Chapter 15: Lituania, Dominor Orientalem
Part 15: Lituania, Dominor Orientalem (1495-1500)
A problem arose soon, though. The cast metal sorts brought from Germany used the Latin alphabet, while the Lithuanian and East Slavic languages used Cyrillic as it's script. After some discussions of whether to use the Latin letters or make new ones, the priesthood and printers of Lithuania decided to cast a brand new set, mostly based on Cyrillic letters, though with a few redesigns to make them fit more for printing, creating an official Cyrillic movable type. The first book printed in Lithuania was a small book of prayers and religious texts, only about 25 pages long, printed both in Lithuanian and in Old Church Slavonic, named "Simple Catechism and Prayers" (Prasta katekismusump und poteriump knigele), or simply "Lithuanian Cathechism" or just "Catechism". Only about 300 copies were made in the Vilnius Printing House in 1496 and 1497, but nowadays they are hailed as one of the biggest literary checkpoints of the Lithuanian language. While the Chronicle of Lithuania and numerous administrative texts were written in Lithuanian throughout the last century, the Catechism is the first printed Lithuanian book, and the first directed to and for the common people. It was the start of a printing industry in the Lithuanian nation, which was quick to grow with more printing houses established in Polotsk, Kiev and Smolensk, though most of them were small and for local needs.
It's also regarded as the first printed book in the East Slavic languages, and thus is also cenebrated by those nations as the beginning of their own printing industry. The production of books in the Kingdom of Lithuania, which is recorded to have produced only about 3 000 manuscripts in 1450, went on to become a major part of Eastern European typography, and the introduction of the movable type and the printing press halped for literacy and spread of information in the long term.
King Algirdas II didn't congratulate it much, though - he had far more pressing matters. Like his body's worsening condition. It is still not known what the King suffered from, but it appears to have been a very painful and slow disease that drained the life of the monarch. On his deathbed, in April of 1497, Algirdas declared - though, considering his situation, likely muttered out - that, since his successor Prince Valdislavas was still underage (about 11 years old at the time) and unable to rule the country, the reigns of regency are to be entrusted to the Grand Hetman, Mykolas Glinskis, should they be needed. Glinskis, a close friend and ally of the King, was already controlling the Kingdom's day-to-day matters while the sovereign was locked to bed, so the official declaration of a regency was to be expected. Algirdas still believed he could make a miracle recovery, though - he prayed to God day and night to forgive his sins and allow him to return to the helm of the country. Some courtiers began to spread rumors that it's how God was punishing him for striking deals with the Western schismatics and abandoning the ways of Christ that he was taught in...
Nine days after declaring Mykolas Glinskis as regent, Algirdas Teodoraitis, the second King of Lithuania, the bringer of the ways of the Renaissance, the westerniser of the nation, the flagman of the Brest Concordate, died in his bed, wretched in pain and agony, clutching at his heart. "Oh, God, Mary, Jesus and all saints, have mercy on us Lithuanians..." were his final words, and the King passed to the afterlife. Algirdas was, among many things, a bright man. He knew that Lithuania will not survive keeping to the ways of old, and he did what was necessary to change that. Chroniclers report that he was a calm, reserved and well read man, though not particularly talkative during his rule. However, despite his achievements, he is not remembered as fondly as his grandfather, mostly because of what the second greatest decision in his life led up to many years after his death. But he couldn't have predicted that, none of us could've in his situation, and it seems that in the modern days, the benefits of his rule are much more upheld that the consequences. Most importantly the creation of the second Kingdom of Lithuania, which is seen as a great moment in Lithuanian history.
Prince Valdislavas, an eleven year old boy, was soon coronated as King Valdislavas I, but he was only a ruler by name. Mykolas Glinskis retained his position as Grand Hetman and Grand Chancellor, now adding Royal Regent to that list, thus becoming the de facto ruler of the country. Immediately upon the ascension, Regent Mykolas met a great challenge in his tracks.
A great challenge in the name of Tver. The Principality of Tver.
During the rule of Teodoras I and Algirdas II, Tver overtook the position of becoming the chief unifier of the Russian state from the incorporated Muscovy, treading it's tracks of paying lip service to the Lithuanian overlords while slowly expanding and increasing it's influence in the Rus'. It annexed Yaroslavl and Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod in that time, and the Princes of Tver tried their best to consolidate the state into something stronger, something more capable of fighting their suzerain. Lithuanians couldn't not notice this troubling development, and responded with harsher tribute demands and hiring brigands and mercenaries to loot the Tverian countryside. In response, Tver worked covertly to stir up discontent against Lithuanian rule in Muscovy and Ryazan. The Tverian state was not particularly consolidated at the time of the ascension of Valdislavas, it was suffering through dissent of it's own in recently incorporated Mordvin territory, but it gambled on Lithuania hopefully entering a succession crisis and maybe a civil war, to declare in 1497 that they will not accept Valdislovas I as their overlord. Border clashes between Lithuanian garrisons in Moscow and Ryazan and Tverian raiding parties began, and the Prince of Tver, Ivan Mikhailovich, hoped to create a revolt in the region that he could support.
Ivan Mikhailovich, Prince of Tver during the Tverian-Lithuanian War
In response, Mykolas Glinskis famously stated back:
"Lithuania is one and indivisible under the Crown. What you propose is treason - treason not only to our King, but also to God himself."
The conspirators were arrested and Glinskis began preparing an army for war against Tver.
Could Lithuania have become the first European state to get rid of it's monarchs, almost a century before the first Westerner state did so (in quite a bloody rumble)? Could it have become a noble republic? That is a question for history buffs and fans of alternate history to ponder at. But one fact is certain - in our universe, Glinskis refused. He had his own priorities. He wasn't a man only centered on saving the Kingdom, he was still looking for his own wishes. It's just that they didn't coincide with the ones of the nobles.
A few magnates rose up to revolt against the Regent, and an army of 800 men attacked Polotsk, only to be staved off by the city's garrison. Jonas Varkalis, the Vaivada of Polotsk, soon marched in with a raised army, and the rebels scattered. Along with other Vaivadas, Varkalis joined up with the Lithuanian Regiment, now led by Mykolas Glinskis himself, in a march East. On January of 1498, the Kingdom of Lithuania officially declared war on the Principality of Tver, starting the Tverian-Lithuanian War. This time, Lithuania, led by Glinskis, was out for blood. The Regent set his goal as the complete destruction of the Tverian state and incorporation of it's territory into the Kingdom. Ivan Mikhailovich organized his own troops, but even he knew that a direct confrontation was too one-sided to even be tried. Offers of peace, even submitting back to Lithuanian fold, were denied. The Republic of Novgorod declared that it will remain loyal to Glinskis's Lithuania - it's military was even less prepared for war that that of Tver.
Meanwhile, Moscow rose to revolt. 20 000 Muscovite revolters, many of them normal peasants and the city's inhabitants, took up arms, gathering near the Kremlin - still a wooden one, rebuilt after the annexation of the Principality into it's southwest neighbour - and clashing with the Lithuanian garrison in the fortress. The battle in Moscow took four hours, and the revolters, led by a man the Chronicles refer to as "Roman Zakharyin", captured the guards and gored them across the streets. The chopped off head of the captain of the guard was placed on a pole and raised in front of the Kremlin, and the rebels declared the restoration of Moscow as a Principality. However, Tverian help and support was too late to arrive, mainly because their primary goal was to avoid a confrontation with Glinskis first and actually helping the fellow Russians second.
Thus, the 30 000 men strong Army of the Kingdom of Lithuania arrived to Moscow first, faced with about 18 000 peasants and citizens armed with straightened scythes, spears and knives. There were only a few horses among the Muscovites, and Zakharyin was riding one of them. He was taken out by a Lithuanian arquebus in the very beginning of the battle. The Second Battle of Moscow was a massacre of the highest order - the orderly, professional and well armed Lithuanian force stood against disorganized civilian revolters, it was pretty clear who was going to win from the start. Glinskis did not plan to let Moscow get away easily, too - this region has for a very long time been the thorn in Lithuania's side. It was hard to collect taxes from it, it tried to revolt after almost every succession, and it was in solidarity with Tver. From the Regent's eyes, the best way how to fix it was to erase Moscow from the map.
Put it through the sword. Let it rot and burn.
Lithuanian troops ravaged the city and it's surroundings for almost a week, and almost every source that writes about it carries a feeling of disgust. Entire blocks of the sity were burned down completely, and the civilians were kicked out and slaugtered. It was a massacre comparable to the ones going all around Poland in the Polish Succession War, but on Lithuanian soil. Glinskis did not actually succeed in wiping Moscow out of the map - it remained as a center of population, though a dark and grim shell of it's former past - but it signified his position among the Russians as one of the most resented Lithuanian rulers in their history. Glinskis later gave the same treatment to Vladimir, an another important Russian city. The Chronicle of Lithuania comments that "the fires of burning Russian cities could be seen from as far as Vitebsk".
Finally, Glinskis turned to Tver, which was starting to panic. Ivan Mikhailovich gathered his 8000 men strong army and marched to meet Glinskis, facing the Regent of Lithuania and his armies on the fields of Dobrovo. Ivan of Tver still hoped to achieve a peace, and thus ordered his troops to put down their weapons, jumped off his horse, took off all of his royal garments, jewelry and the crown, leaving him in normal, blank while clothes, reminiscent of that of a peasant, then ran up to Glinskis and fell on his knees, kissing his encrusted boots and pleading for an agreement.
Mykolas Glinskis listened to the Prince of Tver's plead, then took out his sword and stabbed him. This was followed by the Lithuanian Regiment opening fire at the shocked and infuriated Tverian units, opening up the battle when they were least expecting it. Many Russians fell before even taking their weapons off the ground, and those who charged forward in fury and rage found themselves to be facing against modern technology with Russian halberds and bows. By the end of the day, the Tverian forces were soundly defeated, and the remnants that survived found themselves fleeing towards a doomed city... The Battle of Dobrovo was a great example of Mykolas Glinskis's true character, one that he didn't get to show in the peaceful times of Algirdas II - his determination, determination strong enough to spit on things like chivalry and honor towards the opponent. A man truly fit for the job of saving the country, right?
It was Tver's turn to burn. The Lithuanian troops entered the city with almost no resistance in sight - the Prince was dead, his army was dead, the morale was crushed. The smartest inhabitants of the city had already fled, and those who were left suffered through all seven circles of Hell in a single night. The Chronicle of Novgorod states: "The Litvin forces committed all possible sins that night. You couldn't see a street without littered corpses and abused women, without burning churches and slaughtered children..." The pillage of Tver marked the end of the Tverian-Lithuanian War, and Mykolas Glinskis declared that the Principality of Tver is now officially incorporated into the Kingdom of Lithuania. Novgorod and Pskov, the last Russian states in Eastern Europe, while both nominally independent, had their rights constrained and tightened, much worse than before.
The Tverian-Lithuanian War was a success, the Kingdom survived and asserted it's complete dominance over all of Kievan Rus', but at what cost! Thousands of Russians dead, slaughtered, mutilated, abused? Despite what Glinskis believed, it did absolutely nothing to make the Russians obedient, in fact, it did the exact opposite of that. Tver, now a city under the Kingdom, was quick to recover from the looting, and arose as the center of Russian thought and politics. The heart of the Rus'. The boundaries between the Russians, Ruthenians and Lithuanians have been drawn, and while the magnates and kings of the Lithuanians may feast in their halls and declare themselves the Dominor Orientalem, but the Russian nation never sleeps...
Last edited:
