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Lithuanian Council Of Lords
The Lithuanian Council of Lords () was the main permanent institution of central government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania active in its capital city of Vilnius. It had originated from the advisory Council of the Grand Duke, established by Vytautas the Great in the early 15th century. During the reign of Casimir Jagiellon it was renamed to the Council of Lords. Under the Union of Lublin of 1569, the Council formally became a constituent part of the Polish–Lithuanian Senates (see also Offices in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), together with the Royal Council of Poland, but it continued to operate ''de facto'' until the mid-17th century. Competence The Council carried out the functions of the Grand Duke after his death and had a supreme authority in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until a new Grand Duke was appointed, as well as organised his appointment. The first appointed ruler was Casimir Jagiellon, who in exchange expanded the council's powers significantly and approved t ...
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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, partitions of Poland–Lithuania. The state was founded by Lithuanians (tribe), Lithuanians, who were at the time a Lithuanian mythology, polytheistic nation of several united Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija. 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. The grand duchy expanded to include large portions of the former Kievan Rus' and other neighbouring states, including what is now Belarus, Lithuania, most of Ukraine as well as parts of Latvia, Moldova, Poland and Russia. At its greatest extent, in the 15th century, it was the largest state in Europe. It was a multinational state, multi-ethnic and multiconfessionalism, multiconfessional sta ...
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Duchy Of Samogitia
The Duchy of Samogitia (, , ) was an administrative unit of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1422 (and from 1569, a member country of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth). Between 1422 and 1441 it was known as the Eldership of Samogitia. Since the 1540s the Grand Duke of Lithuania also held the title of Duke of Samogitia, although the actual ruler of the province, responsible to the Grand Duke, was known as the General Elder () of Samogitia who was self-elected by the Samogitian nobility. The Duchy was located in the western part of the present Republic of Lithuania. Historically, in the west it had access to the Baltic Sea; in the north, it bordered the Duchy of Courland and Ducal Prussia in the south. During the Middle Ages and until the last partition in 1795, Samogitia had clearly defined borders as the Duchy of Samogitia. Afterwards the area encompassed the Samogitian Diocese. Today Samogitia is one of several ethnographic regions and is not defined administra ...
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Ruthenians
A ''Ruthenian'' and ''Ruthene'' are exonyms of Latin language, Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common Ethnonym, ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term was used in medieval sources to describe all Eastern Slavs of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, as an exonym for people of the former Kievan Rus, Rus, thus including ancestors of the modern Belarusians, Rusyns and Ukrainians. The use of ''Ruthenian'' and related exonyms continued through the early modern period, developing several distinctive meanings, both in terms of their regional scopes and additional religious connotations (such as affiliation with the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church). In medieval sources, the Latin term was commonly applied to East Slavs in general, thus encompassing all endonyms and their various forms (; ). By opting for the use of exonymic terms, authors who wrote in Latin were relieved from the need to be specific ...
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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 States, Lithuanians in the United Kingdom, United Kingdom, Lithuanian Brazilians, Brazil and Lithuanian Canadians, Canada. Their native language is Lithuanian language, Lithuanian, one of only two surviving members of the Baltic language family along with Latvian language, Latvian. According to the Lithuanian census of 2021, census conducted in 2021, 84.6% of the population of Lithuania identified themselves as Lithuanians. Most Lithuanians belong to the Catholic Church in Lithuania, Catholic Church, while the Lietuvininkai who lived in the northern part of East Prussia prior to World War II, were mostly Lutherans. History The territory of the Balts, including modern Lithuania, was once inhabited by several Baltic tribal entities (Sudovi ...
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Kanclerz
The Chancellor of Poland ( - , from ), officially, the Grand Chancellor of the Crown between 1385 and 1795, was one of the highest officials in the historic Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. This office functioned from the early Polish kingdom of the 12th century until the end of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. A respective office also existed in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since the 16th century. Today the office of the chancellor has been replaced by that of the Prime Minister. The Chancellors' powers rose together with the increasing importance of written documents. In the 14th century the office of Chancellor of Kraków () evolved into the Chancellor of the Crown () and from that period the chancellor powers were greatly increased, as they became responsible for the foreign policy of the entire Kingdom (later, the Commonwealth). The Chancellor was also supposed to ensure the legality of monarch's actions, especially whether or not they could be considered illeg ...
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Hetmans Of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, it was the title of the second-highest military commander after the king in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the 16th to 18th centuries. Hetman was also the title of the head of the Cossack state in Ukraine after the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648. Throughout much of the history of Romania and the Moldavia, hetmans were the second-highest army rank. In the modern Czech Republic, the title is used for regional governors. Etymology The term ''hetman'' was a Polish borrowing, most likely stemming via Czech from the Turkic title ''ataman'' (literally 'father of horsemen'), however it could also come from the German – captain. Since hetman as a title first appeared in Czechia in the 15th century, assu ...
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Elder Of Samogitia
The Duchy of Samogitia (, , ) was an administrative unit of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1422 (and from 1569, a member country of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth). Between 1422 and 1441 it was known as the Eldership of Samogitia. Since the 1540s the Grand Duke of Lithuania also held the title of Duke of Samogitia, although the actual ruler of the province, responsible to the Grand Duke, was known as the General Elder () of Samogitia who was self-elected by the Samogitian nobility. The Duchy was located in the western part of the present Republic of Lithuania. Historically, in the west it had access to the Baltic Sea; in the north, it bordered the Duchy of Courland and Ducal Prussia in the south. During the Middle Ages and until the last partition in 1795, Samogitia had clearly defined borders as the Duchy of Samogitia. Afterwards the area encompassed the Samogitian Diocese. Today Samogitia is one of several ethnographic regions and is not defined administrativel ...
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Trakai
Trakai (; see Trakai#Names and etymology, names section for alternative and historic names) is a city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania or just from the administrative limits of the Lithuanian capital city. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. Trakai is the administrative centre of Trakai district municipality. The city is inhabited by 5,357© Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
M3010210: Population at the beginning of the year.
people, according to 2007 estimates. A notable feature of Trakai is that the city was built and preserved by people of different nationalities. Historically, communities of Crimean Karaites, Karaims, Lipka Tatars, Tatars, Lith ...
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Castellan
A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1194, Beatrice of Bourbourg inherited her father's castellany of Bourbourg upon the death of her brother, Roger. Initial functions During the Migration Period after the fall of the Western Roman Empire (third to sixth century), foreign tribes entered Western Europe, causing strife. The answer to recurrent invasion was to create fortified areas which evolved into castles. Some military leaders gained control of several areas, each with a castle. The problem lay in exerting control and authority in each area when a leader could only be in one place at a time. To overcome this, they appointed castellans as their trusted vassals to manage a castle in exchange for obligations to the landlord, often a noble. In the 9th century, as fortification ...
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Trakai Voivodeship
Trakai Voivodeship, Trakai Palatinate, or Troki Voivodeship (, , ), was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1413 until 1795. History Trakai Voivodeship together with Vilnius Voivodeship was established by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great in 1413 according to the Union of Horodło. Vytautas copied the Polish system of administrative division in order to centralize and strengthen the government. Trakai Voivodeship replaced the former Duchy of Trakai, which was ruled directly by the Grand Duke or his close relative (brother or son). The Duke of Trakai () was replaced by appointed officials – voivodes and his deputy castellan. The voivodeship was divided into four : Grodno, Kaunas, Trakai (ruled directly by the voivode), and Upytė. The biggest cities in the voivodeship were Kaunas, Grodno and Trakai. The western portion of the voivodeship was split off in 1513 by Sigismund I the Old and transferred t ...
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Vilnius Voivodeship
The Vilnius Voivodeship (, , , ) was one of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania's voivodeships, which existed from the voivodeship's creation in 1413 to the destruction of the Lithuanian state in 1795. This voivodeship was Lithuania's largest, most politically and economically important. History File:Armorial Lyncenich - dlant vonder wille.jpg, The Voivodeship's coat of arms in 1430s, depicted in the ''Armorial Lyncenich'' File:Recueil d'armoiries polonaises COA of Vilnius Voivodeship.png, The Voivodeship's coat of arms in 1555 File:CoA Vilnius Palatinate (Chatelain, 1712).png, As depicted in 1712 File:Vilnia, Pahonia. Вільня, Пагоня (1720) (2).jpg, As depicted in 1720 File:CoA Vilnius Palatinate (Starzyński, 1875).png, As depicted in 1875 1413-1566 The Vilnius Voivodeship was created instead of the Vilnius Viceroyalty () during the Pact of Horodło in 1413. The core of the Vilnius Voivodeship was the Vilnius County, which was composed of the Vilnius Bailiwick ( ...
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