Lithuania through the eyes of Długosz

The mammoth "Annales seu cronicae incliti Regni Poloniae", covers events from legendary times to 1480 in twelve books and they are a valuable source for exploring the history not only of Poland, but also of Lithuania, for which they are in fact fundamental. The "Annales" were the first written source to present in detail the customs, origins and history of the Lithuanians, a people living east of the Pisa and Bug Rivers. The question of how much Długosz knew about the geography of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania is relatively clear. His "Chorografia Regni Poloniae", a descriptive geography of Poland and the Lithuanian-Ruthenian lands, is considered a unique example of Polish medieval writing. Although fragmentary and lacking in detail, Długosz's descriptions give an idea of the vastness and inaccessibility of the Lithuanian state. The very fact that he included Lithuanian lands in the "Chorography" means, as Adam Krawiec put it, that "in Długosz's mental geography, Lithuania did not constitute a separate entity from the Kingdom of Poland". He therefore described it, like the other lands of the kingdom, to the best of his knowledge. The first detailed mention of Lithuanians in the "Annales" is in Book VI, under the year 1205, in a brief account of their attack on Ruthenia. According to Długosz, Lithuania was a barren land of impoverished people. This characterisation is repeated several more times in 1387, when Długosz gives a much fuller account of the land and people with whom the Kingdom of Poland formed a union. According to Jan Długosz, the poor and primitive Lithuanian people were not on a par with the Christian Poles, as they "fed" on the plunder of their neighbours. Contempt for Lithuanians is particularly pronounced in consideration of the pre-union (and at the same time pagan) period, although this does not mean that after the union Długosz ceases to remind the Lithuanians of the superiority of the Poles, thanks to whom they were baptised. He just does it less often and more subtly, painting a collective portrait of the Lithuanians through the characterisation of selected figures. In his "Annales", Długosz was the first to give an account of the genesis of the Lithuanian nation. His concept proved to be highly fruitful, as evidenced by the role it played in culture, becoming the basis of the myth of Lithuania’s Roman origins in its various incarnations. The Polish chronicler gave a literary form to an ethnogenetic legend already quite popular among the Lithuanian elite at the time, a legend borne out of the rifts within the union between Lithuania and the Crown in the mid-15th century. Although Długosz provides an extensive and detailed account of the Italic origin of the people who came to the north, he is careful to point out that this is speculation. The Polish chronicler may have honoured the Lithuanians living in the inaccessible and harsh northern land with an illustrious Roman ancestry, but at the same time he paints a picture of their customs, culture and national character that is far from flattering. The early history of Lithuania is presented in a similar vein, a "despised, obscure and destitute" country. Długosz emphasises the sloth of the Lithuanians and their inclination to transgression and plunder. In describing the Lithuanians, he uses pejorative language characteristic of the attitudes towards paganism at that time, although he does also manage to note their few virtues, including modesty and love of country. There is little evidence that the Lithuanians grew in Długosz's eyes after the union with Poland and the adoption of Christianity. Długosz's views on Lithuania were probably influenced to some extent by old stereotypes. He is also known to have been critical of other foreign nations, which in the case of the Lithuanians was deepened by prejudice. However, this attitude was not unambiguous.