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82-551: After the legal reforms of 1563–64, members of the Lithuanian nobility received the right to appeal to the Grand Duke. However, soon Grand Duke's court was severely backlogged and became clear that reforms were needed. The nobles themselves demanded a "supreme court". The Tribunal was officially established on March 1, 1581; its first session was held on April 30, 1582. In effect, the reform established separation of powers in

164-553: A Latin formula gente Lithuanus, natione Polonus ( Lithuanian by birth, Polish by nationality ) was common in Lithuania Proper and the former Samogitian Eldership . With Polish culture developing into one of the primary centers of resistance to the Russian Empire, Polonization in some regions actually strengthened in response to official policies of Russification . An even larger percentage of Lithuanian nobility

246-537: A common entity of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , which had one of the largest percentages of nobility in Europe, with szlachta constituting close to 10% of the population, but in some constituent regions, like Duchy of Samogitia, it was closer to 12%. However, the high nobility was extremely limited in number, consisting of the magnates and later, within the Russian Empire, of princes. Families of

328-422: A historiographer of Greater Lithuania at that time, wrote that the Lithuanian language previously used by some citizens of Grand Duchy of Lithuania was used by peasants , while the nobility widely adopted Polish . However, it should be mentioned that this process took place without orders or prohibitions, without coercion, mainly under the influence of civilizational domination and administrative influence (there

410-524: A legally privileged hereditary elite class in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth (including during period of foreign rule 1795–1918) consisting of Lithuanians from Lithuania Proper ; Samogitians from Duchy of Samogitia ; following Lithuania's eastward expansion into what is now Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, many ethnically Ruthenian noble families ( boyars ); and, later on, predominantly Baltic German families from

492-425: A member by virtue of holding the relevant office. Possession of the princely title gave the right to participate in wider councils, called Sejm ( сеймь , сoймь ) a term borrowed from Polish. Their position grew especially during the period when the Grand Duke was also King of Poland and was away from the country for long periods. Crucial to this was the privilege of 1492, which gave the council enormous influence over

574-514: A motive of crossed arrows. According to the Union of Horodło of 1413, 47 Lithuanian and Samogitian noble houses adopted Polish nobility coat of arms . As the nobility expanded during the following centuries more coats of arms were created. Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( Polish : Królestwo Polskie ; Latin : Regnum Poloniae ) was a monarchy in Central Europe during

656-409: A natural continuation of Greater Lithuanian national thought . Despite the term, Lithuanian nobility doesn’t mean the same as the nobility of todays Lithuania , as the terms "Lithuanians" and "Lithuanian" have changed over the centuries . As cultural homogenization and linguistic Polonization of the nobility progressed, the concept of Lithuanian began to mean simply regional difference within

738-411: Is also no evidence of administrative coercion). Polonization processes led to the fact that already in the 17th century, Lithuanian landowners called themselves gente Lithuani, natione Poloni ( Latin : Lithuanians by birth, Poles by nationality ). In 1697, in the entire Grand Duchy of Lithuania, at the request of the local Lithuanian nobility, Polish was introduced as the official language instead of

820-547: Is firmly located in the East. In the Second Polish Republic , Lithuanians lived mainly in the counties on the border with Lithuania: Święciany , Vilnius - Trakai and Suwałki , and almost all of them were rural people engaged in agriculture . At the beginning of the 20th century, descendants of former noble Lithuanians were most likely to call themselves Poles. Only a part of the nobility, openly referring to

902-797: The Battle of Legnica , abruptly ended the unification. Generally, most Polish scholars agree that if not for the Mongol invasions of Poland , the kingdom would have been restored in the middle of the 13th century, under the Silesian Piast Dynasty. The next attempt to restore the monarchy and unify the Polish kingdom would occur in 1296, when Przemysł II was crowned as the King of Poland in Gniezno. The coronation did not require papal consent as

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984-594: The Duchy of Livonia and Inflanty Voivodeship . Initially, the privileged social group of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was called boyars . Boyars became part of the szlachta (nobility) during the Union of Horodło on October 2, 1413, initiating nobility in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania following the Western European model (with a hereditary system of heraldic identification), as well as an increase in

1066-547: The Holy Roman Empire . Upon his death in 1138, the country was divided between his sons into the duchies of Greater Poland , Lesser Poland , Masovia , Silesia , Sandomierz , and a Pomeranian vassal . As a result, Poland entered a period of feudal fragmentation that lasted for over 200 years. During the first half of the 13th century, the Silesian Piasts attempted to restore the kingdom. Henry

1148-594: The January Uprising , imperial officials announced that "Lithuanians are Russians seduced by Poles and Catholicism" and banned press in the Lithuanian language and started the Program of Restoration of Russian Beginnings . Over the course of time, the Lithuanian nobility increasingly developed a sense of belonging to the Polish nation. During the 19th century, a self-designation, often represented using

1230-434: The Lithuanian language was just a morphed Latin language. By that time, the upper nobility and the ducal court already used Polish as their first language. The last Grand Duke known to have spoken Lithuanian was Casimir IV Jagiellon (1440-1492). In 1595 Mikalojus Daukša addressed Lithuanian nobility calling for the Lithuanian language to play a more important role in state life. The usage of Lithuanian declined, and

1312-612: The Union of Horodło (1413) forty-five Polish families adopted forty-seven Lithuanian Catholic families, lending them their coats of arms. It is assumed that the representatives of Lithuanian nobility gathered in Horodło constituted the elite of that time on which Vytautas based his authority. The adoption of Polish coats of arms, an important marker of nobility with a well-established tradition in Western Europe, elevated this narrow group above other privileged population groups. Despite

1394-540: The medieval period from 1025 until 1385. The West Slavic tribe of Polans who lived in what is today the historic region of Greater Poland , gave rise to a state in the early 10th century, which would become the nascent predecessor of the Kingdom of Poland. Following the Christianization of Poland in 966, and the emergence of the Duchy of Poland during the rule of Mieszko I , his eldest son Bolesław I

1476-595: The Bearded undertook efforts to reunite the fragmented duchies through a combination of political maneuvering and conquest. He also undertook efforts towards the coronation of his son, Henry II the Pious , and negotiated with other Polish dukes and the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II of Hohenstaufen , to this end. Henry II, continued his father's efforts, but the first Mongol invasion in 1241 and his death at

1558-573: The Brave inherited his father's dukedom and subsequently was crowned as king. In 1025, Bolesław I the Brave of the Piast dynasty was crowned as the first King of Poland at the cathedral in Gniezno and elevated the status of Poland from a duchy to a kingdom after receiving permission for his coronation from Pope John XIX . Following the death of Bolesław, his son Mieszko II Lambert inherited

1640-682: The Elbow-High , who was crowned at the Wawel cathedral in Kraków , and then subsequently strengthened by his son Casimir III the Great , who expanded into Red Ruthenia. However, he had to renounce his claims to Silesia in order to secure peace with the Holy Roman Empire. Casimir III is the only Polish king to receive the title "Great", and his reign was marked by substantial developments in

1722-509: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and safeguarded its sovereignty vis-à-vis the Kingdom of Poland. Gradually Polonization spread to a broader population, and for the most part, the Lithuanian nobility became part of both nations’ szlachta . The middle nobility adopted the Polish language in the 17th century, while the minor rural nobles remained bilingual up to the period when the question of language related-nationality appeared. The Lithuanian nobles did preserve their national awareness as members of

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1804-507: The Grand Duchy, and in most cases recognition of their Lithuanian family roots; their leaders would continue to represent the interests of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the General sejm and in the royal court . Lithuanian language was used during Kościuszko Uprising in the proclamations calling to rise up For our freedom and yours . And Lithuanian nobles did rise to fight for the independence of their nation. In Lithuania proper ,

1886-479: The Holshansky played a significant role on the side of the grand dukes, starting from Jogaila and Vytautas, being in the strict power elite. Apart from them, these were the families descended from Gediminas family: Olelkovich , Belsky , Kobryński and Zasławski. The princes of ethnically Ruthenian origin were excluded from the strict power elite and found their place in it only at the end of the 15th century. Then

1968-1068: The Lithuanian language, subsequent to the partitions of the Commonwealth left most of the former Grand Duchy under control of the Russian Empire . The situation worsened during the years of tsar Nicholas I of Russia 's rule. After the November uprising imperial officials wanted to minimize the social base for another potential uprising and thus decided to reduce the noble class. During the period 1833–1860, 25,692 people in Vilna Governorate and 17,032 people in Kovno Governorate lost their noble status. They could not prove their status with monarchs' privileges or land ownership. They did not lose personal freedom, but were assigned as one steaders Russian : однодворцы in rural areas and as citizens in towns. In view of

2050-403: The Lithuanian nobility during the interbellum and after World War II emigrated to Poland, many were deported to Siberia during the years 1945–53 of Soviet occupation, many manors were destroyed. The Association of Lithuanian Nobility was established in 1994. Lithuanian and Samogitian families possessed heraldry predating formal Christianization. The most archaic type of post-1413 heraldry has

2132-672: The Lithuanian nobility gather in their ranks representatives of the minor nobility, most often descending from their families on the distaff side . Prior to the baptism by Mindaugas , lesser members of the nobility were called bajorai (singular - bajoras ) and greater nobles, kunigai (singular - kunigas ), related to the Old German : kunig , meaning "king", or Lithuanian : kunigaikštis , usually translated as duke , Latin : dux . These positions evolved from tribal leaders and were chiefly responsible for waging wars and organizing raids operations into enemy territories. Following

2214-466: The Polish language became the predominant administrative language in the 16th century, eventually replacing Ruthenian as the official language of the Grand Duchy in 1697. Nonetheless, spoken Lithuanian was still common in the Grand Duchy courts during the 17th century. At first, only Lithuanian magnate families were affected by Polonization, although many of them like the Radziwiłłs remained loyal to

2296-576: The Polish language, including the Radziwiłł , Czartoryski , Tyszkiewicz , Sanguszko , Sapieha , Giedroyć , Piłsudski , Puzyna , Woroniecki and Romer families. The president of the Genealogical and Heraldic Society of Lithuania , Czesław Malewski, commented that currently there are no famous families left in Lithuania, and the functioning and competing associations of

2378-419: The Polish nobility . The process accelerated after the Union of Lublin (1569), resulting in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . Lithuanian nobility polonised , replacing Lithuanian and Ruthenian languages with Polish although the process took centuries. In the 16th century, a newly established theory amongst Lithuanian nobility was popular, claiming that Lithuanian nobility was of Roman extraction, and

2460-643: The Polish title "książę", which in Ruthenian texts was translated as "knyazhe". As a result, the poorer prince families that still used the title of knyaz fell completely into insignificance, and the Lithuanian magnate elite consisted of "princes and lords" ( Polish : "książąt i panów" ). Following his distribution of state land, the Grand Duke became dependent on powerful landowners, who began demanding greater liberties and privileges. The nobles were granted administrative and judicial power in their domains and increasing rights in state politics. The legal status of

2542-602: The Polonization of the nobility, gentry and townspeople was practically complete by the early 19th century, relegating the Lithuanian language to the status of a peasant's tongue. The processes of Polonization and russification were partially reversed with the Lithuanian National Revival . Despite origins from mostly the non-noble classes, a number of nobles re-embraced their Lithuanian roots. The lesser Lithuanian nobility, still partially preserving

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2624-415: The ages". Another opportunity to prove nobility were the military musterings, the first one organised in 1528, where a register of those capable to fight was prepared. A listing in such a register was legal proof of nobility. Initially, a group distinguished by prestige were the princely families, which members bore the title of knyaz . These were mostly, at least according to tradition, the descendants of

2706-562: The belief in the identity of both elements became almost a patriotic axiom. Additionally, in the second half of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, the process of linguistic Polonization of the rural population accelerated rapidly, especially in the Vilnius region . In the consciousness of the general Polish society at that time, the multi-ethnic heritage of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

2788-402: The conscious classes and the popular masses, who began to identify with Polishness through their religion. The January Uprising of 1863-1864 and the wave of post-uprising repressions were a great shock for the people of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania. However, under the influence of painful experiences, the sense of community between Lithuanianness and Polishness became even stronger, and

2870-515: The country from the east while Mieszko II was in Lusatia fighting the Holy Roman Emperor, Condrad II . Yaroslav I installed his ally, the half-brother of Mieszko II, Duke Bezprym , as the ruler of Poland. However, as a result of the upheavals, the kingdom suffered territorial losses and was effectively reduced to a duchy. Casimir I the Restorer managed to reunite parts of the kingdom following

2952-501: The course of the 15th century, it changed its meaning to refer to the masses of ordinary nobility who could stand up to fight when called upon. There were also social groups that were personally free but had no military commitments. Such a group were, for example, putnie boyars, who served as grand-ducal envoys and were in charge of road maintenance. A significant group of boyars were service boyars who did not own allodial land, but only service estates, which they received and owned only by

3034-655: The course of wars in the 15th and 16th centuries. Some families became extinct, and with the restriction of the circle of inheritance, their estates were incorporated into the grand-ducal domain. In 1499 Alexander regulated the legal system of the few remaining appanages, the magnates ruling them were given the full ius ducale . This was of little political significance since the princes as a political class were of little importance. Regarding Lithuania proper, not counting descendants of Gediminas seven princely families are known: Borowski , Dowgowd, Giedraitis/ Giedrojć , Jamontowicz, Holshansky , Sudemund, Świrski . They also used

3116-559: The crisis and moved the capital to Kraków . However, he failed to reinstitute the monarchy due to opposition from the Holy Roman Emperor . In 1076, Bolesław II the Bold , with the support of Pope Gregory VII , regained the royal crown but was later excommunicated and banished from the kingdom in 1079 for murdering his opponent, Bishop Stanislaus of Szczepanów . In 1079, Władysław I Herman , who never pursued kingship took over

3198-539: The crown and a vast territory after his father, which included Greater Poland (with Mazovia ), Lesser Poland , Silesia , Pomerania , Lusatia , Moravia , Red Ruthenia , and Upper Hungary . However, in 1031, he was forced to renounce the title and flee the country when a series of peasant uprisings broke out in what became known as the pagan reaction , and Yaroslav I the Wise , the Grand Prince of Kiev , invaded

3280-460: The dynasties who accepted the authority of Gediminids. However, only those who owned land in Lithuania proper, who were of Lithuanian origin and who had accepted Catholicism in 1386, had any influence on central state policy. The Ruthenian princes had influence only on the local situation in their lands. They varied considerably in terms of wealth and importance, some of them wielding huge estates, while others possessed their land on service tenure from

3362-466: The enforcement to lower-tier courts. Therefore, despite penalties and other punishments for disobeying its decisions, the Tribunal had little actual power and the nobles increasingly ignored it. Lithuanian nobility The Lithuanian nobility or szlachta of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ( Lithuanian : bajorija, šlėkta , Polish : szlachta Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego ) was historically

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3444-610: The establishment of a unified state, they gradually became subordinates to greater Dukes, and later to the King of Lithuania . After Mindaugas' death, all Lithuanian rulers held the title Grand Duke ( Lithuanian : Didysis kunigaikštis ), or king , which was the title sometimes used by Gediminas and several others. Ethnic Lithuanian nobility had different names than common people, as their names consisted of two stems . Greater noble families generally used their predecessor's Lithuanian pagan given names as their family names ; this

3526-527: The exclusive right to this term. According to Professor Grzegorz Błaszczyk , the heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania belongs primarily to the descendants of old Greater Lithuanian families, most of whom were Polonized and still live in Poland today. The last representative of the great Lithuanian families living in today's Lithuania, Stefania Maria Romer, died in 2012. Meanwhile, in Poland, about 2,000 Polish families with Lithuanian origins live and use

3608-448: The fact that some of them abandoned the Horodło coats of arms and replaced them with others, the political significance of this gesture did not lose its significance. In the system built by Vytautas, central offices were restricted to Catholics only, which excluded nobles of Ruthenian origin. The basis of the Grand Duke's power was the lands of Lithuania proper, basically the provinces of Trakai and Vilnius. Nobles from this region constituted

3690-400: The grace of the Grand Duke. As the role and wealth of the great magnates increased, the service boyars put themselves at the service of the lords and princes in exchange for tenures. The process of the formation of the noble estate in Lithuania accelerated after the union with Poland when there arose a desire to equalize the legal system of both countries. Nobility, or szlachta , in Poland

3772-419: The grand duke or another prince (so-called 'service princes' - князя слчжбовiе ). The most powerful princes retained almost total power in their lands, recognising the supremacy of the grand dukes. Vytautas began a policy of limiting the power of the princes and incorporating their appanages into the domain. Many princes died in civil wars after his death. Many appanages, lying in the east, were lost to Moscow in

3854-528: The history of the "peoples" inhabiting the eastern lands of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth constituted an integral part of the history of Poles. The local "peoples" (especially Lithuanians and Belarusians ) were perceived at best as "younger brothers", naturally subordinated to the Polish national interest. It was therefore necessary to educate them and guide them in the right direction, because they were not yet mature enough to make independent decisions. "Our Polish paternalism - writes Roman Wapiński -

3936-655: The intelligentsia. The fall of the First Polish Republic and unsuccessful armed uprisings led to the strengthening of the Polonization processes of the small nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, identifying spiritually and culturally with Polish traditions. Post-uprising repression resulted in the Catholic Church becoming the mainstay of Polishness. Because the Catholic Church had a Polish character, it became an element integrating both

4018-574: The kingdom's urban infrastructure, civic administration, and military strength. After his death on 5 November 1370, the rule of the Piast dynasty would come to an end. Following the death of Casimir III, who died without an heir, Louis I of Hungary from the House of Anjou became king in 1370. The period of his transitional rule also marked the rise of the nobility in the political life of the country. When Louis I died in 1382, his daughter Jadwiga took over

4100-491: The largest percentages of nobility in Europe, with szlachta (nobility) constituting close to 10% of the population, but in some constituent regions, like Duchy of Samogitia , it was closer to 12%. However, the high nobility was extremely limited in number, consisting of the magnates and later, within the Russian Empire, of princes. Over time, the vast majority of the nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania voluntarily became Polonized and recognized Polish national thought as

4182-524: The modern national movements of Lithuania and Belarus and fought for Poland in 1918-1920. The landowning nobles in the new Lithuanian state saw themselves predominately as Poles of Lithuanian background. During the interbellum years the government of Lithuania issued land reform limiting manors with 150 hectares of land while confiscating land from those nobles who were fighting alongside the Polish in Polish-Lithuanian War . Many members of

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4264-445: The nobility grew and the burdens and freedoms of the peasantry were reduced, these linguistic differences began to gain importance. Around the beginning of the 16th century, groups of boyars spared no effort to prove their noble status. The grand ducal council resolved that nobility had to be attested by the testimony of two neighbours, of undoubtedly noble lineage, saying that the applicant's family had been "boyars and shliakhta through

4346-508: The nobility was almost all Lithuanian or Samogitian, with territorial expansion more Ruthenian families joined the nobility. As early as the 16th century, several Ruthenian noble families began to call themselves gente Ruthenus, natione Lithuanus . A good example is the Chodkiewicz family, which attributed its ancestry to the House of Gediminas . The term boyar , boiarstvo ( bajorai ) originally denoted all those who fought. Over

4428-613: The nobility was based on several privileges, granted by the Grand Dukes: Most of the nobility rights were retained even after the third partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. The nobility was particularly numerous in the ethnically Lithuanian lands and is estimated to have constituted about 10-11%, while in the Ruthenian lands of the Grand Duchy only about 3-4%. The nobility in Samogitia

4510-426: The nobility were responsible for military mobilization and enjoyed Golden Liberty ; some were rewarded with additional privileges for success on the battlefield. In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, ducal titles were mostly inherited by descendants of old dynasties while the relatively few hereditary noble titles in the Kingdom of Poland were bestowed by foreign monarchs. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had one of

4592-477: The political elite of the country. New terms emerged for all those of noble birth: shliakhta (from Polish : szlachta ; Lithuanian : šlėkta ) in Ruthenian and nobiles in Latin. The term zemianin  [ pl ] ( Lithuanian : ziemionys ) began to denote the nobles who possessed land. Szlachta itself was stratified into several categories . As the privileges and political importance of

4674-476: The politics of the Grand Duchy. Practically giving it full control over the actions of the ruler. While in Poland at that time the limitation of royal power was associated with an increase in the role of the ordinary nobility, in the Grand Duchy, where nobility assemblies ( sejmiks ) did not exist, full power passed into the hands of the great lords. Grand Duchy of Lithuania offices were held almost exclusively by magnates. Potent Radziwiłł family (Radvila) received

4756-452: The population lived in the lands directly under the Grand Duke's rule, by 1528 this figure had fallen to 30%. It is estimated that 5% of the land was owned by the Church, while as much as 65% of the land was then in the hands of 13 thousand of noble families (6 thousand of them were of Lithuanian origin). Most of it was owned by a small group of several dozen families of lords, which constituted

4838-587: The position of the Greater Lithuanian nobility. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania adopted Polish institutions of castellans and voivodes , and 47 selected boyars of Grand Duchy of Lithuania of the Catholic faith were adopted by Polish noble families and received Polish coats of arms . With the Union of Lublin , nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the nobility of the Kingdom of Poland became

4920-428: The previously existing Ruthenian language . In the 18th century, the Polonization of the lands within the borders of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was a completed process, and the Polonization of Vilnius was a state of affairs. Despite the lack of their own state, the conviction of the permanent nature of Lithuania's relationship with Poles and the territorial integrity of their common, although enslaved, homeland

5002-422: The reins after the expulsion of Bolesław II. Władysław I was disinterested in becoming king and the country was effectively run by wojewoda Sieciech . In 1102, Bolesław III Wrymouth became the ruler of Poland. Unlike Władysław I, Bolesław III proved to be a capable leader who restored the full territorial integrity of Poland but ultimately was not able to obtain the royal crown due to continued opposition from

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5084-518: The representatives of powerful Volhynian families: Sanguszko , Czartoryski , Ostrogski and Zasławski found their place in the power elite. Since the reign of Vytautas, documents began to distinguish a group of great lords, calling them in Latin baro (pl. barones ), dominus (pl. domini ) or, in Ruthenian texts, "great boyars" ( боярe великie ). Soon, the borrowed from Polish term "pan" (plural "pany", пан ; ponai or didikai ), literally meaning "lord" gained popularity. This new elite

5166-443: The rights of landowners to pass on their estates. Although allodial land ownership was previously known in the Grand Duchy, its prevalence increased significantly in the following period. Similarly, the new law of inheritance led to a decline in the importance, outside Kaunas district and Samogitia, of clan kinships, in favour of more nuclear families. This led to a rapid change in the structure of land ownership. While in 1386 80% of

5248-439: The ruling elite. The situation began to change in the 1430s when nobility privileges began to be extended to the Ruthenian nobility. The cementing of the new elite was strengthened by the emergence of the institution of the council. Initially, it had no institutionalized form but gathered the ruler's closest associates. However, from 1430 onwards, it began to take shape as a permanent institution, to which one automatically became

5330-426: The state or ethnic sense. The Lithuanian nobility felt united with the Polish nobility as part of one political nation of the Commonwealth, enjoying privileges, freedom and equality. In this sense, they often referred to themselves as "Polish nobility" or outright "Poles". At the same time, separatism and the defense of Lithuanian national separateness within the federation state were very strong. The Lithuanian nobility

5412-462: The state: Grand Duke was the executive branch , Seimas was the legislative , and the Tribunal and lower courts were the judicial . The Tribunal Charter had 20 articles governing its proceedings. The unpaid judges were elected in local nobility gatherings ( sejmiks ) for a one-year term around February 2. Initially, the judges could be reelected only after two years, but in 1611 that was changed to four years. No special legal education or knowledge

5494-430: The throne as King of Poland. Her advisors negotiated with Jogaila of Lithuania , concerning a potential marriage to Jadwiga. Jogaila pleaged to convert to Christianity and signed the Union of Krewo in 1385. The agreement also heralded a change in the legal status of the Polish realm to that of a Crown of the Kingdom of Poland , which was a political concept that assumed unbroken unity, indivisibility and continuity of

5576-473: The title knyaz, which is probably a rendering of the Lithuanian kunigas , which in pagan times probably belonged to every person of noble status. It is not clear whether they owed their princely dignity to their former status as sovereigns or to their connection and affinity with the ruling family established in the 14th century (this is confirmed at least for the Gedraitis and Holshanskys). Among them, only

5658-481: The title of king was already instituted in 1025. However, his reign was short-lived, as he was murdered by assassins sent by the margraviates of Brandenburg . After the killing of Przemysł II , next to take the title of king was Wenceslaus II of Bohemia from the Czech Přemyslid dynasty , who reigned until 1305. Following a vacancy that lasted until 1320, the Kingdom of Poland was fully restored under Władysław I

5740-669: The title of the prince ( German : Reichsfürst ; Polish : książę ) from the Holy Roman Emperor in 1518, similarly some other families received titles of counts ( Goštautai /Gasztołd in 1529/30; Ilinicz in 1553; Chodkiewicz in 1568; possibly Kęsgailos /Kieżgajło in 1547) from the Emperor. The elevation of the Radziwiłł family resulted in the abandonment of the title of "knyaz" by those Ruthenian families that still retained significant power, wealth and often appanages (for example Wiśniowiecki , Ostrogski , Zbaraski ). They adopted instead

5822-525: The traditions of historical Lithuania, trying to reconcile Lithuanianness with Polishness, called themselves " old Lithuanians ", " historical Lithuanians " or " The Mickiewicz's " (i.e. - such as in Adam Mickiewicz , from the first words of the invocation from the poem Pan Tadeusz: "O Lithuania, my country ... " ). In turn, the representatives of the former " Semigalian people ", now "nationalized", called themselves Lithuanians , additionally reserving

5904-616: The uniform political nation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . The main Polonizing factors, as in other areas of the First Republic of Poland , were the church , the manor and the city , where the lower social classes adopted and thereby took over the cultural patterns of the higher classes. Already in 1576, seven years after the conclusion of the Union of Lublin , Augustyn Rotundus ,

5986-420: Was Polonised and adopted Polish identity by the late 19th century. A Russian census in 1897 showed that 27.7% of nobility living within modern Lithuania's borders recognized Lithuanian as the mother language. This number was even higher in Kovno Governorate , where 36.6% of nobility identified the Lithuanian language as their mother language. Most descendants of the Lithuanian nobility remained ill-disposed to

6068-505: Was already a well-established estate, its legal position was consolidated in the 14th century. At this point, it was basically impossible to enter the noble status otherwise than by birth. The development of the idea of corona regni aroused among the nobility a notion of being the main unifying force of the kingdom and responsible for its rule. Lithuanian nobles aspired to this position. Privileges of 1387 and 1413 gave legal security of tenure to holders of allodial land and recognized in law

6150-586: Was expanded to include military and tax appeals and cases involving misconduct of lower-tier courts. The Tribunal met four, later twice a year first in Vilnius in the Cathedral Square , but later the location was alternated between Minsk and Navahrudak . The alternating location disrupted the court's work as personnel, documents, and archives had to be moved frequently. The sessions usually lasted about five months. The Tribunal did not have an institution that could enforce its decisions. It delegated

6232-407: Was increasingly identified simply with Polish heritage. Such views were held by the most active and opinion-forming layer of the emerging nation. The intelligentsia grew up in an atmosphere of supremacy of nobility culture, so they easily identified with it. It adopted the nobility's way of perceiving the world, even if it came from other social groups. According to a commonly accepted interpretation,

6314-410: Was only partly descended from the old princely families that ruled Lithuania in pagan times. To a large extent, these were new families that appeared during the reigns of Jogaila and Vytautas and whose representatives were among the signatories of the Union of Horodło (1413). They owed their position to the generosity of the grand dukes, who rewarded them with offices and land granted in allodium. In

6396-514: Was particularly numerous, but usually, it was a poor nobility living in gentry villages. In the right-bank part of Kaunas county the nobility accounted for as much as 25% of the hearths in the late 18th century. In 1777 there were 16,534 noble houses registered (5.2% of the total) in the whole Grand Duchy. In 1790 the register showed 100 palaces, 9,331 manors, 494 noblemen's houses in towns, and 13,890 houses of noblemen without subjects. Linguistic Polonization did not always mean full Polonization in

6478-562: Was required. Each voivodeship and powiat provided two people for a total of 42–49 judges. The cases were decided by a simple majority. The Tribunal had jurisdiction over the nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ( Duchy of Samogitia , which had the privilege to establish its own tribunal, opted to join the Lithuanian Tribunal in 1588). It could not decide cases involving peasants, city residents, clergy, or Jews. The Tribunal accepted civil and criminal cases. Later its competency

6560-399: Was strengthening in the minds of all Poles. In the lands of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the cultural unity of inhabitants was strengthening, and many traditionally understood Lithuanians discovered a modern national identity - they became Poles . It should be noted, however, that the described processes took place almost exclusively within the nobility and landed gentry and among

6642-410: Was the case with Goštautai , Radvilos , Astikai , Kęsgailos and others. Those families acquired great wealth, eventually becoming magnates . Their representatives are respectively Jonas Goštautas , Radvila Astikas , Kristinas Astikas and Mykolas Kęsgaila . The aforementioned families were granted corresponding Polish coats of arms under the Union of Horodlo in 1413. While at the beginning

6724-442: Was warmly attached to the laws, traditions and symbols of the Grand Duchy. Moreover, the Lithuanian separateness was also defended by the members of ethnically Polish families settling in Lithuania. Following the Union of Horodło (1413), the Lithuanian nobility's rights were equalized with those of the ruling class of the Kingdom of Poland ( szlachta ). During the following centuries, the Lithuanian nobility began to merge with

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