Nova Basan ( Ukrainian : Нова Басань ) is a village (selo) of Ukraine, in Nizhyn Raion , Chernihiv Oblast . It hosts the administration of Nova Basan rural hromada , one of the hromadas of Ukraine.
172-566: The history of Nova Basan dates back at least as far as the middle of the 15th century, when it was a border fortress of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . In 1897, a post office was opened in Nova Basan. According to the Russian Empire Census of 1897 , it had a population 7326, of whom 3460 were men and 3866 women. 6930 were Orthodox. During the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine , the village
344-535: A blessed sword and hat , given by Pope Gregory XIII through the envoy Paweł Uchański. This was a recognition by the Pope of the ruler's successes in the struggle against the infidels. In Lithuania, this ceremony was treated as the celebration of the elevation of the Grand Duke of Lithuania, during which Lithuania's sovereignty was manifested. Báthory's reign was marked with successful Livonian campaign against tsar Ivan
516-678: A dynastic union between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland . This marked the beginning of the rule of other countries by the patrilineal members of the Lithuanian ruling Gediminid dynasty, who since the 14th–15th centuries ruled not only Lithuania, but also Poland , Hungary , Croatia , Bohemia , and Moldavia . The reign of Vytautas the Great , son of Kęstutis, marked both
688-546: A base for further military campaigns. Around 1307, Polotsk, an important trading centre, was annexed by military force. Vytenis also began constructing a defensive castle network along Nemunas . Gradually this network developed into the main defensive line against the Teutonic Order. The expansion of the state reached its height under Grand Duke Gediminas , also titled by some contemporaneous German sources as Rex de Owsteiten (English: King of Aukštaitija ), who created
860-529: A concise account in the chronicle of Johann von Posilge . An anonymous letter, discovered in 1963 and written between 1411 and 1413, provided important details on Lithuanian maneuvers. In 1230, the Teutonic Order , a crusading military order , moved to Chełmno Land (Kulmerland) and launched the Prussian Crusade against the pagan Prussian clans . With support from the pope and Holy Roman Emperor ,
1032-558: A continuation of the order's historical mission. For example, SS Chief Heinrich Himmler told Nazi Germany's leader Adolf Hitler on the first day of the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944: "After five, six weeks we shall leave. But by then Warsaw, the capital, the head, the intelligence of this former 16–17 million Polish people will be extinguished, this Volk that has blocked our way to the east for 700 years and has stood in our way ever since
1204-531: A convention in Grodno (on 8-20 April 1576), protested this choice, threatening to break the union and giving themselves the right to choose a separate ruler. However, the king managed to rally the Lithuanian delegation by promising to preserve their rights and freedoms. On May 29, 1580, in Vilnius Cathedral , King and Grand Duke Stephen Báthory received from the hand of the bishop of Samogitia Merkelis Giedraitis
1376-575: A decade of relative peace. Mindaugas later renounced Christianity and converted back to paganism. Mindaugas tried to expand his influence in Polatsk , a major centre of commerce in the Daugava River basin, and Pinsk . The Teutonic Knights used this period to strengthen their position in parts of Samogitia and Livonia, but they lost the Battle of Skuodas in 1259 and the Battle of Durbe in 1260. This encouraged
1548-510: A few official documents until the second half of the 18th century. After the baptism, the use of Latin, still the main language of learning and writing in Western Europe, also spread in Lithuania as a language of document. Latin was the second language of the grand ducal chancellery in the 14th–16th centuries, although it was used less frequently than Ruthenian in internal administration. This
1720-615: A fresh army and dealt another defeat to the order in the Battle of Koronowo on 10 October 1410. Following other brief engagements, both sides agreed to negotiate. The Peace of Thorn was signed in February 1411. Under its terms, the order ceded the Dobrin Land ( Dobrzyń Land ) to Poland and agreed to resign their claims to Samogitia during the lifetimes of Władysław II Jagiełło and Vytautas, although another two wars—the Hunger War of 1414 and
1892-558: A full retreat. Jan Długosz described this development as a complete annihilation of the entire Lithuanian army. According to Długosz, the Order assumed that victory was theirs, broke their formation for a disorganized pursuit of the retreating Lithuanians, and gathered much loot before returning to the battlefield to face the Polish troops. He made no mention of the Lithuanians, who later returned to
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#17328554388982064-450: A jubilee coin of 20 hryvnia commemorated to the 600 anniversary of the battle. At least three cities in Ukraine ( Lviv , Drohobych , and Ivano-Frankivsk ) have a street named after the battle. In Belarus, interest in the battle began to grow in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 2010, Belarus issued postage stamps for the 600th anniversary. Since 2008, Our Grunwald Festival is hosted by
2236-507: A lance through the Grand Master's neck, while Długosz presented Mszczuj of Skrzynno as the killer. Surrounded and leaderless, the Teutonic Order began to retreat. Part of the routed units retreated towards their camp. This move backfired when the camp followers turned against their masters and joined the manhunt. The knights attempted to build a wagon fort : the camp was surrounded by wagons serving as an improvised fortification. However,
2408-454: A larger symbol of struggle against foreign invaders. During the 20th century, the battle was used in Nazi German and Soviet propaganda campaigns before and during World War II. Only in postwar decades have historians moved towards a dispassionate, scholarly assessment of the battle, reconciling the previous narratives, which differed widely by nation. Traditionally, the battle's location
2580-575: A manifestation of the sovereignty of Lithuania occurred when Casimir was elected as the Grand Duke of Lithuania upon his arrival to Vilnius on 29 June 1440 and subsequently titled himself as a "free lord" ( pan – dominus ), this way breaching the agreements of the Union of Grodno (1432) and terminating the Polish–Lithuanian union ; Casimir also became the King of Poland in 1447. Following Casimir's death in 1492,
2752-433: A pelican feeding its young with blood, two well preserved axes, and Teutonic coins. The 2014-2019 surveys have been criticsed due to inconsistent publications and not following scientific techniques established by battlefield archeology. These include preservation of findings, lack of survey maps and inconsistent recording of GPS data. There has also been a lack of funding from the Polish government for reliable research of
2924-437: A possible first capital of the would-be Grand Duchy of Lithuania, is usually credited as the source of the name. This river's original name is Lietava . As time passed, the suffix - ava could have changed into - uva , as the two are from the same suffix branch. The river flows in the lowlands and easily spills over its banks, therefore the traditional Lithuanian form liet - could be directly translated as lietis (to spill), of
3096-524: A private museum of medieval culture near Minsk and includes battle reenactment. Germans generally saw the Teutonic knights as heroic and noble men who brought Christianity and civilization to the east, although many came to the region with more material motives. In August 1914, during World War I , Germany won a battle against Russia near the site. When the Germans realized its propaganda potential, they named
3268-509: A privilege that equalized the rights of Orthodox and Catholics in Lithuania and abolished all previous restrictions on Orthodox. There was an effort to polarise Orthodox Christians after the Union of Brest in 1596, by which some Orthodox Christians acknowledged papal authority and Catholic catechism, but preserved their liturgy. The country also became one of the major centres of the Reformation. In
3440-596: A sculptural map depicting the supposed positions of the armies before the battle. Presumed locations where Władysław II Jagiełło and Vytautas had their main camps were marked with artificial mounds and flagpoles. The battle site is one of Poland's national Historical Monuments , as designated on 4 October 2010, and tracked by the National Institute of Cultural Heritage . The museum, which is open during summers, has an exhibition space of 275 square metres (2,960 sq ft) in which it displays archaeological finds from
3612-501: A small, oppressed nation. In 1910, to mark the 500th anniversary of the battle, a monument by Antoni Wiwulski was unveiled in Kraków during a three-day celebration attended by some 150,000 people. About 60 other towns and villages in Galicia also erected Grunwald monuments for the anniversary. About the same time, Nobel Prize -winner Henryk Sienkiewicz wrote the novel The Knights of
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#17328554388983784-632: A strong central government and established an empire that later spread from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea . In 1320, most of the principalities of western Rus' were either vassalized or annexed by Lithuania. In 1321, Gediminas captured Kiev , sending Stanislav , the last Rurikid to rule Kiev , into exile. Gediminas also re-established the permanent capital of the Grand Duchy in Vilnius , presumably moving it from Old Trakai in 1323, which previously served as
3956-506: Is a mid-15th-century manuscript with images and Latin descriptions of the Teutonic battle flags captured during the battle and displayed in Wawel and Vilnius Cathedrals . Other Polish sources include two letters written by Władysław II Jagiełło to his wife Anne of Cilli and Bishop of Poznań Wojciech Jastrzębiec and letters sent by Jastrzębiec to Poles in the Holy See . German sources include
4128-772: The Constitution of 3 May and Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations were passed in 1791. Following the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , most of the lands of the former Grand Duchy were directly annexed by the Russian Empire , the rest by Prussia . In 1812, just prior to the French invasion of Russia , the former Grand Duchy revolted against the Russians. Soon after his arrival in Vilnius, Napoleon proclaimed
4300-648: The Deluge in the mid-17th century most of the territory of Lithuania was annexed by the Tsardom of Russia and even the Lithuania's capital Vilnius was captured for the first time by a foreign army and ravaged . In 1655, Lithuania unilaterally seceded from Poland, declared the Swedish King Charles X Gustav as the Grand Duke of Lithuania and fell under the protection of the Swedish Empire . However, by 1657 Lithuania
4472-610: The Golden Horde , maintaining vassal relationships with a fair degree of independence. Lithuania annexed some of these areas as vassals through diplomacy, as they exchanged rule by the Mongols or the Grand Prince of Moscow with rule by the Grand Duchy. An example is Novgorod , which was often in the Lithuanian sphere of influence and became an occasional dependency of the Grand Duchy. Lithuanian control resulted from internal frictions within
4644-574: The Gollub War of 1422—would be waged before the Treaty of Melno permanently resolved the territorial disputes. The Poles and Lithuanians were unable to translate the military victory into territorial or diplomatic gains. However, the Peace of Thorn imposed a heavy financial burden on the order from which they never recovered. They had to pay an indemnity in silver in four annual installments. To meet these payments,
4816-503: The Lithuanian Civil War (1381–84) in the Treaty of Dubysa . In 1385, Grand Duke Jogaila of Lithuania agreed to marry Queen Jadwiga of Poland in the Union of Kreva . Jogaila converted to Christianity and was crowned King of Poland and became known as Władysław II Jagiełło, thus creating a personal union between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The official Lithuanian conversion to Christianity removed
4988-471: The Livonian Order , but survived. Its rapid territorial expansion started late in the reign of Gediminas , and continued under the co-leadership of his sons, Algirdas and Kęstutis . Algirdas's son Jogaila signed the Union of Krewo in 1386, bringing two major changes in the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: the conversion to Christianity of Europe's last pagan state, and the establishment of
5160-597: The Lizard Union , a group of knights sympathetic to Poland. According to the order, von Renys lowered his banner, which was taken as a signal of surrender and led to the panicked retreat. The legend that the order was "stabbed in the back" was echoed in the post-World War I stab-in-the-back myth and preoccupied German historiography of the battle until 1945. A note sent in August by envoys of King Sigismund of Hungary , Nicholas II Garai and Stibor of Stiboricz , put total casualties at 8,000 dead "on both sides". However,
5332-560: The Third Statute of Lithuania which stated that the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth is a federation of two countries – Poland and Lithuania where both countries have equal rights within it and separated the powers of the ruler, the Seimas , the executive and the courts (this for the first time in European history ensured the rule of law in the state, but Lithuania's citizens, who were subjects to
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5504-597: The Vistula over a pontoon bridge . This maneuver, which required precision and intense coordination among multi-ethnic forces, was accomplished in about a week, from 24 to 30 June. Polish soldiers from Greater Poland gathered in Poznań , and those from Lesser Poland , in Wolbórz . On 24 June, Władysław II Jagiełło and Czech mercenaries arrived in Wolbórz. Three days later the Polish army
5676-586: The balance of power in Central and Eastern Europe and marked the rise of the Polish–Lithuanian union as the dominant regional political and military force. The battle was one of the largest in medieval Europe . The battle is viewed as one of the most important victories in the histories of Poland and Lithuania. It is also commemorated in Ukraine and Belarus. For centuries, it has been re-interpreted in that part of Europe as an inspiration of romanticism (to advance legends or mythology) and national pride, becoming
5848-419: The new government in the 1970s , anti-German propaganda was reduced, but the symbol of Grunwald did not disappear. Until end of the 1980s, July 15 was an important official memorial day. An annual battle re-enactment takes place on 15 July. In 2010, a pageant reenacting the event and commemorating the battle's 600th anniversary was held. It attracted 200,000 spectators who watched 2,200 participants playing
6020-688: The 12th century, Slavic chronicles refer to Lithuania as one of the areas attacked by the Rus' . Pagan Lithuanians initially paid tribute to Polotsk , but they soon grew in strength and organized their own small-scale raids. At some point between 1180 and 1183 the situation began to change, and the Lithuanians started to organize sustainable military raids on the Slavic provinces, raiding the Principality of Polotsk as well as Pskov , and even threatening Novgorod . The sudden spark of military raids marked consolidation of
6192-635: The 16th century. Ruthenians, ancestors of modern Belarusians and Ukrainians, living in the eastern and southern lands of the Grand Duchy spoke Ruthenian language . The Ruthenian language had an old writing tradition. The language of the Orthodox Church was Old Church Slavonic , while official documents used the so-called Chancery Ruthenian , close to but not identical to the spoken language, which over time absorbed many Lithuanian and Polish words. Some Poles (mainly burghers , clergy, merchants, and szlachta ) moved to Lithuania, although this migration
6364-569: The 17th century, there were relics of old faith reported by counter-reformation active Jesuit priests, like feeding žaltys with milk or bringing food to graves of ancestors. The lands of modern-day Belarus and Ukraine , as well as local dukes (princes) in these regions, were firmly Orthodox Christian (Greek Catholic after the Union of Brest ), though. While pagan beliefs in Lithuania were strong enough to survive centuries of pressure from military orders and missionaries, they did eventually succumb. A separate Eastern Orthodox metropolitan eparchy
6536-466: The 550th anniversary, a museum and monuments were constructed a little northeast of the chapel ruins. The grounds were designed by sculptor Jerzy Bandura and architect Witold Cęckiewicz [ pl ] . The monuments included an obelisk of Silesian granite depicting two faces of knights, a bundle of eleven 30-metre (98 ft)-high flagpoles with emblems of the Polish–Lithuanian army, and
6708-476: The 80,000 Muscovite soldiers, capturing their camp and commander. The Muscovites lost about 30,000 men, while the losses of the Poland–Lithuania army totalled only 500. While the battle is remembered as one of the greatest Lithuanian victories, Muscovy ultimately prevailed in the war. Under the 1522 peace treaty, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania made large territorial concessions. The wars with the Teutonic Order,
6880-618: The Cross (Polish: Krzyżacy ), prominently featuring the battle in one of the chapters. In 1960, Polish filmmaker Aleksander Ford used the book as the basis for his film, Knights of the Teutonic Order . At the 1939 New York World's Fair , Poland exhibited the King Jagiello Monument which commemorated the battle and was later installed in the Central Park , New York City . The battle has lent its name to military decorations ( Order of
7052-448: The Cross of Grunwald ), sports teams ( BC Žalgiris , FK Žalgiris ), and various organizations. 72 streets in Lithuania are named after the battle. Under Communist rule over Poland, memory to the battle was monopolized by the state. Memory to the battle was instrumentalized for justifying the new borders, under which Poland annexed a quarter of pre-war Germany , while losing the Kresy . Under
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7224-620: The Crown, Zyndram of Maszkowice , commanded the Polish army, but that is highly doubtful. More likely, marshal of the Crown Zbigniew of Brzezia commanded the Polish troops in the field. The first stage of the Grunwald campaign was the gathering of all Polish–Lithuanian troops at Czerwińsk , a designated meeting point about 80 km (50 mi) from the Prussian border, where the joint army crossed
7396-551: The First Battle of Tannenberg." Due to the participation of the three Smolensk banners, Russians saw the battle as a victory of a Polish–Lithuanian–Russian coalition against invading Germans. However, the ethnic composition of the men under these banners cannot be determined as Smolensk had rebelled against Vytautas in 1404 and 1408. Chronicler Jan Długosz praised the Smolensk banners, who fought bravely and, according to him, were
7568-519: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania slowly became more centralized, as the governours loyal to Vytautas replaced local princes with dynastic ties to the throne. The governours were rich landowners who formed the basis for the nobility of the Grand Duchy. During Vytautas' rule, the Radziwiłł and Goštautas families started to gain influence. In 1440, Casimir IV Jagiellon was sent by his older brother Władysław III to Lithuania to rule in his name, however instead
7740-472: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Gediminas started to title himself as "King of Lithuanians and many Ruthenians", while the name of the state became the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Ruthenia. Similarly the title changed to "King of Lithuanians and Ruthenians, ruler and duke of Semigallia" when Semigallia became part of the state. The 1529 edition of the Statute of Lithuania described the titles of Sigismund I
7912-504: The Grand Duchy to an end. Most of the lands of the former Grand Duchy were re-annexed by Russia. The Augustów Voivodeship (later Augustów Governorate ), including the counties of Marijampolė and Kalvarija , was attached to the Kingdom of Poland , a rump state in personal union with Russia. Administrative structure of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1413–1564). After the baptism in 1252 and coronation of King Mindaugas in 1253, Lithuania
8084-431: The Grand Master sent messengers with two swords to "assist Władysław II Jagiełło and Vytautas in battle". The swords were meant as an insult and a provocation. Known as the " Grunwald Swords ", they became one of the national symbols of Poland. Vytautas, supported by the Polish banners, started an assault on the left flank of the Teutonic forces. After more than an hour of heavy fighting, the Lithuanian light cavalry began
8256-571: The Great , who reigned from 1392 to 1430. Vytautas was one of the most famous rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, serving as the Grand Duke from 1401 to 1430, and as the Prince of Hrodna (1370–1382) and the Prince of Lutsk (1387–1389). Vytautas was the son of Kęstutis , uncle of Jogaila, who became King of Poland in 1386, and he was the grandfather of Vasili II of Moscow . In 1410, Vytautas commanded
8428-570: The Great Battle. Stephen Turnbull asserts that the Lithuanian tactical retreat did not quite fit the formula of a feigned retreat; such a retreat was usually staged by one or two units (as opposed to almost an entire army) and was swiftly followed by a counterattack (whereas the Lithuanians had returned late in the battle). While the Lithuanians were retreating, heavy fighting broke out between Polish and Teutonic forces. Commanded by Grand Komtur Kuno von Lichtenstein [ de ; pl ; ru ] ,
8600-702: The Horde but was defeated in the Battle of the Vorskla River , losing the steppe region. Lithuania was Christianized in 1387, led by Jogaila , who personally translated Christian prayers into the Lithuanian language and his cousin Vytautas the Great who founded many Catholic churches and allocated lands for parishes in Lithuania. The state reached a peak (becoming one of the largest countries territorially in Europe) under Vytautas
8772-400: The Lithuanian army had been dealt a crushing defeat and Vytautas himself had barely escaped alive. This theory gained wider acceptance after the discovery and publication, in 1963 by Swedish historian Sven Ekdahl [ de ] , of a German letter. Written a few years after the battle, it cautioned the new Grand Master to look out for feigned retreats of the kind that had been used in
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#17328554388988944-443: The Lithuanian lands in Aukštaitija . The Lithuanians are the only branch within the Baltic group that managed to create a state entity in premodern times. The Lithuanian Crusade began after the Livonian Order and Teutonic Knights , crusading military orders , were established in Riga and in Prussia in 1202 and 1226 respectively. The Christian orders posed a significant threat to pagan Baltic tribes, and further galvanized
9116-409: The Lithuanian language. The Lithuanian language was still strongly present at the Vilnius court of Casimir Jagiellon , who had to learn it when he assumed power in the Grand Duchy in 1444. Casimir's assumption of power in Poland in 1447 marked the end of the existence of a separate court in Vilnius (it later existed only in years 1492–1496 and 1544–1548 ). Many Lithuanians and Ruthenian nobles joined
9288-425: The Lithuanian sphere of influence. By about 1355, the State of Moldavia had formed, and the Golden Horde did little to re-vassalize the area. In 1362, regiments of the Grand Duchy army defeated the Golden Horde at the Battle at Blue Waters . In 1380, a Lithuanian army allied with Russian forces to defeat the Golden Horde in the Battle of Kulikovo , and though the rule of the Mongols did not end, their influence in
9460-413: The Lithuanians and the Žemaičiai now faced a common enemy. Likely Živinbudas had the most authority and at least several dukes were from the same families. The formal acknowledgement of common interests and the establishment of a hierarchy among the signatories of the treaty foreshadowed the emergence of the state. Mindaugas, the duke of southern Lithuania, was among the five senior dukes mentioned in
9632-470: The Lithuanians returned, but it is unclear how many of those casualties are attributable to the battle and how many to the later siege of Marienburg. The defeat of the Teutonic Order was resounding. According to Teutonic payroll records, only 1,427 men reported back to Marienburg to claim their pay. Of 1,200 men sent from Danzig, only 300 returned. Between 203 and 211 brothers of the Order were killed, out of 270 that participated in battle, including much of
9804-450: The Livonian Order, winning the Battle of Karuse in 1270 and the Battle of Aizkraukle in 1279, and assisted the Yotvingians /Sudovians to defend from the Teutonic Order . For his military assistance, Nameisis recognized Traidenis as his suzerain . There is considerable uncertainty about the identities of the grand dukes of Lithuania between Traidenis' death in 1282 and the assumption of power by Vytenis in 1295. The country's capital
9976-408: The Livonian Order. He promised to convert to Christianity and exchange some lands in western Lithuania in return for military assistance against his nephews and the royal crown. In 1251, Mindaugas was baptized and Pope Innocent IV issued a papal bull proclaiming the creation of the Kingdom of Lithuania . After the civil war ended, Mindaugas was crowned as King of Lithuania on 6 July 1253, starting
10148-461: The Old as "King of Poland, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia, Prussia, Samogitia, Mazovia, and other [lands]". The country was also called the Republic of Lithuania ( Latin : Respublica Lituana ) since at least the mid-16th century, already before the Union of Lublin in 1569. The first mention of the name Lithuania is found in the Annals of Quedlinburg , which describes the missionary expedition of Bruno of Querfurt to Yotvingians. In
10320-403: The Order, but support from Sigismund of Hungary was disappointing. Poland brought mercenaries from Moravia and Bohemia. The Czechs produced two full banners, under the command of John Sokol of Lamberg . Serving among the Czechs was possibly Jan Žižka , future commander of the Hussites . Alexander I of Moldavia commanded an expeditionary corps and the Moldavian king was so brave that
10492-505: The Order, the Kingdom of Poland, and Ruthenia. Vytenis was involved in succession disputes in Poland, supporting Boleslaus II of Masovia , who was married to a Lithuanian duchess, Gaudemunda . In Ruthenia, Vytenis managed to recapture lands lost after the assassination of Mindaugas and to capture the principalities of Pinsk [ lt ] and Turov . In the struggle against the Order, Vytenis allied with Riga 's citizens; securing positions in Riga strengthened trade routes and provided
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#173285543889810664-501: The Poles along the Vistula River towards Danzig ( Gdańsk ) and the Lithuanians along the Neman River towards Ragnit ( Neman ). To counter this perceived threat, Ulrich von Jungingen concentrated his forces in Schwetz ( Świecie ), a central location from where troops could respond to an invasion from any direction rather quickly. Sizable garrisons were left in the eastern castles of Ragnit, Rhein ( Ryn ) near Lötzen ( Giżycko ) and Memel ( Klaipėda ). To keep their plans secret and mislead
10836-625: The Poles and 40 for the Lithuanians. However, it is unclear how many men were under each banner. The structure and number of infantry units ( pikemen , archers , crossbowmen ) and artillery units is unknown. Estimates, often biased by political and nationalistic considerations, were produced by various historians. German historians tend to present lower numbers, while Polish historians tend to use higher estimates. The high-end estimates by Polish historian Stefan Kuczyński of 39,000 Polish–Lithuanian and 27,000 Teutonic men have been cited in Western literature as "commonly accepted". While outnumbered,
11008-404: The Poles by surprise. The order burned the castle at Dobrin ( Dobrzyń nad Wisłą ), captured Bobrowniki after a 14-day siege, conquered Bydgoszcz (Bromberg) and sacked several towns. The Poles organized counterattacks and recaptured Bydgoszcz. The Samogitians attacked Memel ( Klaipėda ). However, neither side was ready for a full-scale war. Wenceslaus, King of the Romans , agreed to mediate
11180-403: The Poles or Lithuanians into attacking first. Their troops, wearing heavy armor, had to stand in the scorching sun for several hours waiting for an attack. One chronicle suggested that they had dug pits that an attacking army would fall into. They also attempted to use field artillery , but a light rain dampened their powder and only two cannon shots were fired. As Władysław II Jagiełło delayed,
11352-433: The Polish language flowed into Lithuania. The first codification of Lithuanian laws, the Statute of Lithuania, was issued in Chancery Ruthenian (1529), but was quickly translated into Latin (1530) and Polish (1532). Court Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Lew Sapieha noted in the preface of the Third Statute of Lithuania (1588) that all state documents to be written exclusively in Ruthenian. Despite this, after
11524-422: The Polish translation of the statute was published in 1614, it was not reissued in Ruthenian ever again. Polish was increasingly used in official documents, especially after the Union of Lublin. Finally, in 1697, the Sejm, as part of the equalization of law between Lithuania and Poland, confirmed that only the Polish language was to be used in administration in Lithuania, although Ruthenian continued to be used on
11696-451: The Polish troops and their king honoured him with a royal sword, the Szczerbiec . Vytautas gathered troops from Lithuanian and Ruthenian lands (present-day Belarus and Ukraine). Among them were three banners from Smolensk led by Władysław II Jagiełło's brother Lengvenis , the Tatar contingent of the Golden Horde under the command of the future Khan Jalal al-Din , and Armenian cavalry troops from Podolia . The overall commander of
11868-412: The Romans , and the Livonian Order promised financial aid and reinforcements. The siege of Marienburg was lifted on 19 September. The Polish–Lithuanian forces left garrisons in the fortresses they had taken and returned home. However, the order quickly recaptured most of the castles. By the end of October only four Teutonic castles along the border remained in Polish hands. Władysław II Jagiełło raised
12040-412: The Ruthenian lands stayed Orthodox , however, on 22 February 1387, Supreme Duke Jogaila banned Catholics marriages with Orthodox, and demanded those Orthodox who previously married with the Catholics to convert to Catholicism. At one point, though, Pope Alexander VI reprimanded the Grand Duke for keeping non-Catholics as advisers. Consequently, only in 1563 did Grand Duke Sigismund II Augustus issue
12212-432: The Statute, were only nobles). During the Polish–Swedish War (1600–1611) Polish and Lithuanian forces achieved victory and restored status quo ante bellum , notably winning the decisive Battle of Kircholm in 1605, while during the Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618) Polish and Lithuanian armies achieved territorial gains (e.g. restored the control of Smolensk , the capital of the Smolensk Voivodeship , in 1611) and for
12384-591: The Terrible 's military forces, which resulted in the reintegration of Polotsk to Lithuania and the restoration of control of the Duchy of Livonia . The rule of Lithuania by the Gediminid–Jagiellonian family representatives resumed through matrilineal line following the death of Báthory (1586) when Sigismund III Vasa (son of Catherine Jagiellon ) was elected in 1587 . On 28 January 1588, Sigismund III confirmed
12556-535: The Teutonic Order withstood the subsequent siege of the Malbork Castle and suffered minimal territorial losses at the Peace of Thorn (1411) , with other territorial disputes continuing until the Treaty of Melno in 1422. The order, however, never recovered their former power, and the financial burden of war reparations caused internal conflicts and an economic downturn in the lands controlled by them. The battle shifted
12728-581: The Teutonic army had advantages in discipline, military training and equipment. They were particularly noted for their heavy cavalry, although only a small percentage of the Order's army at Grunwald were heavily armoured knights. The Teutonic army was also equipped with bombards that could shoot lead and stone projectiles . Both armies were composed of troops from several states and lands, including numerous mercenaries, primarily from Silesia and Bohemia . Bohemian mercenaries fought on both sides. The Silesian mercenaries were led in battle by Duke Konrad VII
12900-497: The Teutonic capital in Marienburg ( Malbork ), remaining on the battlefield for three days and then marching an average of only about 15 km (9.3 mi) per day. The main forces did not reach heavily fortified Marienburg until 26 July. This delay gave Heinrich von Plauen enough time to organize a defense. Władysław II Jagiełło also sent his troops to other Teutonic fortresses, which often surrendered without resistance, including
13072-457: The Teutonic forces concentrated on the Polish right flank. Six of von Walenrode's banners did not pursue the retreating Lithuanians, instead joining the attack on the right flank. A particularly valuable target was the royal banner of Kraków . It seemed that the order were gaining the upper hand, and at one point the royal standard-bearer , Marcin of Wrocimowice , lost the Kraków banner. However, it
13244-476: The Teutonic leadership—Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen , Grand Marshal Friedrich von Wallenrode [ de ; it ; pl ; eo ] , Grand Komtur Kuno von Lichtenstein [ de ; pl ; ru ] , Grand Treasurer Thomas von Merheim, Marshal of Supply Forces Albrecht von Schwartzburg, and ten of the komturs . Marquard von Salzbach , Komtur of Brandenburg ( Ushakovo ) and Heinrich Schaumburg, voigt of Sambia , were executed by order of Vytautas after
13416-630: The Teutons conquered and converted the Prussians by the 1280s and shifted their attention to the pagan Grand Duchy of Lithuania . For about 100 years, the order raided Lithuanian lands, particularly Samogitia , as it separated the order in Prussia from their branch in Livonia . While the border regions became an uninhabited wilderness, the order gained very little territory. The Lithuanians first gave up Samogitia during
13588-582: The White, of Oels , who was supported by knights from the Silesian nobility including Dietrich von Kottulin and Hans von Motschelnitz . Soldiers from twenty-two different states and regions, mostly Germanic, joined the Order's army. Teutonic recruits known as guest crusaders included soldiers from Westphalia , Frisia , Austria , Swabia , Bavaria , and Stettin ( Szczecin ). Two Hungarian nobles, Nicholas II Garai and Stibor of Stiboricz , brought 200 men for
13760-467: The alleged atrocities that he swore to defeat the invaders in battle. In the early morning of 15 July, both armies met in an area covering approximately 4 km (1.5 sq mi) between the villages of Grunwald , Tannenberg ( Stębark ) and Ludwigsdorf ( Łodwigowo ). The armies formed opposing lines along a northeast–southwest axis. The Polish–Lithuanian army was positioned in front and east of Ludwigsdorf and Tannenberg. Polish heavy cavalry formed
13932-468: The army of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, under Konyushy Ivan Chelyadnin and Kniaz Mikhail Golitsin. The battle was part of a long series of Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars conducted by Russian rulers striving to gather all the former lands of Kievan Rus' under their rule. According to Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii by Sigismund von Herberstein, the primary source for the information on the battle, the much smaller army of Poland–Lithuania (under 30,000 men) defeated
14104-484: The battle the Battle of Tannenberg , despite it having actually taken place much closer to Allenstein (Olsztyn), and framed it as revenge for the Polish–Lithuanian victory 504 years earlier. To cement this symbolism, Germany built the Tannenberg Memorial , which became the tomb of the national hero Paul von Hindenburg . Nazi Germany later exploited the sentiment by portraying their Lebensraum policies as
14276-423: The battle, and most were produced by the Polish. The most important and trustworthy source is Cronica conflictus Wladislai regis Poloniae cum Cruciferis anno Christi 1410 , which was written within a year of the battle by an eyewitness. Its authorship is uncertain, but several candidates have been proposed: Polish deputy chancellor Mikołaj Trąba and Władysław II Jagiełło 's secretary Zbigniew Oleśnicki . While
14448-634: The battle. The bodies of von Jungingen and other high-ranking officials were transported to Marienburg Castle for burial on 19 July. The bodies of lower-ranking Teutonic officials and 12 Polish knights were buried at the church in Tannenberg. The rest of the dead were buried in several mass graves. The highest-ranking Teutonic official to escape the battle was Werner von Tettinger, Komtur of Elbing ( Elbląg ). Polish and Lithuanian forces took several thousand captives. Among these were Dukes Konrad VII of Oels ( Oleśnica ) and Casimir V of Pomerania . Most of
14620-415: The battlefield were carried out in 1958–1960 in the run-up to the 550th anniversary, connected to the construction of the memorial site and museum. The government showed great interest in the excavations and sent helicopters and 160 soldiers to help. Research continued in later decades, but yielded very little results with the exception of the area around the ruined chapel. Several mass graves were found at
14792-462: The battlefield, original and reproduced medieval weapons, reconstructed flags from the battle, as well as various maps, drawings, and documents related to the battle. In 2018, the museum was visited by about 140,000 people. Construction of a larger year-round museum at an estimated cost of 30 million Polish złoty (6.5 million euros) started in April 2019. In July 2020, a large stone with engraved Vytis
14964-412: The battlefield. Thus Długosz portrayed the battle as a single-handed Polish victory. This view contradicted Cronica conflictus and has been challenged by modern historians. Starting with an article by Vaclaw Lastowski in 1909, they proposed that the retreat had been a planned maneuver borrowed from the Golden Horde . A feigned retreat had been used in the Battle of the Vorskla River (1399), when
15136-500: The chapel: remains of six people in the vestibule, 30 people next to the southern wall, more than 130 people in three pits adjacent to the chapel, and about 90 people in the sacristy . Many remains showed signs of traumatic injuries. Some skeletons showed signs of being burned and moved. Mass burials, including of women and children, were also found in the villages of Gilgenburg ( Dąbrówno ) and Faulen ( Ulnowo ). The massacre in Gilgenburg
15308-507: The city, which attempted to escape submission to Moscow . Such relationships could be tenuous, however, as changes in a city's internal politics could disrupt Lithuanian control, as happened on a number of occasions with Novgorod and other East-Slavic cities. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania managed to hold off Mongol incursions and eventually secured gains. In 1333 and 1339, Lithuanians defeated large Mongol forces attempting to regain Smolensk from
15480-451: The commoners and mercenaries were released shortly after the battle on condition that they report to Kraków on 11 November 1410. Only those who were expected to pay ransom were kept. Considerable ransoms were recorded; for example, the mercenary Holbracht von Loym had to pay 150 kopas of Prague groschen , amounting to more than 30 kg (66 lb) of silver. After the battle, the Polish and Lithuanian forces delayed their attack on
15652-886: The conquered Semigallians and Old Prussians to rebel against the Knights. Encouraged by Treniota , Mindaugas broke the peace with the Order, possibly reverted to pagan beliefs . He hoped to unite all Baltic tribes under the Lithuanian leadership. As military campaigns were not successful, the relationships between Mindaugas and Treniota deteriorated. Treniota, together with Daumantas of Pskov , assassinated Mindaugas and his two sons, Ruklys and Rupeikis, in 1263. The state lapsed into years of internal fighting. From 1263 to 1269, Lithuania had three grand dukes – Treniota , Vaišvilkas , and Švarnas . The state did not disintegrate, however, and Traidenis came to power in 1269. Traidenis strengthened Lithuanian control in Black Ruthenia , fought with
15824-419: The conquests, already initiated by Mindaugas in 13th century, began the process of fusing Ruthenian and Lithuanian culture and, in the absence of its own writing tradition, adopting Ruthenian as the language of administration and written communication. From at least the time of Vytautas , but probably much earlier, the language of internal administration was Chancery Ruthenian , a language similar to, but not
15996-514: The country's capital since 1316 or 1321. The state continued to expand its territory under the reign of Grand Duke Algirdas and his brother Kęstutis , who both ruled the state harmonically. During the inaugurations of Lithuanian monarchs until 1569, the Gediminas' Cap was placed on the monarch's heads by the Bishop of Vilnius in Vilnius Cathedral . Lithuania was in a good position to conquer
16168-634: The court in Kraków, they learned Polish language over time. Casimir was the last Grand Duke to know the Lithuanian language. From 1500, the elite of the Lithuanian state rapidly adopted the Polish language. The process of moving away from Ruthenian to Polish in administration was soon apparent. The first were the nobles of Podlachia , who adopted Polish laws as early as the 1440s, and repeatedly demanded that official documents be written in Polish, since they no longer knew Ruthenian. The political reforms of 1564–1566 established sejmiks , local land courts, appellate courts modelled on Polish system, through which
16340-468: The creation of a Commissary Provisional Government of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which, in turn, renewed the Polish-Lithuanian Union . The union was never formalized, however, as only half a year later Napoleon's Grande Armée was pushed out of Russia and forced to retreat further westwards. In December 1812, Vilnius was recaptured by Russian forces, bringing all plans for the recreation of
16512-448: The defense was soon broken and the camp was ravaged. According to Cronica conflictus , more knights died there than on the battlefield. The battle lasted for about ten hours. The Teutonic Order attributed the defeat to treason on the part of Nicholas von Renys (Mikołaj of Ryńsk), commander of the Culm ( Chełmno ) banner, and he was beheaded without a trial. He was the founder and leader of
16684-469: The dispute. A truce was signed on 8 October 1409 and was set to expire on 24 June 1410. Both sides used this time to prepare for war, gathering troops and engaging in diplomatic maneuvering. Both sides sent letters and envoys accusing each other of various wrongdoings and threats to the Christendom. Wenceslaus, who received a gift of 60,000 florins from the order, declared that Samogitia rightfully belonged to
16856-404: The entire battlefield. In William Urban 's summary, almost all accounts of the battle made before the 1960s were more influenced by romantic legends and nationalistic propaganda than by fact. Historians have since made progress towards dispassionate scholarship and reconciliation of the various national accounts of the battle. The Battle of Grunwald is regarded as one of the most important in
17028-463: The ethnically Lithuanian peasants and some middle nobility. Islam in Lithuania , unlike many other northern and western European countries, has a long history starting from 14th century. Small groups of Muslim Lipka Tatars migrated to ethnically Lithuanian lands, mainly under the rule of Grand Duke Vytautas (early 15th century). In Lithuania, unlike many other European societies at the time, there
17200-407: The factual termination of the Polish–Lithuanian union also occurred during the reign of Casimir's sons Alexander Jagiellon and John I Albert who had respectively ruled Lithuania and Poland separately in 1492–1501. The rapid expansion of the influence of Moscow soon put it into a comparable position to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and after the annexation of Novgorod Republic in 1478, Muscovy
17372-597: The first time fully captured Russia's capital Moscow in 1610. Sigismund III's son, Władysław IV Vasa , began ruling Lithuania in 1632 and achieved military success and popularity during the Smolensk War , but he renounced his claims to the Russian throne per the Treaty of Polyanovka in 1634 and failed at reclaiming the Swedish throne. John II Casimir Vasa 's reign was initially marked with disastrous military loses as during
17544-407: The forces of the Grand Duchy in the Battle of Grunwald . The battle ended in a decisive Polish-Lithuanian victory against the Teutonic Order . The war of Lithuania against military Orders , which lasted for more than 200 years, and was one of the longest wars in the history of Europe, was finally ended. Vytautas backed the economic development of the state and introduced many reforms. Under his rule,
17716-402: The formation of the Lithuanian state. The peace treaty with Galicia–Volhynia of 1219 provides evidence of cooperation between Lithuanians and Samogitians . This treaty lists 21 Lithuanian dukes , including five senior Lithuanian dukes from Aukštaitija ( Živinbudas , Daujotas , Vilikaila , Dausprungas and Mindaugas ) and several dukes from Žemaitija . Although they had battled in the past,
17888-519: The foundation of the Prussian Confederation , or Alliance against Lordship , in 1441. This in turn led to a series of conflicts that culminated in the Thirteen Years' War (1454). Ideas about commemorating the battle rose right after the event. Władysław II Jagiełło wanted to build a monastery dedicated to Saint Bridget of Sweden , who had prophesied the downfall of the Teutonic Order, at
18060-476: The fusion of Lithuanian and Ruthenian elements in its culture, became the trigger for a long-running debate among historians from Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine over whether the state was essentially Lithuanian or Ruthenian-Lithuanian, in which the more advanced Ruthenian culture played a central role. Before the Lithuanian expansion into the Ruthenian lands, Lithuanian was the only language of public life. However,
18232-530: The greatest territorial expansion of the grand duchy (it became one of the largest countries territorially in Europe) and the defeat of the Teutonic Knights in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. It also marked the rise of the Lithuanian nobility . After Vytautas's death, Lithuania's relationship with the Kingdom of Poland greatly deteriorated. Lithuanian noblemen, including the Radvila family , attempted to break
18404-525: The histories of Poland and Lithuania. In Lithuania, the victory is synonymous with the Grand Duchy's political and military peak. It was a source of national pride during the age of Romantic nationalism and inspired resistance to the Germanization and Russification policies of the German and Russian Empires . The Teutonic Order was portrayed as bloodthirsty invaders and Grunwald as a just victory achieved by
18576-422: The joint Polish–Lithuanian force was King Władysław II Jagiełło; however, he did not directly participate in the battle. The Lithuanian units were commanded directly by Grand Duke Vytautas, who was second in command, and helped design the grand strategy of the campaign. Vytautas actively participated in the battle, managing both Lithuanian and Polish units. Jan Długosz stated that the low-ranking swordbearer of
18748-516: The king's life, gaining royal favor and becoming one of the most influential people in Poland. At that time the reorganized Lithuanians returned to the battle, attacking von Jungingen from the rear. The Teutonic forces were by then becoming outnumbered by the mass of Polish knights and advancing Lithuanian cavalry. As von Jungingen attempted to break through the Lithuanian lines, he was killed. According to Cronica conflictus , Dobiesław of Oleśnica thrust
18920-406: 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
19092-462: The last Baltic ally of Lithuania, in 1291. The Orders could now turn their full attention to Lithuania. The "buffer zone" composed of other Baltic tribes had disappeared, and Grand Duchy of Lithuania was left to battle the Orders on its own. The Gediminid dynasty ruled the grand duchy for over a century, and Vytenis was the first ruler of the dynasty. During his reign Lithuania was in constant war with
19264-419: The left flank, Lithuanian light cavalry the right flank and various mercenary troops made up the center. Their men were organized in three lines of wedge-shaped formations about 20 men deep. The Teutonic forces concentrated their elite heavy cavalry, commanded by Grand Marshal Frederic von Wallenrode , against the Lithuanians. The order, which was the first to organize their army for the battle, hoped to provoke
19436-578: The location of the battle. When the order regained the territory of the battlefield, the new grand master Heinrich von Plauen built a chapel dedicated to Saint Mary and it was consecrated in March 1413. It was destroyed by the Poles when they invaded during the Hunger War of 1414, but it was quickly rebuilt. The chapel fell to ruins during the Protestant Reformation and was demolished in 1720. Over time,
19608-444: The location of the chapel became associated with the location where Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen was killed. In 1901, a large memorial stone was erected for the fallen Grand Master in the midst of the chapel ruins for the 200th anniversary of the coronation of King Frederick I of Prussia . The inscription was chiseled in 1960 and the stone was removed from the chapel ruins and placed inscription facing down in 1984. In 1960, for
19780-477: The loss of land to Moscow, and the continued pressure threatened the survival of the state of Lithuania, so it was forced to ally more closely with Poland, forming a real union with the Kingdom of Poland in the Union of Lublin of 1569. The union was formally called the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , however now commonly known as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . During
19952-457: The main battle site according to Ekdahl's predictions. In 2017, the team found approximately 65 crossbow bolts and 20 arrowheads, as well as parts of spurs, stirrups, gauntlets, etc. As of 2020, archaeologists had discovered about 1,500 artifacts of which about 150 are linked to the battle. Among them are a Teutonic clasp to fasten coat with the Gothic inscription 'Ave Maria', a seal with the image of
20124-556: The main target of both orders. The battle provided a break in the wars with the Knights, and Lithuania exploited this situation, arranging attacks on the Ruthenian provinces and annexing Navahrudak and Hrodna . In 1248, a civil war broke out between Mindaugas and his nephews Tautvilas and Edivydas . The powerful coalition against Mindaugas included Vykintas, the Livonian Order, Daniel of Galicia and Vasilko of Volhynia . Taking advantage of internal conflicts, Mindaugas allied with
20296-400: The major cities of Danzig ( Gdańsk ), Thorn ( Toruń ), and Elbing ( Elbląg ). Only eight castles remained in Teutonic hands. The besiegers of Marienburg expected a speedy capitulation and were not prepared for a long siege, suffering from lack of ammunition, low morale, and an epidemic of dysentery . The order appealed to their allies for help, and Sigismund of Hungary , Wenceslaus, King of
20468-510: The mid-16th century, the other being Ruthenian; later, both languages began to be replaced by Polish. Ruthenian culture dominated the courts of the Gediminid princes since the 14th century, especially those ruling directly over Ruthenian subjects. Grand Duke Jogaila was most likely bilingual, knowing and speaking Lithuanian and Ruthenian, and was able to communicate in the Samogitian dialect of
20640-590: The only banners from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania not to retreat. In Soviet historiography , the Battle of Grunwald was styled as an ethnic struggle between Slavs and Germanics . The Teutonic Order was portrayed as the medieval forerunners of Hitler's armies, while the battle itself was seen as the medieval counterpart to the Battle of Stalingrad . In 2014, the Russian Military Historical Society stated that Russian troops and their allies defeated
20812-494: The order and only Dobrzyń Land should be returned to Poland. The order also paid 300,000 ducats to Sigismund of Hungary , who had ambitions regarding the Principality of Moldavia , for mutual military assistance. Sigismund attempted to break the Polish–Lithuanian alliance by offering Vytautas a king's crown; Vytautas' acceptance would have violated the terms of the Ostrów Agreement and created Polish-Lithuanian discord. At
20984-662: The order borrowed heavily, confiscated gold and silver from churches, and increased taxes. Two major Prussian cities, Danzig ( Gdańsk ) and Thorn ( Toruń ), revolted against the tax increases. The defeat at Grunwald left the Teutonic Order with few forces to defend their remaining territories. Since Samogitia became officially christened , as both Poland and Lithuania were for a long time, the order had difficulties recruiting new volunteer crusaders. The Grand Masters then needed to rely on mercenary troops, which proved an expensive drain on their already depleted budget. The internal conflicts, economic decline, and tax increases led to unrest and
21156-581: The order in Dobrzyń Land and Gdańsk ( Danzig ), but the two states had been largely at peace since the Treaty of Kalisz (1343) . The conflict was also motivated by trade considerations: the order controlled the lower reaches of the three largest rivers (the Neman , Vistula and Daugava ) in Poland and Lithuania. In May 1409, an uprising in Teutonic-held Samogitia started. Lithuania supported it and
21328-426: The order threatened to invade. Poland announced its support for the Lithuanian cause and threatened to invade Prussia in return. As Prussian troops evacuated Samogitia, Teutonic Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen declared war on the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on 6 August 1409. The order hoped to defeat Poland and Lithuania separately, and began by invading Greater Poland and Kuyavia , catching
21500-401: The order, Władysław II Jagiełło and Vytautas organized several raids into border territories, thus forcing the order to keep their troops in place. The precise number of soldiers involved has proven difficult to establish. None of the contemporary sources provided reliable troop counts. Jan Długosz provided the number of banners, the principal unit of each cavalry: 51 for the Teutons, 50 for
21672-428: The original Cronica conflictus did not survive, a short summary from the 16th century has been preserved. Historiae Polonicae by Polish historian Jan Długosz (1415–1480). is a comprehensive and detailed account written several decades after the battle. The reliability of this source suffers not only from the long gap since the events, but also from Długosz's alleged biases against Lithuanians. Banderia Prutenorum
21844-633: The passing of the Constitution of 3 May 1791 , when it was supposed to become a single country, the Commonwealth, under one monarch, one parliament and with no Lithuanian autonomy. Shortly afterward, the unitary character of the state was confirmed by adopting the Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations . However, the newly reformed Commonwealth was invaded by Russia in 1792 and partitioned between neighbouring states. A truncated state (whose principal cities were Kraków , Warsaw and Vilnius ) remained that
22016-409: The peasants. Since the 16th century, Polish was used much more often than other languages for writing. Polish finally became the Commonwealth's official chancellery language in 1697. Other important ethnic groups throughout the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were Jews and Tatars . Jews spoke mainly in the eastern dialect of Yiddish. The Lithuanian Tatars used a language of Kipchak origin that
22188-461: The period of the Union, many of the territories formerly controlled by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were transferred to the Crown of the Polish Kingdom , while the gradual process of Polonization slowly drew Lithuania itself under Polish domination. Following the death of Grand Duke Sigismund II Augustus in 1572, a joint Polish–Lithuanian monarch was to be elected as in the Union of Lublin it
22360-485: The personal union with Poland. However, unsuccessful wars with the Grand Duchy of Moscow forced the union to remain intact. Eventually, the Union of Lublin of 1569 created a new state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . In this federation , the Grand Duchy of Lithuania maintained its political distinctiveness and had separate ministries, laws, army, and treasury. The federation was terminated by
22532-566: The region waned thereafter. In 1387, Moldavia became a vassal of Poland and, in a broader sense, of Lithuania. By this time, Lithuania had conquered the territory of the Golden Horde all the way to the Dnieper River. In a crusade against the Golden Horde in 1398 (in an alliance with Tokhtamysh ), Lithuania invaded northern Crimea and won a decisive victory. In an attempt to place Tokhtamish on the Golden Horde throne in 1399, Lithuania moved against
22704-447: The religious rationale for the order's activities in the area. Its grand master, Conrad Zöllner von Rothenstein , supported by Hungarian King Sigismund of Luxemburg , responded by publicly contesting the sincerity of Jogaila's conversion, bringing the charge to a papal court . The territorial disputes continued over Samogitia, which had been in Teutonic hands since the Peace of Raciąż in 1404. Poland also had territorial claims against
22876-515: The role of knights in a re-enactment of the battle. An additional 3,800 participants played peasants and camp followers. The pageant's organisers believe that the event has become the largest re-enactment of medieval combat in Europe. The reenactment attracts about 60,000 to 80,000 visitors annually. The battle is also commemorated in Ukraine and Belarus. In 2010, the National Bank of Ukraine released
23048-475: The root derived from the Proto-Indo-European leyǝ- . However, the river is very small and some find it improbable that such a small and local object could have lent its name to an entire nation. On the other hand, such a fact is not unprecedented in world history. A credible modern theory of etymology of the name of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuva ) is Artūras Dubonis's hypothesis that Lietuva relates to
23220-530: The same as, the spoken language used by Ruthenians living in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. As for the correspondences with foreign courts the grand ducal chancellery prepared it in the language appropriate to the recipient: Latin for the correspondence with the West, German with the Teutonic Order and Chancery Ruthenian with the East Slavic and Tatar rulers. The language used at court continued to be Lithuanian until
23392-415: The same time, Vytautas managed to obtain a truce from the Livonian Order . By December 1409, Władysław II Jagiełło and Vytautas had agreed on a common strategy: their armies would unite into a single massive force and march together towards Marienburg ( Malbork ), capital of the Teutonic Order. The order, who took a defensive position, did not expect a joint attack and were preparing for a dual invasion—by
23564-502: The second half of the 16th century, Calvinism spread in Lithuania, supported by the families of Radziwiłł , Chodkiewicz , Sapieha , Dorohostajski and others. By the 1580s the majority of the senators from Lithuania were Calvinist or Socinian Unitarians ( Jan Kiszka ). In 1579, Stephen Báthory , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, founded Vilnius University , one of the oldest universities in Northern Europe . Due to
23736-530: The traditionally accepted location of the battlefield was incorrect. He believed that the surveys near the chapel ruins were actually around the site of the Teutonic Order's camp. According to Ekdahl's theory, the main battlefield was located northeast of the road between Grunwald and Łodwigowo, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) southwest of the memorial site. Between 2014 and 2019, archaeologists from Scandinavia and Poland investigated an area of approximately 450 hectares (1,100 acres) with metal detectors and located
23908-465: The treaty with Galicia–Volhynia. The Livonian Rhymed Chronicle , reports that by the mid-1230s, Mindaugas had acquired supreme power in the whole of Lithuania. In 1236, the Samogitians, led by Vykintas , defeated the Livonian Order in the Battle of Saule . The Order was forced to become a branch of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia, making Samogitia, a strip of land that separated Livonia from Prussia,
24080-449: The western and the southern parts of the former Kievan Rus' . While almost every other state around it had been plundered or defeated by the Mongols , the hordes stopped at the modern borders of Belarus, and the core territory of the Grand Duchy was left mostly untouched. The weak control of the Mongols over the areas they had conquered allowed the expansion of Lithuania to accelerate. Rus' principalities were never incorporated directly into
24252-415: The word leičiai (plural of leitis , a social group of warriors-knights in the early Grand Duchy of Lithuania). The title of the Grand Duchy was consistently applied to Lithuania from the 14th century onward. Naming convention of both title of ruler ( hospodar ) and the state changed as it expanded its territory. Following the decline of the Kingdom of Ruthenia and incorporation of its lands into
24424-450: The wording is vague and it is unclear whether it meant a total of 8,000 or 16,000 dead. A papal bull from 1412 mentioned 18,000 dead Christians. In two letters written immediately after the battle, Władysław II Jagiełło mentioned that Polish casualties were small ( paucis valde and modico ) and Jan Długosz listed only 12 Polish knights who had been killed. A letter by a Teutonic official from Tapiau ( Gvardeysk ) mentioned that only half of
24596-558: The work of the Jesuits during the Counter-Reformation the university soon developed into one of the most important scientific and cultural centres of the region and the most notable scientific centre of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The work of the Jesuits as well as conversions from among the Lithuanian senatorial families turned the tide and by the 1670s Calvinism lost its former importance though it still retained some influence among
24768-407: 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–Lithuania . The state was founded by Lithuanians , who were at the time a polytheistic nation of several united Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija . By 1440 the grand duchy had become
24940-655: Was accompanied by the spread since mid-15th century of the legend of the Roman origin of the Lithuanian nobility (from the Palemon lineage ), and the closeness of the Lithuanian language and Latin. This let some intellectuals in the mid-16th century to advocate for replacement of Ruthenian with Latin, as they considered Latin as the native language of Lithuanians. Battle of Grunwald Vassals, allies and mercenaries: Vassals, allies and mercenaries: The Battle of Grunwald , Battle of Žalgiris , or First Battle of Tannenberg ,
25112-478: Was agreed that the title "Grand Duke of Lithuania" will be received by a jointly elected monarch in the Election sejm on his accession to the throne, thus losing its former institutional significance, however the Union of Lublin guaranteed that the institution and the title "Grand Duke of Lithuania" will be preserved. In 1573, Henry Valua was elected as the first joint Polish–Lithuanian monarch, however his rule
25284-540: Was already at the meeting place. The Lithuanian army marched out from Vilnius on 3 June and joined the Ruthenian regiments in Hrodna . They arrived in Czerwińsk on the same day the Poles crossed the river. After the crossing, Masovian troops under Siemowit IV and Janusz I joined the Polish–Lithuanian army. The massive force began its march north towards Marienburg ( Malbork ), capital of Prussia, on 3 July. The Prussian border
25456-425: Was among the preeminent states in northeastern Europe . Between 1492 and 1508, Ivan III further consolidated Muscovy, winning the key Battle of Vedrosha and capturing such ancient lands of Kievan Rus' as Chernihiv and Bryansk . On 8 September 1514, the allied forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland, under the command of Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski, fought the Battle of Orsha against
25628-614: Was created sometime between 1315 and 1317 by the Constantinople Patriarch John XIII . Following the Galicia–Volhynia Wars which divided the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland , in 1355 the Halych metropoly was liquidated and its eparchies transferred to the metropoles of Lithuania and Volhynia. In 1387, Lithuania converted to Catholicism , while most of
25800-492: Was crossed on 9 July. The river crossing remained secret until Hungarian envoys, who were attempting to negotiate a peace, informed the Grand Master. As soon as Ulrich von Jungingen grasped the Polish–Lithuanian intentions, he left 3,000 men at Schwetz ( Świecie ) under Heinrich von Plauen and marched the main force to organize a line of defense on the Drewenz River ( Drwęca ) near Kauernik ( Kurzętnik ). The river crossing
25972-407: Was erected by the Lithuanians near the monument site to commemorate the 610th anniversary of the battle. The monument was unveiled by Lithuanian and Polish presidents Gitanas Nausėda and Andrzej Duda . Several artifacts from the battlefield are known from historical record, for example stone balls in the church of Stębark (Tannenberg) and a metal helmet with holes in the church of Mielno which
26144-635: Was first used by Maironis in 1891. The Germans named the battle after Tannenberg ("fir hill" or "pine hill" in German). Thus, there are three commonly used names for the battle: German : Schlacht bei Tannenberg , Polish : bitwa pod Grunwaldem , Lithuanian : Žalgirio mūšis . Its names in the languages of other involved peoples include Belarusian : Бітва пад Грунвальдам , Ukrainian : Грюнвальдська битва , Russian : Грюнвальдская битва , Czech : Bitva u Grunvaldu , Romanian : Bătălia de la Grünwald . There are few contemporary, reliable sources about
26316-419: Was fortified with stockades . On 11 July, after meeting with his eight-member war council , Władysław II Jagiełło decided against crossing the river at such a strong, defensible position. The army would instead bypass the river crossing by turning east, towards its sources, where no other major rivers separated his army from Marienburg. The march continued east towards Soldau ( Działdowo ), although no attempt
26488-568: 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), and Grand Duke Vytautas , decisively defeated the German Teutonic Order , led by Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen . Most of the Teutonic Order's leadership was killed or taken prisoner. Although defeated,
26660-461: Was full of borrowings from Turkish and Arabic . It ceased to be used in the 16th century, and was replaced by Ruthenian and Polish, written in the Arabic alphabet . Brought in 1397 from Crimea, Karaites used a dialect of West Karaite language , while Hebrew was used for religious purposes. In addition, Livonia , which had been politically connected to the Grand Duchy since the mid-16th century,
26832-462: Was gifted to Frederick William IV of Prussia when he visited the battlefield in 1842, but they have not survived to the present day. The first amateur archeological research was carried out in 1911 in hopes of finding the mass graves mentioned by Jan Długosz at the church of Stębark. The church was surveyed with ground-penetrating radar in 2013 but little evidence of the mass graves was found. The first more thorough archaeological excavations of
27004-521: Was inhabited by Latgalians who spoke a dialect of the Latvian language . Inhabiting the towns, mainly in Livonia, the mostly Protestant Germans used a local variety of German called Baltendeutsch . Prussian and Yotvingians refugees, pushed out by the Teutonic Knights, also found their footing in the Grand Duchy. Similarly, Russian Old Believers emigrated to Lithuanian lands in the 17th century. The Grand Duchy's linguistic and ethnic situation, as well as
27176-494: Was known from written sources, but the burial in Faulen was unexpected. In the fields, very few items of militaria were found. In 1958–1990, only 28 artefacts were found connected to the battle: ten crossbow bolts, five arrowheads, a javelin head, two sword pieces, two gun bullets, six pieces of gauntlets, and two small arms bullets. In 2009 Swedish historian Sven Ekdahl [ de ] published his long-held hypothesis that
27348-640: Was located in Kernavė until 1316 or 1321 where Traidenis and Vytenis mainly resided and led to its prosperity. During this time, the Orders finalized their conquests. In 1274, the Great Prussian Rebellion ended, and the Teutonic Knights proceeded to conquer other Baltic tribes: the Nadruvians and Skalvians in 1274–1277, and the Yotvingians in 1283; the Livonian Order completed its conquest of Semigalia,
27520-405: Was made to capture the town. The Teutonic army followed the Drewenz River north, crossed it near Löbau ( Lubawa ) and then moved east in parallel with the Polish–Lithuanian army. According to the Order's propaganda, the latter ravaged the village of Gilgenburg ( Dąbrówno ). Later, in the self-serving testimonies of the survivors before the Pope, the order claimed that Von Jungingen was so enraged by
27692-422: Was mentioned for the first time in 1558. There were 42 Tatar families in the village in 1630. The majority of inhabitants of Lithuania proper , which included the voivodeships of Vilnius , Trakai and Samogitia , spoke Lithuanian. These areas remained almost wholly Lithuanian-speaking, both colloquially and by ruling nobility. Despite its frequent oral use, Lithuanian did not begin to be used in writing until
27864-517: Was nominally independent. After the Kościuszko Uprising , the territory was completely partitioned among the Russian Empire , the Kingdom of Prussia and Austria in 1795. The name of Lithuania ( Litua ) was first mentioned in 1009 in Annals of Quedlinburg . Some older etymological theories relate the name to a small river not far from Kernavė , the core area of the early Lithuanian state and
28036-547: Was occupied by Russia after the initial invasion but was retaken by Ukraine in early April. According to the 1989 USSR Census, the village had a population of 4017, of whom 1700 were men and 2317 women. According to the 2001 Ukrainian census , the village had a population of 3282. The native languages of its inhabitants, according to the 2001 census: 50°34′15″N 31°30′56″E / 50.57083°N 31.51556°E / 50.57083; 31.51556 Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania
28208-471: Was once again a part of the Commonwealth following the Lithuanian revolt against the Swedes. The Lithuania's capital Vilnius was liberated in 1661. Throughout this Polish–Lithuanian Union period, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania remained a separate state and retained many rights in the federation (including separate name, territory, coat of arms, ministries, ruling system, laws, army, courts, treasury, and seal) until
28380-522: Was recognized as a Christian state until 1260, when Mindaugas supported an uprising in Courland and (according to the German order) renounced Christianity. Up until 1387, Lithuanian nobles professed their own religion, which was polytheistic . Ethnic Lithuanians were very dedicated to their faith. The pagan beliefs needed to be deeply entrenched to survive strong pressure from missionaries and foreign powers. Until
28552-555: Was religious freedom. Lithuanian Tatars were allowed to settle in certain places, such as Trakai and Kaunas . Keturiasdešimt Totorių is one of the oldest Tatar settlements in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. After a successful military campaign of the Crimean Peninsula in 1397, Vytautas brought the first Crimean Tatar prisoners of war to Trakai and various places in the Duchy of Trakai , including localities near Vokė river just south of Vilnius. The first mosque in this village
28724-456: Was short and he never personally visited the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, despite being announced as the Grand Duke of Lithuania. The double election of 1575 was held in the presence of a small number of Lithuanian lords, who additionally supported the Habsburg candidate Emperor Maximilian II, however, the race for the crown was won by Stephen Báthory, crowned on May 1, 1576. The Lithuanian lords, at
28896-406: Was small-scale. After the Union of Lublin , this movement significantly increased. Polish was adopted also gradually by the local inhabitants. Already in early 16th century, Polish became the Lithuanian magnates' first language. The following century it was adopted by the Lithuanian nobility in general. The Polish language also penetrated other social strata: the clergy, the townspeople, and even
29068-547: Was soon recaptured and fighting continued. Władysław II Jagiełło deployed his reserves—the second line of his army. Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen then personally led 16 banners, almost a third of the original Teutonic strength, to the right Polish flank, and Władysław II Jagiełło deployed his last reserves, the third line of his army. The melee reached the Polish command and one knight, identified as Lupold or Diepold of Kökeritz, charged directly against King Władysław II Jagiełło. Władysław's secretary, Zbigniew Oleśnicki , saved
29240-507: Was south of Grünfelde (Grunwald). Władysław II Jagiełło referred to the site in Latin as in loco conflictus nostri, quem cum Cruciferis de Prusia habuimus, dicto Grunenvelt . Later, Polish chroniclers interpreted the word Grunenvelt ("green field" in Low German ) as Grünwald , meaning "green forest" in German. The Lithuanians followed suit and translated the name as Žalgiris . The name Žalgiris
29412-537: Was the largest state in Europe. It was a multi-ethnic and multiconfessional state, with great diversity in languages, religion, and cultural heritage. The consolidation of the Lithuanian lands began in the late 13th century. Mindaugas , the first ruler of the grand duchy, was crowned as the Catholic King of Lithuania in 1253. The pagan state was targeted in a religious crusade by the Teutonic Knights and
29584-399: Was thought to be in the territory of the monastic state of the Teutonic Order , on the plains between three villages: Grünfelde ( Grunwald ) to the west, Tannenberg ( Stębark ) to the northeast and Ludwigsdorf ( Łodwigowo , Ludwikowice) to the south. However, research by Swedish historian Sven Ekdahl [ de ] and archaeological excavations in 2014–2017 proved that the actual site
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