The Duchy of Samogitia (, , ) was an administrative unit 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, ...

from 1422 (and from 1569, a member country of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

). Between 1422 and 1441 it was known as the Eldership of Samogitia. Since the 1540s the

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

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 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 ...

. Historically, in the west it had access to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

; in the north, it bordered the

Duchy of Courland The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia was a duchy in the Baltic region, then known as Livonia, that existed from 1561 to 1569 as a nominal vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and subsequently made part of the Crown of the Polish Kingd ...

and

Ducal Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...

in the south. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

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 Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...

is one of several ethnographic regions and is not defined administratively.

Name

''Samogitia'' is a Latinized version of the name ''Žemaitija'', meaning "the Lowlands" as opposed to ''

Aukštaitija Aukštaitija (; literally ''Highland'' or ''Upland'') is the name of one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. The name comes from the fact that the lands are in the upper basin of the Nemunas, as opposed to the Lowlands that begin from Š ...

'' for "the Highlands". In the

, the names ''Samaiten'', ''Samaitae'', ''Zamaytae'', ''Samogitia'', ''Samattae'', ''Samethi'' were used in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

sources. They, together with other variants ''Schmudien'', ''Schamaiten'' (German) and ''Żmudź'' (Polish), are all derived from the Lithuanian ''Žemaičiai'', dial. ''Žemaitiai / Žemaitei''.

Geography

The Duchy was located in what today is several counties (''apskritis'') in Lithuania: a small part of

Kaunas County Kaunas County () is one of ten counties of Lithuania. It is in the centre of the country, and its Capital (political), capital is Kaunas. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished. Symbols The county's coat of arms can be blazoned ...

(Kauno Apskritis), the western part

Šiauliai County Šiauliai County () is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is in the north of the country, and its capital is Šiauliai. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Šiauliai County remains as a territorial a ...

(Šiaulių Apskritis),

Tauragė County Tauragė County (Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Tauragės apskritis'') is one of ten counties of Lithuania, counties in Lithuania. It is in the west of the country, and its capital is Tauragė. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was ...

(Tauragės Apskritis),

Telšiai County Telšiai County () is one of ten counties of Lithuania, counties in Lithuania. It is in the west of the country, and its Capital (political), capital is Telšiai. There are Lithuanians (98.7%), Latvians (0.1%), Russians (0.9%), and others (0.3%) ...

(Telšių Apskritis), the northern part of

Klaipėda County Klaipėda County () is one of ten counties in Lithuania, bordering Tauragė County to the southeast, Telšiai County to the northeast, Kurzeme in Latvia to the north, and Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia to the south. To the west is the Baltic S ...

(Klaipėdos Apskritis) and the northern part of

Marijampolė County Marijampolė County () is one of the ten counties of Lithuania, counties in Lithuania. It is in the southwest of the country and roughly corresponds to the historical region of Suvalkija, Sudovia. Its Capital (political), capital and the largest ...

(Marijampolės Apskritis). The major part of Samogitia is located on Western Upland. Lowlands which are referred in its name are on the border between Samogitia and Eastern Lithuania, along the

Nevėžis River The Nevėžis (; ) is the sixth longest river in Lithuania and one of the main tributaries of the Nemunas. The long Nevėžis flows entirely within Lithuania. Before the formation of the Lithuanian state, Samogitia was ruled by its local noblemen. A chronicle mentions two

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

s from Samogitia in 1219 as signatories of a treaty with Volhynia. Since the formation of the

in the 13th century, Samogitia was its dependent territory, however sometimes the influence of the Lithuanian Grand Duke was very limited. During the rule of the first Lithuanian king,

Mindaugas Mindaugas (, , , , ; c. 1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first known grand duke of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a ...

, Samogitians pursued an independent foreign policy and continued fighting with the

Knights of the Sword The Livonian Brothers of the Sword (; ) 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 ...

even after King Mindaugas had signed a peace treaty with them. Samogitia for 200 years played a crucial role in halting the expansion of the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

and defeated the

in the

Battle of Saule The Battle of Saule (; ; ) was fought on 22 September 1236, between the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and pagan troops of Samogitians and Semigallians. Between 48 and 60 knights were killed, including the Livonian Master, Volkwin. It was the ea ...

(1236) and the

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after thei ...

in the Battle of Skuodas (1259), and the

Battle of Durbe The Battle of Durbe (, , ) was a medieval battle fought near Durbe, east of Liepāja, in present-day Latvia during the Livonian Crusade. On 13 July 1260, the Samogitians soundly defeated the joint forces of the Teutonic Knights from Prussia (r ...

(1260). In the atmosphere of fierce battles with the Teutonic Knights, the Lithuanian rulers Jogaila and

Vytautas Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...

several times ceded Samogitia to the Teutonic Order in 1382, 1398 and 1404. However, the Teutonic Knights were not successful in subjugating the land, and Samogitians revolted in 1401 and 1409. After the defeats in the

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila), a ...

(1410) and following wars, in 1422 the

ceded Samogitia to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania under the

Treaty of Melno The Treaty of Melno (; ) or Treaty of Lake Melno () was a peace treaty ending the Gollub War. It was signed on 27 September 1422, between the State_of_the_Teutonic_Order, Teutonic Knights and an alliance of the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Kin ...

. Samogitians were the last in Europe to accept Christianity in 1413. During the Christianization of Samogitia, none of the clergy, who came to Samogitia with Jogaila, were able to communicate with the natives, therefore Jogaila himself taught the

Samogitians Samogitians ( Samogitian: ''žemaitē'', , ) are the inhabitants of Samogitia, an ethnographic region of Lithuania. Many speak the Samogitian language, which in Lithuania is mostly considered a dialect of the Lithuanian language together with t ...

about the

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, thus he was able to communicate in the

Samogitian dialect Samogitian ( or sometimes , or ; ), is an Eastern Baltic language spoken primarily in Samogitia and is often considered a dialect of Lithuanian. It has preserved many features of the extinct Curonian language, such as specific phonologica ...

of the Lithuanian language. The Grand Duke of Lithuania

Casimir Jagiellon Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...

acknowledged the autonomy of Samogitia in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and then issued a privilege to the Eldership of Samogitia to elects its own elder (

starost Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...

) in 1441. Because of its prolonged wars with the Teutonic Order, Samogitia had developed a social and political structure different from the rest of Lithuania. It had a larger proportion of free farmers and smaller estates than in Eastern Lithuania. As with most of the

, Samogitia suffered in the aftermath of the Swedish invasion of Commonwealth (the Deluge, mid-17th century). Its population dropped from close to 400,000 to about 250,000; only to return to 400,000 by the late 18th century. After the annexation of Lithuania by

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

, Samogitia was included in the

Vilna Governorate The Vilna Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. In 1897, the governorate covered an area of and had a population of 1,591,207 inhabitants. The governorate was defined by the Minsk Governo ...

(the southern extreme was detached for

New East Prussia New East Prussia (; ; ) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1795 to 1807. It was created out of territory annexed in the Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and included parts of Masovia, Podlaskie, Trakai voivod ...

and so on); in 1843 it was transferred to a newly established

Kovno Governorate Kovno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Kovno (Kaunas). It was formed on 18 December 1842 by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, Nicholas I from the western part of Vilna Govern ...

. In the early 19th century, Samogitia was the centre of the

Lithuanian National Revival The Lithuanian National Revival, alternatively the Lithuanian National Awakening or Lithuanian nationalism (), was a period of the history of Lithuania in the 19th century, when a major part of Lithuanian-inhabited areas belonged to the Russian ...

, which stressed the importance of the

Lithuanian language Lithuanian (, ) is an East Baltic languages, East Baltic language belonging to the Baltic languages, Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the language of Lithuanians and the official language of Lithuania as well as one of t ...

and opposed

Russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...

and

Polonization Polonization or Polonisation ()In Polish historiography, particularly pre-WWII (e.g., L. Wasilewski. As noted in Смалянчук А. Ф. (Smalyanchuk 2001) Паміж краёвасцю і нацыянальнай ідэяй. Польскі ...

Elders of Samogitia

The General Elders of Samogitia (equivalents of

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

s) included:

Notes

Sources

External links