Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 13–15th centuries

Position of Grand Duchy of Lithuania in Northern and Eastern Europe until 1434.

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th^[1]–13th century until 1569. Then it became a constituent part of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when the Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of a unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija.^[2][3][4] The duchy later expanded to include large portions of the former Kievan Rus' and other Slavic lands, covering the territory of present-day Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania and parts of Estonia, Moldova, Poland, Russia and Ukraine. At its greatest extent in the 15th century, it was the largest state in Europe.^[5] It was a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state with great diversity in languages, religion, and cultural heritage.

Consolidation of the Lithuanian lands began in the late 12th century. Mindaugas, the first ruler of Grand Duchy, was crowned as Catholic King of Lithuania in 1253. The pagan state was targeted in the religious crusade by the Teutonic Knights and the Livonian Order. The multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state emerged only at the late reign of Gediminas^[6] and continued to expand under his son Algirdas.^[7] Algirdas's successor Jogaila signed the Union of Kreva in 1386, bringing two major changes in the history of Grand Duchy of Lithuania: conversion into Catholicism and establishment of a dynastic union between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland.^[8]

The reign of Vytautas the Great marked both the greatest territorial expansion of the Grand Duchy 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.^[9] Lithuanian noblemen, including the Radziwiłłs, attempted to break the personal union with Poland.^[10] However, the unsuccessful Muscovite–Lithuanian 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 a separate government, laws, army, and treasury ^[11] But this federation was terminated by the passing of the Constitution of May 3, 1791, and since then there was supposed to be but a single country - Respublica Poloniae- under one monarch and one parliament. The newly reformed Commonwealth was invaded by Russia in 1792, and partitioned between the neighbours, with a truncated state (principal cities being Kraków, Warsaw and Vilnius) remaining only nominally independent; and after the Kościuszko Uprising, partitioned among the Russian Empire, Prussia and Austria in 1795.

Names[link]

According to the Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania the complete name of the state is Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Rus and Samogitia (Ruthenian: Великого князства Литовского, Руского, Жомойтского и иных).^[12] The title of "Grand Duchy" was consistently applied to Lithuania from the 14th century onward.^[13]

In other languages, the Grand Duchy is referred to as:

• Belarusian: Вялікае Княства Літоўскае, Рускае, Жамойцкае
• German: Großfürstentum Litauen
• Estonian: Leedu Suurvürstiriik
• Latin: Magnus Ducatus Lituaniae
• Lithuanian: Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė
• Old literary Lithuanian: Didi Kunigiste Letuvos^{[citation needed]}
• Latvian: Lietuvas Lielkunigaitija or Lietuvas Lielkņaziste
• Polish: Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie
• Ruthenian: Великое князство Литовское, Руское, Жомойтское и иных
• Russian: Великое княжество Литовское, Русcкое, Жомойтское и иных
• Ukrainian: Велике Князівство Литовське, Руське і Жемайтійське

History[link]

Establishment of the state[link]

Balts in the 12th century

The first written reference to Lithuania is found in the Quedlinburg Chronicle, which dates from 1009.^[14] In the 12th century, Slavic chronicles refer to Lithuania as one of the areas attacked by the Rus'. At first pagan Lithuanians paid tribute to Polotsk, but 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.^[15] The sudden spark of military raids marked consolidation of the Lithuanian lands in Aukštaitija.^[1]

The Livonian Order and Teutonic Knights, crusading military orders, were established in Riga in 1202 and in Prussia in 1226. The Christian orders posed a significant threat to pagan Baltic tribes and further galvanized the formation of the 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 Samogitia. Although they had battled in the past, the Lithuanians and the Samogitians now faced a common enemy.^[16] Likely Živinbudas had most authority^[15] and at least several dukes were from the same families.^[17] The formal acknowledgment of common interests and the establishment of a hierarchy among the signatories of the treaty foreshadowed the emergence of the state.

Kingdom of Lithuania[link]

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Lithuanian ancient hill fort mounds in Kernavė, now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Ruins of Navahrudak Castle. Current state.

Mindaugas, duke^[18] of southern Lithuania,^[19] was among the five senior dukes, mentioned in the treaty with Galicia–Volhynia. According to the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle, by mid-1230s Mindaugas acquired supreme power in the whole of Lithuania.^[20] 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. That meant that Samogitia, a strip of land that separated Livonia from Prussia, became the main target of both orders. The battle provided a break in the wars with the Knights and Lithuania exploited this situation, arranging attacks towards the Ruthenian provinces and annexing Navahrudak and Hrodna.^[20]

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. Mindaugas, taking advantage of internal conflicts, allied with the Livonian Order. He promised to convert to Christianity and gift some lands in western Lithuania in exchange 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 July 6, 1253, starting a decade of relative peace. Mindaugas tried to expand his influence in Polatsk, a major center of commerce in the Daugava River basin, and Pinsk.^[20] The Teutonic Knights used this period to strengthen its position in parts of Samogitia and Livonia, but lost the Battle of Skuodas in 1259 and the Battle of Durbe in 1260. These losses encouraged conquered Semigallians and Prussians to rebel against the Knights.

Encouraged by Treniota, Mindaugas broke the peace with the Order, possibly relapsed into his old beliefs, and allied with Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod. 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 assassinated Mindaugas and his two sons, Ruklys and Rupeikis, in 1263.^[21] The state lapsed into years of internal fights.

Rise of the Gediminids[link]

The ruins of the Kaunas Castle

Trakai Island Castle

From 1263 to 1269, Lithuania had three Grand Dukes – Treniota, Vaišvilkas, and Svarn. However, the state did not disintegrate and Traidenis came to power in 1269. He strengthened Lithuanian control in Black Ruthenia and fought with the Livonian Order, winning the Battle of Karuse in 1270 and the Battle of Aizkraukle in 1279. There is considerable uncertainty about the identities of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania between Traidenis' death in 1282 and Vytenis' assumption of power in 1295. 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, the last Baltic ally of Lithuania, in 1291.^[22] 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.

Gediminids dynasty has ruled Grand Duchy of Lithuania for several centuries, and Vytenis was the first ruler from the dynasty.^[23] His reign saw constant warfare with 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 capture the principalities of Pinsk and Turaŭ. In the struggle against the Order, Vytenis allied with citizens of Riga. Securing positions in Riga strengthened trade routes and provided a base for further military campaigns towards. Around 1307, Polotsk, an important trading center, was annexed by military force.^[24] Vytenis also began the construction of defensive castle network along the Neman River. Gradually this network developed into the main defensive line against the Teutonic Order.

Territorial expansion[link]

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Gediminas Tower in Vilnius

Mir Castle

The expansion reached its heights under Gediminas, who created a strong central government and established an empire, which later spread from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea. In 1320, most of the principalities of Western Rus' were either vassaled or annexed by Lithuania. In 1321 Gediminas captured Kiev sending Stanislav, the last Rurikid to ever rule Kiev, into exile. Gediminas also re-established the permanent capital of Grand Duchy of Lithuania in Vilnius^{[citation needed]}, which was presumably moved from Trakai in 1323. Some researches, including 16th century Maciej Stryjkowski^[25] claim that Navahrudak was the capital of the 13th century state.

Lithuania was in an ideal position to inherit the western and the southern parts of Kievan Rus'. While almost every other state around it had been plundered or defeated by the Mongols, their hordes stopped at the modern borders of Belarus and most of the territory of Grand Duchy of Lithuania was left untouched. The expansion of Lithuania was also accelerated because of the weak control the Mongols had over the areas they had conquered. Rus' principalities were never incorporated directly into the Golden Horde. Instead, they were always vassal states with a fair degree of independence. The rise of Lithuania occurred at the ideal time when they could expand while meeting very little resistance in the territories populated by East Slavs and only limited opposition from the Mongols. At the Battle at Blue Waters (1362) regiments of the United army of Grand Duchy defeated the army of the Golden Horde.^[26] The battle took place almost 20 years before the infamous Battle at Kulikovo Field.

But Grand Duchy of Lithuania was not built only on military aggression, as its existence always^[when?] depended on diplomacy just as much as on arms.^{[citation needed]} Most, while not all, cities it annexed were never defeated in battle but agreed to be vassals of Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Since most of them were already vassals of the Golden Horde or of the Grand Prince of Moscow, such a decision was not one of giving up independence but rather of exchanging one master for another. This can be seen in the case of Novgorod, which was often brought into the Lithuanian sphere of influence and became an occasional dependency of Grand Duchy of Lithuania.^[27] Rather, Lithuanian control was the result of internal frictions within the city, which attempted to escape submission to Muscovy. This method of building the state was, however, unstable. The change of internal politics within a city could pull it out of Lithuania's control, as happened on a number of occasions with Novgorod and other East-Slavic cities.

Union with Poland[link]

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Poland and Lithuania 1386-1434

"Christianization of Lithuania in 1387", oil on canvas by Jan Matejko, 1889, Royal Castle in Warsaw

Lithuania was Christianized in 1387. Christianization was led by Jogaila, who personally translated Christian prayers into the Lithuanian language.^[28] The state reached a peak under Vytautas the Great, who reigned from 1392 to 1430. Vytautas was one of the most famous rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was the Grand Duke from 1401–1430, also the Prince of Hrodna (1370–1382) and the Prince of Lutsk (1387–1389). Vytautas was the son of Kęstutis, cousin of Jogaila, who became King of Poland in 1386, and grandfather of Vasili II of Moscow. In 1410, Vytautas himself commanded the forces of the Grand Duchy in the Battle of Grunwald. The battle ended in a decisive Polish-Lithuanian victory against the Teutonic Order. Vytautas backed economic development of his state and introduced many reforms. Under his rule, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania slowly became more centralized, as the governors loyal to Vytautas replaced local princes with dynastic ties to the throne. The governors were rich landowners who formed the basis for the nobility of Grand Duchy of Lithuania. During Vytautas' rule, the Radziwiłł and Goštautas families started to gain influence.^{[citation needed]}

The speedy expansion of Muscovy's influence soon put it into a position to rival Grand Duchy of Lithuania, however, and after the annexation of Novgorod in 1478, Muscovy was unquestionably^{[by whom?]} the preeminent state in Northeastern Europe. Between 1492 and 1508, Ivan III, after winning the key Battle of Vedrosha, regained such ancient lands of Rus as Chernigov and Bryansk.

The Battle of Orsha was fought on 8 September 1514, between the allied forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Kingdom of Poland, under the command of Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski, and the army of Grand Duchy of Moscow under Konyushy Ivan Chelyadnin and Kniaz Mikhail Golitsin. The Battle of Orsha was part of a long series of Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars conducted by Russian rulers striving to gather all the lands of former 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 the 80,000 Russian soldiers, capturing their camp and commander. Russian lost about 30,000 men, when Poland–Lithuania army only 500. While the battle is remembered as one of the greatest Lithuanian victories, it had little impact on further warfare which ended in Moscow's favor. According to the 1522 peace treaty, the Grand duchy of Lithuania made large territorial concessions to Moscow.

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth[link]

1570 map

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth c.a. 1635

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, uniting with its western neighbor as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Commonwealth of Two Nations) in the Union of Lublin of 1569. According to the Union many of the territories formerly controlled by the largely Ruthenized^[29] 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.^[29][30][31] The Grand Duchy retained many rights in the federation (including a separate government, treasury and army) until the May Constitution of Poland was passed in 1791.

Partitions and the Napoleonic period[link]

Following the Partitions of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, most of the lands of the former Grand Duchy were directly annexed by the Russian Empire rather than attached to the Kingdom of Poland, a rump state in personal union with Russia. However, in 1812, soon before the French invasion of Russia, the lands of the former Grand Duchy revolted against the Russians. Soon after his arrival to Vilnius, Napoleon proclaimed the creation of a Commissary Provisional Government of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which in turn renewed the Polish-Lithuanian Union.^[32] However, the union was never formalized 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 of recreation of the Grand Duchy to an end.^[32]

Demographics[link]

In 1260 the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the land of Lithuania, and ethnic Lithuanians formed majority (67.5%) of its 0.4 million population.^[33] With the acquisition of new Ruthenian territories, in 1340 this portion decreased to 30%^[34] By the time of the largest expansion towards Rus' lands, which came at the end of the 13th and during the 14th century, the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was 800 to 930 thousand km², just 10% to 14% of which was ethnically Lithuanian.^[33][35]

An estimate of the population in the territory of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania together gives a population at 7.5 million for 1493, breaking them down by ethnicity at 3.75 million Ruthenians (ethnic Ukrainians, Belarusians), 3.25 million Poles and 0.5 million Lithuanians.^[36] With the Union of Lublin, 1569, Lithuanian Grand Duchy lost large part of lands to the Polish Crown.

See also: Demographics of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

In the mid and late 17th century, due to Russian and Swedish invasions, there was much devastation and population loss on throughout the Grand Duchy of Lithuania,^[37] including ethnic Lithuanian population in Vilnius surroundings. Besides devastation, Ruthenian population declined proportionally after the territorial losses to Russian Empire. By 1770 there were about 4.84 million inhabitants in the territory of 320 thousand km², the biggest part of whom were inhabitants of Ruthenia and about 1.39 million or 29% – of ethnic Lithuania.^[33] During the following decades, the population decreased in a result of partitions.^[33]

Languages[link]

In the 13th century, the center of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, was inhabited by a majority which spoke Lithuanian,^[38] but it was not a written language till 16th century.^[39] In the other parts of the duchy, the majority of the population, including Ruthenian nobles and normal people used both spoken and written Ruthenian languages.^[38] Nobles who migrated from one place to another would adapt to a new locality and adopt the local religion and culture and those Lithuanian noble families which moved to Slavic areas, often took up the local culture quickly over subsequent generations.^[40] Ruthenians were native to the east-central and south-eastern parts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

The Ruthenian language was used to write laws alongside Lithuanian, Latin and German, but use varied between regions. From the time of Vytautas, there are fewer remaining documents written in Ruthenian than there are in Latin and German, but later Ruthenian became the main language of documentation and writings, especially in eastern and southern parts of the Duchy. In the 16th century at the time of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Lithuanian lands became increasingly polonized over time and started to use the Polish language instead of the Lithuanian and Ruthenian languages and Polish officially became the chancellery language of the Lithuanian-Polish Commonwealth in 1697.^{[40][41][42][43]}

The voivodeships with the predominant ethnic Lithuanian population, Vilnius, Trakai and Samogitian voivodeships, remained almost wholly Lithuanian speaking, both colloquially and by ruling nobility. In the extreme southern parts of Trakai voivodeship, and south-eastern parts of Vilnius voivodeship Ruthenian communities were also present. In addition to Lithuanians and Ruthenians, other important ethnic groups on throughout the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were Jews and Tatars.^[40] Vilnius city population and its surroundings were multi-ethnic, among languages spoken here, there were Lithuanian, Polish, Belarusian, Yiddish, German also Tatar, Karaim etc.^[when?]

Languages used for State and Academic Purposes Within the Grand Duchy[link]

Tribunal of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, written in Ruthenian, 1586

Numerous languages were used in state documents depending on which period in history and for what purpose. These languages included Lithuanian, Ruthenian (East Slavonic; Old Belarusian or Old Ukrainian),^[43][44] Polish and, to a lesser extent (mostly in diplomatic communication), Latin and German.^[39][40][42]

The Court used Ruthenian to correspond with Eastern countries while Latin and German were used in foreign affairs with Western countries.^[43][45] During the latter part of the history of the Grand Duchy, Polish was increasingly used in State documents, especially after the Union of Lublin.^[42] By 1697, Polish had largely replaced Ruthenian as the "official" language at Court ^[39][43][46] although Ruthenian continued to used on a few official documents until the second half of the 18th century.^[41]

Usage of the Lithuanian language still continued at Court after the death of Vytautas and Jogaila while Grand Duke Alexander I could understand and speak Lithuanian. The last Grand Duke, Zygmunt August, maintained both Polish- and Lithuanian-speaking courts.^[47]

From the beginning of the 16th century, and especially after a rebellion led by Michael Glinski in 1508, there were attempts by the Court to replace the usage of Ruthenian with Latin.^[48] But the Ruthenian tongue had deep cultural roots. Its use by academics in areas formerly part of Rus' and even in Lithuania proper was widespread. Court Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Lew Sapieha, noted in the preface of the Third Statute of Lithuania (1588) that this code was to be written exclusively in Ruthenian.

And clerk must use ruthenian letters and ruthenian words in all pages, letters and requests, and not any other language or words...

—А писаръ земъский маеть по-руску литерами и словы рускими вси листы, выписы и позвы писати, а не иншимъ езыкомъ и словы..., The Statute of GPL 1588. Part 4, article 1^[49]

Nonetheless, Mikalojus Daukša, writing in Polish, noted in his Postilla (1599) that many people, especially szlachta, preferred to speak Polish rather than Lithuanian, but spoke Polish poorly.^{[citation needed]} Such were the linguistic trends in the Grand Duchy that by the political reforms of 1564–1566 parliaments local land courts, appellate courts and other State functions were recorded in Polish.^[48] and Polish became increasingly spoken across all social classes.

Lithuanian language situation[link]

Area of the Lithuanian language in the 16th century

Lithuanian, Ruthenian and Polish languages were used as state languages of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, besides Latin and German in diplomatic correspondence. Vilnius, Trakai and Samogitian were the core voivodeships of the state, being part of Lithuania Proper, as evidenced by the privileged position of their governors in state authorities, such as the Council of Lords. Peasants in ethnic Lithuanian territories spoke exclusively Lithuanian, except transitional border regions, but the Statutes of Lithuania and other laws and documentation were written in Ruthenian. Following the royal court, there was tendency to replace Lithuanian with Polish in the ethnic Lithuanian areas, whereas Ruthenian was stronger in ethnic Belarusian and Ukrainian territories. There is Sigismund von Herberstein's note left, that there were in an ocean of Russian language in this part of Europe two non Ruthenian regions: Lithuania and Samogitia.^[48]

At one point in the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the higher strata of Lithuanian society from ethnic Lithuania spoke Lithuanian, although since the later 16-th century gradually began using Polish, and from Belarus – Old Belarusian. Samogitia was exclusive through state in its economical situation – it lain near ports^{[clarification needed]} and there were fewer people under corvee, instead of that, many simple people were money payers^{[clarification needed]}. As a result, the stratification of the society was not as sharp as in other areas. Being more similar to a simple population the local szlachta spoke Lithuanian to a bigger extent than in the areas close to the capital Vilnius, which itself had become a center of intensive linguistic Polonization of surrounding areas since 18th century.

In Vilnius University are preserved texts written in the Lithuanian language of the Vilnius area, lying south-eastwards from Vilnius, then called Lithuanian language, today called a dialect of Eastern Aukštaitian. The source are preserved in works of graduates from Stanislovas Rapalionis Vilnius based Lithuanian language school graduate Martynas Mažvydas and Rapalionis relative Abraomas Kulvietis.

One of the main sources of Lithuanian written and common language is Eastern Aukštaitian dialect (Vilnius dialect), preserved in the Konstantinas Sirvydas in a three languages 17 century dictionary - Polish-Latin-Lithuanian, the popular and main Lithuanian language dictionary used until late 19th century.

Military[link]

Battle of Grunwald. Center figures are Ulrich von Jungingen and Vytautas

Despite Lithuania's mainly peaceful acquisition of much of its Ruthenian holdings it could call upon military strength if needed and it was the only power in Eastern Europe that could effectively contend with the Golden Horde. When the Golden Horde did try to prevent Lithuanian expansion they were often rebuffed. In 1333 and 1339 Lithuanians defeated large Mongol forces attempting to regain Smolensk from the Lithuanian sphere of influence. By about 1355, the State of Moldavia had formed. The Golden Horde did little to re-vassalize the area. In 1387, Moldavia became a vassal of Poland and in a broader sense, Lithuania. By this time, Lithuania had conquered 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. Then in 1399, Lithuania (intent on placing Tokhtamish on the Golden Horde throne) moved against the Horde. In the Battle of the Vorskla River however, Lithuania was crushed by the Horde and lost the steppe region.

Religion and culture[link]

St. Anne's Church and the church of the Bernardine Monastery in Vilnius

St. George church (1487) in Kaunas

Vilnius University and the Church of St. John

After the baptism in 1252 and coronation of King Mindaugas in 1253, Lithuania 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 the seventeenth 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. In 1387, Lithuania converted to Catholicism, while most of the Ruthenian lands stayed Orthodox. There was an effort to polarize Orthodoxes after the Union of Brest in 1596, by which Orthodox Greek Catholics acknowledged papal authority and Catholic catechism, but preserved Orthodox liturgy. Country also became one of the major centers of reformation.

In the second half of the 17h century Calvinism spread in Lithuania, supported by the families of Radziwiłł, Chodkiewicz, Sapieha, Dorohostajski and others. By 1580s the majority of the senators from Lithuania were Calvinist or even Arians (Jan Kiszka).

In 1579, Stefan Batory, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, founded Vilnius University, one of the oldest universities in Eastern Europe. Due to the work of the Jesuits during the Counter-Reformation the university soon developed into one of the most important scientific and cultural centers of the region and the most notable scientific center of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.^[50] The work of the Jesuits as well as conversions from among the Lithuanian senatorial families turned the tide and by 1670s Calvinism lost its former importance though it still retained some influence among the ethnically Lithuanian peasants and some middle nobility, by then thoroughly Polonized.

Legacy[link]

The Statute of Grand Duchy of Lithuania written in ruthenian language

The first printed book in Lithuanian language The Simple Words of Catechism (by Martynas Mažvydas). Book was dedicated to Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

According to some historians^[who?] (especially in Russia), one of the most crucial effects of Lithuanian rule was ethnic divisions amongst the inhabitants of former Kievan Rus'. From this point of view, the creation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania played a major role in the division of Eastern Slavs. After the Mongolian conquest of Rus', Mongols attempted to keep Eastern Slavs unified and succeeded in conquering most of Ruthenian lands.

Prussian tribes (of Baltic origin) were attacking Masovia, and that was the reason Duke Konrad of Masovia invited the Teutonic Knights to settle near the Prussian area of settlement. The fighting between Prussians and the Teutonic Knights gave the more distant Lithuanian tribes time to unite. Because of strong enemies in the south and north, the newly formed Lithuanian state concentrated most of its military and diplomatic efforts on expansion eastward.

The rest of former Ruthenian lands (Belarusian principalities) joined the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the very beginning. Some other lands in Ukraine were vassalized by Lithuania later. The subjugation of Eastern Slavs by two powers created substantial differences that persist to this day. According to this claim, while under Kievan Ruthenia there were certainly substantial regional differences, it was the Lithuanian annexation of much of southern and western Ruthenia that led to the permanent division between Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Russians.

Others^[who?] argue, that the ethnic and linguistic divisions amongst inhabitants of Ruthenia were not initiated by division of this area between Mongols and Lithuania, and are older than the creation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. They state that until the twentieth century, ethnic and linguistic frontiers between Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Russians coincided with no political borders.

Notwithstanding the above, Lithuania was a Kingdom under Mindaugas I, who was conditionally crowned by authority of Pope Innocent IV in 1253. Gediminas and Vytautas the Great also assumed the title of King, although uncrowned. A failed attempt was made in 1918 to restore the Kingdom under German Prince Urach.

See also[link]

• Belarus
• Cities of Grand Duchy of Lithuania
• Crimea
• Duchy of Lithuania
• History of Lithuania
• List of Belarusian rulers
• List of Lithuanian rulers
• Lithuania
• Lithuania proper
• Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
• Ukraine

Notes and references[link]

1. S. C. Rowell. Chartularium Lithuaniae res gestas magni ducis Gedeminne illustrans. Gedimino laiškai. Vilnius, 2003
2. Norman Davies. God's Playground. Columbia University Press; 2 edition (December 15, 2002) ISBN 0-231-12817-7

External links[link]

• Cheryl Renshaw. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1253-1795
• Grand Duchy of Lithuania

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2007)

A grand duchy, sometimes referred to as a grand dukedom, is a territory whose head of state is a monarch, either a grand duke or grand duchess.

Today Luxembourg is the only remaining grand duchy. However, some historical grand duchies still retain the titles granted to them, usually from the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815.

The titles of "grand duke" and "grand duchess", when used as a translation from another language, may not necessarily be associated with a particular grand duchy.

Title and origins of grand duchies[link]

The title of "grand duke" (Latin: Magnus Dux) ranks in honor below king, but higher in diplomatic precedence than a sovereign duke or sovereign prince. Hence, "grand duchy" is the name used when referring to the territory of such a sovereign grand duke or duchess.

The title has confusedly, in translation and in diplomatic ranking (such as deciding who precedes whom in a diplomatic event such as a dinner), been applied to some non-sovereigns, particularly in pre-United Nations eastern European nations. "Grand duke" is also the usual and established translation of sovereign "grand prince" in languages which do not have separate words meaning prince for:

1. the non-ruling relatives of a monarch, and
2. monarch (sovereign or like) princes. English and French use "grand duke" in this way.
3. "Grand Duke" is also the usual and established translation in English and French of the Russian courtesy title Velikiy Knjaz (Grand Prince) of Russia, which from 17th century belonged to members of the family of the Russian tsar, although under the Russian despotism, those grand dukes were not sovereigns.

The title of sovereign "Grand Duke" and it as translation of "grand prince" thus have clearly different meanings. In the widespread political reorganisations following World War II many monarchies ceased to exist, making the title far less prevalent and important.

Western grand dukes and their sovereignties[link]

The only grand duchy in existence today is Luxembourg. It has been a grand duchy since 1815 when the Netherlands became an independent kingdom and Luxembourg was handed over to the King of the Netherlands, William I. Luxembourg remained in personal union with the Netherlands crown until 1890 when William III, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg, died without leaving a male heir, so that in the Netherlands he was succeeded by his daughter Wilhelmina and, in the Luxembourgish Grand Duchy, by a distant male cousin, Duke Adolf of Nassau who became HRH Grand Duke Adolphe—an arrangement necessitated by Salic law being applicable to Luxembourg but not to the Netherlands. The present Grand Duke of Luxembourg is Henri.

Additionally, other houses of Europe may style themselves as "grand duke" even if they are not wholly recognized as such by rest of the society.

The contemporary independent republics of Finland and Lithuania have been grand duchies during certain eras of their history.

The proper term of "grand duchy" was a later invention, probably originating in Western Europe, to denote lands of a particularly mighty duke, as the duchy had around the end of Middle Ages inflated to belong to rulers of a middle-sized town, shire, or similar relatively small fiefs, instead of the big provinces it once belonged to.

One of the first examples was the unofficial use of the title "grand duke" by the dukes of Burgundy during the 15th century, when they ruled a vast tract of modern day eastern France as well as most of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The first monarchy ever officially titled a "grand duchy" was the Medici sovereignty of Tuscany under overlordship of the Holy Roman Emperors. They received the title in 1569. Tuscany remained a grand duchy until 1860, when it was annexed by Piedmont-Sardinia as part of Italy's reunification.

Expanded use of the term lapsed until the early nineteenth century, when Napoleon used the title "grand duchy" for several territories given to his allies. The elevation of these figures to the title of "grand duke" usually accompanied an expansion of their fiefs with additional lands obtained from defeated powers such as Prussia. Though Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo and his vassal territories like the Grand Duchy of Berg were erased from the European map, the representatives assembled at the Congress of Vienna consented to yet more uses of the title by restored dukes and princes, especially for several of those in the lands that had constituted the Holy Roman Empire. As a result, the 19th century saw a new group of monarchies titled grand duchy around Central Europe, such as the Grand Duchy of Hesse.

At the same time, the courtesy use of the title "grand duke" in Russia expanded because of the births of several male dynasts. The new set of grand dukes afforded the Romanovs a respite from the continued issue of the male succession that plagued it during the 18th century.

Within Germany, use of the title expanded after 1815, but its application was not universal. This is somewhat ironic, given that a Burgundian ruler in what were once Germany's western border regions first adopted the title, and considering that it was a German overlord, the Holy Roman Emperor, who first granted the official title to an Italian prince. However, in the German language (which has separate words for royal prince, "Prinz", and for sovereign prince, "Fürst"), the grand dukes of Lithuania and historic Russian states, as well as other Eastern European princes and later Russian dynasts, were referred to with the title "Großfürst", a direct translation, rather than using the version "Großherzog".

The title "magnus dux" or "grand duke" (Didysis kunigaikštis in Lithuanian) is said to have been used by the rulers of Lithuania, and after rulers from the Jagiellon dynasty became kings of Poland, it was later found among the titles used by kings of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Polish kings of the Swedish Vasa dynasty also used this grand princely title for their non-Polish territories. Modern translations normally credit the Lithuanian monarch with the title of "High King".

Previous European grand duchies[link]

Between the Napoleonic Wars and World War I there were several grand duchies in Europe. A considerable number of grand duchies were created in the Napoleonic era, and later following the Congress of Vienna and the foundation of the German Confederation.

• The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (1569-1860, part of Italy afterwards)
• The Grand Duchy of Berg (1806-1813, part of Prussia afterwards)
• The Grand Duchy of Würzburg (1806-1814, part of Bavaria afterwards)
• The Grand Duchy of Baden (1806-1918, part of the German Empire since 1871)
• The Grand Duchy of Hesse (1806-1918, part of the German Empire since 1871)
• The Grand Duchy of Fulda (1816-1866) part of the Electorate of Hesse
• The Grand Duchy of Finland (correctly translated as Grand Principality, 1809-1917 in Personal Union with Russia, Republic since 1917)
• The Grand Duchy of Frankfurt (1810-1813, part of several German states afterwards)
• The Grand Duchy of the Lower Rhine (1815-1822 as part of Prussia)
• The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (since 1815, in Personal Union with the Netherlands until 1890)
• The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1815-1918, part of the German Empire since 1871)
• The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1815-1918, part of the German Empire since 1871)
• The Grand Duchy of Posen (1815-1848 as part of Prussia)
• The Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1815-1918, part of the German Empire since 1871)
• The Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (1829-1918, part of the German Empire since 1871)
• The Grand Duchy of Cracow (1846-1918 in Personal Union with Austria, part of Poland)

The term "grand duchy" is often, but incorrectly, used in reference to the Duchy of Warsaw (1807-1813), which was in fact a duchy and not a grand duchy.

Metonymy[link]

In Belgium, Grand Duché (French for grand duchy) is often used as a metonym to refer to the neighbouring Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. This is often done in order to avoid confusion with the Belgian province of the same name - when hearing Luxembourg, a Belgian would spontaneously think about the province rather than the Grand Duchy. At the same time, Royaume (French for Kingdom) would be used to refer to Belgium.

Grand prince[link]

Grand princes were medieval monarchs who ruled a nation or several tribes, and were usually at the time translated as kings. However, a grand prince was usually only primus inter pares within a dynasty, other princes of the dynasty were approximately as entitled to succession as the then ruler (succession was for example through agnatic seniority or rotation), and often other members of the dynasty ruled parts of the same realm as some sort of "sub-princes". Such was usual in Eastern Europe, for example among Russians and Lithuanians. As the position of current ruler was not as elevated as that of Western kings, they have been treated more like great princes than full kings.

Velikiy Kniaz was from the 11th century the title of the leading Prince of Kievan Rus' (head of the Rurikid House), then of several princes of the Rus'. From 1328 the Velikii Kniaz of Muscovy appeared as the Grand Duke for "all of Russia" until Ivan IV of Russia in 1547 was crowned as tsar.

The title "grand prince" was used in the Slavic, Baltic, and Russian languages. Великий князь, the Slavic knjaz and the Baltic kunigaitis (usually now translated as "prince") is actually a cognate of "king". Thus, "Veliki Knjaz" was more similar to "high king" than "grand duke".

Another established use of the title was in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (since 14th century) and in the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

These countries moved slowly towards primogeniture or their rulers obtained another kingdom, whereby the position of the head of the dynasty became more elevated compared to other dynasts. In such situations, those monarchs assumed a higher title, such as tsar or sole king.

The title "grand prince" (which in many of those lands already was in later grand princely epochs awarded simultaneously to several rulers in the more expanded dynasty) continued as a courtesy title for all or several members of the dynasty, such as the Grand Duke of Russia (veliki knjaz) in Russia's imperial era. The title "velikiy kniaz", finally formalized by Alexander III, was given to sons and grandsons (through male lines) of the tsars and emperors of Russia. The daughters and paternal granddaughters of Russian emperors, as well as the consorts of Russian grand dukes, were generally called "grand duchesses" in English.

A more accurate translation of the Russian title would be "great prince", especially in the pre-Petrine era, but the term is neither standard nor widely used in English. In German, however, a Russian grand duke was known as a Großfürst, and in Latin as Magnus Princeps.

In 1582 King John III of Sweden added Grand Prince of Finland to the subsidiary titles of the Swedish kings, although without any factual consequences since Finland was already a part of the Swedish realm.

After the Russian conquests, the title of "grand duke" continued to be used by the Russian emperor in his role as ruler of Lithuania (1793-1918) and of Grand Duchy of Finland (1809-1917) as well. The Holy Roman Empire ruling house of Habsburg instituted a similar grand principality in Transylvania (Großfürst von Siebenbürgen) in 1765.

The title Didysis kunigaikštis (in Lithuanian) was used by the rulers of Lithuania, who after Jagiello also became kings of Poland, and was later found among the titles used by kings of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Polish kings of the Swedish Vasa dynasty also used the title for their non-Polish territories. The Latinized translation of the title of Lithuanian rulers was sometimes Magnus Dux or "grand duke".

See also[link]

• Duchy
• Grand Duchy of Cracow
• Grand Duchy of Finland
• Grand Duchy of Lithuania
• Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
• Grand Duchy of Moscow
• Grand Duchy of Poznan
• Archduke
• Fürst
• Herzog
• Nobility

Ivor Norman Richard Davies Ph.D., F.B.A., F.R.Hist.S., D.Litt.
Born	(1939-06-08) 8 June 1939 (age 73) Bolton, Lancashire, England
Fields	European History
Institutions	School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London Wolfson College, University of Oxford
Alma mater	Magdalen College, University of Oxford (B.A. Hons) University of Sussex (M.A.) Jagiellonian University (Ph.D.)
Notable awards	Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland

Professor Ivor Norman Richard Davies^[1] FBA, FRHistS (born 8 June 1939) is a leading English historian^[2] of Welsh descent, noted for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland, and the United Kingdom.

Academic career[link]

Davies was born to Richard and Elizabeth Davies in Bolton, Lancashire. He studied in Grenoble, France from 1957 to 1958 and then under A. J. P. Taylor at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he earned a B.A. in History in 1962. He was awarded an M.A. at the University of Sussex in 1966 and also studied in Perugia, Italy. He intended to study for a Ph.D. in the Soviet Union but was denied an entry visa, so instead he went to Kraków, Poland, to study at the Jagiellonian University and do research on the Polish–Soviet War. As this war was denied in the official communist Polish historiography of that time, he was obliged to change the title of his dissertation to The British Foreign Policy towards Poland, 1919–20. After he obtained his Ph.D. in Kraków in 1968, the English text appeared under the title White Eagle, Red Star. The Polish-Soviet War 1919–20 in 1972.

From 1971, Davies taught Polish history at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies of the University of London, where he was professor from 1985 to 1996, when he retired. He subsequently became Supernumerary Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford from 1997 to 2006. Throughout his career, Davies has lectured in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, China, Poland, and in most of the rest of Europe as well. Stanford University controversially denied him a tenured faculty position in 1986.^[1][3]

Norman Davies, Warsaw (Poland), 7 October 2004

Work[link]

Davies' first book, White Eagle, Red Star: The Polish-Soviet War, 1919-20 (1972) is considered by many to be one the best English language book on the subject.^{[citation needed]}

His book, God's Playground (1981), a comprehensive overview of Polish history, is also considered by many to be one the best English language book on the subject. In Poland, the book was published officially only after the fall of communism.

In 1984, Davies published Heart of Europe, a briefer history of Poland. Interestingly, the chapters are arranged in reverse chronological order.

In the 1990s, Davies published Europe: A History (1996) and The Isles: A History (1999), about Europe and the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, respectively. Each book is a narrative interlarded with numerous sidepanel discussions of microtopics.

In 2000, Davies' Polish publishers Znak published a collection of his essays and articles under the title Smok wawelski nad Tamizą ("The Wawel Dragon on the Thames").

In 2002, at the suggestion of the city's mayor, Bogdan Zdrojewski, Davies and his former research assistant, Roger Moorhouse, co-wrote a history of Wrocław / Breslau, a Silesian city. Titled Microcosm: Portrait of a Central European City, the book was published simultaneously in English, Polish, German and Czech.

Davies also writes essays and articles for the mass media. Among others, he has worked for the BBC as well as British and American magazines and newspapers, such as The Times, The New York Review of Books and The Independent. In Poland, his articles appeared in the liberal Catholic weekly Tygodnik Powszechny.

Davies' book Rising '44. The Battle for Warsaw describes the Warsaw Uprising. It was followed by Europe at War 1939–1945: No Simple Victory (2006). In 2008 Davies participated in the documentary film "The Soviet Story".^[4]

Criticism[link]

Some historians, most vocally Lucy Dawidowicz^[5] and Abraham Brumberg,^[6] object to Davies' historical treatment of the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Poland. They accuse him of minimizing historic antisemitism, and of promoting a view that accounts of the Holocaust in international historiography largely overlook the suffering of non-Jewish Poles. Davies's supporters contend that he gives due attention to the genocide and war crimes perpetrated by both Hitler and Stalin on Polish Jews and non-Jews. Davies himself argues that "Holocaust scholars need have no fears that rational comparisons might threaten that uniqueness. Quite the opposite." and that "... one needs to re-construct mentally the fuller picture in order to comprehend the true enormity of Poland's wartime cataclysm, and then to say with absolute conviction 'Never Again'."^[7][8]

In 1986, Dawidowicz's criticism of Davies' historical treatment of the Holocaust was cited as a factor in a controversy at Stanford University in which Davies was denied a tenured faculty position for alleged "scientific flaws". Davies sued the university for breach of contract and defamation of character, but in 1989 the court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction in an academic matter.^[1][3]

Awards and distinctions[link]

Davies holds a number of honorary titles and memberships, including honorary doctorates from the universities of the Jagiellonian University (since 2003), Lublin, Gdańsk and Warsaw (since 2007), memberships in the Polish Academy of Learning (PAU) and the Academia Scientiarum et Artium Europaea,^[9] and fellowships of the British Academy and the Royal Historical Society.^[10] Davies received an honorary DLitt degree from his alma mater the University of Sussex.^[11] Davies is also an honorary citizen of Polish cities of Warsaw, Wrocław, Lublin and Kraków. Member of the committee for the Order of the Smile.

President of the Republic in exile Edward Raczyński decorated Davies with the Order of Polonia Restituta. On 22 December 1998 President of Poland - Aleksander Kwaśniewski awarded him the Grand Cross (1st class) of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.

Norman Davies has been appointed to the Advisory Board of the European Association of History Educators - EUROCLIO. In 2008 he was awarded the Order of the Cross of St Mary's Land 3rd Class by the Republic of Estonia.

Davies also received The Knight of Freedom Award in 2006 for his promotion of Polish history and the values represented by General Casimir Pulaski. ^[12][13]

Personal[link]

Norman Davies married Maria Korzeniewicz, a Polish scholar born in Dąbrowa Tarnowska, on 26 December 1966. They live in Oxford and Cracow, and have two sons.^[14]

Books[link]

• 1972: White Eagle, Red Star: The Polish-Soviet War, 1919–20. (2004 edition: ISBN 0-7126-0694-7)
• 1977: Poland, Past and Present. A Select Bibliography of Works in English. ISBN 0-89250-011-5
• 1981: God's Playground. A History of Poland. Vol. 1: The Origins to 1795, Vol. 2: 1795 to the Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-925339-0 / ISBN 0-19-925340-4.
• 1984: Heart of Europe. A Short History of Poland. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-285152-7.
  • 2001: Heart of Europe: The Past in Poland's Present Oxford University Press, USA; New edition ISBN 0-19-280126-0
• 1991: Jews in Eastern Poland and the USSR, 1939–46. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-06200-1
• 1996: Europe: A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-820171-0
• 1997: Auschwitz and the Second World War in Poland: A lecture given at the Representations of Auschwitz international conference at the Jagiellonian University. Universitas. ISBN 83-7052-935-6
• 1999: Red Winds from the North. Able Publishing. ISBN 0-907616-45-3
• 1999: The Isles. A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513442-7
• 2002 (with Roger Moorhouse): Microcosm: Portrait of a Central European City London: Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0-224-06243-3
• 2004: Rising '44. The Battle for Warsaw. London: Pan Books. ISBN 0-333-90568-7
• 2006: Europe East and West: A Collection of Essays on European History. Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0-224-06924-1
• 2006: Europe at War 1939–1945: No Simple Victory. Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-69285-3
• 2011: Vanished Kingdoms: The History of Half-Forgotten Europe. Allen Lane. ISBN 978-1-84614-338-0

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Snowman, Daniel "Norman Davies" p. 36–38 from History Today, Volume 55, Issue 7, July 2005.
• America, December 18, 1982, p. 394.
• American Historical Review, April, 1991, p. 520.
• American Scholar, fall, 1997, p. 624.
• Atlantic Monthly, December, 2002, Benjamin Schwarz, review of God's Playground: A History of Poland, p. 127.
• Booklist, September 15, 1996, p. 214; December 15, 1997, Gilbert Taylor, "A History of Europe," p. 682; February 1, 2000, p. 1006; May 1, 2004, Jay Freeman, review of Rising '44: The Battle of Warsaw, p. 1538.
• Commentary, March, 1987, p. 66.
• Current History, November, 1984, p. 385.
• Economist, March 6, 1982, p. 104; February 10, 1990, p. 92; November 16, 1996, p. S3; December 4, 1999, p. 8; April 27, 2002, "What's in a Name: Central European History."
• History Today, May, 1983, p. 54; March, 2000, Robert Pearce, "The Isles: A History," p. 55.
• Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2004, review of Rising '44, p. 256.
• Library Journal, March 15, 1997, p. 73; February 1, 2000, p. 100.
• Nation, November 21, 1987, p. 584.
• National Review, June 5, 2000, John Derbyshire, "Disunited Kingdom"; May 17, 2004, David Pryce-Jones, "Remember Them," p. 46.
• New Republic, November 15, 1982, p. 25; September 22, 1997, p. 36.
• New Statesman, May 21, 1982, p. 21; August 31, 1984, p. 26.
• New Statesman & Society, December 20, 1996, Norman Davies, "How I Conquered Europe," pp. 36–38; October 17, 1997, David Herman, review of Europe: A History, pp. 30–32; May 15, 1998, Michael Pinto-Duschinsky, "The Hunted, Not the Hunters," p. 35. November 15, 1999, Alistair Moffat, "Jobs and Foxes Will Flee to England," p. 35; December 13, 1999, Geoffrey Wheatcroft, "Forging Our History," p. 57.
• New York Review of Books, September 29, 1983, p. 18; May 15, 1997, p. 30.
• New York Times Book Review, December 5, 1982, p. 52; March 4, 1984, p. 34; December 23, 1984, p. 5; June 22, 1986, p. 34; December 7, 1986, p. 84; December 1, 1996, p. 15.
• Observer (London, England), October 10, 1999, Andrew Marr, "A History Lesson for Wee Willie," p. 29.
• Publishers Weekly, August 26, 1996, p. 83; November 24, 1997, "A History of Europe," p. 64; January 24, 2000, p. 301.
• Sunday Times (London, England), October 17, 1999, Niall Ferguson, "Breaking up Is Hard to Do if You're British," p. NR4.
• Times (London, England), October 30, 1999, Richard Morrison, "Britain Dies as Mr. Tough Rewrites the Past," p. 21.
• Wilson Library Bulletin, October, 1986, p. 68.
• World and I, August, 2004, Richard M. Watt, "The Warsaw Insurrection: How Polish Capital Ferociously Resisted World War II Occupiers."*

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Norman Davies

• Small English homepage at www.normandavies.com
• "Review of Europe at War"
• Britain and the Warsaw Rising. Essay, 2004.
• Official press release on the case of Davies vs. Stanford University
• A Polish site about Norman Davies (in Polish), includes a gallery and parts of translated text
• Commonwealth of Diverse Cultures: Poland's Heritage
• BBC Interview with audio and transcript