Grand duchy of lithuania historical state, europe britannica. For over five hundred years britons have visited the grand duchy of lithuania. The state was founded by the lithuanians, a polytheistic baltic tribe from aukstaitija. At the height of its power in the 14th16th centuries, the grand duchy comprised the territories of presentday lithuania. The fascinating history of a baltic empires dominance and declineexcerpted. Grand duchy of lithuania castles and palaces in belarus. In 1569 it became a part of the polishlithuanian commonwealth until 1791. A selection from vanished kingdoms penguin tracks as want to read. May 12, 2012 history of the grand duchy of lithuania and the polishlithuanian commonwealth in the maps. After the introduction, he describes beginnings of lithuania, or lietuva, and the related baltic people. Pressed by the crusading teutonic and livonian knights, the lithuanian tribes united under mindaugas d.
An introduction to lithuanian literature in 8 books. Grand duchy of lithuania simple english wikipedia, the free. History of the grand duchy of lithuania and the polishlithuanian commonwealth in the maps. An illustrated guide to more than 1,300 years of the countrys complex history. Most of the time it was a constituent part and a nucleus of the grand duchy of lithuania. Lithuanian history professor edvardas gudavicius has passed away at the age of 90, rimvydas petrauskas, rectorelect of vilnius university, said on monday. Castles and palaces of lithuanian grand duchy in belarus are located within 100 km from the modern lithuanianbelarusian boundary. It includes lives of people as well as of the state, their destinies. Among the treasures of the parchments collection there are 65 documents, pertaining to the history of lithuania. The prussians, overrun by the teutonic order in the th century, became extinct by the 18th century. Apr 23, 2014 the grand duchy of lithuania gediminas war. Top10 movies about grand duchy of lithuania liutauras. He inherited the family mapmaking business from his fatherinlaw, matthias seutter. Historical documents of the grand duchy of lithuania among the treasures of the parchments collection there are 65 documents, pertaining to the history of lithuania.
Lotter published atlases and numerous sheet maps, including this 1770 latin map of the grand duchy of lithuania. Furthermore, most of lithuania minor was annexed to russia as kaliningrad oblast. Since the end of the th century, new dynasty established itself. At the height of its power in the 14th16th centuries, the grand duchy comprised the territories of. The grand duchy research project was begun by sonia and david hoffman. Originally the head of the grand duchy of lithuania and later part of the polishlithuanian commonwealth, it changed hands between imperial and soviet russia, germany, poland, and lithuania multiple times. The journal of belarusian studies noblewomens dowries in. The latvians to the north were conquered during the first three decades of the th. The fascinating history of a baltic empires dominance and declineexcerpted from internationally bestselling author norman daviess vanished kingdoms vanished kingdoms introduces readers to oncepowerful european empires that have left scant traces on the modern map.
Back to the history in the grand duchy of lithuania. Grand duchy of lithuania gdl lithuanianjewish special. Map of the grand duchy of lithuania during the 15h. Destruction of the grand duchy of lithuania 112 c h a p t e r iii lithuania under the russian empire 17951915 117 in pursuit of lost. The purpose of the book was to acquaint the general reader, in particular the citizens of. Lithuanians, one of the baltic peoples, later conquered neighboring lands and established the grand duchy of lithuania in the th century and also a shortlived kingdom of lithuania. Other alternative names of the territorial formation, used in different periods, were aukstaitija or land of. The belarusian ethnos is traced at least as far in time as other east slavs after an initial period of independent feudal consolidation, belarusian lands were incorporated into the kingdom of lithuania, grand duchy of lithuania, and later in the polishlithuanian commonwealth, and the russian empire and eventually the soviet union. These documents cover the period from 1465 to 1818. Historical documents of the grand duchy of lithuania. The grand duchy was a successful and lasting warrior state.
Few people know about the existence of the grand duchy of lithuania, the medieval belarusian state. The battle of grunwald has become an important commemorative place in the history of lithuania. This point of view can even be found in books on the subject, written by historians who should know better. Grand duchy of lithuania simple english wikipedia, the. The origins of the grand duchy of litva lithuania according to the belarusan historian mikola jermalovic, the th century conquest of belarus by a baltic litva is an undocumented myth created in the 16th century. Grand duchy of lithuania, state, incorporating lithuania proper, belarus, and western ukraine, which became one of the most influential powers in eastern europe 14th16th century. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. The largest part is comprised of the charters of the kings of poland and grand dukes of lithuania 42 items. In this excerpt from his widely acclaimed book, norman davies tells the illfated story of.
The grand duchy of lithuania in the retrospective of comparative. Calendars lithuanian language learning materials photo albums. While the historic origin of the grand duchy lay in modern lithuania, was tied to ethnic lithuanians, the grand duchy from the 14th to the 18th century was a multiethnic state, with eastern lithuania and northwestern belarus as its. Even existentialism has made its mark on lithuanian literature. Lithuania borders on the baltic sea in the west, latvia in the north, belarus in the east and southeast, poland in the south, and the kaliningrad oblast a russian exclave. Once one of the strongest powers in europe grand duchy of lithuania dissapeared from the maps long time ago but the evidences of the power are still existing and most of the sites related to the history of grand duchy of lithuania are concentrated in easily accesible area covering lithuania and belarus. Can be historical, historical fiction, novels, poetry, etc. The grand duchy of lithuania is an interdisciplinary study of the grand duchy of lithuania gdl that is historical in subject but social scientific in approach. The author places the events in the grand duchy of lithuania in the general crisis that occurred in europe in the middle of the 17th century characterized by a great number of wars, rebellions and civil wars from portugal to ukraine, and which builds the background to. Therefore visual form movies of presenting our history plays a huge role in defining not only visual acknowledgement, but also provides a perfect base to build stories about national heroes and their deeds. Britons have been visiting lithuania and lithuanians great britain since the fourteenth century. I had no luck to find similar list of movies online in english, therefore i will complete it myself stepbystep adding new movies excluding documentaries and animations, where at least partially are involved persons and events related to the history of grand duchy of lithuania. The british in the grand duchy of lithuania draugas news.
Some came as warriors, others as diplomats, educators or traders, and still others as permanent settlers. Many of us have heard of the tudors and windsors of england, the valois and bourbons of france, the habsburgs of austria and hungary, and the radziwills and czartoriskis of poland. The grand duchy of lithuania, 18th century currently selected. History of the grand duchy of lithuania and the polish.
Writers, such as vincas krevemickevicius and zemaite paved the way for lithuanias contemporary authors. November 15, 1994 history before1900 comments off on the great families of lithuania 16,532 views by vytas kernius. This history makes lithuania unique in the area, as many other nations e. They are the only branch within the group that managed to create a state entity in premodern times. Tobias conrad lotter 171777 was a publisher of maps in augsburg, germany. This effectively ended the history of lithuania minor. List of books and articles about lithuanian history. While the author opens with a geographic reference, belarus, he does so in order to show the once vast size of the gdl. Grand duchy of lithuania project gutenberg selfpublishing. The making of the polishlithuanian union, 851569 oxford history of early modern europe robert i. Lietuvos kunigaikstyste was a stateterritorial formation of ethnic lithuanians, that existed from the th century until 14. The grand duchy expanded to include large portions of the former. Lithuanians are an indoeuropean people belonging to the baltic group.
Grand duchy of lithuania in the sixteenth seventeenth centuries by. History of lithuania lonely planet travel information. Moreover, materials are to be translated into english, making the history of the grand duchy of lithuania accessible to the international community as well. Once one of the strongest powers in europe grand duchy of lithuania dissapeared from the maps long time ago but the evidences of the power are still existing and most of the sites related to the history of grand duchy of lithuania are concentrated in easily accesible area covering lithuania and. The court books of the grand duchy of lithuania gdl is one of the most interesting historical collections of vilnius university library. Mindaugas accepted catholicism in a bid to defuse the threat from the teutonic order germanic crusaders who conquered various prussian. The history of the grand duchy of lithuania is not just a ramshackle of facts and events. It covered the land of presentday belarus, latvia, lithuania and parts of estonia. The collection also contains letters issued by lithuanian nobility, church superiors, charters of the magistrate of vilnius, extracts from the different books of acts. The grand duchy of lithuania gediminas war youtube. For 300 years the greatest power in eastern europe was the union between the kingdom of poland and the grand duchy of lithuania, one of the longestlasting political unions in european history. The grand duchy of lithuania was a european state that lasted from the th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the russian empire, the kingdom of prussia and austria. The latvians to the north were conquered during the first three. After a brutal genocide 300 000 locals murdered, among them 000 lithuanians the regions population was replaced by soviet settlers and new russian placenames were coined for its towns and features.
It consists of almost six hundred manuscript deed books and book fragments dated between 1540 and 1845. In the midth century aukstaitiai leader mindaugas unified lithuanian tribes to create the grand duchy of lithuania, of which he was coronated king in 1253 at kernave, the pompeii of lithuania. Lithuanian folk dance journal of the english folk dance and song society. Bc 2000bc lithuanian ancestors settled along the baltic coast 1200s ad 0s 1236 ad duke mindaugas united local chieftains, defeated the livonian knights at the battle of saule. The constitution of may 3 and the reciprocal guarantee of two nations 108. Algirdass successor jogaila signed the union of krewo in 86, bringing two major changes in the history of the grand duchy of lithuania. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Lithuanians, one of the baltic peoples, later conquered neighboring lands and established the grand duchy of lithuania in the th century and also a shortlived kingdom of.
An interesting read on the grand luchy of lithuany that helps to understand the roots of lithuanias existence as an independent country. The grand duchy of lithuania was a european state from the 12th th century until 1569. Excellent overview of a grand lithuanian kingdom, virtually unheard of, that included much of eastern europe in the 14th to 16th centuries. Any book that gives the reader an idea of life and culture in lithuania. The grand duchy of lithuania was a european state that lasted from the th century to 1795. The first printed book in lithuanian catechism of martynas mazvydas by. These portraits are wellknown, because portrait genre became widespread in the grand duchy of lithuania hereafter the gdl since the 16th century thanks to the renaissance art and has been subject to patronage in particular by the grand lithuanian dukes hereafter gld. Latvia, estonia did not have their premodern states or had much smaller states. Media in category grand duchy of lithuania the following 32 files are in this category, out of 32 total. They were constructed in the during the golden eras of the duchy 14th17th centuries. Grand duchy of lithuania court books digital collections. November 15, 1994 historybefore1900 comments off on the great families of lithuania 16,532 views by vytas kernius. Lithuania time line chronological timetable of events. The grand duchy of lithuania existed from the middle of the thirteenth till the end of the eighteenth centuries.
The writers of the eight books included in this list have written books detailing lithuanian history and culture and many have been translated into english. The state was founded by the lithuanians, one of the polytheistic baltic tribes from aukstaitija the grand duchy later expanded to include large portions of the former kievan rus and other slavic lands, covering the territory of presentday belarus, latvia, and lithuania, and parts of estonia, poland. The writing style and organization, however, leave something to be desired. Poland, lithuania and teutonic state at the beginning of the xv es. Grand duchy of lithuania historian edvardas gudavicius passes away lithuanian history professor edvardas gudavicius has passed away at the age of 90, rimvydas petrauskas, rectorelect of vilnius university, said on monday. Destruction of the grand duchy of lithuania 112 c h a p t e r iii lithuania under the russian empire 17951915 117 in pursuit of lost statehood 118. This is a good short but comprehensive history of lithuania. From the grand duchys history, and above all from its last years and demise, russia emerges as the biggest threat for lithuanias existence, as was later confirmed by the fifty years of soviet occupation. The rise and fall of the grand duchy of lithuania by norman. But today, even those who know of the gdl refer to it as a lithuanian state. Other alternative names of the territorial formation, used in different periods, were aukstaitija or land of lithuania th century, duchy of vilnius 14th early 15th centuries, 2 lithuania propria or simply lithuania in a narrow sense. To prove that, a group of historians came up with a website, ldkistorija.
The history of lithuania dates back to settlements founded many thousands of years ago, but the first written record of the name for the country dates back to 1009 ad. Litva provides a panoramic history of the grand duchy of lithuania, or gdl. The core region of the historic grand duchy of lithuania today makes up the republics of lithuania and belarus. Jan 11, 20 map of the grand duchy of lithuania during the 15h centuries stay safe and healthy. They identified documents relating to jewish families who lived in the grand duchy region during the 17th and 18th centuries. The duchy grew to include large parts of the former kievan rus and other slavic lands. Rite items from the grand duchy of lithuania times. Books about latvia childrens books history and culture poetry sheet music novels sports travel. The city of vilnius, the capital and largest city of lithuania, has undergone a diverse history since it was first settled in the stone age. At the height of its power in the 15th century, the grand duchy of lithuania ruled over the territory of presentday belarus, latvia, lithuania, and.
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