Editing History of Lithuania (section)

====Jogaila's Catholic conversion and rule====
[[File:Šv._Mikalojaus_bažnyčios_šonas_2.jpg|thumb|[[St. Nicholas Church, Vilnius|St. Nicholas]] in Vilnius, the oldest church in Lithuania]]
As the power of the Lithuanian warlord dukes expanded to the south and east, the cultivated [[East Slavs|East Slavic]] Ruthenians exerted influence on the Lithuanian ruling class.<ref name="Snyder 17-18">Snyder (2003), pp. 17–18</ref> They brought with them the [[Church Slavonic language|Church Slavonic]] [[Christian liturgy|liturgy]] of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] Christian religion, a written language (Chancery Slavonic) that was developed to serve the Lithuanian court's document-producing needs for a few centuries, and a system of laws. By these means, Ruthenians transformed [[Vilnius]] into a major center of Kievan Rus' civilization.<ref name="Snyder 17-18"/> By the time of Jogaila's acceptance of Catholicism at the [[Union of Krewo]] in 1385, many institutions in his realm and members of his family had been to a large extent assimilated already into the Orthodox Christianity and became Russified (in part a result of the deliberate policy of the Gediminid ruling house).<ref name="Snyder 17-18"/><ref name="Lukowski 38-40"/>

[[File:Master Andrey Ladislaus II Jagiello kneeling before the Virgin Mary.jpg|thumb|left|[[Ruthenia]]n depiction of Christian [[Jogaila]]]]
Catholic influence and contacts, including those derived from German settlers, traders and missionaries from Riga,<ref name="Ochmański 67">Ochmański (1982), p. 67</ref> had been increasing for some time around the northwest region of the empire, known as Lithuania proper. The [[Franciscan]] and [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] friar orders existed in Vilnius from the time of [[Gediminas]]. [[Kęstutis]] in 1349 and [[Algirdas]] in 1358 negotiated Christianization with the pope, the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and the Polish king. The [[Christianization of Lithuania]] thus involved both Catholic and Orthodox aspects. Conversion by force as practiced by the [[Teutonic Knights]] had actually been an impediment that delayed the progress of Western Christianity in the grand duchy.<ref name="Baczkowski 55-61"/>

[[Jogaila]], a grand duke since 1377, was himself still a pagan at the start of his reign. In 1386, agreed to the offer of the Polish crown by leading Polish nobles, who were eager to take advantage of Lithuania's expansion, if he become a Catholic and married the 13-year-old crowned king (not queen) [[Jadwiga of Poland|Jadwiga]].<ref name="Lukowski 37">Lukowski & Zawadzki (2001), p. 37</ref> For the near future, Poland gave Lithuania a valuable ally against increasing threats from the Teutonic Knights and the [[Grand Duchy of Moscow]]. Lithuania, in which Ruthenians outnumbered ethnic Lithuanians by several times, could ally with either the Grand Duchy of Moscow or Poland. A Russian deal was also negotiated with [[Dmitry Donskoy]] in 1383–1384, but Moscow was too distant to be able to assist with the problems posed by the Teutonic orders and presented a difficulty as a center competing for the loyalty of the Orthodox Lithuanian Ruthenians.<ref name="Baczkowski 55-61"/><ref name="Lukowski 38-40">Lukowski & Zawadzki (2001), pp. 38–40</ref>

[[File:Union of Krewo.jpg|thumb|[[Union of Krewo|Act of Kreva]] signed on 14 August 1385]]
Jogaila was baptized, given the baptismal name Władysław, married Queen Jadwiga, and was crowned [[List of Polish monarchs|King of Poland]] in February 1386.<ref name="Ochmański 74-76">Ochmański (1982), pp. 74–76</ref><ref name="Baczkowski 61-68">Krzysztof Baczkowski – ''Dzieje Polski późnośredniowiecznej (1370–1506)'' (History of Late Medieval Poland (1370–1506)), pp. 61–68</ref>

Jogaila's baptism and crowning were followed by the final and official [[Christianization of Lithuania]].<ref name="Lukowski 38-42">Lukowski & Zawadzki (2001), pp. 38–42</ref> In the fall of 1386, the king returned to Lithuania and the next spring and summer participated in mass conversion and baptism ceremonies for the general population.<ref name="Ochmański 76-78">Ochmański (1982), pp. 76–78</ref> The establishment of a bishopric in Vilnius in 1387 was accompanied by Jogaila's extraordinarily generous endowment of land and peasants to the Church and exemption from state obligations and control. This instantly transformed the Lithuanian Church into the most powerful institution in the country (and future grand dukes lavished even more wealth on it). Lithuanian boyars who accepted baptism were rewarded with a more limited privilege improving their legal rights.<ref name="Ochmański 78-79">Ochmański (1982), pp. 78–79</ref><ref name="Baczkowski 68-74">Krzysztof Baczkowski – ''Dzieje Polski późnośredniowiecznej (1370–1506)'' (History of Late Medieval Poland (1370–1506)), pp. 68–74</ref> Vilnius' townspeople were granted self-government. The Church proceeded with its civilizing mission of literacy and education, and the [[estates of the realm]] started to emerge with their own separate identities.<ref name="Bumblauskas 44-47"/>

Jogaila's orders for his court and followers to convert to Catholicism were meant to deprive the Teutonic Knights of the justification for their practice of forced conversion through military onslaughts. In 1403 the pope prohibited the Order from conducting warfare against Lithuania, and its threat to Lithuania's existence (which had endured for two centuries) was indeed neutralized. In the short term, Jogaila needed Polish support in his struggle with his cousin Vytautas.<ref name="Bumblauskas 44-47"/><ref name="Lukowski 38-40"/>