belarusians and as Chancellery Slavic by Lithuanians), Latin and Polish. Until 1697, the first one was used to write laws (Statutes of Lithuania) and to correspond with Eastern countries; Latin was used in dealings with Western countries; and, in 1697, Polish replaced Ruthenian as the official language.
Although usage of Lithuanian language in ruling the state after Vytautas and Jogaila (sons of Kęstutis and Algirdas, respectively) is disputable, it is stated that King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander I still could understand and speak Lithuanian, after him there are no valid evidences. Also, at the time nationalism was not present, and the 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 were 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. Even when victorious, the Mongols rarely had the power to stop Lithuania for long. A large victory in 1399, for instance, only briefly delayed Lithuanian control spreading all the way to the Black Sea. Due to Lithuanian influence the Mongols could not exert military dominance over northwestern Russia, and partially for this reason Smolensk, Pskov, Novgorod, and Polacak were some of the few major cities never to be ravaged by the Mongols.
The GDL army brought some innovations in military art.
Religion
St. Ann's Church and the church of the Bernardine Monastery in Vilnius
St. George church (1487) in Kaunas
After the baptism in 1252 and coronation of King Mindaugas in 1253, Lithuania was recognized as a Christian state until 1260, when Mindaugas supported an uprising in Courland and (according to 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 XVII 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.
- (For further information on Lithuanian indigenous religion, see Romuva)
Culture
One of the oldest universities in Eastern Europe, Vilnius University, was founded by Stefan Batory, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, in 1579. 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 inhabitants of former Kievan Ruthenia. From this point of view, creation of Grand Duchy of Lithuania played a major role in 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.
This claim is highly controversial as on the same basis it can be claimed that the reason of creation of separate Russian state was the fact that Muscovy remained under Mongol political and cultural influence. From this point of view, the reason of divisions amongst inhabitants of Ruthenia was Mongolian influence on Muscovy rather than Lithuanian on other parts of Ruthenia.
Besides, ethnic and linguistic divisions amongst inhabitants of Ruthenia were not initiated by division of this area between Mongols and Lithuania, and are older than creation of Grand Duchy of Lithuania. And finally, until 20th century, ethnic and linguistic frontier 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 Urich.
See also
- Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
- List of Belarusian rulers
- List of Lithuanian rulers
- Lithuania
- Belarus
- Ukraine
- Crimea
- Cities of Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Sources
- Rowell, S.C. Lithuania Ascending a pagan empire within east-central Europe, 1295-1345. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
External links
- [Cheryl Renshaw. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1253-1795]
- [Grand Duchy of Lithuania]
- [Pages and Forums on the Lithuanian History]
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