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Pilėnai
Pilėnai (also ''Pillenen'' in German) was a hill fort in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Its location is unknown and is subject to academic debates, but it is well known in the history of Lithuania due to its heroic defense against the Teutonic Order in 1336. Attacked by a large Teutonic force, the fortress, commanded by Duke Margiris, tried in vain to organize a defense against the larger and stronger invader. Losing hope, the defenders decided to burn their property and commit mass suicide to deprive the Order of prisoners and loot (cf. scorched earth). This dramatic episode from the Lithuanian Crusade has caught the public imagination, inspired many works of fiction, and became a symbol of Lithuanian struggles and resistance. Sources The attack and the defense of Pilėnai were briefly mentioned in several contemporary chronicles, including ''Epitome gestarum Prussiae'' by a Sambian canon, ''Der Chronist von Wolfenbüttel'' (Chronicler of Wolfenbüttel), ''Annalista Thorunens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margiris
Margiris or Margis (died 25 February 1336) was a Grand Duchy of Lithuania, medieval Lithuanian/Samogitian prince, mentioned by Caspar Schütz, via Wigand of Marburg, as the heroic defender of Pilėnai fortress in 1336. Not able to defend the fortress against the Teutonic Order, Margiris and other defenders decided to commit a mass suicide, burning the castle and leaving no loot for the enemy. This episode from the Lithuanian Crusade was popularized during the 19th-century wave of romantic nationalism and Margiris is treated as a national hero in Lithuania. Biography Very little is known about Margiris' life. In primary written sources his name is mentioned only twice, in 1329 as ''Margalis'' by chronicler Jean d'Outremeuse in ''Ly myreur des histors'' and as ''Marger'' in 1336 by Caspar Schütz in ''Historia Rerum Prussicarum''. In early 1329, John of Luxemburg, King of Bohemia, joined the Lithuanian Crusade, Teutonic crusade against Lithuania and Siege of Medvėgalis, capt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithuanian Crusade
The Lithuanian Crusade was a series of economic Christianity and colonialism, Christian colonization campaigns by the Teutonic Order and the Livonian Order under the pretext of forcibly Christianization, Christianizing the pagan Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Livonian Order occupied Riga in 1202 and the Teutonic Order conquered Culmerland in the 1230s. They first conquered other neighboring Baltic tribes—Curonians, Semigallians, Latgalians, Selonians, and Old Prussians—in the Livonian Crusade and Prussian Crusade. The first raid against the Lithuanians and Samogitians was in 1208. From then on, the orders played a key role in Lithuanian politics, but they were not a direct threat until the 1280s. By that time, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was already a centralized state and could mount defenses. For the next century, the order organized annual colonialism, colonialist (raids) into Samogitian and Lithuanian lands, without great success but at immense human cost. Border regions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mass Suicide
Mass suicide is a form of suicide, occurring when a group of people simultaneously kill themselves. Overview Mass suicide sometimes occurs in religious settings. In war, defeated groups may resort to mass suicide rather than being captured. Suicide pacts are a form of mass suicide that are sometimes planned or carried out by small groups of depressed or hopeless people. Mass suicides have been used as a form of political protest. Attitudes towards mass suicide change according to place and circumstance. People who resort to mass suicide rather than submit to what they consider intolerable oppression sometimes become the focus of a heroic myth. Such mass suicides might also win the grudging respect of the victors. On the other hand, the act of people resorting to mass suicide without being threatened – especially, when driven to this step by a charismatic religious leader, for reasons which often seem obscure – tends to be regarded far more negatively. Historical mass suic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Punia, Lithuania
Punia is a historic village in the Alytus District Municipality, Lithuania. Situated on the right bank of the Nemunas River, it has a population of about 800. It was an important early city of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. History Grand Duchy of Lithuania The town was first mentioned in 1382. The first church was built in 1425, likely by Vytautas the Great. Because of its good geographical location (Nemunas, direct route to Trakai), Punia became a local centre. 16th century In 1503, the town received Magdeburg rights and was promoted to city status. 17th century The city reached its peak in the 17th century and became known for its pottery and smithery. The third church was built in 1688. 18th century At the beginning of the 18th century, Punia suffered a great deal of damage from the Great Northern War at the hands of the Swedish and did not recover until the end of the century. In 1785 a town hall was built. 19th century During the middle of the 19th century Jews se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis V, Duke Of Bavaria
Louis V, called the Brandenburger (May 1315 – 18 September 1361), a member of the House of Wittelsbach, ruled as Margrave of Brandenburg from 1323 to 1351 and as Duke of Bavaria from 1347 until his death. From 1342 he also was co-ruling Count of Tyrol by his marriage with the Meinhardiner countess Margaret. Family history Louis V was the eldest son of King Louis IV of Germany and his first wife, Beatrice of Świdnica. His father, Duke of Bavaria since 1294, had been elected king in 1314, rivalled by the Habsburg anti-king Frederick the Fair. He had to defend his rights in a lengthy throne quarrel, finally defeated Frederick's forces in the 1322 Battle of Mühldorf, and in 1328 received the Imperial crown; though not by the pope but by the "Roman people" led by Sciarra Colonna. Margrave of Brandenburg Upon his victory at Mühldorf, the king took the occasion to seize the princeless Margraviate of Brandenburg, where the last Ascanian ruler Henry the Child had died without h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scorched Earth
A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy that aims to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy. Any assets that could be used by the enemy may be targeted, which usually includes obvious weapons, transport vehicles, communication sites, and industrial resources. However, anything useful to the advancing enemy may be targeted, including food stores and agricultural areas, water sources, and even the local people themselves, though the last has been banned under the 1977 Geneva Conventions. The practice can be carried out by the military in enemy territory or in its own home territory while it is being invaded. It may overlap with, but is not the same as, punitive destruction of the enemy's resources, which is usually done as part of political strategy, rather than operational strategy. Notable historic examples of scorched-earth tactics include William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea in the American Civil War, Kit Carson's subjugation of the America ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithuania Punia Margiris Pilikalnis
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania shares land borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and Russia to the southwest. It has a maritime border with Sweden to the west on the Baltic Sea. Lithuania covers an area of , with a population of 2.8 million. Its capital and largest city is Vilnius; other major cities are Kaunas and Klaipėda. Lithuanians belong to the ethno-linguistic group of the Balts and speak Lithuanian, one of only a few living Baltic languages. For millennia the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea were inhabited by various Baltic tribes. In the 1230s, Lithuanian lands were united by Mindaugas, becoming king and founding the Kingdom of Lithuania on 6 July 1253. In the 14th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of Lithuania
The history of Lithuania dates back to settlements founded many thousands of years ago, but the first written record of the name for the country dates back to 1009 AD. Lithuanians, one of the Baltic peoples, later conquered neighboring lands and established the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 13th century (and also a short-lived Kingdom of Lithuania). The Grand Duchy was a successful and lasting warrior state. It remained fiercely independent and was one of the last areas of Europe to adopt Christianity (beginning in the 14th century). A formidable power, it became the largest state in Europe in the 15th century through the conquest of large groups of East Slavs who resided in Ruthenia. In 1385, the Grand Duchy formed a dynastic union with Poland through the Union of Krewo. Later, the Union of Lublin (1569) created the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that lasted until 1795, when the last of the Partitions of Poland erased both Lithuania and Poland from the political map. Afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guy II, Marquis Of Namur
Guy II (1312 – 12 March 1336) was Count of Namur from 1335 to 1336. He was the second son of John I, Marquis of Namur, and Mary of Artois. He participated in 1332 on the side of the Count of Flanders against the Duke of Brabant, in the war over Mechelen. He succeeded his brother John II as Count of Namur on 2 April 1335. Under influence of his younger brother Robert of Namur, he recognized King Edward III of England as his Lord, in exchange for a pension. He also participated in the War against Scotland with 300 men, but was surprised by a larger Scottish force under John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray in the Battle of Boroughmuir. Guy was taken prisoner, but released for ransom. After his return to Namur, he participated in a tournament in Flanders, where he was mortally wounded. He was succeeded by his younger brother Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teodor Narbutt
Teodor Narbutt ( lt, Teodoras Narbutas; 8 November 1784 – 27 November 1864) was a Polish–Lithuanian romantic historian and military engineer in service of the Russian Empire. He is best remembered as the author of a nine-volume Polish-language history of Lithuania from the early Middle Ages to the Union of Lublin. Life Teodor Narbutt was born in 1784 in the village of Szawry (present-day Voranava District of Belarus) in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, to a notable szlachta family of Trąby coat of arms. Early in his youth his fatherland was partitioned between Russia, Austria and Prussia. After graduating from a Piarist college at Lyubeshiv, Narbutt entered the Vilna Academy, where in 1803 he graduated in engineering. He then moved to Saint Petersburg, where he joined the Cadet Corps. He served in the Imperial Russian Army, where he became a captain in the field engineering corps. He took part in the 1807 and 1812 Russian campaigns against Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maironis
Maironis (born Jonas Mačiulis, ; – 28 June 1932) was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest and the greatest and most-known Lithuanian poet, especially of the period of the Lithuanian press ban. He was called the Bard of Lithuanian National Revival (). Maironis was active in public life. However, the Lithuanian literary historian Juozas Brazaitis writes that Maironis was not. In his poetry, he expressed the national aspirations of the Lithuanian National Revival and was highly influential in Lithuanian society and poetry. The Maironian school in Lithuanian literature was named after him. Life Early years Jonas Mačiulis was born in manor, , , in Russian-occupied Lithuania on . Maironis' parents were free peasants who maintained close relations with the polonized Lithuanian nobility. Such a social environment formed the basis of Maironis' personality, leading to his deep religiosity and loyalty to tradition, free from atheistic or liberal influences. Socially, Maironis was u ... [...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] |
