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Duchy of Samogitia

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This article is about the historical region of Samogitia. For the ethnographic region, see Samogitia.

55°45′N 21°50′E / 55.750°N 21.833°E / 55.750; 21.833

Duchy of Samogitia
Žemaitėjės seniūnėjė
Žemaičių seniūnija
Księstwo żmudzkie
Duchy of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
1219–1795
Flag of Samogitia
Flag
Coat of arms of Samogitia
Coat of arms

Duchy of Samogitia in red. Its borders did not change after the Union of Lublin.
CapitalRaseiniai
Area 
• 
23,300 km2 (9,000 sq mi)
History 
• Established
1219
1795
Political subdivisions28 tracts
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Samogitia
Russian Empire

The Duchy of Samogitia (Lithuanian: Žemaičių seniūnija, Samogitian: Žemaitėjės seniūnėjė, Polish: Księstwo żmudzkie)[1] 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 (Lithuanian: Seniūnas) of Samogitia who was self-elected by the Samogitian nobility.[2]

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 administratively.

Name

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Samogitia is a Latinized version of the name Žemaitija, meaning "the Lowlands" as opposed to Aukštaitija for "the Highlands". In the Middle Ages, the names Samaiten, Samaitae, Zamaytae, Samogitia, Samattae, Samethi were used in German and Latin sources. They, together with other variants Schmudien, Schamaiten (German) and Żmudź (Polish), are all derived from the Lithuanian Žemaičiai, dial. Žemaitiai / Žemaitei.

Geography

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Samogitia and Lithuania proper in a 1712 map by Henri Chatelain

The Duchy was located in what today is several counties (apskritis) in Lithuania: a small part of Kaunas County (Kauno Apskritis), the western part Šiauliai County (Šiaulių Apskritis), Tauragė County (Tauragės Apskritis), Telšiai County (Telšių Apskritis), the northern part of Klaipėda County (Klaipėdos Apskritis) and the northern part of Marijampolė County (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 Duchy of Samogitia had the size of approximately 25,700 square kilometers.[3]

History

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Duchy in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569-1795)
 
The attacking Bear, the historical Coat of Arms of Samogitia
 
Samogitia in the 17th century
 
Map of Samogitia in 1753
 
French map of the 18th century Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth with Duchy of Samogitia (Samogitie) and Lithuania proper (Vraye Lithuanie) separated with red and green lines

Before the formation of the Lithuanian state, Samogitia was ruled by its local noblemen. A chronicle mentions two dukes from Samogitia in 1219 as signatories of the Treaty with Volhynia.

Since the formation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania 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, Samogitians pursued an independent foreign policy and continued fighting with the Knights of the Sword 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 and defeated the Knights of the Sword in the Battle of Saule (1236) and the Livonian Order in the Battle of Skuodas (1259), and the Battle of Durbe (1260).

In the atmosphere of fierce battles with the Teutonic Knights, the Lithuanian rulers Jogaila and Vytautas 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 (1410) and following wars, in 1422 the Teutonic Order ceded Samogitia to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania under the Treaty of Melno.

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 about the Catholicism, thus he was able to communicate in the Samogitian dialect of the Lithuanian language.[4]

The Grand Duke of Lithuania Casimir Jagiellon 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) 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 Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, 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.[5]

After the annexation of Lithuania by Imperial Russia, Samogitia was included in the Vilna Governorate (the southern extreme was detached for New East Prussia and so on); in 1843 it was transferred to a newly established Kovno Governorate. In the early 19th century, Samogitia was the centre of the Lithuanian national revival, which stressed the importance of the Lithuanian language and opposed russification and polonization.

Elders of Samogitia

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The General Elders of Samogitia (equivalents of voivodes) included:

No. Portrait or Coat of Arms Elder of Samogitia Took office Left office Time in office Notes
1Rumbaudas Valimantaitis
(?–1432)		140914112 years, 0 days
2Mykolas Kęsgaila
(?–c. 1450)		1412143220 years, 0 days
3Jurgis Galminas [lt]
(1409–1438)		143214342 years, 0 days
4Mykolas Kantautas
(born ?)		143514405 years, 0 days
5Mykolas Kęsgaila
(?–c. 1450)		144014411 year, 0 days
6Petras Gedgaudas
(born ?)		144114432 years, 0 days
7Mykolas Kęsgaila
(?–c. 1450)		144314507 years, 0 days
8Jonas Kęsgaila
(?–1485)		1451148534 years, 0 days
9Stanislovas Kęsgaila
(?–1527)		1486152640 years, 0 days
10Stanislovas Kęsgaila
(1503–1532)		152715325 years, 0 days
11Petras Kiška (Polish: Piotr Kiszka)
(?–1534)		153215342 years, 0 days
12Jonas Radvila (Polish: Jan Radziwiłł)
(1492–1542)		153515427 years, 0 days
13Motiejus Vaitiekaitis Kločka [lt] (Polish: Maciej Janowicz Kłoczko)
(?–1543)		154215431 year, 0 days
14Jurgis Bilevičius (Polish: Jerzy Billewicz)
(born ?)		154315441 year, 0 days
15Stanislovas Mikolajaitis Kęsgaila [lt] (Polish: Stanisław Kieżgajło)
(1520–1554)		154415551 year, 0 days
16Jeronimas Chodkevičius (Polish: Hieronim Chodkiewicz)
(c. 1515–1561)		1545156116 years, 0 days
-Vacant
Acting		156115632 years, 0 days
17Jonas Chodkevičius (Polish: Jan Hieronimowicz Chodkiewicz)
(1537–1579)		1563157916 years, 0 days
18Jonas Kiška (Polish: Jan Kiszka)
(1547–1592)		1579159213 years, 0 days
19Jurgis Chodkevičius [lt] (Polish: Jerzy Chodkiewicz)
(1570–1595)		159015955 years, 0 days
20Stanislovas Radvila (Polish: Stanisław Radziwiłł)
(1570–1595)		159515994 years, 0 days
21Jonas Karolis Chodkevičius (Polish: Jan Karol Chodkiewicz)
(1561–1621)		1599161617 years, 0 days
-Vacant
Acting		161616193 years, 0 days
22Jeronimas Valavičius (Polish: Hieronim Wołłowicz)
(1573–1636)		1619163617 years, 0 days
-Vacant
Acting		163616437 years, 0 days
23Jonas Alfonsas Liackis [lt] (Polish: Jan Alfons Lacki)
(?–1646)		164316463 years, 0 days
24Jonušas Radvila (Polish: Janusz Radziwiłł)
(1612–1655)		164616537 years, 0 days
25Jurgis Glebavičius [lt] (Polish: Jerzy Hlebowicz)
(1605?–1669)		1653166815 years, 0 days
26Aleksandras Palubinskis [lt] (Polish: Aleksander Połubiński)
(1626–1679)		166816691 year, 0 days
27Viktorinas Mlečka [lt] (Polish: Wiktoryn Mleczko)
(?–1679)		167016799 years, 0 days
-Vacant
Acting		167916812 years, 0 days
28Kazimieras Jonas Sapiega (Polish: Kazimierz Jan Sapieha)
(1637–1720)		168116821 year, 0 days
-Vacant
Acting		168216842 years, 0 days
29Petras Mykolas Pacas [lt] (Polish: Piotr Pac)
(1645–1696)		1684169615 years, 0 days
-Vacant
Acting		169616982 years, 0 days
30Grigalius Antanas Oginskis (Polish: Grzegorz Antoni Ogiński)
(1654–1709)		169817091 year, 0 days
31Kazimieras Garbauskis [lt] (Polish: Kazimierz Horbowski)
(?–1729)		1710172919 years, 0 days
-Vacant
Acting		1729174213 years, 0 days
32Juozapas Tiškevičius [lt] (Polish: Józef Tyszkiewicz)
(1694–1754)		1742175412 years, 0 days
-Vacant
Acting		1754176713 years, 0 days
33Jonas Chodkevičius (Polish: Jan Chodkiewicz)
(1738–1781)		1767178114 years, 0 days
-Vacant
Acting		178117832 years, 0 days
34Antanas Anupras Gelgaudas [lt] (Polish: Antoni Onufry Giełgud)
(1720–1795)		1783179512 years, 0 days

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Błaszczyk 1985, pp. 1–2.
  2. ^ Gudavičius, Edvardas. "Žemaitijos seniūnija". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  3. ^ Błaszczyk 1985, pp. 19.
  4. ^ Baronas, Darius (2013). Žemaičių krikštas: tyrimai ir refleksija (PDF) (in Lithuanian). Vilnius: Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science. pp. 33–34. ISBN 978-9986-592-71-6. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  5. ^ Błaszczyk 1985, pp. 70, 140.

Sources

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