Great Seal of Lithuania

The Great Seal of Lithuania, which was used during the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski, 1764.

The Great Seal of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos didysis antspaudas; Polish: pieczęć wielka litewska) was a national seal of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which was possessed by the Grand Chancellor of Lithuania until 1795 without which confirmation the internal state acts and international correspondence of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were void, except for instances when the Lithuanian state acts and international correspondence were confirmed with the Lesser Seal of Lithuania which was possessed by the Vice-Chancellor of Lithuania.[1][2][3][4] Both the Great Seal of Lithuania and the Lesser Seal of Lithuania had equal legal force, however an act confirmed by the Grand Chancellor of Lithuania with the Great Seal of Lithuania was more prestigious.[2]

After concluding the Union of Lublin in 1569 which established the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a federative real union state, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania remained a separate state from the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Great Seal of Lithuania was preserved, together with a separate territory, executive branch, laws, chancellor, etc.[5][6] The preservation of the Great Seal of Lithuania meant that the jointly elected monarchs of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth acts were void in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania without their confirmation with the Great Seal of Lithuania.[4][6] For example, Stephen Báthory, a King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, sought to establish the Vilnius University by granting a privilege to the Jesuits College of Vilnius in 1578, however at the time the Grand Chancellor of Lithuania was Mikołaj Radziwiłł the Red of Reformed Christianity faith who refused to confirm Báthory's privilege, establishing a Catholic university, with the Great Seal of Lithuania, therefore Báthory's another privilege regarding the Vilnius University came into force only in 1579 when the Lithuanian Vice-Chancellor Eustachy Wołłowicz confirmed it with the Lesser Seal of Lithuania under pressure of Báthory.[7][8] Moreover, the resolutions of the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took effect in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania only when they were confirmed by the Grand Chancellor of Lithuania with the Great Seal of Lithuania.[1]

Design

In the centre of the Great Seal of Lithuania was depicted the Coat of arms of Lithuania and often Gediminas's Cap above it, while it was surrounded by coats of arms of the most important lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later also Columns of Gediminas.[9][10] The coat of arms of the Grand Chancellor of Lithuania became a significant element of the Great Seal of Lithuania at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries.[11][12]

The pre-1581 version of the Great Seal of Lithuania during the reign of Stephen Báthory contained innacuracies (e.g. it included the coat of arms of the House of Sforza, despite the fact that the new monarch Stephen Báthory was from the Báthory family), therefore its design was possibly based on the earlier Great Seals of Lithuania used during the reign of Sigismund II Augustus (son of Bona Sforza) or Sigismund I the Old, therefore a new design of the Great Seal of Lithuania was ordered in 1581.[13] The updated 1581 Great Seal of Lithuania featured the Coat of arms of Poland above the Coat of arms of Lithuania (which was depicted the largest in the centre of the seal) and the coat of arms of the Báthory family in the upper right side, however in the upper left side was depicted the Columns of Gediminas despite the fact that Stephen Báthory was not from the Gediminids dynasty, unlike earlier Lithuanian monarchs Sigismund II Augustus, Sigismund I the Old.[14]

During the reign of Sigismund III Vasa the outer and inner circles of the 1588–1621 version of the Great Seal of Lithuania featured monarchial titles of Sigismund III Vasa in Latin language (e.g. King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, King of Sweden, etc.).[10] The center of the 1588–1621 Great Seal of Lithuania featured images of the Gediminas's Cap above the Coat of arms of Lithuania and was surrounded by twelve coats of arms: coat of arms of the House of Vasa, eagle, coat of arms of the Vilnius Voivodeship (a variant of the Lithuanian Chase / Vytis), Columns of Gediminas, coat of arms of the Duchy of Samogitia, coat of arms of the land of Siewierz, and coats of arms of other voivodeships of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth: Kiev Voivodeship, Podolia Voivodeship, Lublin Voivodeship, Smolensk Voivodeship, Trakai Voivodeship, Volhynian Voivodeship.[10] The updated 1622–1632 version of the Great Seal of Lithuania featured slightly changed text describing the monarchial titles of Sigismund III Vasa, but in the centre had the same twelve coats of arms surrounding the Coat of arms of Lithuania with the Gediminas's Cap above it.[10] In comparison, the 1588–1618 and 1618–1632 versions of the Lesser Seal of Lithuania in the outer and inner circles had included fewer monarchial titles of Sigismund III Vasa (e.g. excluded Swedish King title) and in the centre was depicted the Coat of arms of Lithuania with Gediminas's Cap above it, however surrounding it there were no coats of arms of voivodeships, Columns of Gediminas, etc.[10]

  • The Great Seal of Lithuania, which was used during the reign of Alexander Jagiellon, 1503.
    The Great Seal of Lithuania, which was used during the reign of Alexander Jagiellon, 1503.
  • The Great Seal of Lithuania, which was used during the reign of Stephen Báthory, 1581.
    The Great Seal of Lithuania, which was used during the reign of Stephen Báthory, 1581.
  • The Great Seal of Lithuania, which was used during the reign of Sigismund I the Old, 1529.
    The Great Seal of Lithuania, which was used during the reign of Sigismund I the Old, 1529.
  • The Great Seal of Lithuania, which was used during the reign of Sigismund III Vasa, 1623.
    The Great Seal of Lithuania, which was used during the reign of Sigismund III Vasa, 1623.
  • The Great Seal of Lithuania, which was used during the reign of Władysław IV Vasa, circa 1635–1648.
    The Great Seal of Lithuania, which was used during the reign of Władysław IV Vasa, circa 1635–1648.
  • The Great Seal of Lithuania, which was used during the reign of John III Sobieski, circa 1674–1696.
    The Great Seal of Lithuania, which was used during the reign of John III Sobieski, circa 1674–1696.
  • The Great Seal of Lithuania, which was used during the reign of Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, circa 1669–1673.
    The Great Seal of Lithuania, which was used during the reign of Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, circa 1669–1673.
  • Great Seals of Lithuania, which were used during the reign of Augustus III, circa 1733–1763.
    Great Seals of Lithuania, which were used during the reign of Augustus III, circa 1733–1763.

References

  1. ^ a b Gudavičius, Edvardas; Spečiūnas, Vytautas. "Kancleris". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  2. ^ a b Diemantaitė, Vita (2020). "Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės kanceliarijos veikla vadovaujant Leonui Sapiegai (1585–1623 m.)". Lietuvos istorijos studijos (in Lithuanian). 45: 47–60. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  3. ^ Gudavičius, Edvardas. "Pakancleris". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  4. ^ a b Bumblauskas, Alfredas (2010). Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštija ir jos tradicija (PDF) (in Lithuanian). Vilnius: Vilniaus universiteto leidykla. p. 167. ISBN 978-9955-33-632-7. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  5. ^ Jasas, Rimantas. "Liublino unija". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  6. ^ a b Eidintas, Alfonsas; Bumblauskas, Alfredas; Kulakauskas, Antanas; Tamošaitis, Mindaugas (2012). Lietuvos istorija. Vilnius: Vilniaus universiteto leidykla. p. 76. ISBN 9786094590924. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  7. ^ "Lietuvos-Lenkijos valstybės raida XVI-XVIII a." Lietuviuzodynas.lt (in Lithuanian). 16 June 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  8. ^ Gavelytė, Ugnė; Dikmonienė, Jovita (8 July 2024). "J. Dikmonienė: „Visais laikais aukštasis mokslas buvo didelė vertybė ir didelės pagarbos ženklas"". Bernardinai.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  9. ^ "Adoption of the May 3rd Constitution" (PDF). Warszawa.ap.gov.pl (in English and Polish): 8. 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d e Krawczuk, Wojciech (1993). Pieczęcie Zygmunta III Wazy (PDF) (in Polish). Kraków: Naukowy Portal Archiwalny. pp. 34–37. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  11. ^ Hlebionek, Marcin; Pokora, Piotr (2012). Refleksje o Pieczęciach królów i królowych Polski (PDF) (in Polish). Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. p. 119. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  12. ^ Hlebionek, Marcin (2011). "Nieznana pieczęć wielka litewska Augusta II". Герольд Litherland (in Polish). 18: 124–127.
  13. ^ Wajs, Hubert. "Przyczynek o królewskich pieczęciach litewskich z XVI-XVII wieku" (PDF). Miscellanea Historico-Archivistica (in Polish). XXIII. Warsaw: Central Archives of Historical Records: 73–75. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  14. ^ Piotrowicz, Ludwik (1933). Wiadomości Numizmatyczno-Archeologiczne: organ Towarzystwa Numizmatycznego w Krakowie (PDF) (in Polish). Kraków: Skład Główny w Księgarni Gebethnera i Wolffa w Krakowie. p. 57. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
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