From imagination to political reality ?

At the beginning of the Renaissance Lithuanians understood that to join the civilization of Western Europe, it was necessary to have an appropriate (it means: very long) tradition. Like other countries, they had to create their own myth of origin. The most prestigious tradition was Greek-Roman antiquity, so the country’s origin story was invented, claiming its people descended directly from Rome. According to subsequent chronicles, the founder of the new state was Palemon (Publius Libon, initially Vilia). Using the theory of cultural memory of Jan and Aleida Assmann, the article presents how and why the Lithuanian myth of origin was transformed from 15th to the end of the 18th century. Particular attention was paid to the current needs of the state and the powerful noble families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which also found their origins in the state myth. During the early modern period, the changes in the story were made (including the date of Palemon’s arrival in the Lithuanian lands). Nonetheless, the myth was not questioned for a long time. Even once it had already been established that it was no more than a fairy tale, the story was revived again, performing other functions in the 19th century.


Introduction
The Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period was a period of particular importance for Lithuania. Relations between Lithuania, further: the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and Western Europe were getting stronger -in the political, economic, cultural and religious spheres. From the end of the 14 th century to the beginning of the 16 th century the socio-political system of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was formed. From 1385 it was connected thanks to the personal union with the Kingdom of Poland. In the following years, integration between these two states was strengthened. The Kingdom of Poland was the most important intermediary in contacts between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Western Europe1.
influence or creators of the Lithuanian founding myth and have underlined too strongly the political significance of the story10. Creating the foundation myth in order to compete with other countries' origin stories was, however, of less importance than the fact that it led to a birth of a historical consciousness in Lithuania -the most important component in the development of the national structure11.
A myth has two functions: the foundational and contra-present. The former is legitimised by the contemporary social system and political order through reference to the past. The latter recalls its memory, but from the present day's perspective, underlining what is now missing. Contemporaneity entails the necessity to verify the myth, to change its elements. Aleida and Jan Assmann refer to the power of updating the myth as the mythomotor. Cultural memory perceives history from the perspective of the present day: events from myths are vivid, but reconstructed depending on what is important or needed in the present situation12. In cultural memory, facts are not important; what is fundamental is remembered history, which converts into a myth thanks to tradition. The article will present how chroniclers and other historical writers constructed the Lithuanian founding myth and how and why it changed from the 15 th century to the end of the 18 th century. Jan Długosz (1415-1480 played an extremely important role in the first stage of popularization13 of the Lithuanian state myth. According to his Annals or Chronologies of the Illustrious Kingdom of Poland (written from 1455 until the death of the author in 1480), prince Vilia was the founder of the country that later became the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 39 or 38 BC he had to leave Rome as a follower of Pompey, who was defeated in the struggle for power by Julius Caesar14. Vilia took with him his family and 500 comrades with their relatives. This group allowed him to quickly settle Lithuanian lands. As Artūras Vasiliauskas noted, the number 500 is a symbol of citizens' opposition to despotism -the Athenian boule (a council of 500 citizens) opposed Peisistratos' tyranny in the 6 th century BC15. There was a symbol of opposition to dictatorship and glorification of people's rule. After arriving in the Lithuanian land, Vilia founded the city -Romnove, as a reference to the Eternal City: Roma novae, new Rome. The city was quickly renamed to Vilnius -in honour of the commander (similarly to Rome in honour of Romulus and Remus, or Paris in honour of the eponymous prince of Troy). The name of the new state was also supposed to be a reference to the country's Roman heritage: the letter "L" was added to "Italia" and in this way name Lithalia (then: Litualia, then: Lithuania) was created16. According to Długosz, the Lithuanian language also had Roman origins -it was referred to as "rotten Latin". In this way, many references to the Greco-Roman antiquity were created, motifs of the sources of Western European civilization. Lithuanians became heirs of the ancient (especially) Roman tradition and were included in the Western world, Latin civilization, and Europe. The theory of Roman origin has contributed to the consolidation of Lithuanian consciousness17. The foreign origin of the founder of the state was to add splendour to Lithuanians, as was the case of Trojan origin of European countries18.

The backgrounds of the political myth
Długosz's theses were accepted by another chronicler -Maciej Miechowita . In his Descriptio Sarmatiarum Asianae et Europianae (1521) he agreed to call Lithuania Litalia, and the fact that names Vilnius comes from Vilia. Miechowita even stated that after the seizure of Lithuania and Samogitia, Vilia's comrades called the tribe who had lived there Italian people19.
Ruthenian manuscripts from the 15 th and 16 th century played an extremely important role in the development of Lithuanian etnogenetic myth. There were three version of these chronicles: the short Chronicle of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania (1420s), the Chronicle of The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Samogitia (first half of 16 th century) and the Bychowiec Chronicle. The story of the beginnings of Lithuania in these chronicles has changed: "With regards to the subjects described, clearly they are the ones relevant to the political interests of the regents mainly with regards to disputes with neighbouring countries"20. In the first chronicle there was no mention of the Lithuanian origin. In the second work there was a change in the time and circumstances of Palemon's leaving Rome. Who was Palemon? He was a mythical founder of Lithuania; author of the Chronicle of The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Samogitia changed his name -from Vilia to Palemon (Publius Libon). In Greek mythology, Palemon is the name of a deity caring for sailors. Lithuanian ancestors went from Rome to new lands during the reign of Nero (not Julius Caesar). Such a chronological change was of considerable importance. Who left the lands of the Roman Empire during the reign of Nero? Probably Christians, which made Lithuanian feel more predestined to feel a part of the Latin, Western, Christian Europe. The biblical and Roman motifs were combined21. Palemon arrived in Lithuania by sea in A.D. 57. From the mouth of Neman River, Palemon got through with his followers (the number 500 remained unchanged). The new state was named -after the second part of Publius Libon -Libonia, further: Livonia.
Who were the Palemon's comrades? He held Column (Latin: Colonna) as his coat of arms. The ancestors of Centaur, Ursyn, and Rose coats of arms came with him. The Gediminids and Jagiellonians (a princely and royal family) and the Gasztołds descended from the Column family. When there were no Columns, the Centaurs ruled -the Holszański and the Giedroyć families. The Ursyn family gave rise to the family of Downojno, while Roses -to the family of Moniwid22. These families certainly influenced the development of the founding story, it is possible that they were also some of its inspirers23. The Radziwiłł family are missing among them, but soon they will try to join to this prestigious group. Several families comprising the social elite of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania appropriated the myth of Roman origin24.
In the Bychowiec Chronicle25 the date of Palemon's journey and arrival in the Lithuanian lands was changed to the time of Attila the Hun (445-453). Probably someone pointed out that the time between the arrival of Palemon in Lithuania and the first real rulers was too long. Jan Jurkiewicz emphasized that in this chronicle we could see a miniature of the society of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 16 th century: prince and his subjects -nobility and common people26. Thus, the myth had a national character in terms of language, customs and tradition of Lithuania, but also explained social relations in this state at that time.
The theory about the Roman origin of Lithuanians provoked disputes between scholars in the 16 th century. Italian Filippo Buonaccorsi (1437-1496) opposed this theory -he noticed the differences between the languages and religious customs of the two nations27. However, he could have created the character of Palemon28. One of the greatest historical authorities, Marcin Kromer (1512Kromer ( -1589, stated that after the war between Caesar and Pompey, a group of Romans came to Lithuania to settle down and establish a new state. They took the name of the Livons from Libon -their leader29. This scholar also recorded the name of the mythical founder of Lithuania -in his work it was Libon30. At the end of the 16 th century, when Kromer was writing his chronicle, he already knew the works of Maciej Stryjkowski (more about him in the subsequent parts of article) and they could have changed his point of view about the beginnings of Lithuania31. Another scholar, Marcin Bielski (1495Bielski ( -1575, also had a problem with Palemon. In his chronicle (published in 1564) he doubted the Roman origin of Lithuanians32. However, in the next edition of his work, published in 1597 by his son Joachim, there was information that the founder of the state was Italian33. Certainly, Stryjkowski's works also influenced the change in the decision on the reality of Palemon. In 1564 Conversation of a Pole with a Lithuanian -the work created by Augustinus Rotundus (1520-1582) -was published. It was a polemic with Stanisław Orzechowski's (1513-1586) work Quincunx. Rotundus sought to emphasize the equality between Poland and Lithuanian -shortly before the Union of Lublin (1569). The Lithuanian character of the book states that his nation wants to be equal to Poles, wants to be free34. Conversation was published anonymously and its goal was to express the opinion of the entire Lithuanian nation35. Rotundus deciphered the abbreviation P. before Libon's name as Publius, mistakenly -according to the writer -called Palemon36. Rotundus, on the basis of Ruthenian manuscripts, distinguished the Jagiellonian dynasty, supposedly stemming from Witenes -the ancestor of the Column coat of arms, who in turn was a descendant of Palemon37. The Jagiellonian dynasty was presumed to have an ancient origin, a tradition that was of great importance not only for the Lithuanian, but also for the Polish nation. The dynasty of ancient origin added prestige to the entire Polish-Lithuanian state.
In contrast to the above-mentioned writers, Alexander Guagnini (1538-1614) presented a different version of the beginnings of Lithuania. After Jan Długosz, Maciej Miechowita and Ruthenian manuscripts, Guagnini stated that Roman nobility with the Italian prince Palemon arrived in the Lithuanian lands. He gave three reasons for Palemon's escape appearing in the literature: Nero's tyranny, deserved banishment or escape from Attila's cruelty. Guagnini mentioned the noble families who came with Palemon, giving the coats of arms, which gave rise to the most prominent Lithuanian families38. According to Guagnini, Palemon arrived in the Lithuanian land and conquered the society settled there -common people, who, according to him, came from the Goths39. In his version the myth has underlying anti-Russian sentiment -Guagnini recalled that a small Lithuanian nation was under the rule of Ruthenia40. The arrival of Palemon was seen as salvation -an acquisition of independence and an incorporation into the group of states of Latin civilization, Western Europe.  Maciej Stryjkowski (c. 1547-c. 1593) was the most significant propagator of the idea of the Roman origin of Lithuanians, whose works had the greatest significance for the political culture of Lithuania and historical awareness of Lithuanians41. In his works he emphasized the figure of Palemon, who came from Italy. The best "souvenir" of him were the coats of arms, which existed in the time of Palemon. In Stryjkowski's chronicle (1582) he extended the description of the common people living in the Lithuanian lands before Palemon's arrival. They supposed to be simple, without rights, without power, free and dissolute, extremely different from the Italians who arrived. This, however, did not prevent them from uniting and creating one state42. It is worth noting Stryjkowski's earlier work -On the Genesis, Descent, Courage, and Valiant Endeavours of the Lithuanians, Samogitians, and Ruthenians (1577)43. The third chapter of this book is a description of the beginnings of Lithuania and is dedicated to the Radziwiłł family -it was a family that had not yet appeared among the ancient noblemen who came with Palemon. The myth of the Roman origin could have been written by Stryjkowski for the sake of this great magnate family -after all he dedicated his works to Radziwiłł family's members and they were often mentioned on the pages of his chronicle44.

Maciej Stryjkowski and his role in creating historical consciousness of Lithuanians
Stryjkowski not only summed up the previously mentioned motifs in historiography, but also exalted Palemon, inserting him into the motifs known from the Greco-Roman antiquity. For the chronicler, it was no surprise that Palemon had sailed to the Lithuanian lands. He compared Lithuanian's founder to Jason, who commanded the expedition for the Golden Fleece45. Palemon appears to be the defender of his people -this was to be the main reason for his journey to the north46. Taking his comrades with him, Palemon deserves to be compared to Aeneas escaping from Troy47. During his journey, the gods promised the dreamer Palemon a reward for his and his people's misfortunes -not only new lands abundant in food and forests, but also Palemon was to create a glorious, valiant state48. Although the scholar synonymously used the names: Palemon and P. Libon (Publius Libon), the name Palemon survived in further historiography and manuscripts. Until the end of the 18 th century Stryjkowski's chronicles were the most popular historical works on the Lithuanian and Ruthenian territories as the culmination of the Renaissance historiography of the Lithuanian nation, the history of the Lithuanian ethnos49. Lithuanians owed the writer the popularization of the ancient history of Lithuania, inscribed in world history, including Christian (in this tradition Lithuanians were also grandchildren of Noah, and Palemon -like him -also had three sons). The chronicler also included Lithuanian genealogy in the Sarmatian myth50. As Darius Kuolys noted, "This model of Sarmatism emphasizes not the past, but the community of present and future, the national and civic self-awareness of Lithuania connected with the general Sarmatian consciousness, without denying or violating Lithuanian identity"51. It united the multi-ethnic nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16 th century into Lithuanian nationality. The growing sense of national pride among Lithuanians contributed to the crystallization and popularization of the myth of Palemon, a myth of origin from the Romans. Thanks to their own myth of origin, Lithuanians did not need Polish mediation in order to demonstrate their belonging to the Western culture52.

Between tradition and Enlightenment
The next import chronicle for Lithuanian historiography was the work of Albert Wijuk Kojałowicz (1609-1677) -History of Lithuania (the first part was published in 1650, the second -1669). This author repeated, after Maciej Stryjkowski, information about Palemon (P. Libon), his various reasons for escaping from Italy, taking with him representatives of the nobility, and about the coats of arms mentioned above. Kojałowicz, however, changed the date of Palemon's arrival in Lithuanian lands to 92453. In Kojałowicz's armorial he repeated his view of Palemon54. This meant the beginnings of the Lithuanian nation was later than that of Poles (550). Lithuanian society was not outraged by this. It seems that the story of the ancient Palemon as a founder of Lithuania lost its political significance in the second half of the 17 th century55. Kojałowicz chose a more credible version, although the myth was not questioned. History of Lithuania was a textbook for the learning history and rhetoric56, and even as a basis for creating the plot of Jesuit dramas -students playing in the performances were called "the youth of Palemon and Gediminas"57. Palemon was directly adjacent to Gediminas, for Lithuanians there was no difference between imaginary ancestors and real rulers, all of them belonged to the past.
In the 18 th century literature writers continued to present an image of ancient Lithuanian origin. The date of Palemon's arrival in Lithuania (after 929) was pushed back by Kasper Niesiecki (1682-1744 in his armorial58. Józef Andrzej Załuski (1702Załuski ( -1774 approached Palemon, listing him in his catalogue of Lithuanian rulers, but also in the 10 th century, not earlier59. Władysław Aleksander Łubieński (1703-1767) repeated that Palemon had come from Italy with families, e.g.: Ursyn, Column, Julian, Gasztołd, Scypion, Pac, etc.60 Interestingly, not only coats of arms were mentioned, but also specific families -in this case, Pac family, who were considered to be "victims" in the previous armorials (their ancient origin not being mentioned)61.
The author of the first Polish-language encyclopedia -Benedykt Chmielowski (1700-1763) listed three reasons why Italian Palemon escaped Italy. The writer presented most of the motifs appearing in historiography. According to him, Palemon came to the Lithuanian lands with other noble families (with their coasts of arms). Their arrival prompted the local community, supported by Palemon, to resist the Ruthenians, who had been ruling in these lands with cruelty, and expel them from their territories62. The arrival of Palemon was a time of liberation, the rejection of the Ruthenian yoke thanks to the new leader. Lithuanian's nearest neighbor, Ruthenia, was its most dangerous rival. Unlike Guagnini, who described the homage paid to the Ruthenian dukes, Chmielowski emphasized the independence of Lithuania in the past. Considering the Russian Empire's aspiration in the 18 th century to have more and more influence also in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the writer's statement was very current.
In the middle of 18 th century Józef Aleksander Jabłonowski (1711Jabłonowski ( -1777 presented all the opinions about Palemon and came to the conclusion that he could not exist. The proof was the lack of records in ancient materials about the Palemon, and especially about 500 representatives of the nobility leaving Rome. The writer also drew attention to the multiplicity of the names of the mythical ruler, which should lead to doubts about his existence. The sailing to the Lithuanian coast was also uncertain63. This was the first case of questioning the story about the Roman origin of Lithuanians. Stanisław Józef Duńczewski (1701Duńczewski ( -1767 in his armorial emphasized that the Column coast of arms comes from the reign of Palemon, who had arrived in Lithuania from Italy64. Duńczewski postponed the date of Palemon's arrival until around 99065. According to the writer, Palemon and his comrades arrived by sea with their wives and army, some of them settled in Lithuania and some in Samogitia. They quickly became friends with the settled society and united. When the former ruler died, Palemon was elected (without any opposition) by the entire community (including common people) as Lithuanian and Samogitian prince66. The free election, the well-known and practiced way of electing a ruler from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, was sanctioned by tradition.
In the 18 th century historical writers presented two camps -the continuators of the foundation myth and its critics. The best example is Ewaryst Andrzej Kuropatnicki (1734Kuropatnicki ( -1788. In his armorial he quoted Jabłonowski -Palemon could not exist. Nevertheless, in further part of his work Kuropatnicki presented the chronology rulers: he started with Palemon, mentioning 373 as the beginning of his reign67. Mečislovas Jučas noted that August Ludwig Schlözer (1735-1809), and then Joachim Lelewel (1786-1861) questioned the story of Palemon68. The researcher did not mention Adam Naruszewicz (1733Naruszewicz ( -1796, who also did not believe in the "fairy tale about Palemon"69. However, the story of Palemon did not end there. In 19 th century Teodor Narbutt (1784-1864) and Dionysius Paszkiewicz (1764-1830) recognized Palemon as a historical figure. This testifies to the persistence of the myth about Roman origin of Lithuanians70. As Tomas Venclova stated, especially at the beginning of the 19 th century this myth influenced the process of shaping of the Lithuanian nation (in the modern meaning)71.

Conclusion
Palemon existed in the cultural memory, historical awareness, because Lithuanians needed an ancient heritage. Depending on the needs, various motifs from mythical story were recalled. During the reign of the Jagiellons it was mentioned by those who were aware of Lithuanian identity and wanted to protect it. Unions with Poles liberated in Lithuanians a sense of otherness and a desire for independence. At the same time Lithuanians wanted to be a part of the Western civilization without the participation of Poles. A fundamental role was played by Maciej Stryjkowski, who reconciled the Sarmatian and Lithuanian myths. The chronicler set himself two goals: to demonstrate equality in the origin of Polish and Lithuanian nobility, but also to satisfy the ambitions of great Lithuanian families. Thanks to Stryjkowski, the myth of the Roman origin of Lithuanians spread quickly. The need to create its own history and the dynamic development of separateness had a real impact on the consciousness of the nobility of the Lithuanian lands.
Memory about the past has an identity function -it unites people who identify themselves with the same myth, refer to it, transfer the values and attitudes contained in it onto future generations. The factors of the native culture are: origin, historical tradition, religion and language72 -jointly they consolidate national consciousness. The genealogical myth of origin was crystalised -Lithuania had its ancestor Palemon: "The awareness of a glorious and long history, ancient parables evoked a sense of national pride, the conviction of a common genesis facilitated the unification processes"73.
The story of Palemon was to, on the one hand, sanction and distinguish the Lithuanian nation historically younger than the Polish one, as well as to confirm the community, belonging to the Latin culture, and on the other hand, to emphasize the civilizational and cultural superiority of this nation in comparison with the Kingdom of Poland and Ruthenia. Eugenija Ulčinaitė summarized that Lithuanian magnates wanted to confirm their dignity, and the myth was an argument in the fight for political independence from powerful neighbours: Moscow, Livonia, and Poland74. The sense of pride in a longer tradition, separation from the influence of the Moscow state allowed the Lithuanian nation to feel exalted.
The postponed date of Palemon's arrival in Lithuanian lands to the 10 th century did not provoke a big discussion. Palemon fulfilled his function in the 16 th century -when he reminded the nation about the rights of the Lithuanian nobility entering into a real union with Poles. And in this form the story of the Palemon was repeated until the 19 th century.