Lithuanian nobility in the context of "House of Gediminas"

A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Comparable to Dukes/Grand Dukes, Boyars were second only to the ruling princes, grand princes or tsars from the 10th to the 17th centuries.

The Baltic German nobility was a privileged social class in the territories of modern-day Estonia and Latvia. It existed continuously from the Northern Crusades and the medieval foundation of Terra Mariana.

Most of the nobility consisted of Baltic Germans, but with the changing political landscape over the centuries, Polish, Swedish, Russian, Danish, and even Scottish families also became part of the nobility, just as Baltic German families re-settled in locations such as the Swedish and Russian Empires. The nobility of Lithuania is for historical, social and ethnic reasons separated from the German-dominated nobility of Estonia and Latvia.

The Ruthenian nobility (Ukrainian: Руська шляхта, romanized: Ruska shlyakhta; Belarusian: Руская шляхта, romanized: Ruskaja šlachta; Polish: szlachta ruska) originated in the territories of Kievan Rus' and Galicia–Volhynia, which were incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and later the Russian and Austrian Empires. The Ruthenian nobility became increasingly Polonized and later Russified, while retaining a separate cultural identity.

The Ruthenian nobility, originally characterized as East Slavic-speaking and Eastern Orthodox, found itself ruled by the expanding Grand Duchy of Lithuania, where it rose from second class status to equal partners of the Lithuanian nobility. Following the Polish–Lithuanian union of the 14th century, the Ruthenian nobles became increasingly Polonized, adopting the Polish language and religion (which increasingly meant converting from the Orthodox faith to Roman Catholicism). Ruthenian nobility, however, retained a distinct identity within the body of the Polish-Lithuanian szlachta, leading to the Latin expression gente Ruthenus, natione Polonus or gente Rutheni, natione Poloni (translated as "of Polish nationality, but Ruthenian origin", "of Ruthenia race and Polish nation", or in various similar veins), although the extent to which they retained and maintained this separate identity is still debated by scholars, and varied based on time and place.

The Union of Horodło or Pact of Horodło was a set of three acts signed in the town of Horodło on 2 October 1413. The first act was signed by Władysław II Jagiełło, King of Poland, and Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. The second and third acts were composed by the Polish nobility (szlachta) and Lithuanian boyars, respectively. The union amended the earlier Polish–Lithuanian unions of Krewo and Vilnius–Radom. Politically, Lithuania received more autonomy as, after the death of Vytautas, the Lithuanian nobles could choose another Grand Duke instead of passing the title to Władysław II Jagiełło or his heir. However, culturally, Lithuania and Poland grew closer. Lithuania adopted Polish institutions of castellans and voivodes. Catholic Lithuanian nobles and church officials were granted equal rights with the Polish nobles and clergy. Forty-seven selected Lithuanian nobles were adopted by Polish families and granted Polish coats of arms. Thus the union signified the beginnings of the Polonization of Lithuanian culture and the rise of the Lithuanian nobility. It was one of the major steps towards the modernization and Europeanization of Lithuania.

The Poles in Lithuania (Polish: Polacy na Litwie, Lithuanian: Lietuvos lenkai), also called Lithuanian Poles, estimated at 183,000 people in the 2021 Lithuanian census or 6.5% of Lithuania's total population, are the country's largest ethnic minority.

The first Polish people in Lithuania were mainly enslaved war captives from the Polish–Lithuanian Wars (13th–14th centuries). During the subsequent Polish–Lithuanian union until the Commonwealth's end in 1795, there was a gradual Polonization of Lithuania's upper classes, namely the nobility, which still maintained a Lithuanian identity. In addition, there was an influx of Poles into the country. Polish migration to Lithuania continued despite the Third Lithuanian Statute's attempt to prohibit Polish settlement.

Marie Louise Gonzaga (Italian: Maria Luisa, Polish: Ludwika Maria, Lithuanian: Liudvika Marija; 18 August 1611 – 10 May 1667) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania by marriage to two kings of Poland and grand dukes of Lithuania, brothers Władysław IV and John II Casimir. Together with Bona Sforza (1494–1557), she is regarded as one of the most influential and powerful queen consorts of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Born in Nevers to Charles I, Duke of Mantua and Catherine of Guise, Marie was brought up at the French court as the future bride of Duke Gaston of Orléans. In 1645, she married Władysław IV of Poland with whom she did not have a harmonious relationship. After his death in 1648, the widowed queen married his half-brother and successor, John II Casimir. Marie Louise exercised considerable influence over her second husband and dictated the political course in the country. An ambitious and energetic woman, she was a strong supporter of an absolute monarchy for which she was reviled by certain spheres of the Polish szlachta and Lithuanian nobility. She, nevertheless, remained active in the Commonwealth's politics and co-sponsored the foundation of the first Polish newspaper, Merkuriusz Polski Ordynaryjny (Polish Mercury Ordinary), in 1661 as well as other public institutions.

The Columns of Gediminas or Pillars of Gediminas (Lithuanian: Gediminaičių stulpai, lit. 'Pillars of the Gediminids'; Belarusian: Калюмны, romanized: Kaliumny, 'Columns') are one of the earliest symbols of Lithuania and its historical coats of arms. They were used in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, initially as a rulers' personal insignia, a state symbol, and later as a part of heraldic signs of leading aristocracy.