Lithuania proper (Latin: Lithuania propria; Lithuanian: Didžioji Lietuva, literally: "Genuine Lithuania"; Yiddish: ליטע, Lite) refers to a region which existed within Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and spoke Lithuanian language. The primary meaning is identical to the Duchy of Lithuania, a land around which Grand Duchy of Lithuania evolved. The territory can be traced by Catholic Christian parishes established in pagan Baltic lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania subsequent to the Christianization of Lithuania in 1387. They were quite distinguishable, as the Ruthenian parts of the Duchy were already baptised in orthodox manner. The term in Latin was widely used during the Middle Ages and can be found in numerous historical maps until World War I.
Lithuania proper sometimes is also called Lithuania Major (Lithuanian: Didžioji Lietuva), particularly in contrast with Lithuania Minor.
Famous quotes containing the word proper:
“There is no mystery in a looking glass until someone looks into it. Then, though it remains the same glass, it presents a different face to each man who holds it in front of him. The same is true of a work of art. It has no proper existence as art until someone is reflected in it—and no two will ever be reflected in the same way. However much we all see in common in such a work, at the center we behold a fragment of our own soul, and the greater the art the greater the fragment.”
—Harold C. Goddard (1878–1950)