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The Lithuanian nobility was historically a legally privileged class in Grand Duchy of Lithuania consisting of Lithuanian (from historical regions of Lithuania Proper and Samogitia) and in some cases Ruthenian noble families. Families were mostly granted privileges for military service in the Grand Duchy. After Union of Lublin in 1569 it had merged to significant extent with Polish szlachta.

Contents 1 Early stages 2 In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania 3 Evolution 4 Privileges 5 Ties to the Kingdom of Poland 6 After Partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 7 Heraldry 8 Influential Lithuanian families 8.1 Families from ethnic Lithuania 8.2 Families from Ruthenia 8.3 Families from Livonia 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References 12 External links

Prior to the creation of the Lithuanian state by Mindaugas, lesser members of the nobility were called bajorai (singular - bajoras) and greater nobles, kunigai (singular - kunigas), from the Old German: kunig, meaning "king", or Lithuanian: kunigaikštis, usually translated as duke, Latin: dux. They evolved from tribal leaders, and had chiefly been responsible for waging war and carrying out raiding operations. After the establishment of a unified state they gradually became subordinates to greater Dukes, and later to the King of Lithuania.

Lithuanian rulers held the title Grand Duke (Lithuanian: Didysis Kunigaikštis), or king (rex which was used in Gediminas' title). At the time multilevel understanding of the nationality was existent and some Ruthenian sought to call themselves Lithuanians.^[1] Lithuanian nobility was slowly transferring their cultural values to Ruthenian families. A good example is Chodkiewicz family, that claimed their ancestry to House of Gediminas.

In Grand Duchy of Lithuania together with Kingdom of Poland the number of nobles was greatest in Europe reaching up to 7 % of population, in some parts like Samogitia reaching up to 10%.

In the late 14th century, Vytautas the Great reformed the Army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: instead of calling all men to the war, he formed forces consisting of professional warriors - bajorai (nobles). As there was not enough nobles, Vytautas raised suitable men relieving them form the labour on the land and other duties; for their military service for the Grand Duke they were given land, that was worked by hired men - veldams. The newly formed noble families generally took up the Lithuanian pagan given names of their nobilitated precursors as their family names; this was the case with Goštautai, Radvilos, Astikai, Kęsgailos and others. Those families were granted their Coats of Arms under the Union of Horodlo in 1413.

At first the land was given for the serving men until death (benefice), but during 14th and 15th centuries most of it became patrimony. While by the 14th century the Grand Duke owned 2/3 of the Duchy's land, in 1569 he was the direct owner of only 1/3.

In the 15th century, the noble social class as such was already formed in Lithuania; for quite a long time it remained open and anyone could be nobilitated for services to the Grand Duke. In time, the influence of lesser nobles decreased and higher nobles were acquiring increasingly more power, especially during the interregnum fights following Vytautas' death. In the 15th century, biggest landowners began to call themselves "lords" (ponai or didikai), hence the Lithuanian Council of Lords was established to represent their interests.

In the 16th century, Lithuanian nobility stopped to call themselves as Bajorai; they adopted a term Šlėkta in Lithuanian and Szlachta in Polish instead. Landlords called themselves as Ziemionys or Ziemiane^[2].

Magnates were distinct from other nobles because they had latifundies in different lands including Lithuanian, Ruthenian and even Polish. Most of them had Holy Roman Empire titles - dukes, earls and others. They were holding Grand Duchy offices.

According to the 1528 military servicemen census ethnic Lithuanian lands had to 5730 horsemen, and Ruthenian lands of Grand Duchy - 5372. One horseman should be provided from 8th owned peasants services. One service had 3-4 peasants courts.

After the Grand Duke distributed state land, he became dependent on powerful landowners, who demanded greater liberties and privileges. The nobles were granted administrative and judicial power in their domains and increasing rights in state politics. The legal status of the nobility was based on several privileges, granted by the Grand Dukes:

• In 1387 Grand Duke of Lithuania Jogaila, newly crowned King of Poland, granted a privilege to nobles and soldiers. They were granted personal rights, including the right to inherit and govern land and estates inherited from ncestors or gifted by the Grand Duke. The nobles also had duties to serve in the military, safeguard castles, build and repair castles, bridges, roads, etc.
• In 1413 Vytautas and Jogaila signed Union of Horodło. The act renewed Polish-Lithuanian union and established a common Sejm and guaranteed the right to inherit lands gifted by the Grand Duke. 43 Lithuanian noble families were granted Polish coats of arms.
• Jogaila's privilege in 1432 in essence repeated previous acts. Military service remained as the main way to receive land.
• Privilege of May 6, 1434 was granted by Sigismund Kestutaitis to Catholic and Eastern Orthodox nobility. They were guaranteed freedom to dispose their land. The act prohibited persecutions without a fair trial.
• In 1447 Grand Duke of Lithuania Casimir I Jagiellon signed a law that prohibited people not from Lithuania from obtaining positions within the Catholic Church or state institutions. Some nobles were released from their duties to the Grand Duke. This privilege also marked the beginning of the serfdom process in Lithuania as peasants were removed from Grand Duke's jurisdiction.
• 1492 privilege by Alexander Jagiellon renewed the 1447 privilege and and added a few more provisions, the most important of which limited Grand Duke's rights in regards to foreign policy. The Grand Duke became dependent on the Lithuanian Council of Lords. Without consent of the Council no high official could be removed from his position. Lower positions had to be appointed in the presence of Vilnius, Trakai, and other voivodes. The privilege also prohibited selling various state and church positions to nobility. This way the Grand Duke was limited from exploiting the conflict between higher and lower nobility and profiting from selling the positions. This privilege also meant that city residents could not become officials.
• In 1506 Sigismund I the Old confirmed the position of the Council of Lords in state politics and limited entry to the noble class.
• On April 1, 1557 Sigismund II Augustus fully established serfdom. Peasants lost their land and personal rights and became completely dependent on the nobles.
• Union of Lublin in 1569 created the new state, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The nobility was granted right to elect a common ruler for Poland and Lithuania.
• The Third Statute of Lithuania, completed in 1588, further expanded the rights of nobility. Laws could be enacted only by the Sejm of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The nobility was granted triple immunity – legal, administrative, and tax. The statute finalized the division between nobility, peasants, and city residents.

Most of the rights were retained even after the third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795.

After the Union of Horodło (1413) Lithuanian nobility acquired equal rights with Kingdom of Poland nobility (szlachta), and during centuries began to merge into it. The process was accelerated after the Union of Lublin (1569) which created the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Lithuanian nobility self-polonised, replacing Lithuanian and Ruthenian languages with Polish although the process took centuries. In the 16th century new established theory amongst Lithuanian nobility was popular, claiming that Lithuanian nobility was of Roman extraction, and the Lithuanian language was just a morphed Latin language (falsely accused, especially because the Romans had very little hold, if any, in the lands so far north) ^[3] (see also sarmatism). In 1595 Mikalojus Daukša addressed Lithuanian nobility for Lithuanian language to play more important role in state life. Though, the usage of Lithuanian declined, and the Polish language became main in the offices of Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the late 17th century.

At first only Lithuanian magnate families were affected, although many of them like Radziwiłłs remained patriots of Lithuania who fought long and hard against the ever-encroaching Polish dominion, even after 1795. Gradually it evolved to wider group of population, and for the most part Lithuanian nobility became part of the both nations szlachta.

Nonetheless the Lithuanian nobles did preserve their national awareness as members of the Grand Duchy, and in most cases recognition of their Lithuanian family roots; their leaders would continue to represent the interests of Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and on the royal court.

The major effects on the lesser Lithuanian nobility (bajoras) took it's place after Russian Empire's sanctions removing Lithuania from names of Gubernya's (see Lithuanian Governorate) and announcing that "every Lithuanian is a Russian seduced by Poles and Chrisitianty" banning the print in Lithuanian language. In the 19th century a Latin formula gente Lithuanus, natione Polonus (Lithuanian people, Polish nation) was common in the Lithuania Proper and former Samogitian Eldership. With Polish culture becoming one of the primary centers of resistance to the Russian Empire, polonization in some regions actually strengthened - fighting the Russification, and hence an even larger part of Lithuanian nobility was Polonised and adopted Polish identity by the late 19th century.

The processes of Polonization and Russification were however partially reversed with the Lithuanian National Revival which also begun around that time. Although originating mostly from the non-noble classes, a number of nobles reembraced their Lithuanian roots.

During interbellum years goverment of Lithuania issued land reform limiting manors with 150 ha of land, and confiscating land from those nobles who were fighting in Polish-Lithuanian War on the Polish side. Many members of Lithuanian nobility in interbellum and post WW2 years emigrated to Poland, many were deported to Siberia during the years 1945-53 of Soviet occupation, many manors were destroyed. Currently Lithuanian nobility association is restored.

The most ancient heraldry has crossed arrows motive. In 1413 Union of Horodło 47 Lithuanian noble families addopted Polish nobility coat of arms. Later more families did the same.

• Alelkaičiai
• Olshanski (Alšėniškiai^[4][5])
• Astikai
• Czartoryski
• Gediminaičiai
• Gedgaudai
• Giedraičiai
• Goštautai
• Kęsgailos
• Mangirdaičiai
• Radziwiłł (Radvila)
• Sviriškiai
• Valmantaičiai

• Chodkiewicz
• Ogiński
• Ostrogski
• Pac
• Sapieha
• Tyszkiewicz
• Wiśniowiecki

• Plater
• Tyzenhaus
• Römer

• List of early Lithuanian dukes
• List of Lithuanian rulers
• Germanic monarchy for references to Germanic origins of kuningaz (Modern German: König, English: king).
• Szlachta

• (Lithuanian) Rimvydas Petrauskas Giminaičiai ir pavaldiniai: Lietuvos bajorų grupės XIV a. pabaigoje-XV a. I pusėje in: Lietuva ir jos kaimynai: nuo normanų iki Napoleono: prof. Broniaus Dundulio atminimui. Vilnius, 2001, p. 107-126.
• (Lithuanian) Rimvydas Petrauskas, Lietuvos diduomenė XIV a.pabaigoje - XV a.:sudėtis-struktūra-valdžia. Aidai, Vilnius; 2003.
• Aleksandravičius, Egidijus (1999). "The double fate of the Lithuanian gentry". Lituanus 45 (3). Retrieved on 2007-09-06.  Historiographical notes on the research of Lithuanian nobility.
• Schmalstieg, William R. (1982). "Lithuanian names". Lituanus 28 (3). Retrieved on 2007-09-06. 

• Lithuanian Royal Union of Nobility