Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis

The article examines the political relations between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, especially Žemaitija as a constituent part, and Žemgala (Semigallia), from the beginning of the 1279 Žemgalian uprising against the Teutonic Order until the rule of Grand Duke Gediminas of Lithuania. The author tries to explain why Gediminas used the title of Duke of Žemgala in his letters of 1323, although in other cases, the title of the Lithuanian rulers does not include the name of Žemgala, and neither do other sources describing the territorial structure of the grand duchy mention Žemgala as part of it. Some historians have already argued that Žemgala was joined to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1279. The article re-examines this argument, and tries to validate it. The cooperation of Lithuania (especially Žemaitija) with the Žemgalians during the war of 1279–1290 shows that the integration of Žemgala into the Lithuanian state was in fact its integration into Žemaitija during the war. The author concludes that this integration was not denied by the time Gediminas took power, despite the fact that the Teutonic Order had already initiated a new phase in the invasion of Žemgala. Gediminas used the title of Duke of Žemgala because he actually controlled most of Žemgala. A substantial part of it remained permanently within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

How were the Reformation and a variety of different confessionalisations manifested in material culture? The article discusses this issue by presenting a dozen examples of works of art relating to the present territory of Latvia. In 1521, when urban citizens there responded to the ideas of the Reformation for the first time, a large part of present-day Latvia belonged to a conglomerate of various holdings called the Livonian Confederation. The religious polarisation of society characteristic of the early period of the Reformation (the 1520s) is represented in works of art discussed in the first chapter. The second chapter discusses works from the period of political instability caused by the First Northern War (1558–1583). It is characterised by Livonia’s political, cultural and confessional division, of which representations can also be seen in many examples of the visual arts.

The article explores the changes in the gathering, processing and use of amber on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea at the end of the Viking Age and in the 12th to 16th century. In the pagan sacral space, works in amber reflected mythological elements, and later they were transformed and adapted to Christian practice, at the same time as maintaining the commercial value of amber as a material. Archaeological material from the above-mentioned period illustrates the gradual diffusion of Christian elements in the pagan territories. Their expression is visible in new forms of amber works.

The conditions and the environment of the mendicant religious orders (Dominicans, Franciscan Conventuals, Franciscan Observants, Carmelites, and Augustinians) in the holdings of the Teutonic Order in Prussia differed from those in Western Europe. In newly built castles and newly founded cities, German and Polish-speaking communities predominated; while Prussians, unfamiliar with the basics of Christianity, prevailed in rural territories. The network of parish churches declined towards the eastern and northern boundaries of the state. Therefore, the mendicant orders operated there on a different model. An examination of its characteristics is carried out by means of an analysis of the stages, development and dynamics of the settlement of mendicant orders in Prussia. An attempt is made to identify the organisation of their provision and the supporting milieu. Particular attention is paid to the impact of mendicant orders on the deepening of the faith of the local Prussian population in the eastern part of the Teutonic Order’s holdings.

Authors present problems connected with horse sacrifices in Early Middle Ages in Prussia. Discoveries nearby Poganowo site IV hill-fort, create new possibilities to discuss about Prussian religion in Early Middle Ages. Stone statue, cairns, hearths and remains of sacrificed horses have similarities to numerous cult places in Europe and in Asia.