High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Lithuanian nobility was historically a legally privileged class in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania consisting of Lithuanians, from the historical regions of Lithuania Proper and Samogitia, and, following Lithuania's eastern expansion, many Ruthenian noble families (boyars). Families were primarily granted privileges for their military service to the Grand Duchy. After the Union of Lublin in 1569, Lithuanian nobility became less distinguishable from Polish szlachta, although it preserved Lithuanian national awareness. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had one of the largest number of nobility in Europe, close to 10% of the population, in some regions, like Samogitia, it was closer to 12%. Данное издание представляет собой компиляцию сведений, находящихся в свободном доступе в среде Интернет в целом, и в информационном сетевом ресурсе "Википедия" в частности. Собранная по частотным запросам указанной тематики, данная компиляция построена по...