Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Belarus, 1236–1795. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania. By 1440 the grand duchy had become the largest European state, controlling an area from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south. It was a multi-ethnic and multiconfessional state, with great diversity in languages, religion, and cultural heritage. The Union of Lublin of 1569 created a new state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Seat of power: Navahrudak

Rulers

Mindaugas

Grand Duke of Lithuania, 1236–1253

Mindaugas was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. He was baptized as a Roman Catholic, which enabled him to establish an alliance with the Livonian Order. He was assassinated by his nephew Treniota and another rival, Duke Daumantas of Pskov.

Portrait of Mindaugas: Alexander Guagnini, Public domain, file

Treniota

Grand Duke of Lithuania, 1263–1264

Treniota was the nephew of Mindaugas. Treniota usurped the throne and reverted the nation to paganism. He ruled for only a year before being deposed by Vaišvilkas, the younger son of Mindaugas.

Portrait of Treniota: Alexander Guagnini, Public domain, file

Wojsiełk

Grand Duke of Lithuania, 1264–1267

Vaišvilkas became the Grand Duke of Lithuania after Treniota was murdered by former servants of Mindaugas. When he decided in 1267 to go back to monastic life, Vaišvilkas transferred the title of Grand Duke to Shvarn.

Portrait of Wojsiełk: Napoleon Orda, Public domain, file

Shvarn

Grand Duke of Lithuania, 1267–1269

Shvarn became the new grand duke after Vaišvilkas returned to monastic life. Shvarn, one of the sons of king Daniel I of Galicia, inherited the north-western parts of the Kingdom of Ruthenia.

Traidenis

Grand Duke of Lithuania, 1269–1282

Traidenis expanded the Grand Duchy into the territories of Sudovians and Semigalians and strengthened its presence in Black Ruthenia. His reign ended a seven-year unrest period after King Mindaugas was assassinated and firmly established Lithuania as a pagan state for another hundred years.

Portrait of Traidenis: Alexander Guagnini, Public domain, file

Butigeidis

Grand Duke of Lithuania, 1282–1292

He was the first known and undisputed member of the Gediminid dynasty. He led about 8,000 troops and attacked the Teutonic stronghold in Sambia in 1289.

Portrait of Butigeidis: Мечыслаў Барвіцкі, Public domain, file

Butvydas

Grand Duke of Lithuania, 1292–1296

Butvydas is believed to have been the father of Grand Duke Gediminas, under whom Lithuania emerged as a major Northern and Eastern European power. In 1291 he sent an army led by his sons to fight against the Poles in Kuyavia.

Portrait of Butvydas: Mečislovas Barvickis, CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Vytenis

Grand Duke of Lithuania, 1295–1316

The rule of Vytenis was marked by constant warfare in an effort to consolidate the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the Ruthenians, Masovians, and the Teutonic Order. In Ruthenia, Vytenis managed to recapture lands lost after the assassination of Mindaugas and capture the principalities of Pinsk and Turov.

Portrait of Vytenis: Aleksander Gwagnin, Public domain, file

Jaunutis

Grand Duke of Lithuania, 1341–1345

When his father died, he automatically became the ruler of Vilnius and the nearby lands. Very little is known about the years when Jaunutis ruled. He was deposed by his elder brothers Algirdas and Kęstutis in 1345.

Portrait of Jaunutis: Alaksandar Tarasievič (Aleksander Tarasowicz), Public domain, file

Algirdas

Grand Duke of Lithuania, 1345–1377

With the aid of his brother Kęstutis, Algirdas drove out the incompetent Jaunutis and declared himself Grand Duke in 1345. With the help of his brother Kęstutis, he created an empire stretching from the present Baltic states to the Black Sea and to within 80 kilometres of Moscow. He and Kęstutis appeared to rule jointly as co-rulers.

Portrait of Algirdas: en:Alexander Guagnini (1538-1614), Public domain, file

Vytautas

Grand Duke of Lithuania, 1392–1430

Vytautas the Great was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, first as regent for his cousin Jogaila and then as the Grand Duke alongside him. In 1410, Vytautas himself commanded the forces of the Grand Duchy in the Battle of Grunwald. In 1401 he was eventually recognized as formal Grand Duke, with the reservation that Jogaila remains the Supreme Duke.

Portrait of Vytautas: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Švitrigaila / Svidrigiello

Grand Duke of Lithuania, 1430–1432

Švitrigaila spent most of his life in largely unsuccessful dynastic struggles against his cousins Vytautas and Sigismund Kęstutaitis. In 1386 Švitrigaila together with his brothers was baptized in the Roman Catholic rite in Kraków.

Portrait of Švitrigaila / Svidrigiello: Alessandro Guagnini, Public domain, file

Sigismund Kęstutaitis

Grand Duke of Lithuania, 1432–1440

On 1 September 1432, Sigismund became the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He signed the Union of Grodno with Jogaila and ceded some territories in Volhynia and Podolia to Poland. In 1434 he issued a privilege to nobles of Eastern Orthodox faith, making their rights equal to those of noble Roman Catholics.

Portrait of Sigismund Kęstutaitis: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Casimir IV Jagiellon

Grand Duke of Lithuania, 1440–1492

Casimir IV was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447. Casimir was proclaimed as the Grand Duke of Lithuania on 29 June 1440 by the Council of Lords. Under him, Poland defeated the Teutonic Knights in the Thirteen Years' War and recovered Pomerania.

Portrait of Casimir IV Jagiellon: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Augustus III of Poland

Grand Duke of Lithuania, 1734–1763

Augustus III of Poland was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. In Poland, his rule was marked by the increasing influence of the Czartoryski and Poniatowski families, and by the intervention of Catherine the Great in Polish affairs. Augustus was known to be more interested in ease and pleasure than in the affairs of state.

Portrait of Augustus III of Poland: Louis de Silvestre, Public domain, file

Culture

The Mir Castle Complex was erected in the 16th century in the late Brick Gothic style. Five towers surrounded the courtyard of the citadel, the walls of which formed a square of 75 metres on each side.
In December 2000, the Mir Castle was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
The state was founded by Lithuanians, who were at the time a polytheistic nation of several united Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija.
In the federation, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania maintained its political distinctiveness and had separate ministries, laws, army, and treasury.

Picture

The Mir Castle Complex is a historic fortified castle and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Belarus.

Image: Вадзім Новикаў, CC BY-SA 3.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.