Christianization Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Lithuania === [[File:Grand Duchy of Lithuania Rus and Samogitia 1434.jpg|thumb|Grand Duchy of Lithuania Rus and Samogitia 1434|alt=map of Lithuania in 1434]] The last of the Baltic crusades was the conflict between the mostly German [[Teutonic Order]] and [[Lithuania]] in the far northeastern reaches of Europe. Lithuania is sometimes described as "the last pagan nation in medieval Europe".{{sfn|Wyrwińska|2022|pp=48–63}} The Teutonic Order was a mostly German crusading organization from the Christian Holy Land founded by members of the [[Knights Hospitaller]]. Medieval historian Aiden Lilienfeld says "In 1226, however, the [[Konrad I of Masovia|Duke of Mazovia]] ... granted the Order territory in eastern Prussia in exchange for help in subjugating pagan Baltic peoples".{{sfn|Lilienfeld|2022}} Over the course of the next 200 years, the Order expanded its territory to cover much of the eastern Baltic coast.{{sfn|Lilienfeld|2022}} [[File:Jadwiga by Bacciarelli.jpg|thumb|Jadwiga_by_Bacciarelli|alt=photo of painting by Bacciarelli of the young Polish King Jadwiga]] In 1384, [[Jadwiga of Poland|Jadwiga]], the ten year old daughter of [[Louis I of Hungary|Louis the Great, King of Hungary and Poland]] and his wife [[Elizabeth of Bosnia]], was crowned ''king'' of Poland. One year later, a marriage was arranged between her and the [[Władysław II Jagiełło|Grand Duke Jogaila]] of Lithuania. Duke Jogaila was baptized, married, and crowned king in 1386, thus beginning the 400 year shared history of Poland and Lithuania.{{sfn|Wyrwińska|2022|pp=3–4}} This would seem to obviate the need for religious crusade, yet activity against local populations, particularly the [[Samogitia|Samogitian]] peoples of the eastern Baltic, continued in a frequently brutal manner.{{sfn|Lilienfeld|2022}} The Teutonic Order eventually fell to Poland-Lithuania in 1525. Lilienfeld says "After this, the Order's territory was divided between Poland-Lithuania and the Hohenzollern dynasty of Brandenburg, putting an end to the monastic state and the formal Northern Crusade. All of the Order's most powerful cities–Danzig (Gdansk), Elbing (Elblag), Marienburg (Malbork), and Braunsberg (Braniewo)–now fall within Poland in the 21st century, except for Koenigsburg (Kaliningrad) in Russia."{{sfn|Lilienfeld|2022}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page