The endowment policy of the grand Lithuanian dukes in Zmudz in the first half of the 15th century
The protracted conflict for the throne between the offsring of Giedymin resulted in numerous endowments of successive rulers of Lithuania for the Lithuanian boyars as well as the extension of the rights to own patrimonies and benefices. Samogitia was practically excluded from this process due to the fact that towards the beginning of the 15th century, it fell under the rule of the Teutonic Order; this situation continued after the incorporation of Zmudz into the Grand Lithuanian Duchy in 1409. The Order continued to have its claims with regard to Zmudz right up to the year 1422. The weakness of the grand dukes which revealed itself from time to time as well as the activity of the Teutonic Order, made it difficult for the Lithuanian rulers to create a wider class of people who remained in the service of the state, that is boyars. That is why, the grand duke Witold began to grant endowments and land to the Zmudz nobles and in this way led to the formation of the local boyar class. The analysis of the endowment acts (altogether 75) from the times of the rule of Witold, Zygmunt Kiejstuto-
wicz and those granted at the beginning of the rule of Casimir the Jagiellon (until the end of 1447) shows that the large land holdings (latyfundia) in Zmudz arose not earlier than at the beginning of the rule of Casimir the Jagiellon and because of the haste with which the numerous benefices had been granted, no strong personal and emotional bonds between the ruler and the numerous Zmudz boyar class had been formed.
