Grand Duchy of Lithuania

History

The first impulses for state formation came in the 13th century under the influence of the expansion of the Teutonic Order, but the Kingdom of Lithuania under Mindaugas remained an episode. State consolidation did not take place until around 1300: Gediminas founded the capital Vilnius in 1323, which replaced Trakai Castle as the seat of the princes.

The Mongol invasion of Eastern Europe and the fragmentation of Kievan Rus, which had already begun, left a political vacuum in the region. Moreover, due to its northwestern location, Lithuania remained untouched by the Mongols' war campaigns. Thus, in the 14th century, especially under Grand Duke Gediminas and his sons Algirdas and Kęstutis, Lithuania's rise to a great Eastern European power took place.

Some partial principalities of Rus were subjugated, especially after the Battle of the Irpen, some also joined voluntarily in a period of weakness of the Golden Horde. In 1362, the Golden Horde was defeated at the Battle of the Blue Waters, the Lithuanian Grand Duke entered Kiev, and Belarus, Ukraine, and western Russia were thus under the supremacy of the Lithuanian Grand Princes. The political structures of the Eastern Slavic principalities were largely retained, but vassal principalities for the sons of Algirdas emerged, especially in the south. The Grand Princes of Lithuania henceforth saw themselves as the rightful heirs of the defunct empire of Kievan Rus. The following declaration of intent has been handed down from Algirdas: "Omnis Russia ad Litwinos deberet simpliciter pertinere" (German: "The whole Rus shall simply belong to the Lithuanians"). The later Polish-Lithuanian rulers bore the title magnus dux Littwanie, Samathie et Rusie.

In accordance with the majority of the population and the nobility, in the course of time the East Slavic culture became increasingly dominant in the Grand Duchy. Ruthenian became the official language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and remained so until about 1700.

The still pagan Grand Princes pursued a policy of religious tolerance during this period, which made the Grand Duchy of Lithuania attractive to European Jews as well as to numerous smaller groups such as the Caraeans.

In the west, the Lithuanian rulers faced a constant threat from the Teutonic Order. These Lithuanian wars could only be ended after the alliance with Poland and the Battle of Tannenberg in 1410.

After the Grand Duchy of Moscow had finally detached itself from Mongol rule around 1480, it became Poland-Lithuania's greatest competitor in the "collection of Russian soil" since the end of the 15th century, but especially since the beginning of the 16th century, as it also considered itself the legitimate successor of Kievan Rus.

Coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the procession of princes in Dresden

Language

In the 13th century, the majority of the population in the center of the principality spoke Lithuanian, but it became a written language only in the 16th century. In the other parts of the state and in written documents, the Ruthenian language dominated. In addition, Latin and German functioned for diplomatic communication with Western states, and for matters with Eastern countries the court used Ruthenian. The three codifications of Lithuanian law from the 16th century, the Lithuanian Statutes of 1529, 1566 and 1588, were written in Ruthenian.

In the late period of the Grand Duchy, Polish became increasingly important, especially after the union with Poland. By 1697 Ruthenian had been largely replaced by Polish as the official court language, but was still used in a few documents until the second half of the 18th century. The upper class, i.e. the nobility of Lithuania became increasingly Polishized during the period of the Lithuanian-Polish Union, i.e. they adopted the Polish language and culture.

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, as it was called in other languages:

• Вялікае Княства Літоўскае, Рускае, Жамойцкае - (Belarusian)
• Leedu Suurvürstiriik - (Estonian)
• Magnus Ducatus Lituaniae - (Latin)
• Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė - (Lithuanian)
• Didi Kunigiste Letuvos - (Old Lithuanian)
• Lietuvas Lielkunigaitija / Lietuvas Lielkņaziste - (Latvian)
• Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie - (Polish)
• Великое князство Литовское, Руское, Жомойтское иных - (Ruthenian).
• Великое княжество Литовское, Русcкое, Жемойтское и иных - (Russian).
• Велике Князівство Литовське, Руське і Жемайтійське - (Ukrainian)

Lithuanian language area in the 16th century. This also included the northeastern part of the Duchy (later Kingdom) of Prussia ("Prussian Lithuania"), although politically this never belonged to Lithuania before 1945.