How the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was baptized

On July 6, 1253, Prince Mindovg was crowned in Novogrudok, becoming the first and last king in the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Of the senior princes

For the first time the name of Mindovg was mentioned in the chronicles in 1219, when more than 20 princes of the Baltic tribes were negotiating with the Galicia-Volyn principality. There he is named one of the "senior" princes in Lithuania. In 1238, Mindovg was an ally of the Volyn prince in a campaign against the prince of Mazovia (modern Poland) Conrad, together with the Novogrudok prince Izyaslav.

Chronicles of 1248 mention the name of Mindovg in connection with Novogrudok, the most important center of the Upper Ponemanye. Mindovg, a Baltic prince, was invited to take the throne in the Slavic Novogrudok. Approximately from this moment, between 1238 and 1248, the birth of a new Belarusian-Lithuanian state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania begins. Both of them had mutual interests in the association.

So, at that time, the inhabitants of Novogrudok, Slonim, Volkovysk and other cities of the Upper Ponemanye were much more developed compared to their Baltic neighbors. They already had their own state, the townspeople were engaged in crafts and trade, including international trade, went to church. At the same time, the ancestors of the Lithuanians - the Baltic tribes - were not united into one state, they lived mainly in forest settlements and were pagans. But they were good fighters. Just the military force of the neighbors was necessary for the inhabitants of Novogrudok. That is why they invited the Balt Mindovg to reign with his warriors.

Mindovg, like the princes who ruled after him, approached the issue of choosing a religion exclusively pragmatically. Researchers are inclined to believe that he did not receive Orthodox baptism at all. Extremely difficult foreign policy circumstances forced him to accept baptism according to the Roman Catholic rite. A powerful coalition of almost all neighbors came out against the young Belarusian-Lithuanian state: the Teutonic Order in Prussia and Livonia, the Galicia-Volyn principality, the Yatvingian, Zhmud and Cuman tribes.

Pragmatic Faith

Thanks to the transition to Catholicism, Mindovg was able to get rid of the onslaught of the powerful Teutonic Order, whose mission was to promote Catholicism in the East. In addition, the baptism of Mindovg in the Roman Catholic rite, together with his courtiers in 1251, despite its tactical nature, brought the young Belarusian-Lithuanian state closer to Western Europe.

The cunning diplomat Mindovg at baptism, in order to appease the Teutons, also allegedly gave them the territory of Zhmudi. The transfer of lands took place, but the allotments that Mindovg presented did not belong to him at all: they lay to the north of his principality.

Together with Mindovg, his wife Marta also received the crown. By order of the landmaster of the Livonian Order in Riga, two crowns adorned with precious stones were made for the newly-made king and queen.

The ceremony was conducted by Bishop Henry. Ales Kravtsevich, today the most authoritative specialist in the early history of the Belarusian-Lithuanian state, reconstructed the coronation process. First, the monarch was anointed with consecrated oil, then he put on a ceremonial outfit of sandals and white robes. This was followed by the presentation of the royal mantle, sword, fibula (clasp) for the mantle, etc. The coronation most likely took place in the church of Boris and Gleb in Novogrudok, since there was no Catholic church there then.

Back to the pagans

As sources show, before the coronation, Mindovg was called the "Grand Duke", and after - the "King of Lithuania". He was also called "King of Lithuania" in Rome, as can be seen from the correspondence of the Roman Curia even before the coronation of Mindaugas.

But seven years later, history turns 360 degrees. In 1260, Mindovg renounces his royal title and returns to traditional paganism.

Despite the solemnity of the coronation, one should not forget that this was a tactical step designed to weaken the aggression on the part of the Teutonic Order. When in 1260 the Zhmudins defeated the German knights on Lake Durbe, and in Prussia itself an uprising of local residents against the Teutons began, it was much easier for Mindovg to abandon the royal title, and with it, Christianity. Moreover, Mindovg expelled Bishop Christian. And already in 1262, he entered into an alliance with the Novgorod prince Alexander against the Livonian Order.

In that brief period of existence of the kingdom, the ruler made sure that his title was inherited by one of his sons. Mindovg corresponded with the Pope regarding a possible coronation, most likely Rukl, since the eldest son Voyshelk became a monk, which in the Middle Ages excluded his active participation in political life. But these plans were never carried out.

The reason why after Mindovg there were no more kings in the Belarusian-Lithuanian state, of course, can be considered the suppression of the Mindovg dynasty. The policy of strengthening the power of the prince caused discontent among the tribal Baltic aristocracy, and in 1263 Mindovg was killed. Almost all of his direct male heirs also perished. This was followed by a period of political upheavals, struggles among themselves, including Mindovg's relatives, and a change in the ruling dynasty. In addition, it was Mindovg who laid the model for the pragmatic baptism of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania into Catholicism, which also did not favor the desire for a royal title.

And although Mindovg remained the only king in the history of the country, he laid a new state on the map of Europe - the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

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