Žemaitija is located in northwesternLithuania. Its capital city isTelšiai and the largest city isŠiauliai (located on the border between Samogitia andAukštaitija). Throughout centuries, Samogitia developed a separate culture featuring diverse architecture, folk costumes, dances, songs, traditions, and a distinctSamogitian language.[3]
The region is primarily referred to by its Lithuanian name,Žemaitija, in both local and national contexts. TheLatin-derived term Samogitia, once widely used in historical sources, largely fell out of common administrative and colloquial use in the 19th century. The name Žemaitija, derived from the Lithuanian wordsžemas ("low") andžemė ("land"), translates to "lowlands," reflecting the region’s geographical characteristics. While Samogitia persists in historical and academic discussions, it is considered an archaic exonym in modern contexts, with Žemaitija remaining the standard designation.[4]
Ruthenian sources mentioned the region as жемотьская земля,Žemot'skaja zemlja; this gave rise to itsPolish form,Żmudź, and probably to theMiddle High GermanSameiten, Samaythen. In Latin texts, the name is usually written asSamogitia, Samogetia, etc.[5] The region is also known in English as Lower Lithuania or, in reference to itsYiddish names,זאַמעטZamet orזאַמוטZamut.[5][6][7][8]
Samogitian sub-dialects are marked in brown, red, pink, yellow and orange
The people of Žemaitija speak Samogitian, a variety of Lithuanian that was previously considered one of three main dialects (modern linguists have determined that it is one of two dialects, the other being theAukštaitian dialect and that both of these dialects have subdialects each).
Samogitian has northern and southern dialects, which are further subdivided. A western dialect once existed in theKlaipėda region, but it became extinct afterWorld War II after its inhabitants fled the region as a result of being expelled or persecuted by theSoviet authorities.
In the context of the other Baltic tribes, Žemaičiai (Samogitians) are shown as an ethnic group ofLithuanians.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, theSamogitians of the Klaipėda region called themselves "Lietuvininkai",[citation needed] whereas at the end of the 19th century when the area, known in German as theMemelland, was part ofPrussia (Germany), they were known as "Prūsai". AfterWorld War II, the territory of the western subdialect was resettled mainly by northern and southern Žemaičiai and by other Lithuanians. Samogitian has a broken intonation ("laužtinė priegaidė", a variant of astart-firm accent) similar to that of theLatvian language.[9] In 2010, the Samogitian language was assigned with an ISO 639-3 standard language code ("sgs"), as some languages, that were considered by ISO 639-2 to be dialects of one language, are now in ISO 639-3 in certain contexts considered to be individual languages themselves.[10]
Žemaitija is one of the most ethnically homogeneous regions of the country, with an ethnic Lithuanian population exceeding 99.5% in somedistricts. During the first part of the 19th century, Žemaitija was a major center of Lithuanian culture (Žemaičiai traditionally tended to oppose any anti-Lithuanian restrictions). The local religion is predominantlyRoman Catholic, although there are significantLutheran minorities in the south.
The use of the Samogitian language is decreasing as more people tend to use Lithuanian, although there have been some minor attempts by local councils, especially inTelšiai, to write certain roadside information in Samogitian as well some schools teach children Samogitian in schools.
The modern concept of "dialectological" Žemaitija appeared only by the end of the 19th century. The territory of ancient Samogitia was much larger than current ethnographic or "dialectological" Žemaitija and embraced all of central and western Lithuania.[11]
The very term "Samogitians" is a Latinized form of the ancient Lithuanian name for the region's lowlanders, who dwelt in Central Lithuania's lowlands. The original subethnic Samogitia, i.e. Central Lithuania's flat burial grounds culture, was formed as early as the 5th-6th centuries. The western part of historical Žemaitija (before 12th–13th centuries it was inhabited by southernSemigallians and southernCuronians) became ethnically Lithuanian between the 13th and 16th centuries. The primal eastern boundary of historical Samogitia was theŠventoji River (a tributary of theNeris River); in 1387, the Lithuanian ruler (regent of Lithuania for Jogaila)Skirgaila had expanded the territory of Grand Duke's domain inAukštaitija along theNevėžis River at the expense of Žemaitija.
Lands of the Teutonic Order against the region of the Samogitians in the 15th century
Because during the 13th through 16th centuries theTeutonic Order and theLivonian Order bordered Žemaitija, it was long threatened by their expansionist aims. As such, the Samogitian territory was offered to these orders, or exchanged in peace treaties, a number of times. Lithuania would then regain Žemaitija during subsequent conflicts. For more than two hundred years, old Samogitia played a central role inLithuania's wars against the crusading order of the Teutonic Knights (Knights of the Cross and Knights of the Sword). Invasions started in Lithuania in 1229. Combined military forces undertook numerous campaigns against Samogitians and Lithuanians.Saule (1236),Skuodas (1259),Durbe (1260),Lielvārde (1262) [lt] are just a few of the battles that took place.
Since Žemaitija was the last pagan region in Europe left to be invaded and christened, the Teutonic Order set their sights on this last mission. 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. Year after year, fortresses were attacked, farms and crops were put to the torch, women and children enslaved and men killed. Despite all their effort, the Žemaičiai managed to defend their lands until 1410 decisiveBattle of Grunwald or Žalgiris, where united Polish-Lithuanian forces defeated the Teutonic Order and ended their crusading era.[12]
"We do not know on whose merits or guilt such a decision was made, or with what we have offended Your Lordship so much that Your Lordship has deservedly been directed against us, creating hardship for us everywhere. First of all, you made and announced a decision about the land of Samogitia, which is our inheritance and our homeland from the legal succession of the ancestors and elders. We still own it, it is and has always been the same Lithuanian land, because there isone language and thesame inhabitants. But since the land of Samogitia is located lower than theland of Lithuania, it is called as Samogitia, because inLithuanian it is called lower land [Žemaitija ]. And theSamogitians callLithuania asAukštaitija, that is, from the Samogitian point of view, a higher land. Also, the people of Samogitia have long called themselves as Lithuanians and never as Samogitians, and because of such identity (sic) we do not write about Samogitia in our letter, because everything is one: one country and the same inhabitants."
In the 15th century, Samogitia was the last region in Core Europe to beconverted to Christianity. During the 15–18th centuries, it was known as theDuchy orEldership of Samogitia, which included some territories of what is now consideredAukštaitija andSuvalkija as well. The Duchy of Samogitia was an autonomous administrative unit in theGrand Duchy of Lithuania with some similarities to avoivodeship. In contrast to some other aristocrats of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Lithuanian language was intensively used in the Duchy of Samogitia and itsnobility throughout theearly modern period.[16] This is proven by the letter ofStanisław Radziwiłł to his brotherMikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł immediately after becoming theElder of Samogitia that: "While learning various languages, I forgotLithuanian, and now I see, I have to go to school again, because that language, as I see, God willing, will be needed."[16]
Lithuania proper (in green) and Samogitia (in red) within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in a map from 1712
After thepartitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century, Samogitia was incorporated into theRussian Empire along with the rest of Lithuania. Samogitia was the main source of theLithuanian cultural revival during the 19th century and was a focal point for thesmuggling of books printed in the Lithuanian language, which was banned by the occupying Russians.
In 1883,Edmund Veckenstedt published a bookDie Mythen, Sagen und Legenden der Zamaiten (Litauer) (English:The myths, sagas and legends of the Samogitians (Lithuanians)).[17]
AfterWorld War I, Samogitia became a part of the newly re-established Lithuanian state. The Žemaičiai resisted theBolsheviks and theBermontians. During World War II, Lithuania was first occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, then in 1941 by Nazi Germany, and in 1944 again by the USSR. The Soviet Union recognized the independence of Lithuania on 6 September 1991. The last Soviet troops withdrew in August 1993.
In 1945, the Soviets denied the existence of theLithuania Minor ethnographic region, out of political advantage, and declared the Klaipėda region a part of Samogitia.
Žemaičių Kalvarija (or NewJerusalem as it used to be called) is visited by pilgrims from all around the world, due to its annual The Great Žemaičių Kalvarija Church Festival (usually in June or July).
Variants of the Samogitian flag with small and greater coat of arms.
Thecoat of arms depicts a black bear with silver claws and a collar on a red shield topped with a crown. The greater arms are supported by a knight with a sword and a woman with an anchor and has the mottoPatria Una (Latin: One Fatherland). The current emblazonment of the arms was created by artist Algis Kliševičius.[18]
The flag of Samogitia depicts the coat of arms on a white background. It is aswallowtail flag.[19] A variant of the flag charged with the greater coat of arms additionally has a red border around the flag.[18]
Both symbols are assumed to have been used for centuries, especially the coat of arms (differing claims assert it was first used in the 14th or 16th centuries). The symbols were used by theDuchy of Samogitia. These are the oldest symbols of the Lithuanian ethnographic regions. On 21 July 1994, these symbols were recognized by the government of Lithuania. Following their adoption, there has been much controversy revolving around particular details of both the flag and coat of arms of Samogitia.[20][21][22][23][24]
Because Žemaitija (Samogitia) does not correspond to any current administrative division of Lithuania, these symbols are not officially used anymore. However, the Samogitian bear was used in the coats of arms ofŠiauliai County andTelšiai County. It also appears on the arms of the city ofŠiauliai.
The emblem of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Motorized Infantry BrigadeŽemaitija (Samogitia) is thegriffin with a sword in his right hand and a shield, which features the Samogitian bear, in his left hand.[25]
^"Aukštaitija".Ekgt.lt (in Lithuanian). Etninės kultūros globos taryba (Council for the Protection of Ethnic Culture). Archived fromthe original on 16 October 2021. Retrieved9 May 2021.
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