Authors

Discussion

The aim of this paper is to analyze disruptions in the expression of communality in Lithuanian political discourse during the early modern period, within the framework of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The process of integration in the former Commonwealth was multidimensional and resulted from two opposing tendencies: the gradual cultural assimilation within the nobility and the political elites' efforts to preserve regional distinctiveness, which manifested in resistance to centralizing tendencies.

The existing literature on the subject often presents this process in a linear manner, downplaying the role of political language as a factor in expressing communal identity. However, preliminary research findings indicate a complex and nonlinear dynamic within Lithuanian political discourse, where, from the moment of the Union of Lublin, a sense of distinctiveness coexisted with a simultaneous sense of belonging to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The mid–17th century was a period of profound turmoil in the history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Beginning in 1648, the state confronted the challenges of a Cossack uprising, followed by prolonged conflicts with Moscow and Sweden, leading to a deepening political and military crisis. A particularly significant event during this period was the Lithuanian–Swedish Treaty signed in Kėdainiai in 1655 – an agreement reached in response to external threats, which some scholars interpret as a de facto severance of the union with Poland. This treaty is often viewed as an expression of Lithuanian particularism or even separatism, aligning with the broader issue of the struggle to preserve Lithuanian identity within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Language, as a vehicle for social and political structures, not only reflects historical transformations but also actively shapes them. It is not merely a tool of communication but also a means of expressing identity and a mechanism for articulating communal attitudes. In my paper, drawing on the methodologies of historical sociolinguistics and conceptual history, I will analyze disruptions in the expression of communality in early modern Lithuanian political discourse, with a particular focus on the Treaty of Kėdainiai in the context of broader integration processes.

I will seek to answer the following questions: How was particular identity constructed and justified in Lithuanian political discourse, and how was its relationship to the broader community of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth articulated?What language strategies were employed to legitimize political actions leading to the redefinition of Lithuania’s status within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth? What socio-political conditions shaped the disruptions in the expression of communality and their manifestations in Lithuanian political discourse?