Baltų kariauninkų kontaktai su Kijevo Rusios ir Lenkijos valstybėmis prasidedančios christianizacijos kontekste (XI-XIII a. pirma pusė)

LTStraipsnyje revizuojamas lietuvių, kaip Kijevo Rusios "duoklininkų", įvaizdis. Nesant pagrįstų įrodymų, kad lietuviai (ir kiti baltai) mokėjo duoklę Kijevo Rusiai, remiantis istoriniais šaltiniais ir iš dalies archeologine medžiaga, baltų kariauninkai prasidedančios baltų christianizacijos kontekste atrodo kaip samdiniai arba sąjungininkai / priešininkai, o ne "duoklininkai". Svarstoma, kiek ir kaip kaimyninėse valstybėse vyravusi "variagiškoji" krikščionybė galėjo turėti įtakos, kad tarp prūsų ir lietuvių atsirado inhumacinis mirusiųjų laidojimo paprotys, klausiama, ar krikščionybė leido formuotis baltų henoteistinėms nuostatoms, ar galėjo atsirasti "prima signatio" priėmusių kariauninkų ir konvertitų dar iki oficialios baltų / lietuvių christianizacijos pradžios XII-XIII a. sandūroje, kokių duomenų apie tai teikia rašytiniai šaltiniai, ar būta analogijų kaimyniniuose Lenkijos ir Kijevo Rusios kraštuose. Reikšminiai žodžiai: Baltų kariauninkai; Christianizacija; "Variagiškoji" krikščionybė; Inhumacija; Henoteizmas,; Prima signatio; Kijevo Rusia; Lenkija.

ENThis article presents an analysis of the relations between warriors from the Baltic lands (primarily Lithuanians, Yotvingians and Prussians) with their neighbours Kievan Rus’ and Poland amid the context of emerging Christianisation, based on historic sources and archaeological material. Until now, it is often said in historiography that Lithuanians (along with other Balts) would pay tributes to Kievan Rus’ (or Polotsk), even though the facts found in sources cannot confirm this. As a result, relations between Baltic warriors and neighbouring Kievan Rus’ cannot be analysed in the context of tribute-payers and tribute recipients. The hypothesis is that Baltic warriors were not "vassals" or "tribute-payers", but rather mercenaries or allies in the armies of Kievan Rus’ and Polish rulers. In this case, we can speak about the natural formation of a Baltic warrior society, which eventually led to the emergence of so-called militant democracy, not enforced tributes and the accompanying Christianisation (note that this cannot be disqualified either), and the natural development of pagan warriors’ relations with 10th-12th-century "Varangian" Christianity, which could have affected Baltic society as a matter of course, or could have created the conditions for internal change within Baltic society without any stronger effects from external forces. Mercenary activity with Christian armies and alliances with Christians could have contributed to the formation of the Baltic warrior society, which led to so-called militant democracy in around the 12th century.Several ways by which Christianity approached the Baltic lands were studied in the article: 1) Baltic warriors cooperated with Christian warriors from "Varangian" Kievan Rus’ and Poland, adopting certain aspects of the "weapon’s spirit" from the latter; 2) henotheistic attitudes towards Christ could have formed among the Baltic warriors, portraying Him as a powerful Christian warrior God; 3) some of the Baltic warriors might have become prima signatio devotees or (in parallel) converts. Analogies with Christianisation in other countries and certain written sources allow considering not just the extent and how Christianity which prevailed in neighbouring countries could have had an influence on the emergence of the inhumation of the dead among Prussians and Lithuanians, but also how the Christian "weapon spirit", the image of militia Christi, and the Christian burial of members of the chieftain’s retinue with weapons and other artefacts could have affected the self-awareness of Baltic warriors. It was concluded that the emergence and spread of inhumation burials in Prussian and Lithuanian societies, as well as the appearance of Christian artefacts in castle fort mounds (for example, at the Eglyne and Mažuloniai sites), which are considered as local power centres and thus, centres for the concentration of warriors, reflect the impact of Christianity on pagan beliefs and world views at the end of the Viking era.The Prussian act of surrender to the Teutonic Order signed at Christburg Castle in 1249 mentioned the inhumation custom of burying the dead among Prussians, who did not agree to sanction the supremacy of the Teutonic Order, considering it "unsuitable". All these facts show that it was possible for henotheistic attitudes to form among Baltic warriors (and not necessarily only regarding Christ), and it became possible to accept prima signatio while also becoming converts even before the beginning of the intense Christianisation of the 12th-13th centuries. Keywords: Baltic warriors; Christianisation; Inhumation; Henotheism; Prima signatio; Kievan Rus’.