The
Duchy of Samogitia (, )
[Grzegorz Błaszczyk, Żmudź w XVII i XVIII wieku: zaludnienie i struktura społeczna, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu, 1985, ISNN 0554-8217, p.1-2] had been the administrative unit of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1219 (and from 1569, a part of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). From 1419 to 1441 it was known as the
Eldership of Samogitia. The
Grand Duke of Lithuania also held the title of Duke of Samogitia, although the actual ruler of the province, responsible to the Duke was known as the General
Elder (Seniūnas) of Samogitia.
The Duchy was located in the western part of the present
Republic of Lithuania. Historically, its western border had been a Lithuanian border with the
Baltic Sea; in the north, it bordered the
Duchy of Courland and
Ducal Prussia in the south. During the
Middle Ages and until the last
partition in 1795, Samogitia had clearly defined borders as the Duchy of Samogitia. Afterwards the area encompassed the
Samogitian Diocese. Today
Samogitia is one of several
ethnographic regions and is not defined administratively.
Name
Samogitia is a Latinized version of the name
Žemaitija, meaning "the Lowlands" as opposed to
Aukštaitija for "the Highlands". In the
Middle Ages, the names
Samaiten,
Samaitae,
Zamaytae,
Samogitia,
Samattae,
Samethi were used in
German and
Latin sources. They, together with other variants
Schmudien,
Schamaiten (German) and
Żmudź (Polish), are all derived from the Lithuanian
Žemaičiai, dial.
Žemaitiai / Žemaitei.
Geography
The Duchy was located in what today is several counties (
apskritis) in Lithuania: a small part of
Kaunas County (Kauno Apskritis), the western part
Šiauliai County (Šiaulių Apskritis),
Tauragė County (Tauragės Apskritis),
Telšiai County (Telšių Apskritis), the northern part of
Klaipėda County (Klaipėdos Apskritis) and the northern part of
Marijampolė County (Marijampolės Apskritis).
The major part of Samogitia is located on Western Upland. Lowlands which are referred in its name are on the border between Samogitia and Eastern Lithuania, along the
Nevėžis River.
Duchy of Samogitia had the size of approximately 25 700 square kilometers.
[Grzegorz Błaszczyk, Żmudź w XVII i XVIII wieku: zaludnienie i struktura społeczna, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu, 1985, ISNN 0554-8217, p.19] History
The attacking Bear, the historical Coat of Arms of Samogitia
Before the formation of the Lithuanian state, Samogitia was ruled by its local noblemen. A chronicle mentions two
dukes from Samogitia in 1219 as signatories of the
Treaty with Volhynia.
Since the formation of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 13th century, Samogitia was its dependent territory, however sometimes the influence of the Lithuanian Grand Duke was very limited. During the rule of the first Lithuanian king,
Mindaugas, Samogitians pursued an independent foreign policy and continued fighting with the
Knights of the Sword even after King Mindaugas had signed a peace treaty with them.
Samogitia for 200 years played a crucial role in halting the expansion of the
Teutonic Order and defeated the
Knights of the Sword in the
Battle of Saule (1236) and the
Livonian Order in the
Battle of Skuodas (1259), and the
Battle of Durbe (1260).
In the atmosphere of fierce battles with the Teutonic Knights, the Lithuanian rulers
Jogaila and
Vytautas several times ceded Samogitia to the Teutonic Order in 1382, 1398 and 1404. However, the Teutonic Knights were not very successful in subjugating the land, and Samogitians revolted in 1401 and 1409. After the defeats in the
Battle of Grunwald (1410) and following wars, in 1422 the
Teutonic Order ceded Samogitia to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania under the
Treaty of Melno.
Samogitians were the last in Europe to
accept Christianity in 1413.
The Grand Duke of Lithuania
Casimir Jagiellon acknowledged the autonomy of Samogitia in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and then issued a privilege to the Eldership of Samogitia to elects its own elder (
starost) in 1441.
Because of its prolonged wars with the Teutonic Order, Samogitia had developed a social and political structure different from the rest of Lithuania. It had a larger proportion of free farmers and smaller estates than in Eastern Lithuania.
As with most of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Samogitia has suffered in the aftermath of the
Swedish invasion of Poland (the Deluge, mid 17th century). Its population has dropped from close to 400,000 to about 250,000; only to return to 400,000 by the late 18th century.
[Grzegorz Błaszczyk, Żmudź w XVII i XVIII wieku: zaludnienie i struktura społeczna, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu, 1985, ISNN 0554-8217, p.70 and p.140]After the annexation of Lithuania by
Imperial Russia, Samogitia was included in the
Vilna Governorate; in 1843 it was transferred to a newly established
Kovno Governorate. At the beginning of the 19th century Samogitia was the center of
Lithuanian national revival, which stressed the importance of the
Lithuanian language and opposed
russification and
polonization attempt.
Elders of Samogitia
The General Starosts of Samogitia (equivalents of
voivodes) included:
Historic flag of Samogitia
