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Oxford History of Early Modern Europe
The Oxford History of Poland-Lithuania Volume I: The Making of the Polish-Lithuanian Union, 1385-1569
The history of eastern European is dominated by the story of the rise of the Russian empire, yet Russia only emerged as a major power after 1700. For 300 years the greatest power in Eastern Europe was the union between the kingdom of Poland and the grand duchy of Lithuania, one of the longest-lasting political unions in European history. Yet because it ended in the late-eighteenth century in what are misleadingly termed the Partitions of Poland, it barely features in standard accounts of European history.
The Making of the Polish-Lithuanian Union 1385-1569 tells the story of the formation of a consensual, decentralised, multinational, and religiously plural state built from below as much as above, that was founded by peaceful negotiation, not war and conquest. From its inception in 1385-6, a vision of political union was developed that proved attractive to Poles, Lithuanians, Ruthenians, and Germans, a union which was extended to include Prussia in the 1450s and Livonia in the 1560s. Despite the often bitter disagreements over the nature of the union, these were nevertheless overcome by a republican vision of a union of peoples in one political community of citizens under an elected monarch. Robert Frost challenges interpretations of the union informed by the idea that the emergence of the sovereign nation state represents the essence of political modernity, and presents the Polish-Lithuanian union as a case study of a composite state.
The modern history of Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belarus cannot be understood without an understanding of the legacy of the Polish-Lithuanian union. This volume is the first detailed study of the making of that union ever published in English.
The Making of the Polish-Lithuanian Union 1385-1569 tells the story of the formation of a consensual, decentralised, multinational, and religiously plural state built from below as much as above, that was founded by peaceful negotiation, not war and conquest. From its inception in 1385-6, a vision of political union was developed that proved attractive to Poles, Lithuanians, Ruthenians, and Germans, a union which was extended to include Prussia in the 1450s and Livonia in the 1560s. Despite the often bitter disagreements over the nature of the union, these were nevertheless overcome by a republican vision of a union of peoples in one political community of citizens under an elected monarch. Robert Frost challenges interpretations of the union informed by the idea that the emergence of the sovereign nation state represents the essence of political modernity, and presents the Polish-Lithuanian union as a case study of a composite state.
The modern history of Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belarus cannot be understood without an understanding of the legacy of the Polish-Lithuanian union. This volume is the first detailed study of the making of that union ever published in English.
528 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2015
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585 people want to read
About the author
Robert I. Frost
5 books11 followersRobert Frost was educated at the universities of St Andrews, Cracow, and London. After teaching for eighteen years at King's College London, he moved in 2004 to the University of Aberdeen, where he currently holds the Burnett Fletcher Chair in History. He is interested in the history of eastern and northern Europe from the fourteenth to the nineteenth centuries. His principal research interests are in the history of Poland-Lithuania, and in the history of warfare in the early modern period.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 26, 2018
It's a pity that it is not possible to give 3.5 stars on Goodreads. Very comprehensive and lively explanation of Polish-Lithuanian politics in the 14-16th centuries. The middle part is a hard to get through but the beginnig and the end make up for that!
July 5, 2016
Well-researched, well-argued, well-written; best and most comprehensive treatment of early Poland-Lithuania in English.
August 18, 2019
This has to be the definitive History of Poland-Lithuania written in English. It is a book that highlights the importance of such a particular political union such as the Polish-Lithuanian one, with in depth examination of geopolitical, socio-economic and military factors which led to one of the most intricate medieval/early modern bi-confederations from Eastern Europe. Extremely comprehensive, well structured and informative read which made me look forward to volume 2.
May 2, 2025
An unexpected part 1 of the Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth, it's a high level look at the first half of the history of unified government. Frost has a clear focus on the high level government and political/legal battles on unification or separation and dives extremely deep into those matters. That does leave the breadth a bit lacking (except one very good chapter on the peasantry and serfdom) as there's little here on military, cultural, religious, economic movements and moments. There's glimpses throughout but in a history that can feel it gets to name happy and dries out at times you wish for more of these items. And it can be a historians history and reads like one unlike some "Oxford History of..." works I've read that are much more smooth and engaging throughout. That said, any area Frost focuses on is deeply explained and understood with sweeping examination of both primary and secondary sources stretching back centuries and a good summary and argument for or against variously stated theories of the events described. An exercise in heavy lifting considering the extremely nationalist 20th century histories that Poland-Lithuania history got caught up in.
But it's still one of the best English language histories of a polity straddling the edges of Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle and Modern ages that is engrossing and interesting enough that I do look forward to the release of the second volume.
But it's still one of the best English language histories of a polity straddling the edges of Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle and Modern ages that is engrossing and interesting enough that I do look forward to the release of the second volume.
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December 27, 2022This book is not a chronicle of the lives of wise kings, proud princes or treacherous advisers. It is a comprehensive treatise of the social, economic and political forces which shaped the merger of Poland and Lithuania, leading eventually to the Union of Lublin.
June 5, 2019
From an essay I wrote in Fall 2018
The Oxford History of Poland Lithuania Volume 1 is an interesting combination of a survey and an argument. The book makes strong arguments about the process of the formation of union between Poland and Lithuania, but the book also presents a narrative story of that same union, and chronicles many developments that at times only seem tangential to the main thrust of the book. The book generally follows a chronological structure, with occasional chapters on culture or economics that break up the main narrative. Frost writes that he originally intended to write a history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with this period as an introduction, but it eventually grew to a 500-page book of its own. The second volume of The Oxford History of Poland-Lithuania will cover the period from 1570-1815, though Frost promises to include more Renaissance cultural history in that volume.
The essential points that Frost makes in this volume are that Poland and Lithuania were united in more than a personal union before 1569, and that their union was as much a product of Lithuanian desires as of "Polish Imperialism." He looks at treaties made between Poland and Lithuania before The Union of Lublin, and often concludes that they represented something more than a personal union. For example, about the Treaty of Vilnius-Radom (1401) he says, "Vilnius-Radom was, nevertheless, far more than just a private dynastic arrangement. It was a confirmation of the union that represented the first real attempt to define how it might work in practice. " Frost examines each treaty in depth, scrutinizing the language used, though he is also sensitive to how they were really followed in practice. After the chapter on Vilnius-Radom is one called "Fruits of Union," which describes how the closer relationship formed by the treaty led to the combined military efforts against the Teutonic Order that resulted in the Polish-Lithuanian victory at the Battle of Grunwald. He also brings up the increasing cultural union between the two states, which largely saw the adoption of elements of Polish culture by the Lithuanian elite.
At the end of the book Frost concludes that the union, "ultimately reached fruition on account of the idea not of a union of realms or states, but of a fraternal union of peoples, a community of the realms. The germ of this idea was present in the Horodło treaty, but it was the Lithuanians, not the Poles, who developed it in the years after 1429. " Throughout the book he opposes Lithuanian historiography, which sees many developments as Polish imperialism, and at the same time he opposes Polish historiography that is sometimes keen to show that there was a closer union between the two nations than there actually was.
The book is largely effective in its aims. It is clear when reading it that the union between Poland and Lithuania was more than a simple personal, dynastic union. The one possible weakness of the book is that its survey-like nature sometimes distracts from the main argument. He has several sections on economics and culture that sometimes have details that seem irrelevant to his main points. While he does often tie them to the political developments that are the heart of the book, the narrative would be much more streamlined without them. Still, the sections are generally well-written and argued, and add to the reference value of the book.
The Oxford History of Poland Lithuania Volume 1 is an interesting combination of a survey and an argument. The book makes strong arguments about the process of the formation of union between Poland and Lithuania, but the book also presents a narrative story of that same union, and chronicles many developments that at times only seem tangential to the main thrust of the book. The book generally follows a chronological structure, with occasional chapters on culture or economics that break up the main narrative. Frost writes that he originally intended to write a history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with this period as an introduction, but it eventually grew to a 500-page book of its own. The second volume of The Oxford History of Poland-Lithuania will cover the period from 1570-1815, though Frost promises to include more Renaissance cultural history in that volume.
The essential points that Frost makes in this volume are that Poland and Lithuania were united in more than a personal union before 1569, and that their union was as much a product of Lithuanian desires as of "Polish Imperialism." He looks at treaties made between Poland and Lithuania before The Union of Lublin, and often concludes that they represented something more than a personal union. For example, about the Treaty of Vilnius-Radom (1401) he says, "Vilnius-Radom was, nevertheless, far more than just a private dynastic arrangement. It was a confirmation of the union that represented the first real attempt to define how it might work in practice. " Frost examines each treaty in depth, scrutinizing the language used, though he is also sensitive to how they were really followed in practice. After the chapter on Vilnius-Radom is one called "Fruits of Union," which describes how the closer relationship formed by the treaty led to the combined military efforts against the Teutonic Order that resulted in the Polish-Lithuanian victory at the Battle of Grunwald. He also brings up the increasing cultural union between the two states, which largely saw the adoption of elements of Polish culture by the Lithuanian elite.
At the end of the book Frost concludes that the union, "ultimately reached fruition on account of the idea not of a union of realms or states, but of a fraternal union of peoples, a community of the realms. The germ of this idea was present in the Horodło treaty, but it was the Lithuanians, not the Poles, who developed it in the years after 1429. " Throughout the book he opposes Lithuanian historiography, which sees many developments as Polish imperialism, and at the same time he opposes Polish historiography that is sometimes keen to show that there was a closer union between the two nations than there actually was.
The book is largely effective in its aims. It is clear when reading it that the union between Poland and Lithuania was more than a simple personal, dynastic union. The one possible weakness of the book is that its survey-like nature sometimes distracts from the main argument. He has several sections on economics and culture that sometimes have details that seem irrelevant to his main points. While he does often tie them to the political developments that are the heart of the book, the narrative would be much more streamlined without them. Still, the sections are generally well-written and argued, and add to the reference value of the book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews