Lithuanians III

1569-1650 CE

From 1569 to 1650 CE, the Lithuanians became strangers in their own commonwealth — the Union of Lublin preserving their Grand Duchy in name while Polish language and Catholic faith absorbed their nobility, their statutes still printed in Ruthenian while their lords spoke Polish in their manors. The dynasty that had built the last pagan empire now wore Polish crowns, and Lithuania slowly forgot it had ever ruled.