On the Lithuanian national identity in the early modern period (late 15th-first half of the 17th centuries)

ENDuring the baptism of Lithuania (1387) and Samogitia (1413-1417) and later Christianisation of the land, the grand dukes Jogaila and Vytautas (late 14th-first half of the 15th centuries) transformed the native pagan Lithuanian language into the honourable Lithuanian Christian language. It could even be called one of the official languages of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL), as the spoken version was used by both the Lithuanian grand duke's court and the ruling Lithuanian elites up until the end of the 15th century. Its high position is also confirmed by the fact that after the death of Vytautas (1430), in the middle of the 15th century, the Lithuanian elites used their native language several times as an instrument to limit political influence of Poland. Meanwhile, both the Lithuanian grand duke and the Lithuanian ruling elite were favourably disposed towards the Ruthenian language in the 15th century, accepting it as the official state written language. As the estate and political unity between the Lithuanian Catholics and Ruthenian Orthodox ruling elites strengthened in the GDL, i. e., the political nation started to form, Lithuanians did not limit Ruthenian influences - two centuries of shared cultural experience in the GDL - under the reign of the extended Gediminid dynasty. Special linguistic relations developed where, for pragmatic reasons, the Lithuanian ruler and his aristocracy (the lords) gave priority to the Ruthenian language in the state's governance-related writings and in diplomatic relations with the Grand Duchy of Muscovy and Moldavia. The registers of grants of the Lithuanian grand duke Casimir started being kept in Ruthenian from 1440. Under the jurisdiction of the Vilnius voivode and Lithuanian chancellor Alekna Sudimantaitis (regent of Polotsk in 1463-1477), in 1476-1483, these registers were compiled into larger units and edited.The first Lithuanian grand duke's chancellery books appeared - the Lithuanian Metrica - and Ruthenian became established in the cartulary of the GDL. For a long time, Ruthenians served as the notarii and scribes (djak) in all levels of chancellery offices. In the districts of the GDL inhabited by ethnic Lithuanians, Ruthenian officials would learn Lithuanian, while over time, the Lithuanians themselves learned the Ruthenian language and writing. In the 15th century and the first half of the 16th century, no other language rivalled Ruthenian, i.e., neither Latin nor Polish. Knowing how to speak and write Ruthenian even became an indicator of a person's education. On the other hand, this did not compel the Lithuanian aristocracy, the dominant part of the GDL political nation, to choose the "state" Ruthenian language and completely reject their native tongue. History sources from this time reveal firm associations between the ethnoses living in the GDL and their native languages, most commonly Polish, Lithuanian and Ruthenian. Even up until the "Coaequatio iurium" (1697), the language relations of the political nation in the GDL did not create a fundamental imbalance that would have emphasised one of the three languages and pushed the other two aside from the traditional spheres of use. And even though it was the use of Lithuanian that suffered most in linguistic relations, Lithuanian nobility did not undergo Rus'ification. Lithuanian was still the language of the common people, it was used by the Church, also, as revealed in literature from the second half of the 16th century, it remained the language of the Lithuanian nobility living in the Lithuanian districts of the GDL. All languages were used in the country's governance and its verbal and written documentation - namely, Polish, Ruthenian and Lithuanian - and when the need arose, the use of one or another language was adapted to suit the needs of those involved.For Ruthenians, as members of the GDL political nation, the use of spoken and written Ruthenian in the state's governance and its historic memory is based on firm historical links with Lithuanians and their ruler, allowing them to integrate into the political and cultural environment in the GDL. The Ruthenian language, which had taken a certain standard form in the GDL chancellery, was being used to spread "prosta mova" the idea of a new Lithuanian and Ruthenian socio-political unity, which was promoted in the legend of Palemon by the Lithuanian ruling aristocracy. Nonetheless, Ruthenian could not become the language of this community as it was just an instrument for preserving socio-political unity and stability among the ruling layers of society. The role of Polish increased in the GDL from the middle of the 15th century. Polish firstly became entrenched in the highest social and political layers in the GDL. Lithuanian lords / the political nation began using Polish alongside Ruthenian, demeaning the role of their native Lithuanian language in the state. The use of spoken and written Polish intensified significantly during the rule of Sigismund Augustus (1548-1572). Not just the Lithuanian lords (magnates) but broader layers of nobility also perceived the spread of Polish favourably. As the use of Polish intensified, first-time administrative measures started being applied in the GDL that sought to legally entrench one or another local language in a selected sphere. Even though this measure was primarily intended to enable centralisation of government in Western Europe, it also prompted emergence of national identities. [...]. [Extract, p. 91-94]