SAMOGITIA
By Simas Suziedielis
Samogitia (Zemaiciai, Zemaitija),
western part of Lithuania bounded by the Nevezis river in east, the Baltic Sea on the
west, the
Nemunas river on the south, and the Latvian border on
the north. The major portion of the region constitutes the Western Upland, but its name
refers to the lowlands stretching along both sides of the Nevezis, which divides western
and eastern Lithuania. Both the region and its inhabitants came to be called zemaiciai
(lowlanders; nom. Sig. Zemaitis); the derivative Zemaitija became the accepted designation
for the region fairly recently. Similarly, the Lithuanians living in the more elevated
areas of eastern Lithuania are known as aukstaiciai (highlanders). In the 1322 treaty
between Lithuania and the Livonian Order the region is listed under the name Samaythen.
Latin and German sources of the 13th-15th century refer to the area as Samaiten, Samaitae,
Zamaytae, Samagittia, Samattae, Samethia, and from the 16th century onwards, as Samogitia.
The latter name has been retained to the present day in the English language.
systematically attacked and raided. Before the final subjugation of the Prussians by the
Knights of the Cross in 1283, attacks of Samogitia were carried out from Livonia. On
several occasions the invading Christians suffered serious losses at the hands of the
Lithuanians, namely at the battles of Skuodas (1259), Durbe (1260), and Lielvarde (1261),
Subsequently both branches undertook campaigns against Samogitia. Year after year,
Samogitian fortresses were attacked , farms and crops were put to the torch, livestock
rustled away, women and children enslaved, and able bodied men killed. The inhabitants
living closer to the Nemunas river were forced to move deeper into Samogitia, where they
found refuge in the region’s plentiful and extensive forests and marshes. While their
secret underwater fords led to the fortresses and safety, these passageways served as
traps and barriers against the attacking crusaders. However, during the cold winter
months, when the marshes and rivers froze, their sanctuaries became vulnerable. The
district of Medininkai, the central part of Samogitia, was attacked in 1314, when
approximately, 700 persons were taken prisoner. In 1329 the fortress of Medvegalis, in
which several thousand soldiers, women, and children had taken refuge, was stormed by the
crusaders. The king of Bohemia, John of Luxemburg, and the French poet Guilaume Machaut,
who later made famous this attack, both took part in the siege. Between 1345 and 1382, the
Knights of the Cross attacked from Prussia some 70 times, while the Livonian Knights of
the Sword made 30 military forays. The Lithuanians retaliated with 31 attacks of Prussia
and 11 on Livonia. Since the Germans viewed Samogitia and Lithuania as serious obstacles
to further expansion to the East (Drang nach Osten), the bitter warfare held in the
balance not only the future of Samogitia but also that of the entire Lithuanian state. 
gave away Samogitia as far as the Nevezis river. The
Order soon built several fortresses in the acquired territory and to subdue the
inhabitants began taking hostages from Samogitian nobility. These measures proved to be
ineffective. The Samogitians revolted in 1401 and 1409 and drove out the Teutonic Knights.
The latter revolt was indirectly aided by Vytautas who had decided to engage the Knights
in a decisive battle. But even after the order’s defeat at the battle of Tannenberg
(1410), the Order did not give up its pretensions to Samogitia, and diplomatic manoeuvring
over its control continued for the next decade. Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg was asked
to rule on the validity of the Order’s claims to the region and in 1420 announced a
decision in favour of the Order. Naturally, this was not acceptable to the Lithuanians who
finally settled the question by completely defeating the Teutonic Order in 1422. Because
of the long struggle with the Teutonic Knights, Samogitia was more or less isolated and
evolved differently from the remainder of the country; the county’s rulers granted
its inhabitants privileges not conferred upon others. When other areas Lithuania were
divided into palatinates after the Polish system, Samogitia remained a separate
administrative unit with a nominal degree of autonomy. It was governed by an elder(Lith.
Seniunas) elected at the dirtiness of the nobility and approved by the Grand Prince.
Samogitia also retained its administrative structure of townships, which were ruled by
appointed officials, although the nobility had a strong voice in local government matters.
There were more private than royal estates and more free farmers than elsewhere in the
country. The common citizen, the peasant, had more rights than his counterpart in
Lithuania. Instead of being a serf, he only paid a certain fee to the estates. 
Lithuanian national renascence movement found its strongest support.
Samogitian authors such as Dionizas Poska (dead 1830), Silvestras Valiunas (dead 1831),
Simonas Stanevicius (dead 1848), Simonas Daukantas (dead 1864) were to a great part
responsible for arousing the interest of their fellow countrymen in their language
folklore, and history. Resistance to russiffication increased markedly between 1864 and
1904 in response to the ban of Lithuanian books and literature. The Samogitians were the
first , under the leadership of Bishop Motiejus Valancius (dead 1875), to organise an
effective clandestine book smuggling network to circumvent the ban. Bloody clashes between
Russian troops and the local population occurred when the former began closing churches
and monasteries. Especially severe were the riots at Tytuvenai (1864), Kestaiciai (1886),
and Kraziai (1893).