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Selonians
The Selonians ( lv, sēļi; lt, sėliai, from liv, sälli – "highlanders") were a tribe of Baltic peoples. They lived until the 15th century in Selonia, located in southeastern Latvia and northeastern Lithuania. They eventually merged with neighbouring tribes, contributing to the ethnogenesis of modern Latvians and Lithuanians. They spoke the Eastern Baltic Selonian language. History Little is known about the Selonians. There is little archaeological evidence and in historic sources the region is often described as a "scarcely populated land". In written sources they are mentioned only few times. Archeological data can trace the Selonians back to the beginning of 1st millennium AD when they lived on both sides of the Daugava River. But since the 6th and 7th centuries their settlements can be traced only on the left bank of the river. Selonian culture had a very strong Latgalian influence. Selonian and Latgalian burial traditions show little difference. Some scholars ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selonia
Selonia ( lv, Sēlija; lt, Sėla), also known as Augšzeme (the "Highland"), is one of the Historical Latvian Lands encompassing the eastern part of the historical region of Semigallia ( lv, Zemgale) as well as a portion of northeastern Lithuania. Its main city and cultural center is Jēkabpils. The Selonian language has become extinct, though some of the inhabitants still speak a Latgalian dialect. History The territory of Selonia is defined by Latvian law as follows: the part of Aizkraukle city on the left bank of the Daugava, Daudzese Parish, Jaunjelgava Parish, Jaunjelgava city, Mazzalve Parish, Pilskalne Parish, Sece Parish, Sērene Parish, Staburags Parish, Sunākste Parish, Zalve Parish, Bebrene Parish, Demene Parish, Dviete Parish, Eglaine Parish, Ilūkste city, Kalkūne Parish, Laucesa Parish, Medumi Parish, Pilskalne Parish, Prode Parish, Saliena Parish, Skrudaliena Parish, Subate city, Svente Parish, Šēdere Parish, Tabore Parish, Vecsaliena Parish, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the Baltic states; and is bordered by Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, Russia to the east, Belarus to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia covers an area of , with a population of 1.9 million. The country has a temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and largest city is Riga. Latvians belong to the ethno-linguistic group of the Balts; and speak Latvian, one of the only two surviving Baltic languages. Russians are the most prominent minority in the country, at almost a quarter of the population. After centuries of Teutonic, Swedish, Polish-Lithuanian and Russian rule, which was mainly executed by the local Baltic German aristocracy, the independent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selonian (language)
Selonian was an Eastern Baltic language, which was spoken by the Eastern Baltic tribe of the Selonians, who until the 15th century lived in Selonia, a territory in southeastern Latvia and northeastern Lithuania. History During the 13th–15th centuries, the Selonians lost their language after being assimilated by the Lithuanians. Traces of the Selonian language can still be found in the territories the Selonians inhabited, especially in the accent and phonetics of the so-called Selonian dialect of the Latvian language. There are some traces of the Selonian language in the northeastern sub-dialects of the Aukštaitian dialect of the Lithuanian language, mostly in the lexicon. Classification It is considered that the Selonian language retained the Proto-Baltic phonemes *an, *en, *in, *un like the Lithuanian language, but like the Latvian language Latvian ( ), also known as Lettish, is an Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selonian Language
Selonian was an Eastern Baltic language, which was spoken by the Eastern Baltic tribe of the Selonians, who until the 15th century lived in Selonia, a territory in southeastern Latvia and northeastern Lithuania. History During the 13th–15th centuries, the Selonians lost their language after being assimilated by the Lithuanians. Traces of the Selonian language can still be found in the territories the Selonians inhabited, especially in the accent and phonetics of the so-called Selonian dialect of the Latvian language. There are some traces of the Selonian language in the northeastern sub-dialects of the Aukštaitian dialect of the Lithuanian language, mostly in the lexicon. Classification It is considered that the Selonian language retained the Proto-Baltic phonemes *an, *en, *in, *un like the Lithuanian language, but like the Latvian language Latvian ( ), also known as Lettish, is an Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Principality Of Koknese
The Principality of Koknese (Russian: ''Кукейнос (Kukeinos)'', German: ''Kokenhusen'', Latin:''Kukonouyes'') was a small vassal state of the Principality of Polotsk on the right bank of the Daugava River in ancient Livonia (modern Latvia) during the Middle Ages. History At the beginning of the 13th century, when the crusading Livonian Brothers of the Sword led by bishop Albert of Riga began to occupy the shores of the Gulf of Riga, the Eastern Orthodox prince Vetseke ruled the fortress of Koknese some 100 km upstream. According to old sources, Vetseke gave half of his land to Albert of Riga in 1205 in return for protection against the |
Medieval Lithuania
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. Lithuanians, one of the Baltic peoples, later conquered neighboring lands and established the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 13th century (and also a short-lived Kingdom of Lithuania). The Grand Duchy was a successful and lasting warrior state. It remained fiercely independent and was one of the last areas of Europe to adopt Christianity (beginning in the 14th century). A formidable power, it became the largest state in Europe in the 15th century through the conquest of large groups of East Slavs who resided in Ruthenia. In 1385, the Grand Duchy formed a dynastic union with Poland through the Union of Krewo. Later, the Union of Lublin (1569) created the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that lasted until 1795, when the last of the Partitions of Poland erased both Lithuania and Poland from the political map. After ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latgalians
Latgalians (, nds, Letti, Lethi, modern ; variant translations also include Latgallians, Lettigalls or Lettigallians) were an ancient Baltic tribe. They likely spoke the Latvian language, which probably became the ''lingua franca'' in present-day Latvia during the Northern Crusades due to their alliance with the crusaders. Latgalians later assimilated into the neighbouring tribes, forming the core of modern Latvians. History The Latgalians were an Eastern Baltic tribe whose origin is little known. In the 5th and 6th centuries, they lived in the eastern part of present-day Vidzeme (west of the Aiviekste River), and later on in nearly all the territory of that region. In written sources, they are mentioned from the 11th century onward. In the first two decades of the 13th century, the (Western) Latgalians allied with German (mainly Saxon) crusaders. Their lands (the Eldership of Tālava, the Principality of Jersika and the Principality of Koknese) were incorporated into Livo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sēlpils Castle
Sēlpils Castle ( lv, Sēlpils pils; la, Castrum Selonum) is an ancient castle in Sēlpils Parish, Jēkabpils Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia. History It was built in place of the ancient Sēlpils hillfort ( lv, Sēlpils pilskalns), a military and political center of ancient Selonia, a land of the Balts. When the Livonian Order entered the land, they built a stone castle known as Selburg in German. Today, the village of Vecsēlpils ("old Sēlpils") is located nearby. The ruins of the hillfort were on the left bank of Daugava near Vecsēlpils. After the construction of Pļaviņas Hydroelectric Power Station and reservoir, the ruins are on an island. Archeological findings Archaeological evidence shows that Sēlpils, 17 km northwest of modern Jēkabpils, was a major settlement between the 10th and 13th centuries. Used as a base for raids by the Selonians and their Lithuanian allies into Latgalian and Livonian lands, Sēlpils was first mentioned in the C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Livonians
The Livonians, or Livs ( Livonian: ''līvlizt''; Estonian: ''liivlased''; Latvian: ''līvi'', ''lībieši''), are a Balto-Finnic people indigenous to northern and northwestern Latvia. Livonians historically spoke Livonian, a Uralic language closely related to Estonian and related to Finnish. The last person to have learned and spoken Livonian as a mother tongue, Grizelda Kristiņa, died in 2013, making Livonian a dormant language. As of 2010, there were approximately 30 people who had learned it as a second language. Historical, social and economic factors, together with an ethnically dispersed population, have resulted in the decline of the Livonian population, with only a small group surviving in the 21st century. In 2011, there were 250 people who claimed Livonian ethnicity in Latvia. History Prehistory The exact date of migration of Livonians to the region has been disputed. "The Livonians claim to have inhabited their present homeland for over 5,000 years." "The Finn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swordbrothers
The Livonian Brothers of the Sword ( la, Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae, german: Schwertbrüderorden) was a Catholic military order established in 1202 during the Livonian Crusade by Albert, the third bishop of Riga (or possibly by Theoderich von Treydend). Pope Innocent III sanctioned the establishment in 1204 for the second time. The membership of the crusading order comprised warrior monks, mostly from northern Germany, who fought Baltic and Finnic " pagans" in the area of modern-day Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Alternative names of the Order include Christ Knights, Swordbrothers, Sword Brethren, Order of the Brothers of the Sword, and The Militia of Christ of Livonia. The seal reads: ''+MAGISTRI ETFRM (et fratrum) MILICIE CRI (Christi) DE LIVONIA''. Following their defeat by the Samogitians and Semigallians in the Battle of Schaulen (Saule) in 1236, the surviving Brothers merged into the Teutonic Order as an autonomous branch and became known as the Livonian Order. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chronicle Of Henry Of Livonia
The ''Livonian Chronicle of Henry'' ( la, Heinrici Cronicon Lyvoniae) offers a Latin narrative of events in Livonia (roughly corresponding to today's inland Estonia and the northern part of Latvia) and surrounding areas from 1180 to 1227. It was written ca. 1229 by a priest named Henry ( la, Henricus de Lettis). Apart from the few references in the Primary Chronicle compiled in Kievan Rus' in the twelfth century, it is the oldest known written document about the history of Estonia and Latvia. Background Papal calls for renewed holy war at the end of the twelfth century inspired not only the disastrous Fourth Crusade that sacked Constantinople in 1204, but also a series of simultaneous "Northern Crusades" that are less fully covered in English-language popular history, but which were more successful in the long run. Before the crusades, the region of medieval Livonia was a mixed outpost, a mostly "pagan" society where merchants from the Hanseatic League encountered merchants of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), 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. Lithuania shares land borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and Russia to the southwest. It has a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Sweden to the west on the Baltic Sea. Lithuania covers an area of , with a population of 2.8 million. Its capital and largest city is Vilnius; other major cities are Kaunas and Klaipėda. Lithuanians belong to the ethno-linguistic group of the Balts and speak Lithuanian language, Lithuanian, one of only a few living Baltic languages. For millennia the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea were inhabited by various Balts, Baltic tribes. In the 1230s, Lithuanian lands were united by Mindaugas, Monarchy of Lithuania, becoming king and founding the Kingdom of Lithuania ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
