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Leičiai
Leičiai (singular: leitis) were a distinct social group of the Lithuanian society in the early Grand Duchy of Lithuania subordinate to the Lithuanian ruler or the state itself. Leičiai were native to the Lietuva Land and formed the core of the Lithuanian society in the pre-state era and during the establishment of the state. Leičiai made up the majority of the military-economic staff of the state: they enforced state authority in the periphery, protected state borders, and performed various other war-related functions, such as breeding riding horses. By the 15th and 16th centuries, leičiai were in decline, already losing some of their functions and prestige, and they disappeared as a social class after the implementation of the Wallach Reform. According to the hypothesis brought forward by Lithuanian historian Artūras Dubonis and linguist Simas Karaliūnas, the name of Lithuania (''Lietuva'') derived from leičiai. Leičiai is an old ethnonym used by Latvians to denote th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Name Of Lithuania
The first known record of the name of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuva) is in a 9 March 1009 story of Saint Bruno recorded in the Quedlinburg Chronicle ( la, Annales Quedlinburgenses). The Chronicle recorded a Latinized form of the Old Church Slavonic word for Lithuania— (''Litva'')—Latinized as ''Litva'' (pronounced ). Although it is clear the name originated from a Baltic language, scholars still debate the meaning of the word. Historic usage During the 13th century the Duchy of Lithuania was bordered by Slavic lands. The Slavs did not create the name; they used the existing Lithuanian ethnonym. The Lithuanian diphthong -''ie''- has, in Slavic languages, shifted to the vowel -''i''- (), and the short -''u''- became extra-short (reduced) -''ŭ''- () which, being unstressed, later disappeared from the East Slavic, hence ''Litva''. This is evidence that the Slavs borrowed this ethnonym from Lithuanians a long time ago. During the next century, Lithuania's name was recorded in other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lithuanians, who were at the time a polytheistic nation born from several united Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija. The Grand Duchy expanded to include large portions of the former Kievan Rus' and other neighbouring states, including what is now Lithuania, Belarus and parts of Ukraine, Latvia, Poland, Russia and Moldova. At its greatest extent, in the 15th century, it 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 Catholic King of Lithuania in 1253. The pagan state was targeted in a religious crusade by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethnonym
An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used by the ethnic group itself). As an example, the largest ethnic group in Germany is Germans. The ethnonym ''Germans'' is a Latin-derived exonym used in the English language. Conversely, the Germans call themselves the , an endonym. The German people are identified by a variety of exonyms across Europe, such as (French language, French), (Italian language, Italian), (Swedish language, Swedish) and (Polish language, Polish). As a sub-field of anthroponymy, the study of ethnonyms is called ethnonymy or ethnonymics. Ethnonyms should not be confused with demonyms, distinctive terms that designate all people related to a specific territory, regardless of any ethnic, religious, linguistic or some other distinctions that may exist within the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Villein (feudal)
A villein, otherwise known as ''cottar'' or ''crofter'', is a serf tied to the land in the feudal system. Villeins had more rights and social status than those in slavery, but were under a number of legal restrictions which differentiated them from the freeman. Etymology Villein was a term used in the feudal system to denote a peasant (tenant farmer) who was legally tied to a lord of the manor – a villein in gross – or in the case of a villein regardant to a manor. Villeins occupied the social space between a free peasant (or "freeman") and a slave. The majority of medieval European peasants were villeins. An alternative term is serf, despite this originating from the Latin , meaning "slave". A villein was thus a bonded tenant, so he could not leave the land without the landowner's consent. Villein is derived from Late Latin ''villanus'', meaning a man employed at a Roman villa rustica, or large agricultural estate. The system of tied serfdom originates from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eišiškės
Eišiškės (, pl, Ejszyszki, russian: Эйши́шки/Eishishki, be, Эйшы́шкі/Eishyshki, yi, אײשישאָק/Eyshishok/Eishishok) is a small city in southeastern Lithuania on the border with Belarus. It is situated on a small group of hills, surrounded by marshy valley of Verseka and Dumblė Rivers. The rivers divide the town into two parts; the northern part is called Jurzdika. As of the census in 2011, Eišiškės had a population of 3,416. It has a hospital and two high schools (one for Polish and another for Lithuanian students). Names According to the Lithuanian Chronicles, the town was named after Eikšys, possibly one of the sons of Karijotas. According to Yaffa Eliach, "Local Jewish folklore had its own account of how the name of the town came into being: Once upon a time in the early days of the shtetl, a man came home and was greeted by his wife with a special treat of freshly cooked varenie (preserves), made from the berries that grow in such abundance in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volost
Volost ( rus, во́лость, p=ˈvoləsʲtʲ; ) was a traditional administrative subdivision in Eastern Europe. In earlier East Slavic history, ''volost'' was a name for the territory ruled by the knyaz, a principality; either as an absolute ruler or with varying degree of autonomy from the ''Velikiy Knyaz'' (Grand Prince). Starting from the end of the 14th century, ''volost'' was a unit of administrative division in Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Poland, Muscovy, lands of modern Latvia and Ukraine. Since about the 16th century it was a part of provincial districts that were called "uezd" in Muscovy and the later Russian Empire. Each uezd had several volosts that were subordinated to the uezd city. After the abolition of Russian serfdom in 1861, ''volost'' became a unit of peasant's local self-rule. A number of mirs are united into a volost, which has an assembly consisting of elected delegates from the mirs. These elect an elder ('' starshina'') and, hitherto, a court of justice ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Primary Source
In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under study. It serves as an original source of information about the topic. Similar definitions can be used in library science and other areas of scholarship, although different fields have somewhat different definitions. In journalism, a primary source can be a person with direct knowledge of a situation, or a document written by such a person. Primary sources are distinguished from secondary sources, which cite, comment on, or build upon primary sources. Generally, accounts written after the fact with the benefit of hindsight are secondary. A secondary source may also be a primary source depending on how it is used. For example, a memoir would be considered a primary source in research concerning its author or about their friends character ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Duchy Of Moscow
The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Latin ) was a Rus' principality of the Late Middle Ages centered on Moscow, and the predecessor state of the Tsardom of Russia in the early modern period. It was ruled by the Rurik dynasty, who had ruled Rus' since the foundation of Novgorod in 862. Ivan III the Great titled himself as Sovereign and Grand Duke of All Rus' (russian: государь и великий князь всея Руси, gosudar' i velikiy knyaz' vseya Rusi). The state originated with the rule of Alexander Nevsky of the Rurik dynasty, when in 1263, his son, Daniel I, was appointed to rule the newly created Grand Principality of Moscow, which was a vassal state to the Mongol Empire (under the "Tatar Yoke"), and which eclipsed and eventually absorbed its parent duchy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars
The Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars (also known as Russo-Lithuanian Wars, or just either Muscovite Wars or Lithuanian Wars)The conflicts are referred to as 'Muscovite wars' ( pl, wojny moskiewskie) in Polish historiography and as 'Lithuanian wars' in Russian one; English historiography uses both, ex. 'Muscovite wars' in and 'Lithuanian wars' in . Some sources also may use Russo- instead of Muscovite. were a series of wars between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, allied with the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Kingdom of Poland, and the Grand Duchy of Moscow, which would later become the Tsardom of Russia. After several defeats at the hands of Ivan III of Russia, Ivan III and Vasili III of Russia, Vasily III, the Lithuanians were increasingly reliant on Polish aid, which eventually became an important factor in Union of Lublin, the creation of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Before the first series of wars in the 15th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania controlled vast stretches o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Jagiellon
Alexander Jagiellon ( pl, Aleksander Jagiellończyk, lt, Aleksandras Jogailaitis; 5 August 1461 – 19 August 1506) of the House of Jagiellon was the Grand Duke of Lithuania and later also King of Poland. He was the fourth son of Casimir IV Jagiellon. He was elected grand duke of Lithuania on the death of his father (1492) and king of Poland on the death of his brother John I Albert (1501). Biography Alexander was born as the fourth son of King Casimir IV of Poland and Elisabeth, daughter of the King Albert of Hungary. At the time of his father's death in 1492, his eldest brother Vladislaus had already become king of Bohemia (1471) and Hungary and Croatia (1490), and the next oldest brother, Casimir, had died (1484) after leading an ascetic and pious life in his final years, resulting in his eventual canonization. While the third oldest brother, John I Albert was chosen by the Polish nobility ('' szlachta'') to be the next king of Poland, the Lithuanians instead elected Alexand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Starosta
The starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', german: link=no, Starost, Hauptmann) is a term of Slavic origin denoting a community elder whose role was to administer the assets of a clan or family estates. The Slavic root of starost translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has meant an official in a leadership position in a range of civic and social contexts throughout Central and Eastern Europe. In terms of a municipality, a ''starosta'' was historically a senior royal administrative official, equivalent to the County Sheriff or the outdated Seneschal, and analogous to a gubernator. In Poland, a ''starosta'' would administer crown territory or a delineated district called a '' starostwo''. In the early Middle Ages, the ''starosta'' could head a settled urban or rural community or other communities, such as a church starosta, or an ''artel'' starosta, etc. The starosta also functioned as the master of ceremonies. Poland Kingdom of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vytautas
Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', Old German: ''Wythaws or Wythawt'') from the late 14th century onwards, 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 revered as a national hero and was an important figure in the national rebirth in the 19th century. ''Vytautas'' is a popular male given name in Lithuania. In commemoration of the 500-year anniversary of his death, Vytautas Magnus University was named after him. Monuments in his honour were built in many towns in the independent Lithuania during the interwar period from 1918 to 1939. It is known that Vytautas himself knew and spoke in the Lithuanian language with Jogaila. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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