Union of Horodło; Samogitian baptism begins¶

What the chronicles say [Historical record]¶

The Union of Horodło was signed on 2 October 1413 at Horodło on the Bug. Forty-seven Lithuanian noble families were adopted into Polish heraldic clans; Catholics alone could hold the new offices of voivode of Vilnius (Albertas Manvydas) and of Trakai, closing high office to the Orthodox (Wikipedia, Union of Horodło). In November 1413 Jogaila and Vytautas baptised Samogitians for about a week near the Dubysa, Vytautas preaching in the local tongue (Długosz); the process was complete in 1417 with the bishopric of Medininkai. Some scholars think the 1413 mission was modest. The young Oleśnicki at the ceremony is plausible but unattested.

Union of Horodło; Samogitian baptism begins


Tipas	įvykis
Metai	1413-10-02
Status	Istoriniai duomenys
Knyga	IV · Nematoma Karūna
Pastaba	Union of Horodło (1413): Polish heraldic adoption of Lithuanian boyars; Samogitian baptism begins.

Where: Horodło (on the Bug) (on the map)

What really happened [The saga’s invention]¶

For the saga it is a heraldry ceremony that is a declaration of civil war twenty years early. The Samogitian baptism that follows fells the first Hidden Grove, and the Quenched multiply in the hearths. By day Vytautas preaches; by night he thinks of the vault. The Riders of the Reise take to the Samogitian roads.

Consequences¶

The Hidden Groves then fall one by one until the founding of the bishopric (1417). The event now sits at its own place node, Horodło on the Bug (no longer the Lutsk placeholder).

Dramatisation¶

Book IV ch. 2 „Horodlės Herbai“ (a Lithuanian boyar, 2 October 1413, autumn) and ch. 3 „Žemaičių Krikštas“ (Vytautas, November 1413, Samogitia).

Ryšiai

Caused by: Battle of Grunwald / Žalgiris

Causes: Samogitian bishopric founded at Medininkai — The Samogitian baptism begun after Horodło is completed by the 1417 diocese.

Location: Horodło (on the Bug) — Horodło on the Bug, 2 Oct 1413.

Sąsajos¶

graph LR
  ev_grunwald["Battle of Grunwald / Žalgiris"]
  ev_horodlo["Union of Horodło; Samogitian baptism begins"]
  ev_medininkai_bishopric["Samogitian bishopric founded at Medininkai"]
  horodlo["Horodło (on the Bug)"]
  ev_horodlo -->|Location| horodlo
  ev_horodlo -->|Causes| ev_medininkai_bishopric
  ev_grunwald -->|Causes| ev_horodlo
  style ev_horodlo stroke-width:3px