Lietuvių karo meno XIII a. kontekstas ir karybos naujovės XIV a. antroje pusėje – XV a. pradžioje

LTŠiame straipsnyje nagrinėjama, kaip sparčiai ir sėkmingai lietuvių kariuomenė perimdavo karybos naujoves, atsakydama į iššūkius, mestus Vokiečių ordino XIII–XIV a. Remiantis daugiausia rašytiniais šaltiniais siekiama parodyti, kad lietuvių ir Vokiečių ordino kariavimo būdas XIV a. supanašėjo, ryškus atotrūkis, būdingas XIII a. pradžiai, buvo įveiktas. Simboline šio ilgalaikio proceso atomazga galime laikyti 1410 m. Žalgirio mūšį. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Vokiečių Ordinas (Teutonic Order; Kryžiuočių ordinas); Karyba; Karybos naujovės; Ginkluotė.

ENThe article demonstrates a dynamic view of warfare during the war between Lithuanians and the Teutonic Order. Some processes, such as the development of the Lithuanian cavalry and the use of arbalest, had begun in the middle of the 13th century and lasted throughout the 14th century. Apparently, the stud farms of the Lithuanian dukes were first mentioned in the second half of the 14th century. The farms specifically bred heavy war horses. There was an arbalest workshop in Vilnius in the second half of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century. It proves the development of cavalry and the increasing use of arbalest. On the other hand, the second half of the 14th century was rich with different technical innovations. Lithuanians started using more complex constructions for wooden castles when stone fortifications must have become more common at that time in Lithuania. Meanwhile, the emergence of wooden bridges and boats made of bark suggest that the troops of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania had people with special skills. Metaphorically, St John’s Castle built in 1398 by the Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas on the bank of the river Dnepr in Ukraine embodies all those skills.1 Finally, the duke took over the crusaders’ commonly used way of fighting. Facing the direction of the Black Sea, the castle may symbolize the horizon and boundaries of the farthest goals as the Lithuanians did not manage to keep the territories along the shores of the Baltic Sea similarly to the Teutonic Order in Žemaitija. [From the publication]