Society

The Lithuanian dukedom was in existence for 10 years only: from the coronation of Mindaugas in July 1253 to his murder in 1263. Later two more attempts to create the Lithuanian Dukedom were known. Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas tried to do that at the end of his life in 1429–1430. In 1526, a new plan was born at the Council of Lords of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to establish a separate Kingdom of Lithuania by crowning Sigismund August, the juvenile son of Sigismund the Old. Both of these attempts failed. […]

Around 1250, with the help of great military and diplomatic efforts Mindaugas managed to dissolve a union that posed a serious threat to his power. During political negotiations Mindaugas’ daughter of unknown name was engaged, and later she was married off to Švarnas, a son of Duke Daniel of Galitch-Voluin who was one of the greatest rivals to the Lithuanian King in the region. That was the first marriage of the family of the Lithuanian Rulers, which can be called interdynastic. […]

The story of Stanislaw Skaczewski (Lith. Stanislav Skaševskis) (†1579), coming from the gentry and having moved to Samogitia from Masuria in Poland (Szczytno, Zakročin) in the first half of the 16th century, and that of his family is sufficient proof that emigrants from the Polish gentry were well-adjusted to the life in GDL. Furthermore, it adds vivid details to the development of Reformation process in this region and sheds light on the influence of clientele relations in Evangelical movement. […]

For many centuries, playing cards looked quite different from what they look now. It was not before the second half of the 17th century that the French started producing cards in manufactures by means of printing in response to the growing demand for cards. The green cards (clubs and spades) gradually turned into the black ones because the black colour was more readily available. In addition to that, the French-style pack of cards featured a queen instead of one of the jacks. […]