Duchy Of Lithuania
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Duchy of Lithuania (; ) was a state-territorial formation of ethnic
Lithuanians Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...
that existed from the 13th century to 1413. For most of its existence, it was a constituent part and a nucleus of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...
. Other alternative names of the territorial formation, used in different periods, were Aukštaitija or Land of Lithuania (13th century), Duchy of
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
(14th – early 15th centuries),
Lithuania proper Lithuania proper refers to a region that existed within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania where the Lithuanian language was spoken. The primary meaning is identical to the Duchy of Lithuania, a land around which the Grand Duchy of Lithuania evolved. T ...
, or simply
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
(in a narrow sense).


History

The formation emerged in the central and eastern part of present-day Lithuania, known as Aukštaitija, or the Lietuva Land (). It is supposed to have formed in central Lithuania on the left bank of the Neris River and swiftly expanded eastwards. This land was mentioned in 1009 as ''Litua'' (see
Name of Lithuania The first known record of the name of Lithuania () was recorded in the Quedlinburg Chronicle (, written between 1008 and 1030) in a 9 March 1009 story of Bruno of Querfurt, Saint Bruno. The Chronicle recorded in the form ''Litua'' (in the phras ...
). The territory was ruled by chieftains of an ethnic Lithuanian tribe, Aukštaitians or "Lithuanians", in the original sense of the term. After the expansion of the Lithuanian state in the 13th century, when it became known as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Lithuania (1251–1263), the Duchy of Lithuania became an administrative unit, governed by dukesKnown as ''kunigaikštis'' in Lithuanian, a word derived from ''kunigas'', itself derived from the German '' künig'', meaning "king" and inherited through dynastic links. The main administrative center of the Duchy until the late 13th century might have been Kernavė. It is possible that the Duchy of Lithuania, which became known as the Duchy of Vilnius from the 14th century on, was formed out of the eastern part of the original Duchy of Lithuania under the rule of Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytenis at the end of the 13th century; its southwestern part was turned into a separate Duchy of Trakai, under the dominion of
Gediminas Gediminas ( – December 1341) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death in 1341. He is considered the founder of Lithuania's capital Vilnius (see: Iron Wolf legend). During his reign, he brought under his rule lands from t ...
, who had established himself in the newly built Senieji Trakai Castle. It is known for certain that the Duchy of Trakai existed as the domain of Kęstutis at the beginning of his rule in 1337. It was a progenitor of the future Trakai Voivodeship. The last Duke of Lithuania () was Vytautas the Great, who, as a result of the 1392 Astrava Treaty, received the Duchy from Jogaila, who, in turn, had inherited it from his father
Algirdas Algirdas (; , ;  – May 1377) was List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his brother Kęstutis (who defended the western border of the Duchy) he created an empire stretching from the pre ...
. Since 1397, the Duchy had the status of an Eldership, comparable to that of the
Eldership of Samogitia Eldership may refer to: * Elder (administrative title), used in several countries and organizations to indicate a position of authority * Eldership (Christianity), the governance of a local congregation by elders * Elderships of Lithuania, the smal ...
. After the administrative reform of 1413 by Vytautas, based on the Union of Horodło, the Duchy became part of the newly established Vilnius Voivodeship of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...
.


See also

* * History of Lithuania * History of Lithuania (1219–1295) * History of Vilnius *
Lithuania proper Lithuania proper refers to a region that existed within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania where the Lithuanian language was spoken. The primary meaning is identical to the Duchy of Lithuania, a land around which the Grand Duchy of Lithuania evolved. T ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duchy Of Lithuania 1413 disestablishments in Europe History of Lithuania (1219–1569) Former subdivisions of Lithuania States and territories established in the 12th century Vilnius Region