Authors

Discussion

Using Anglo-Lithuanian relations as a case study, the paper seeks to examine the image of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that was constructed through communication channels during the early modern period. The relations between Lithuania and England were not merely bilateral but involved a wide range of correspondence and cultural exchange with other countries. Despite generally fortuitous connections between English and Lithuanian Protestants in the sixteenth century, the Lithuanians became gradually involved in a pattern of contacts with England which reached their apogee in the early seventeenth century due to the activities of Janusz I Radziwiłł. The magnate managed to attract an impressive web of international patronage around the core role of King James VI/I who ensured that Radziwiłł’s endeavours for the Protestant cause were supported by English power. Janusz Radziwiłł’s activities and the correspondence exchange between him and King James gave the Grand Duchy of Lithuania very much a Protestant identity at the international level, which was in contrast to the Polish monarchical authority whose identity was clearly Catholic.