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The
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
1253-1795
Cheryl Renshaw
Maps: Andrew Andersen
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Introduction
Although the
independent nation of Lithuania
has only relatively recently appeared on maps of Eastern
Europe, it is preceded by a lengthy and significant history.
Modern Lithuanian territory is but a fraction of the vast expanse which once
included present-day Ukraine,
Belarus and Poland (as part of a unified state) and
stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. Successfully ruled by a dynastic line of
dukes, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) managed to penetrate the lands of Rus, develop a highly advanced system of state
administration and stave off invading Crusaders longer than any other Central
European power. Its statesmen conducted
effective foreign policy and military campaigns and created a multi-ethnic
state. After the Grand Duchy’s
incorporation into a union with its neighbor, Poland, its influence began to wane
as Lithuanian nobility became more and more Polonised. Officially Christianized as part of this
union, and under increasing Polish cultural pressures, the face of the Grand
Duchy’s political relations changed, and ultimately the GDL lost its unique
position in the region. Though
officially ended in 1795, the history of the GDL continues to influence
modern-day nationalist thinking in the region.
Both Belarus and Ukraine point back to the days when they were
part of the thriving GDL as proof of their cultural and political distinction
from Russia. And territorial disputes over the borders of Lithuania and Poland were the cause of great
political tension well into the 20th century.
Establishment of a state- Mindaugas and the consolidation of Lithuanian lands
Although Lithuania’s
first king, Mindaugas, was crowned on July 6, 1253,
some historians argue that the establishment of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy
reaches back even farther. Though there is
little documentation for this time period, it is generally accepted that for
one to two hundred years prior to Mindaugas’ rule,
Lithuanian tribes had already begun the process of unifying themselves. During this time, most people were free
farmers who worked for so-called “good people,” landowners who would eventually
become nobles. Castles, manors and systems of defense were established during
this time.[i][i] Historian Tomas Baranauskas
argues that the GDL was founded around 1183.
By that time, the peoples of the region had established a high level of
military strength, a tribute system and a tax collection system organized
around manors. He concludes that Mindaugas did not establish the GDL but merely oriented it
toward the West.[ii][ii]
Wherever Mindaugas actually entered in the process of the
unification of the GDL, much progress toward establishing the Grand Duchy was
made under his rule. State institutions
were formed, and, militarily, Lithuania
resisted the attacks of the Teutonic Orders on one front and began to expand
its territory into the lands of Rus on the
other. Mindaugas
attempted to unite three worlds under his rule: pagan Lithuania,
Catholic Western Europe and Orthodox Russia. [iii][iii]
Unable to do so, he eventually claimed to convert to Christianity for
presumably political purposes. A very
strong regional leader, Mindaugas’ political tactics
involved intrigue and brutality among Lithuania’s princes and his own
family members. Ultimately, a conspiracy
was formed against him and he was assassinated in1263 along with his two sons.
The Gediminian
dynasty and the strengthening of the GDL
The 1300s brought
new agricultural technology, rapid social and economic development and some
urban settlement. Within Lithuania
proper, the old order of dukes was disappearing, a new class of nobles was
forming and specialized artisans were growing in number. In the area of foreign relations, the joining
of the lands of Rus to the GDL opened up new trade
routes. [iv][iv]
Grand Duke Gediminas came to power in 1316,
ushering in a new dynasty of leaders.
Gediminas employed several forms of statesmanship to expand
and strengthen the GDL. He invited
members of religious orders to come to the Grand Duchy, announced his loyalty
to the Pope and to his neighboring Catholic countries and made political allies
with dukes in Rus as well as with the Poles through
marriage to women in his family. Gediminas’ political
skills are revealed in a series of letters written to Rome and nearby cities. In 1322, in a letter to Pope John XXII, he
claimed that his predecessors, including Mindaugas,
had been open to Christianity, but had been betrayed by the Teutonic
Knights. “Holy and honorable Father!,” he wrote, “We are fighting with the Christians not so
that we could destroy the Catholic faith, but in order to resist the harm done
to us…” He further mentions the
Franciscan and Dominican monks who had come to the GDL by invitation and were
given the rights to preach, baptize and perform other religious services. The next year, he sent a letter to
neighboring cities announcing his acceptance of the Christian faith and his
intent not to harm, but to, “solidify eternal peace, brotherhood and true love
with all of Christ’s believers”. He also
included an open invitation to artisans and farmers to come and live in the
GDL, promising support and reduced taxes to those who would come.[v][v] Gediminas’ “conversion” is mostly seen as a shrewd
political move as he and most of his subjects continued in the worship of pagan
Lithuanian gods.
Along with his
other political accomplishments, Gediminas
established Vilnius
as the capital of the GDL as early as 1323.
During Mindaugas’ rule, he managed to
establish a stable state comprised of peoples of varied ethnicity and religious
confessions. When his rule ended in
1341, he left the GDL viable and strong.[vi][vi]
The Jagiellonian
dynasty – the roles of Jogaila and Vytautas
Jogaila succeeded to the throne in 1377 and presided over a
time of continuing encroachment of Christianity as well as territorial
expansion. Caught between Catholic
Poland and the Teutonic Knights, Jogaila chose union
with the Poles, solidified in the 1385 Act of Kreva. For the hand of the Polish princess, Jadwiga,
Jogaila promised to convert to Roman Catholicism.
This signified the beginning of a partnership in which the barons of the still
autonomous principalities of Lithuania
and Poland
agreed to act by mutual consent.[vii][vii]
When Jogaila became King of Poland, the Gediminian dukes engaged in a power struggle over who would
rule Lithuania.
In 1401, in the Acts of Vilnius and Radom, Jogaila’s cousin Vytautas became
the independent ruler of the GDL. Yet,
it was established that after his death his lands would be returned to the kingdom of Poland, and the tie between the two
nations was again reinforced.[viii][viii]
Despite Jogaila’s conversion, and in light of his union with the
Poles, the struggle with the Teutonic Knights continued. After several unsuccessful attempts by the
Order and its allies to break the military alliance of the GDL and Poland, a combined Lithuanian-Polish army
invaded the territory of the Order in July of 1410 and fought what would be
called the Battle
of Žalgiris
(Grunwald).[ix][ix]
The combined forces of 39,000 swiftly defeated the Order, killing almost
half of its men, including the Grand Master, and taking 14,000 prisoners for
ransom. [x][x] The
victory was decisive, and the military power of the Order was effectively
destroyed.
Territorially,
the two powers continued their gradual expansion in the years after the defeat
of the Teutonic Knights, eventually stretching between the Baltic and the Black Seas
by the 1420s. Socially, the Jagiellonian period saw the rise of five estates: clergy,
nobility, burghers, Jews and peasants, with the nobles exercising power over the
other four.[xi][xi]
The GDL in particular, under Vytautas,
developed trade, urban areas, a currency system and a coat-of-arms. Under his rule, a notion of statehood and
national consciousness developed which has been preserved throughout the
following centuries.[xii][xii]
The Grand Duchy and Poland under
united rule
In the century
following Vytautas’ reign, the population and
diversity of the GDL grew while the power of the Grand Duke began to
decline. By the mid-16th
century, Lithuanians made up only around one-third of the total population of
an estimated 3 million people. Slavs,
Germans, Jews, Poles, Tatars and Karaites composed
the remaining two-thirds. [xiii][xiii] Vytautas’ vision of a strong monarchical government ruling
alongside a centralized administrative state was realized only in part. The Council of Lords developed which grew in
power and increasingly determined the actions of the Grand Duke.[xiv][xiv]
Though the
threat from the Teutonic Knights had been neutralized in the previous century,
in the 16th century Lithuania
faced growing military pressure from Muscovy. At the same time, Poland
began to experience growing danger from Turkey and the Crimean Tatars. For Lithuania,
the prospect for a more permanent union with Poland primarily carried the
advantage of a stronger defense. For
Poles, such a union was mostly motivated by a desire for the Duchy’s land. Zygimantas Augustas, both the Grand Duke Lithuania and the king of Poland, had no
heir, and his death could have potentially severed Polish ties with the
GDL. In 1569, in the Union of Lublin,
the Kingdom of Poland and the GDL became a commonwealth
or Rzeczpospolita common currency, governance
and policy. Nobles from both states had
the right to own land and to sell goods without paying taxes in either part of
the commonwealth. The two states did
retain their own borders, names, armies and administrative powers.[xv][xv]
In 1572,
concentration of power into the hands of the nobles further increased with the
implementation of an election process that allowed nobles to withdraw their
allegiance to the monarch. This
eventually led to a kind of political paralysis as power gradually devolved to
local governing bodies. The diversity of
peoples, faiths and political convictions resistant to centralized
administration made the job of the leader of the commonwealth more and more
difficult. Finally the nobles rebelled against King Kazimierz,
who was forced to abdicate the throne.[xvi][xvi]
Beyond political
changes, the culture of the GDL changed rather significantly during this time
as well. By the end of 17th
century, the Polish language was spoken both by ordinary and high-ranking
nobles and officials of the GDL. In
1697, Polish became the official language of the commonwealth’s diet as well as
the GDL chancellery.[xvii][xvii]
Lithuanian language, as a result, became a language of the peasant
class.[xviii][xviii]
Through the
1700s, Russian and Prussian expansionism took its toll on the
commonwealth. In 1772, the joint
republic was partitioned for the first time between Russia,
Prussia and Austria and
lost 30% of its land and 35% of its population.
[xix][xix]
In 1793, the Russians and Prussians partitioned the Republic a second
time, taking half of its remaining territory.
One year later, GDL and Polish armies mounted separate insurrections
against the occupying forces, but it would end in defeat. In October, 1795, Russia,
Prussia and Austria
partitioned the remaining lands of the Republic, thus marking the end of the
commonwealth. [xx][xx]
Impact of history on regional
nationalism
Like most
nations emerging from rule by another power, many Lithuanians return to the
past to define their national identity.
In this case, though, there are competing claims upon history. In both the inter-war years and the
post-Soviet period, Belarus,
Ukraine and Poland have
made attempts to define their national rights and identities in relation to the
GDL. As early as the 1920s, Belarusians were attempting to define the GDL as a
Belarusian state. Along with Ukrainians,
they sought ethnic and historical separation from Russians and Poles.[xxi][xxi]
In 1991, as a show of protest against President Lukashenka’s plan to
reintegrate Belarus into Russia after independence, the leading opposition party
adopted the red and white flag with the Pahonya
coat of arms, symbols which originated during the reign of Vytautas. In the absence of its own national ideology, Belarus was
forced to create one in order to prove its right to exist independently. Prime
Minister Kebich remarked that, “with the poor
national arsenal we have received in all areas of spiritual life, we can hardly
convince our contemporaries and descendents that we have a history of our own.”[xxii][xxii]
In the case of Poland,
historical territory and identity became a source of conflict, not just an
ideological proposition. Because of the
history of free movement of Poles and Lithuanians in the commonwealth, many
ethnic Polish families established themselves in Lithuania
and maintained strong ties with Poland. Beyond ethnolinguistic
and minority issues, some Poles believed that the city of Vilnius
(which it annexed and occupied) and other territory rightfully belonged to Poland. Some even advocated the re-establishment of
the Rzeczpospolita. A secret Polish military organization
operated in Lithuania
from 1918-1919 and conspired to overthrow the Lithuanian government.[xxiii][xxiii]
Diplomatic relations between Lithuania
and Poland
were effectively broken until the end of the 1980s when the brewing
independence movement brought the former allies back together. Today, the two countries are staunch
supporters of each other’s post-communist transition, including their
respective NATO and European Union aspirations.
Note: In reading about the GDL,
you may occasionally find the following Polish spellings of names:
Gediminas-Giedymin
Vytautas-Witold
Jogaila- Jagiello
[i][i] Makauskas, Bronius, Lietuvos Istorijos, (Kaunas:
Šviesa, 2000) 37-38.
[ii][ii] Baranauskas,
Tomas
[iii][iii] Kiaupa, Zigmantas ,
Jūrate Kiaupienė and
Albinas Kuncevičius, The History of Lithuania
before 1795, (Vilnius:
Lithuanian Institute of History, 2000) 71-72.
[v][v]
Institute of Lithuanian Scientific Society,
“Lithuanian Classical Literature Anthology,” Gedimino
Laiškai (The Letters of Gediminas) [sponsored by UNESCO’s “Publica” series] copyright 1999-2002 <www.anthology.lms.lt/texts/1/turinys.html> (Accessed April
24, 2002).
[vi][vi] S.C. Rowell, Lithuania
Ascending. A pagan empire within east-central Europe, 1295-1345,
(Cambridge University Press, 1994) 289.
[vii][vii] Norman Davies, God’s Playground,
vol. 1 (New
York: Columbia University Press, 1982) 116-120.
[xi][xi] Davies, 124-127.
[xiv][xiv] Ibid., 164-165.
[xv][xv]Makauskas,
111-113.
[xvi][xvi] Kirby, David, Northern
Europe in the Early Modern Period, The Baltic World 1492-1772,
(London:Longman, 1990)
103-106.
[xviii][xviii] Valionas, Antanas, Evaldas Ignatavicius, Izolda Brickovskiene, “From Solidarity to Partnership:Lithuanian-Polish Relations 1988-1998,” Lithuanian Foreign Policy Review, 1998, issue 2.
Available at: http://www.lfpr.lt/9802.phtml (accessed: 06/03/02)
[xxi][xxi] Zejmis, Jakub,
“Belarusian National Historiography and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as a Belarusian State,” Zeitschrift
fur Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung , 1999, 48, p. 383.
[xxii][xxii] Astrid Sahm,
“Political Culture and National Symbols: Their Impact in the Belarusian
Nation-Building Process” Nationalities Papers [Great Britian],
1999, 27 (4), 651-652.
[xxii][xxii] Makauskas,
291-296.
Annotated bibliography
of materials and suggested further readings
* denotes Lithuanian language only
sources
*Avižonis,
Konstantinis, ed., Rinktiniai Raštai, Rome: The Academy of Lithuanian
Catholic Studies, 1982
The Collected Works include documents from the ruling regimes of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania regarding politics, administration, religion, and
relations with Sweden,
Muscovy and Poland. The works include a few reviews of books in
English as well as some German-language documents regarding the
Lithuanian-Polish union.
Davies, Norman,
God’s Playground, vol. 1
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1982)
Chapter
5 of Davies’ book chronicles the role of Jogaila and
the Lithuanian Union with Poland
(1386-1572). Detailed
descriptions of the Union of Kreva (Krewo), defense
against the Teutonic Knights, Christianization and the legacy of the Jagiellionian dynasty. Includes family tree
diagrams for the Jagiellons and Vasas
(p. 136).
Institute of Lithuanian
Scientific Society, “Lithuanian Classical Literature
Anthology,” [sponsored by UNESCO’s “Publica” series]
copyright 1999-2002 <www.anthology.lms.lt/texts/1/turinys.html> (Accessed April
24, 2002).
The texts of the letters of Grand Dukes Mindaugas
and Gediminas from 1254-1338. These letters include communications between
the Grand Duchy and Pope John XXII, the orders of Franciscan and Dominican
priests as well as the governments of major cities in the region. The letters reflect political, religious and
economic relations of the Grand Duchy with Rome and its neighbors and Gediminas’ efforts to build the strength of the Duchy.
Joseph Lins,
“Lithuania”,
[from the Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. IX, online copyright 1999] <www.newadvent.org/cathen/09292a.htm>
(Accessed April 24, 2002
Brief history of the Catholic Church in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until
1659.
Kiaupa, Žigmantas, Jūrate Kiaupienė and Albinas Kuncevičius, The
History of Lithuania before
1795, Vilnius:Lithuanian Institute of History, 2000.
This
book traces Lithuanian history from the Mesolithic Period to the end of the
Grand Duchy and the Lithuanian-Polish commonwealth. Detailed treatment of political with some
social history.
Kirby, David, Northern
Europe in the Early Modern Period, The Baltic World
1492-1772, (London:Longman,
1990)
An excellent and
comprehensive source of political and social history of the region. Kirby does not focus very much on the GDL or
the Lithuanian-Polish commonwealth.
However, this source puts the role of the GDL into its greater
historical context.
*Makauskas, Bronius, Lietuvos Istorija, Kaunas:
Šviesa, 2000.
The
History of Lithuania provides a general introduction
to the country’s history from the Baltic tribes to the present.
Rowell, S.C., Lithuania Ascending. A pagan
empire within east-central Europe, 1295-1345, (Cambridge University Press, 1994) 289.
In Chapter 8 Rowell recounts the conditions under which
the GDL was consolidated under Mindaugas and the Gediminian dynasty.
He pays particular attention to the presence of Christian movements
prior to the GDL’s official acceptance of
Catholicism. The chapter includes an
appendix of primary sources in Russian and English related to the fall of Kiev to the Lithuanians.
Sahm, Astrid, “Political Culture
and National Symbols: Their Impact in the Belarusian Nation-Building Process” Nationalities
Papers [Great Britian], 1999, 27 (4)
The article includes a good description of
post-1989 political efforts in Belarusia to counter
current pro-Russian politics with symbols of Belarusian distictiveness.
*Sliesoriūnas, Gintautas, Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė Vidaus
Karo Išvakarėse: didikų grupuočių kova 1690-1697 m Vilnius: Lithuanian Institute of
History, 2000.
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania on the Eve of
the Domestic War analyzes the causes and results of the war between the nobles from
1690-1697. Within this framework, the author
also treats the oligarchy of the nobles as a whole along with the development
of the government of the Grand Duchy.
Tomas
Baranauskas, “Medieval Lithuania,” <www.geocities.com/imantas2/etno/index-en.htm> (Last updated
January 26, 2002. Accessed
April 24, 2002).
Baranauskas, of the Lithuanian Institute of History,
includes a variety of articles on Lithuanian history from pre-history through
the Grand Duchy era (including maps and a currently incomplete chronology) as
well as articles related to Lithuanian society.
Valionis, Antanas,
Evaldas Ignatavičius
and Izolda Bričkovskienė,
“From Solidarity to Partnership: Lithuanian-Polish Relations 1988-1998,” Lithuanian
Foreign Policy Review, 1998, vol.2.
Available at: <http://www.lfpr.lt/9802/phtml>
(accessed 06/03/02)
Description of mutual
support in the independence movement and subsequent development of
Lithuanian-Polish relations. Also
includes brief historical background.
*Varnienė, Janina, ed., Lietuvos istorijos straipsnių ir
dokumentų rinkinys. Vilnius: Arlila, 1999.
The collection of documents and articles from
Lithuanian history includes a very wide range of materials from Lithuanian pre-history to
the time of publishing. Topics include: pre-state history, the era of the Gediminas dynasty and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian republic,
Lithuanian relations with Sweden
and the Russian Empire, both World Wars and the inter-war period, Soviet
Lithuania and the recreation of the independent Lithuanian state.
Zejmis,
Jakub, “Belarusian National Historiography and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as
a Belarusian State,” Zeitschrift
fur Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung , 1999, 48, p.
383-396.
Describes the extent to which some Belarusian
historiographers contend that the GDL was a product of Belarusian influence.
*Žirgulys, A., ed. Lietuvos Metraštis: Bychovco
kronika. Vilnius: Vaizdas
Printing, 1971.
The Lithuanian Chronicles (or The Chronicles of Bychovcas) is a collection of historical, political and
literary documents from the age of the Grand Duchy.
Originally published at
http://depts.washington.edu/baltic/papers/
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