Deltuva

Who holds it

Name

not pinned (in 1219 four dukes of Deltuva sign: Judikis, Pukeikis, Bikšys and Ligeikis)

Title

dukes of Deltuva

Since

not pinned

Confidence

low

Deltuva ('Dyavoltva') is the only Lithuanian land the 1219 treaty names; its four dukes then show it was ruled by several dukes together. Their 1200 forebears are unnamed.

How things stand that morning

Self-governing under its dukes; allied with Lithuania proper.

Wealth

Farming of the Šventoji valley, cattle, forest goods, raids.

Military

The dukes' retinues; the Ukmergė hillfort.

Customs and assemblies

The land's dukes (kunigaikščiai), the heads of its kindreds and the free farmers decide war and peace among themselves; the dukes lead in war, judge disputes and keep the hillforts with the labour of the land. No written law and no town assembly is recorded; the pagan priesthood and sacred groves bind the community. Several lands' dukes join for great raids.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Named in 1219; location from later evidence.

On the map: Baltic lands were clusters of settlement round hillforts divided by forest and bog; the outline is a convention traced along rivers and later boundaries.

Primary sources for Lithuanians

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• The Chronicle of Novgorod (kept year by year; the Synodal manuscript written in the 13th and 14th centuries). Novgorod's own record, kept at St Sophia. Read online
• The Livonian Chronicle of Henry, Henry of Livonia (1225 to 1227). The chief source for the Baltic mission. Read online