Lithuanian weaponry in the 5th – 13th century

Magistriniame darbe siekiama apžvelgti Lietuvių genties V–XIII a. pr. ginkluotę aptinkamą Rytų Lietuvos pilkapių kultūros teritorijoje pasitelkus laidojimo paminklų duomenis. Įvykdyti keliamą tikslą pasitelkiami šie uždaviniai: 1. Apibūdinti lietuvių genties visuomeninę, ekonominę ir politinę raidą bei ypatumus V–XIII a. pr. išskiriant būdingiausius bruožus. 2. Išanalizuoti V–XIII a. pr. lietuvių genties ginkluotės rūšis ir nurodyti kokie ginklai (jų tipai) buvo būdingi šios genties kariui viduriniajame ir vėlyvajame geležies amžiaus laikotarpiuose. 3. Išskirti lietuvių genties kariams (V–XIII a. pr.) būdingus ginkluotės kompleksus, bei išryškinti lietuvio kario ginkluotės savitumus lyginant su kitomis gentimis.The Baltic society underwent different stages of development just as any other culture. Throughout centuries weaponry and its progress stages were among the major factors facilitating community’s adaptation to altering environment. The Baltic tribes which once inhabited the territory of the modern Lithuania had to develop their weaponry in order to promote their own existence and to defend their habitat from the attacks of foreign foes during the course of time; therefore, they gradually developed traditional munitions outfits distinctive with their own specific features and revealing shared similarities when compared. This paper seeks to review the 5th – early 13th century weaponry of the Lithuanian tribe which inhabited the habitat of the Eastern Lithuanian Barrow Culture (hereinafter referred to as the ELBC) based on the materials of the burial monuments. The tasks of the paper are: 1. Describing the social structure and economical and political development of the Lithuanian tribe (ELBC) in the 5th – early 13th century identifying its most characteristic features; 2. Assessing types of weaponry used by the 5th – early 13th century Lithuanian tribe (ELBC) and identifying what kind of weapons (which of their types) were typical for a warrior of this tribe during the Middle and Late Iron Age period; 3. Highlighting specifics of the munitions of the 5th – early 13th century warriors of the Lithuanian tribe (ELBC) compared to other Baltic tribes and identifying typical munitions outfits of the warriors of this tribe.Švietimo akademijaVytauto Didžiojo universiteta