The Silver Knight, a Lithuania Timeline

[Uff Da the optimist]

Aaaaw Yeah!

 

[aap5454]

To me the Polish Succession War was the best part, I really liked how it was set up, and felt really bad for all the Poles who suffered so badly under the Robber Voivode in Podolia.

 

[Larm]

And the fact you killed Russia

Hear Hear

 

[Augenis]

To me the Polish Succession War was the best part, I really liked how it was set up, and felt really bad for all the Poles who suffered so badly under the Robber Voivode in Podolia.

War is never nice, especially not in the 15th century.

 

[Augenis]

Special Chapter
The Children of Palemon - The Roman Origin of Lithuania
​

One of the most curious pieces of Lithuanian literature produced in the second part of the 15th century is what is nowadays referred to "The Myth of Palemon". First found in official manuscripts of the Chronicle of Lithuania dating from that era, the Myth of Palemon is the first ever known "official" theory on the origin of the Lithuanian nation, and as soon became tradition, a highly politicized one with truth bent for the sake of a goal. The goal in this particular case was to strengthen the claim that the Grand Duchy of Lithuania had for being of the successor to the Eastern Roman Empire, a title that was highly contested between this nation, the Ottoman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire and other small Orthodox states. At that point, the only real claim that Lithuania had was that it was the strongest Orthodox nation around. It did not hold Constantinople, Rome or any of former Roman territory. It's rulers did not even have any blood relation to the Romans.

...Or did they?

This was what the Myth of Palemon was set out to disprove - it was a short tale, partially compiled from Lithuanian mythology, partially made up, partially created from historical information. The "main character" of the tale was named Palemonas (Palemon), a powerful Roman noble from Asia Minor, whom modern historians and mythologists usually connect to a real life Roman duke from the 2nd century, Polemon II of Pontus. This connection is even strengthened by the fact that the mythological Palemon and the real Palemon were both relatives of Emperor Nero. Alongside that, some also connect him to Publius Lentulus, one of Pompey's comrades.

Drawing of the legendary Palemon in a 17th century edition of the Chronicle of Lithuania
​

The story of the legendary Palemon, the supposed first ruler of Lithuania, is as follows, mostly transcribed from later editions of the Chronicle:

Palemon was a powerful Roman duke and patrician, relative of Emperor Nero and controller of lots of lands in Anatolia, Asia and Thrace, but after a major quarrel with the reigning Emperor and a failed attempt at a civil war, he fled the Roman Empire with thousands of his followers, all of them of gentle birth, and sailed north. He eventually reached the banks of the Nemunas River, which he sailed upwards until settling down in the heart of this new land. This is where he built his capital, and named the region he settled in after his homeland Italy - "Litalia", which later transformed into Lithuania after centuries of time had passed. Palemon had many children, and his descendants, the Palemonids, were the first ruling dynasty of Lithuania, and the Roman refugees with him gave birth to all noble dynasties and families of the Lithuanians. The Chronicle provided a long family tree, which descended all the way from Palemon and Nero, and thus from Octavianus Augustus, the first Roman emperor, all the way to the Gediminids and finally to the Grand Duke of the time, Algirdas II, which confirmed the time when the story was written.

This tale was immediately popularized among the nobility of the Lithuanian nation, and many magnate families of the time, like the Radvilos, Goštautai and Kęsgailos, edited their family trees to include Palemonids as their ultimate ancestors. The myth of Palemon, and the claim that the Lithuanian nation are quite literally direct descendants of the Romans helped Algirdas II with his declaration of Vilnius and Lithuania being the Third Rome. Later writers would provide even more proof for this claim, like the discovery of Roman coins and artifacs deep in Lithuania's swamps, and Andrius Volanas (Andrey Wolan, Andreas Volanus), despite supposedly hating the Palemon theory as "the ultimate tip of noble arrogance and pride", provided proof in the similarities between Latin and Lithuanian languages.

It should be noted that the myth of Palemon declared that only the nobility descends from the Romans. In a way, it claimed that the Lithuanians were composed of two nations in total - the Roman nobles and the local Baltic peasantry. The Lithuanians called themselves the Children of Palemon for two centuries, before this theory was slowly glossed out of public view and more accurate ideas were being proposed. It is a false theory from the start, with numerous holes in logic and no known historical basis, but it remains as an important symbol of the arriving Lithuanian Renaissance - the Lithuanians quite literally declared themselves as the successors of the Romans, the closest one could ever get to reviving Antiquity culture and ideals.

---

I really wanted to sometimes do special chapters detailing events and developments that wouldn't really fit in the normal updates themselves, so here you go. Expect these to sometimes happen, though not as often as regular chapters.

This is based and mostly copied from the OTL Myth of Palemon. It happened. Yes, we did indeed call ourselves Romans by blood. Check your privilege.

 

[Historyman 14]

I...I don't think i ever knew this before.

 

[Augenis]

I...I don't think i ever knew this before.

We all learn something new every day

 

[Historyman 14]

We all learn something new every day

Where's the part when Palemon comes back to lead a New Roman Empire of Lithuania? King Arthur and Barbarossa got the same deal.

 

[Augenis]

This video is now required watching for any person who wishes to fully understand Lithuanian culture:

New chapter coming soon, either today or tomorrow. There will be a map of Europe included with it, so that's why it is taking longer.

 

[Augenis]

Part 14: Winds of a New World (1481-1495)
​

The history of Lithuania knows many ups and downs, from the very beginning of the nation with King Mindaugas up to the 20th century and finally the present day, and among these dramatic turns, it is agreed that the rule of Algirdas II was a bountiful one. The first King of Lithuania after over 200 years of Grand Ducal rule, he reigned over the nation in an interesting time. The end of the 15th century saw the spread of the Renaissance across Europe and the change from the simple, "sensible" Medieval era to the unknowns of the Modern Age, and to not be left in the dust, Lithuania needed a strong and - most importantly - intelligent ruler. Algirdas II, an erudite, follower of Renaissance thought, was fit for this tough job. He was far from alone in this endeavor, though. Throughout the 15th century, more and more Lithuanian magnates and nobles began to see the privilege and prestige in sending their children study in Western universities, and these students would bring Renaissance and Humanist ideals, beliefs and thoughts to the nation. The fall of Constantinople and arrival of Greek refugees only hastened the process.

It became more and more prestigious, and going from acceptable to practically necessary, for any proud Lithuanian magnate to run a library with ancient works in his manor, and literacy for Latin, and Lithuanian, were at an all time high. The last decades of the 15th century saw the beginning of arts patronage in Lithuania - which self-serving magnate wouldn't want to employ, say a Greek artist, to immortalize himself in time and history through paintings, poetry and poems? This development of arts and culture in his realm was not something Algirdas II simply passed to the side as uninteresting or unimportant, far from it. The King himself became a major patron of arts, and it is reported that in the last years of his life, the monarch employed over 150 French, Italian, German and Greek erudites, bureaucrats, artists and writers in his court.

Algirdas II's right hand man throughout most of his reign was the Grand Chancellor and Grand Hetman of Lithuania, Mykolas Glinskis (Michael Glinski), a Lithuanian nobleman of distant Tatar and Hungarian origin. Glinskis was an exceptional military leader, having served under Maximilian of Austria in the earlier years of his life, fought and led armies in wars in Switzerland, Italy and Bavaria, even awarded the Order of the Golden Fleece for his efforts and successful campaigns. After service, he returned to Lithuania, inheriting the large estates of his father, and rapidly rising through the ranks of the Lithuanian court all the way to the highest position under the King. Much like his sovereign, Glinskis was well acquainted with the advancements and culture of the Western world, himself mainly from the court of the Austrian duke and the battlefield, and his effort was focused on modernizing the Lithuanian army to fit Western standards and developing the economy to better feed and pay for a modern army.

Mykolas Glinskis (Michael Glinski), Grand Hetman of Lithuania from 1478
​

One of the most controversial moves enacted by Algirdas II of Lithuania throughout his reign was focused on religious affairs. Now remaining as the only independent Orthodox state in Europe, Lithuania primarily interacted with Catholic nations, through trade, diplomacy and private negotiations, and this kept increasing Catholic influence in the nation. Roman Catholics in Europe were known since the 14th century, when Grand Duke Gediminas invited German merchants and artisans to his new capital Vilnius, and the Renaissance would only increase this number of foreigners. Algirdas II's wife, Angela Palaiologina, was also a devout Catholic, and under her patronage numerous Catholic churches were erected and constructed in the Ruthenian and Russian regions of the country. It is rumored that her pillow talk fully persuaded the freshly crowned King to begin negotiations with the Papacy, cancelled by his father Teodoras I.

This led to the birth of what is now called The Brest Concordate of 1485. After long negotiations with Papal legates, the Patriarchate of Vilnius, Orthodox bishops and foreign emissaries finalized a set of privileges and reconciliations between the Orthodox and Catholic churches. Many theological differences and debates between the two faiths were mended or at least agreed to be tolerated by each other, and the Roman Catholic Church established an official Archbishopric in Vilnius, right on the other side of the seat of the Patriarchate. Lithuania's official state religion turned into a weird "syncretism" between the two main Christian churches, and it became a pariah of it's faith. The Greek Orthodox Church placed an anathema on Algirdas II and began to urge the faithful in Lithuania to rise up against this heretic, but few answered. However, the Rus', particularly the northeastern parts with Tver and Moscow, responded very negatively to the Lithuanian King. The Pope, meanwhile, gratefully crowned Algirdas as King in the Catholic rite, giving the man two crowns, from two churches, to point to.

Nowadays, the Brest Concordate is viewed somewhat negatively, but most of the arguments come from hindsight, referring to what happened later as a result of it, but from Algirdas's point of view, it made sense. The Catholics to the east were the only trading partners partners he could have, after all. The Concordate also meant that the Teutonic and Livonian orders lost the meaning of their statehood. Their activity was going nowhere but down after the Baptism of Jogaila the Great, and after the Concordate, Lithuania looked west as it's new possible direction of expansion. Courland was occupied and incorporated into Lithuania in a quick war with Livonia in 1489, during which the newly gained prowess of Glinski's and Algirdas's reforms really went into play.

However, the conclusion of the positive effects of the Concordate was none other than the foundation of the University of Vilnius in 1493. The University of Vilnius at the time was the most farthest higher learning institution known to Europeans, far to the east compared to any other university in the continent. It was constructed and organised thanks to the funding provided by Algirdas II, who also brought teachers and staff from across Europe. This couldn't have been accomplished in Orthodox isolation, far from it. Meanwhile, though, the health of the King was falling swiftly. A year later, he was practically locked to his bed, to a disease none knew how to heal.

And the only heir was the nine year old Prince Valdoslavas (Vladislov of Lithuania)... Lithuania had never seen a regency before - what if the King does not recover and leaves the nation without a ruler?

And such was the situation in Lithuania! Though, it was not like the rest of Europe was doing any better...

The massive nation of England-France, almost always covered in inner turmoil, was slowly starting to recover from the damage of the Hundred Years' war under the capable rule of Edward IV - grandson of the victorious Henry V, the first King of England-France - but his nation just couldn't get away from war. 1494 saw the beginning of the Burgundian Wars - Burgundy, the former ally of England in the war against France, was beginning to disintegrate after numerous clashes with Lorraine and dynastic struggles, leading to a large war across Western Europe with many neighbours vying for dominance in the Low Countries and Burgundy.

Habsburg Austria, narrowly edged out of the Bohemo-Hungarian succession, yet obtaining the throne of the Holy Roman Empire in the process, turned it's sights west, throwing it's hat into the Burgundian ring and participating in ducal struggles across Italy.

Charles I of Bohemia-Hungary-Poland established himself as one of the greatest rulers in the histories of all three of these nations. Under his rule, the Renaissance arrived to the Triple Crown, Poland was acquired, and the nation became one of the great powers of Europe. Such a Central European giant didn't feel bound to last very long, though.

The Ottoman Turks continued their push north, and despite the war with the Triple Crown ending in a stalemate, the Kayser-i-Rum was not saddened. The Genovese colonies and local Tatars in Crimea were subjugated, and Moldavia became a vassal of the expanding Turkish state.

But while all of this was taking place, a much more impactful development went on in the West...

Pedro Alvares Cabral was among the many Portuguese naval commanders participating in expeditions across the coast of Africa to find a sea path to India, bypassing the Turkish and Arabic merchants that were drastically increasing spice prices in Europe. The expeditions seemed successful enough - a recent trip by Fernando da Gama discovered an end to the seemingly endless reach of Africa, reaching the southern tip of the continent - naming it Cape of Destiny, for their "destiny" to reach the dream India, - but pulling back after realizing that the weather would not allow them to continue without great loss of life. Cabral was among the few who weren't enthusiastic about the Eastern Route - in his opinion, it would be too costly to travel periodically around an entire continent, and thus he proposed the King of Portugal an idea to travel West - through the Atlantic, to India.

The Portuguese king at first dismissed the captain, but after some negotiations with his navigators and other captains, many of which were envious of Cabral and hoped that he will see his end traveling through the endless Atlantic, plus fearing that the capable commander could defect to the Spanish, - who were also considering a Western expedition - summoned Cabral and gave him the green light.

An array of ten ships, led by Cabral and a recruited Italian navigator, Alberto Vespucci, set sail from Lisbon to the southwest, where the Portuguese explorer believed he will find India. After six weeks of sailing, nearly starving to death from the long trip with no end in sight, the seamen finally found land in the horizon, which, according to Vespucci in his memoirs, was an outright miracle, "greater than the resurrection of Christ". It fit all the descriptions of India that they had - lush endless tropical forests, grand rivers, tropical fruit and animals. Except for one thing. Gold. When asked about gold, the natives - barely clothed, tanned, with reddish skin - would just shrug and point west, towards the mountains.

While this alone made some of the sailors suspicious, Cabral was sure to have found Asia. Maybe not India, not yet at least, but Asia. After returning home, the explorer explained the findings to the court of King Manuel and prepared for further expeditions. However, he wasn't particularly willing to inform any one but the King's court, which led to a whole different man getting the credit. Vespucci returned to his home city of Genoa and declared that he and Cabral discovered a sea route to India, and these news spread like wildfire. Even if he was just hired and Cabral was the one to have thought of the idea to sail west, the people of his time were quick to credit the Genovese navigator on the discovery, forever immortalizing his name by giving it to what was later revealed to be a brand new continent - Vespucia.

Map of Europe upon the discovery of Vespucia, 1495​

 

[generalurist]

"only independent Orthodox state in Europe"? What? Did Tver and Novgorod go catholic as well?

I wonder what Livonia is going to do now...

Lietuva is BIG alright, but so is Hungary-Bohemia-Poland.... I wonder how the wars with the Ottomans will develop... On one hand Hungary's core of power is close and might hold them back... On the other hand, Buda is much closer than Vienna!

England-France huh? COOL! You don't see that often, I wonder how this will develop!

 

[Augenis]

"only independent Orthodox state in Europe"? What? Did Tver and Novgorod go catholic as well?

I wonder what Livonia is going to do now...

Lietuva is BIG alright, but so is Hungary-Bohemia-Poland.... I wonder how the wars with the Ottomans will develop... On one hand Hungary's core of power is close and might hold them back... On the other hand, Buda is much closer than Vienna!

England-France huh? COOL! You don't see that often, I wonder how this will develop!

Emphasis on "independent". Right now Tver and Novgorod are client states of Lithuania. Moldavia and Wallachia are Orthodox too, but they are under the Ottomans.

Yes, right now Europe is a continent of personal unions. England-France (if you want the explanation for the butterflies that created it, you can check it a few pages back), Kalmar, Castile-Aragon, the Triple Crown... The 16th century will be big for some of them.

 

[Historyman 14]

So how is life and culture in England-France and Burgundy?

And Algirdas! How dare you become friendly with Catholic nations! I knew this would lead to trouble when Rome play to tell the Orthodox people to jump, and the Orthodox says no.

 

[Augenis]

So how is life and culture in England-France and Burgundy?

And Algirdas! How dare you become friendly with Catholic nations! I knew this would lead to trouble when Rome play to tell the Orthodox people to jump, and the Orthodox says no.

The English are the reigning nation in England-France, and many of their decisions, like not allowing representatives from the continent to the Parliament and seating the Archbishop in Kent and only in Kent are aggravating the French, who are still bitter about their defeat in the Hundred Years' War. England-France is an inward nation - the most populous, economically and militarily powerful (despite inner troubles) and centralized in Western Europe, it doesn't have all that much interest in projecting power far outside it's borders. It's currently transitioning into the Renaissance much like the rest of Europe, popularity of the theatre is on the rise, much more in England than on the continent.

Notably, the Catholic Church in England-France is very loyal to the King and supports him and his policies, which has left many Frenchmen feeling bitter about the Church and it's secular politics.

Burgundy's territory was greatly expanded under Charles the Bold, connecting the Duchy to it's domains in the Low Countries, and it's alliance to England during the Hundred Years' War brought it benefits in safety from the Valois France, but it has been going into troubles recently. A revolt in Burgundian Lorraine and wars with the Swiss and the Duchy of Lorraine were unsuccessful and drained the treasury, and after the death of Charles the nation entered a regency. Such a situation led to the Burgundian Wars.

Don't lash out immediately at Algirdas - wait until the consequences of this decision come to release your anger.

 

[Historyman 14]

The English are the reigning nation in England-France, and many of their decisions, like not allowing representatives from the continent to the Parliament and seating the Archbishop in Kent and only in Kent are aggravating the French, who are still bitter about their defeat in the Hundred Years' War. England-France is an inward nation - the most populous, economically and militarily powerful (despite inner troubles) and centralized in Western Europe, it doesn't have all that much interest in projecting power far outside it's borders. It's currently transitioning into the Renaissance much like the rest of Europe, popularity of the theatre is on the rise, much more in England than on the continent.

Notably, the Catholic Church in England-France is very loyal to the King and supports him and his policies, which has left many Frenchmen feeling bitter about the Church and it's secular politics.

Burgundy's territory was greatly expanded under Charles the Bold, connecting the Duchy to it's domains in the Low Countries, and it's alliance to England during the Hundred Years' War brought it benefits in safety from the Valois France, but it has been going into troubles recently. A revolt in Burgundian Lorraine and wars with the Swiss and the Duchy of Lorraine were unsuccessful and drained the treasury, and after the death of Charles the nation entered a regency. Such a situation led to the Burgundian Wars.

Don't lash out immediately at Algirdas - wait until the consequences of this decision come to release your anger.

Hmm....this could be useful in helping the French turning into ATL Huguenots.

What about life in the Kalmar, Castile-Aragon, Bohemia-Hungary-Poland, and the Ottomans?

 

[Augenis]

Hmm....this could be useful in helping the French turning into ATL Huguenots.

What about life in the Kalmar, Castile-Aragon, Bohemia-Hungary-Poland, and the Ottomans?

Kalmar and Castile-Aragon are both more or less the same as OTL. A marriage between the monarchs of Castile and Aragon created a wedding union between the two countries, the Spaniards recently crushed Granada and finished the Reconquista, and now they are looking towards Italy. Portugal stole their chance at finding a western route to India, while Italy is rich and plagued by internal strife. Kalmar is experiencing independence struggles from Sweden, but right now the Union has little places to expand to. Lithuania is blocking expansion in Eastern Europe and the HRE is still there.

The Triple Crown's situation has more or less been explained in the post. Charles I has quite a few children, so the choice arises of either trying to keep the three kingdoms united or divide them between his children.

Ottomans are currently doing what Ottomans do best - conquering weaker neighbours and rapidly becoming the greatest Scourge of Europe since the Mongols. The empire is strong, centralized and has an effective army, and while B-H-P is blocking it's chance of expansion north, the Muslim world is yet to be united under the Kayser-i-Rum.

 

[lokaloki]

Thanks for the TL! And I hope to read next chapters.

To celebrate, why don't you tell your favorite moment from this TL so far?

"the creation of the Chronicle of Lithuania (Lietuvos kronika), first released in 1425, in Smolensk, in the Ruthenian language."

It was unexpected for me, and I like this detail.

 

[Augenis]

Thanks for the TL! And I hope to read next chapters.



"the creation of the Chronicle of Lithuania (Lietuvos kronika), first released in 1425, in Smolensk, in the Ruthenian language."

It was unexpected for me, and I like this detail.

Thank you! Have a cepelinas, make sure to visit the shashlik bar and have fun!

Well, the Chronicle was created around this time OTL, and one of my specialties is Lithuanian literature, so I couldn't just leave it out

 

[lokaloki]

Well, the Chronicle was created around this time OTL, and one of my specialties is Lithuanian literature, so I couldn't just leave it out

Wow! Thanks!
I did not read much about First redaction, I heared about "Chronicle of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania" and "Bychowiec Chronicle". I thought, it was written in Smolensk in TTL, not in OTL

 

[Augenis]

Wow! Thanks!
I did not read much about First redaction, I heared about "Chronicle of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania" and "Bychowiec Chronicle". I thought, it was written in Smolensk in TTL, not in OTL

Well, the Bychowiec Chronicle is a later edition of the Chronicle of Lithuania, so you at least thought in the correct direction.

Though, I'm fairly confident that the Bychowiec version has been butterflied away ITTL. Especially since Lithuania is not in a personal union under anybody.