Historical Geography Journal ISSN 2782-6511 (Print) | ISSN 3034-5286 (Online)

Oleg V. Litskevich
Independent researcher
Minsk, Belarus
E-mail: litz@rambler.ru
ORCID: 0009-0008-9959-1627

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UDC 94(474.5)«1529/1542»:913
DOI: 10.58529/2782-6511-2024-3-3-22-47

ABSTRACT. “Radivil’s” border between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) and the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order was demarcated in 1474–1477 in accordance with the delimitation treaty concluded in 1473. The most important sources for reconstructing the line of this border, in addition to the 1473 treaty itself, are its descriptions made in the 16th century. These are the description of 1529, included in Book 223 of the Lithuanian Metrica, the protocol of demarcation of 1541, known in two Latin-language copies and a translation into Old Polish, and the descriptions of 1542, included in Books 559 and 560 of the Lithuanian Metrica. The article presents an analytical commentary on these sources concerning the section of the border of the GDL with Livonia from the Baltic Sea to the Western Dvina River. Most of the main control points of these descriptions (i.e. toponyms and hydronyms) are localized with reference to topographic maps. Boundary lines reflected in these sources are compared, including those with the modern state borders of Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia. It is concluded that all of the above sources describe “Radivil’s” border as a real physical object, referring to its border markers, and the 1542 descriptions also mention infrastructural objects that remained after the demarcation of “Radivil’s” border (e.g., camp sites of demarcation commission). The boundary line in the 1529 and 1542 descriptions is virtually identical in most sections, except for the sections from the source of the Dobe River to the confluence of the Suseja River with the Memele River and southwest of the Livonian castle of Bauska. There is a significant coincidence of “Radivil’s” border, reflected in the accounts of 1529, 1541 and 1542, with the modern state borders between Lithuania and Latvia and between Belarus and Latvia.

KEYWORDS: borders, borderland, Livonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Teutonic Order, demarcation, delimitation, Lithuanian Metrica.

For citation: Litskevich O. V. [“Radivil’s” Border between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Livonia from the Baltic Sea to the Western Dvina River according to the 1529, 1541 and 1542 Accounts]. Istoriko-geograficheskiy zhurnal [Historical Geography Journal], 2024, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 22–47. DOI: 10.58529/2782-6511-2024-3-3-22-47 (In Russian).

Received 23 April 2024
Accepted 13 August 2024

© 2024 The Author

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