History of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

[EN] Nobiles pauperes: The Clientele of the Congregation of the Mission Hospital in Eighteenth-Century Vilnius
In 1695, Jan Teofil Plater and his wife Aleksandra founded a hospital for six impoverished nobles in Vilnius. Situated near the newly built church of the Ascension and the convent of the Congregation of the Mission in the Subocz suburb beyond the city walls, this hospital was the first and, until the end of the eighteenth century, the only charitable institution providing care for individuals of particular social status. The article, based on the hospital’s registry book and other sources, examines the quantitative, as well as qualitative characteristics of the institution’s clientele, such as its fluctuations in size, its social composition, and the causes of its inmates’ impoverishment. The research revealed that, despite the demand for care, the overseers managed to maintain a stable number of inmates, rarely admitting more than one or two persons every year, and thus ensuring a steady operation of the hospital (see table 1). However, in contrast with other charitable institutions in Vilnius, the clientele of the Congregation of the Mission hospital changed frequently because of expulsions (39.6 percent of all cases) and inmates leaving the hospital on their own initiative (20.1 percent) already in the first year of their stay. The mortality of inmates (27.8 percent) affected the size and turnover of the clientele to a much lesser extent than observed in other hospitals. Although there are no reliable data on the inmates’ age and health, such statistics show that they probably were younger and healthier than the clients of other charitable institutions in Vilnius. Moreover, the Congregation of the Mission hospital’s inmates differed from the clients of other institutions in respect of social composition. Impoverished petty
nobles, originating mainly from the districts of Lida and Oszmiana, constituted the majority (56.25 percent) of the hospital’s inmates whose social status is noted in the registry book (62.5 percent). The nobles became clients of the Congregation of the Mission hospital either because of old age, disability, as well as other accidental causes, or because of increased social vulnerability outside mutual aid networks, comprised of family members, kin or neighbours. The article argues that the foundation of a hospital designated to provide care primarily for impoverished nobles shows that the poverty of nobles was recognized by contemporaries as a social problem that should be tackled.

The book studies the Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg), 1410 as a fact of collective conscience, i.e. how it lives in Belarusian historical thought and social memory in a wider sense. The author tries to reveal the circumstances in which the historic event was brought into the spotlight of public attention, the key frameworks in which it has been interpreted, as well as the reasons and methods that allowed them to penetrate the academic and public discourse of Belarusian history. The approaches practised by the history of historiography, the social sciences and the humanities that interpret the concept of collective memory set the general methodological framework for the study. The stable representations of the Battle of Grunwald and its importance that have circulated in Belarusian society for the last century are analysed from the perspective of ‘cultural memory’ (Jan Assmann) that transforms history into a myth. The main goal of our research is not to criticise the ideological content of the visions of Grunwald in Belarusian history but to deconstruct and analyse these constructs.

В центре внимания – личность книгописца Матфея Ивановича Десятого. В 1507 г. в Супрасльском монастыре он завершил работу, начатую в Вильне в 1502 г., по созданию Библейского сборника. Высказывается мнение, что именно с этой личностью связан первый известный факт, когда мирянин сообщил о своём призвании как склонности и внутреннем влечении к делу, а также о личном выборе, продиктованном этим призванием.

Бераставы, Г. А. Гаспадар і Полацк : вялікі князь у свядомасці палачанаў другой паловы XV – пачатку XVI стст. / Г. А. Бераставы // Традиции университета : от Франциска Скорины до современности : сб. материалов междунар. науч. конф., Минск, 26–27 окт. 2017 г. / Белорус. гос. ун-т ; редкол.: С. Н. Ходин [и др.]. – Минск, 2017. – С. 14–17.

Hlieb Bierastavy. Haspadar i Polack: vialiki kniaź u sviadomasci palačanaŭ druhoj palovy piatnaccataha – pačatku šasnaccataha stahoddziaŭ [The Ruler and Polack. A Grand Duke of Lithuania in Consciousness of the Population of the Polack Region from the Second Half of the Fifteenth Century to the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century], in: Traditsii universiteta: ot Frantsiska Skoriny do sovremennosti. Materialy mezhdunarodnoy nauchnoy konferentsii. Minsk, 26–27 oktyabrya. Minsk, 2017. P. 14–18 (in Belarusian).

The article deals with the question about consciousness of Francysk Skaryna within the consciousness of his contemporaries in Polack and the Polack region (Polack province, Polack voivodship). The problem of the place of the Grand Duke of Lithuania in consciousness of the population of a Polack region is investigated as a part of the whole consciousness of the local population. Investigation is based primarily on the documentary writs created in Polack from the beginning of the fifteenth century to the beginning of the sixteenth century. The data about the mutual relationship between the central authority and population of a Polack region is used too because of the information about the image of the ruler. The foregoing discussion implies usefulness of consideration about these opinions while the Francysk Skaryna consciousness is reconstructed.

“On the Tracks of a Struggle with a Historical Myth”, this paper examines the background of writing and discussing the “Following the Tracks of a Myth” – one of the most known and criticized books of Mikola Jermalovič (1921-2000) that was devoted to the origins of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and published first 1989 in Minsk. What influenced the author’s choice of the subject of study and its concept, with whom he discussed a draft variant, how criticism of manuscript was taken into account by the author already receiving broad public recognition – these are the questions we try to find the answers.

The article is represented genesis of the coinage on the lands of the Lithuanian-Horde borderlands. Juchi coin system which had been fixed on the territories of Lower Dnieper region, gave impulse to the restoration for local coinage both in Rus’ principalities and the south-eastern part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. At the initial stage it became an example in the technological, iconographic and economic aspects of local land minters.

Changes in political conditions influenced mainly on the external characteristics of a specific monetary material, but its metrological indicators (weight and fineness) remained practically unchanged. The explanation lies in the main purpose of a local coin issuing. It was in meeting the needs of the local market (for ordinary emissions) or emergency filling of the local treasury (military money, etc.). Traditional weight standards served as a pass for a coin into the money market. However the possibility of local minting was caused by the fact of a certain autonomy as well as the right to coin regalia. The termination of the local coins (original or imitation) minting often meant a legal loss of economic and political independence.

The activity of representatives of the elites of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which sought equality with the Crowners, but also the defense of their prerogatives was present from the first days after the signing of the Lublin Union. Analyzing this issue, it should be remembered that the Crown and Lithuania were separated state bodies, which union did not merge into one country, but formed a federal state. They were characterized by a separate treasury, army, offices, judiciary, law, local government institutions, i.e. basically everything that determines the administrative independence of the country. Lithuanians wanted to guarantee the same rights as the Crown nobility had, however, remaining separate. Thus, offices were established having the same prerogatives in the Crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, such as the Grand and Field Hetman, Chancellor and Vice-Chancellors, Treasurer and Grand and Court Marshal, as well as a number of land and town dignities and dignitaries. The first of these were allocated appropriate seats in the senate, behind their crown counterparts, which caused quarrels between Poles and Lithuanians. However, manifestations of activity guaranteeing and "reminding" Poles of Lithuania's separateness from the Crown were evident throughout the entire existence of the federal Commonwealth.

The article discusses the problem of localization of the Smolensk and Starodub sejmiks-in-exile of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) in the period 1667–1794. Based not only on the Constitutions of the Seimas of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but also on the systematic use of documents of the sejmiks-in-exile, were analyzed the ends of the 17th century projects for the establishment of the Smolensk Voivodeship office and premises for the activities of the sejmiks in the territory of Vilnius Lower Castle, were localized places of the 18th century sessions of the sejmiks (Bernardine Church and Monastery in Vilnius, Carmelite Monastery in Vilnius, parish churches in Alytus and Žiežmariai, etc.) and were determined places of non-traditional activity (in the Palace of the Supreme Tribunal of the GDL). The research used descriptive and comparative research methods, taking into account the theoretical discourse used in archeology of law and local research.

В книге исследуется хронология правления князей в Полоцке во второй половине XIII в., а также рассмотрены предыстория появления и генезис древнейшего сохранившегося документального наследия Полоцка. На основании первоисточников показан способ и время вхождения города в состав Великого княжества Литовского, проанализированы дошедшие биографические данные о полоцких князьях рассматриваемого периода, верифицированы даты конца правления первых великих князей литовских. Затронут и уточнён ряд исследованных в новейшем переиздании "Полоцких грамот" проблем, касающихся древнейших полоцких актов.

In the complicated process of state-building of Lithuania in the 13th century, as the unification of the Baltic lands by Mindaugas took place, the names of three Lithuanian dukes, Tučius (Dučius), Milgerinas and Gineika, who went to Livonia in 1245 and were baptized there, appear in the Livonian Chronicle. In addition to fragmentary information from written sources, the article seeks to identify three possible landmarks of the localization of the Lithuanian Dukes Tučius (Dučius) and his brothers (three toponymic sites). The research revealed that the holdings of these Lithuanian dukes should be localized in former Semigallian lands or their periphery in present-day Northern Central Lithuania (northern parts of Pakruojis, Pasvalys and northern parts of Joniškis district), and upon leaving Livonia, in eastern Latvia (now Rezekne district).

Бераставы, Г. А. З гісторыі новагародскіх баяраў другой паловы XV – першай паловы XVI ст. (у кантэксце дакументаў аб баярскім родзе Белікавічаў) / Г. А. Бераставы // Архіварыус : зб. навук. паведамленняў і артыкулаў / Дэпартамент па архівах і справаводству, Мін-ва юстыцыі Рэсп. Беларусь, Нацыянальны гістарычны архіў Беларусі ; пад рэд. В. Ф. Голубева (гал. рэд.) [і інш.]. – Мінск, 2018. – Вып. 16. – С. 178–190.

Hlieb Bierastavy. Z historyi novaharodskich bajaraŭ druhoj palovy piatnaccataha – pieršaj palovy šasnaccataha stahoddziaŭ (u kantekscie dakumientaŭ ab bajarskim rodzie Bielikavičaŭ) [Some Notices on the Navahrudak Nobility (‘bajary’) in the Late Fifteenth and the Early Sixteenth Centuries. In the Light of the Documents of the Bielikavič Family], in: Archivaryus: zbornik navukovych paviedamlienniaŭ i artykulaŭ. Minsk, 2018. P. 178–190 (in Belarusian).

On the basis of judicial and private documentation of the late fifteenth and the early sixteenth centuries, the article aims to examine private activities and location of the domains of the Bielikavič (Bielikovič) family who resided on the territory of the Navahrudak County (paviet) of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It emphasises the potential of researching court cases of the nineteenth century where some thematic documents of the indicated period were used as evidence. The examination of the data in the context of the materials on other noble families leads to some conclusions regarding the social and economic history of the Navahrudak County from the late fifteenth to the early sixteenth centuries (e.g., examples of connections between the Navahrudak nobility and the local elites in the first half of the sixteenth century).

W stosunku do tego miasta mam niewytłumaczalne poczucie miłości i zainteresowania. W tym mieście po Akademii Rolniczej zacząłem pracę jako młody fachowiec. A miasto to ma długą historię, położone jest w bardzo pięknym miejscu, a jego ozdobą jest Góra Zamkowa. Naokoło przepiękne jeziora, powiada się, że z lotu samolotem obecne miasto wygląda jak wyspa na morzu.

Мета дослідження – аналіз державно-правових процесів, які вплинули на організаційний розвиток Православної Церкви у Великому князівстві Литовському, Руському, Жемайтійському та Короні королівства Польського і як наслідок – на трансформацію суспільства.
The purpose of the study is to analyze the state and legal processes that inuenced the organizational development of the Orthodox Church in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia (Rus’), Samogitia (Žemaitija) and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and as the consequence – transformation of the society.

The article offers a glance at the personality of Duke Boguslavas Radvila, the Master of the Stables of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Governor of the Duchy of Prussia, through the entries in his personal diary (1661–1666). The diary contains information on B. Radvila’s private life which is discussed in the article. When speaking about B. Radvila’s image, which becomes obvious from the diary entries, his hobbies, spare-time activities, and entertainment preferences as well as information related to his health and character are analysed. Some of the statements pertaining to B. Radvila’s personal life that can be detected in historiography are specified as well as the uniqueness and importance of B. Radvila’s private diary as an historical source in the analysis of his personality and every-day life is revealed.

New works by Russian historian on the Grand Duchy of Lithuania show the growth of interest in this topic in the contemporary Russia. During the Soviet period the research was concentrated around the issues of the duchy’s beginnings and around ethnic and social issues. The goal was to show that the class leeched off by Lithuanian feudal lord was mostly Ruthenian population. The issues of religion were also ignored. At the beginning of the 1990s Russian historians also did not write about territorial issues of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. At the turn of the centuries most of the papers published in scientific journal and monographies were treated in an integral way. The research now centres around the political system of the state, its territorial changes and ethnic issues. The context of the relations with the Grand Duchy of Muscovy.

In January 1626 the Great Lithuanian Marshal, Jan Stanisław Sapieha, who was left behind by his father Lew in Livonia, was defeated by the Swedish army in Walmojza. News of the defeat quickly reached Warsaw, where the sessions of parliament were held, and it caused a great outrage among the noblemen and magnates who gathered there. It is from this period that the correspondence of the Great Lithuanian Marshal Lew Sapieha to his son Jan Stanisław dates back. The correspondence contains a great deal of interesting information concerning not only the military activities in Livonia but also the relations between the correspondents and their feelings, attitudes, opinions and reactions toward the changes that occurred on the Lithuanian political and military scene. The letters that were analysed furnish the image of a frustrated father who transferred his problems and failures on his son — the latter was already embarrassed by the defeat. It is likely that due to this the son’s mental health suffered.

The article presents an analysis of court procedures against witches in Lithuania. The author explains which courts handled such cases and which legal acts regulated the course of these procedures. The witchcraft court procedure in Lithuania is compared to a procedure discussed in a book by Jakob Sprenger and Heinrich Insistor (Kramer) from 1487 called Malleus Maleficarum (Hammer of the Witches). The similarities and differences between these court procedures are revealed.

The article presents an analysis of court procedures against witches in Lithuania. The author explains which courts handled such cases and which legal acts regulated the course of these procedures. The witchcraft court procedure in Lithuania is compared to a procedure discussed in a book by Jakob Sprenger and Heinrich Institor (Kramer) from 1487 called ‘Malleus Maleficarum’ (Hammer of the Witches). The similarities and differences between these court procedures are revealed.

Rev.: POSTMA, Ferenc. Studenci z Rzeczypospolitej we fryzyjskim uniwersytecie we Franeker (Spis nazwisk i bibliografia), tł. Wojciech Rynduch-Walecki, Kraków:  Wydawnictwo Collegium Columbinum,  2014, ss. 195
About schoraly peregrinations of Polish and Lithuanian students: in connection with the book by Ferenc Postma, Studenci z Rzeczypospolitej we fryzyjskim Franeker (Spis nazwisk i bibliografia)
О научных странствиях польских и литовских студентов: в связи с книгой Ferenca Postmy, Studenci z Rzeczypospolitej we fryzyjskim Franeker (Spis nazwisk i bibliografia)