Social and cultural relations in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: microhistories

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 866-868
Author(s):  
Povilas Dikavičius
Knygotyra ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 77 ◽  
pp. 87-170
Author(s):  
Rima Cicėnienė

This article is devoted to the history of cultural relations between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Moscovian Rus’ as well as the artifacts that testify to it. The object of the research is a Vilnius transcript of the Health Garden (a translation of Gart der Gesundheit (1492) into Russian) kept in the Wróblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences (LMAVB RS F22–25). The aim of the article is to present a revised codicological description of the object, identifying the features of the Vilnius transcript and its links with the culture of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. This aim is achieved by using codicological, comparative and textual methods, compiling a detailed codicological description of the copy, analyzing the architecture and internal structures of the code, and identifying differences or similarities between the Vilnius, Flor, Uvarov, and Shelonin copies of the Health Garden. Based on the gathered data, the circumstances of compiling the code are clarified. The study identified the following features of the Code. The large-scale codex, created in Moscow between the 17th and 18th centuries, is not a homogeneous object. It consists of two different editions: the index is closer to the Uvarov transcript and the main text to the Kharkov / Flor transcript. The second feature is careful preparation of the transcript. The codex was drafted as an exemplary edition of an old manuscript and is richly illustrated. Colored pigments were used for decoration, leaving traces of gilding. The edges of the Codex block were painted and decorated in ornamental prints. This allows us to consider the high social status of the client of the code. The third feature is the completeness of the text of the Vilnius copy. It consists of the most comprehensive block of indexes; the main text has been supplemented with new objects, enriched with new images; the text contains as many as 237 names of medicinal substances and 38 minerals in Russian. The remarks and additions contained in the previous transcripts became an integral part of the texts of the Vilnius transcript. The identified features, overlapping formal features, and organization scheme of the text, as well as the same manner of illustration, gave reason to search for a place where all the mentioned copies – Flor, Uvarov, Shelonin – as well as other old prints or their translations could have been seen by the creators of the Vilnius transcript. It is believed that such a place could have been the The Apothecary Chancery. Some Polonisms are found in the text; the works of authors from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were used in the Rus’ at that time and thus encourage a closer look at the translations and the search for citizens from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth who could have participated in the works. The research clarifies the available knowledge about the transcript kept in Vilnius. The information gathered is expected to help book historians clarify the origin of the codex, its production environment, and its place in the Gart der Gesundheit’s line of translations and transcripts; this paper will make it possible to identify other stored fragments. The article is supplemented with a comparative table of the structure and content of the Vilnius transcript of the Health Garden and a decor picture of the code block.


Author(s):  
M. Тaranenko ◽  
M. Taranenko

The article considers the problem of formation and development of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the legal assessment of the situation of the Ukrainian lands conquered by Lithuanians. In the context of this problem, the authors analyze in detail the main stages of the Lithuanian state during the reign of Mindaugas, the creation of a centralized system of power and the establishment of the ruling Gediminas dynasty, active expansionist foreign policy during the reign of Prince Olgerd. It is clear that the authors are particularly interested in the process of conquest of Ukrainian lands by Lithuanians through the so-called “quiet expansion” and its main consequences that occurred in the socio-political life of the Ukrainian and Lithuanian peoples. In this context, the authors thoroughly analyze the process of assimilation of Lithuanians by Ukrainians, who were in the state-building and cultural relations much higher than their conquerors. Lithuanians borrow from the Ukrainians the Orthodox faith, the Old Russian language, “Russian Truth”, becomes the main source of law before the adoption of the Lithuanian Statutes. As a result of assimilation processes, Lithuanians who lived on Ukrainian lands forgot who they were – Lithuanians or Ukrainians. Along with the positive phenomena, the article analyzes the negative innovations introduced in Ukraine at this time: the removal from power in Kiev of the princes of the Rurik dynasty and the arrival of representatives of the Lithuanian Gedeminovich dynasty and the creation, unlike Kievan Rus, a strong centralized Lithuanian state. The article analyzes the process of changing the legal status of the Ukrainian lands-principalities, which became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, at the initial stage of its formation and development (broad autonomy with elements of federalism) and during the period of enhanced centralization of grand ducal power and their transformation into governorates of the Lithuanian state in the second half of the XV century. According to the authors of the article, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, despite its different names (Lithuanian-Russian, Russian-Lithuanian states, etc.), was not a Ukrainian state.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 107-121
Author(s):  
Lilia Kowkiel ◽  
Arvydas Pacevičius ◽  
Iwona Pietrzkiewicz

Historians and publishers of historical sources have a lot of problems with the texts written in different languages and alphabets, which were created at different times, in the multilingual areas inhabited by many nations following different religions. The historians of book culture have the same problems with texts of inventories and catalogues of books, which are the primary source of knowledge about the content of libraries. At present it’s also important the historical texts to be published in the digital form. This article is a part of the discussion on this very important subject.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-177
Author(s):  
Egdūnas Račius

Muslim presence in Lithuania, though already addressed from many angles, has not hitherto been approached from either the perspective of the social contract theories or of the compliance with Muslim jurisprudence. The author argues that through choice of non-Muslim Grand Duchy of Lithuania as their adopted Motherland, Muslim Tatars effectively entered into a unique (yet, from the point of Hanafi fiqh, arguably Islamically valid) social contract with the non-Muslim state and society. The article follows the development of this social contract since its inception in the fourteenth century all the way into the nation-state of Lithuania that emerged in the beginning of the twentieth century and continues until the present. The epitome of the social contract under investigation is the official granting in 1995 to Muslim Tatars of a status of one of the nine traditional faiths in Lithuania with all the ensuing political, legal and social consequences for both the Muslim minority and the state.


2020 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 219-236
Author(s):  
Andrey Yu. Dvornichenko

The abundant Russian historiography of the medieval history of Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lithuanian-Russian State) has become in the last decades the centre of the discussions and is often subject to groundless criticism. This historiography was not very lucky in the Soviet period of the 20th century either, as it was severely criticized from the Marxist-Leninist position. When discussing Russian historiography the author of this article is consciously committed to the Russian positions. There are no reasons to consider this historiography branch either Byelorussian or Ukrainian one, as that was really Russian historiography, - the phenomenon that formed under the favorable specific conditions of Russian Empire before the beginning of the 20th century. The said phenomenon can be studied in different ways: according to the existing then main trends and schools or according to their affiliation with specific universities of Russian Empire. But according to the author of this article the best way to study the issue is in accordance with the main concepts of history. And then the pre-revolutionary historiography appears as an integral scientific paradigm that turns out to be the most divaricate branch of the Lithuanian studies of the time. It created, in its turn, the most vivid and objective historical picture that can still serve as the basis for the studies of Lithuanian-Russian state.


Author(s):  
Valdas Rakutis

The article analyses ordinary life of the Armed Forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the period between the beginning of the rule by the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Stanisław August Poniatowski, and until the reforms by the Four-Year Sejm (1788–1792). In the period of interest it was a small (up to 4,000 soldiers), independent army, made up from national contractors, mostly cavalry detachments, the main unit being a flag of 30–100 soldiers, and the so-called foreign contractors (cavalry, infantry and artillery), the main unit being a company of 60–100 soldiers. In 1775–1777, division by contractors’ ethnicity was replaced with the territorial divisions. The main changes took place in the national cavalry, where two equally sized brigades of hussars and petyhorcy were created, whereas majority of foreign contractors were reorganized into infantry. Peace-time armed forces was an important factor for the Lithuanian public, the ruling elite and the local communities. Army was not a tool for use in large international politics, it was more of a current order preserving instrument. Army supply system was based on the independent economic unit, governed by the unit commander. Attempts by the Lithuanian Military Commission to impose greater control gave insignificant results, although the reforms of 1775–1775 were able to strengthen control of the treasury and procedures, making relationships more visible and transparent, and the actual composition of the armed forces was very close to the theoretical provisions. The economic weakness of the nation after the First Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and lack of correlation between recovery of the treasury and army financing put bridles on the army, preventing it from development and change. In spite of all 1764–1788 reforms, the Lithuanian armed forces remained a stagnating institution, where routine and established traditions dominated over novelty and change. Keywords: Armed Forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, ordinary army life, rule of Stanisław Poniatowski, Military Commission, Military Department of the Permanent Council.


Author(s):  
А.В. Мацук

В статье исследуются события бескоролевья 1733 г. в Речи Посполитой. Согласно «трактату Левенвольде» компромиссным кандидатом на избрание монархом Речи Посполитой был португальский инфант дон Мануэль, которого предложила Австрия. Россия больше склонялась к кандидатуре «пяста». Россия оказалась не подготовленной к началу бескоролевья. Бывшие российские союзники магнаты ВКЛ рассорились с российским послом Фридрихом Казимиром Левенвольде и перешли на сторону Франции. В конце февраля 1733 г. в ВКЛ направили Юрия Ливена, который от имени российской царицы предложил поддержку в получении короны Михаилу Вишневецкому и Павлу Сангушке. Принятое на конвокационном сейме решение об избрании королем «пяста» и католика показало популярность Станислава Лещинского. В результате вслед за Австрией Россия поддержала кандидатом на корону Фридриха Августа. Магнаты ВКЛ до последнего оставались конкурентами о короне. Оппозиция Лещинскому объединилась под лозунгом защиты «вольного выбора» и поэтому в ней остались кандидаты «пясты», которые не могли уступить друг другу, и согласились на компромисс – кандидатуру Фридриха Августа. Для противодействия возможному избранию Лещинского Россия создала в ВКЛ новоградскую конфедерацию. Ее организатором стал новоградский воевода Николай Фаустин Радзивилл. Эта конфедерация становится основой Генеральной Варшавской конфедерации, которая 5 октября 1733 г. избирает королем саксонского курфюрста. The article examines the events of the «kingless» year of 1733 in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. According to the Levenwolde Treaties the compromise candidate for the Commonwealth’s throne was the Portuguese Infante Don Manuel, who’s candidacy was proposed by Austria. Russia, in turn, leaned towards the «pyasta» candidate. The Russian Empire was clearly unprepared for the start of the kingless period. Russia’s former allies – magnates of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – came into conflict with the Russian ambassador Frederick Kazimir Levenwolde and sided with France. In late February of 1733, Empress Anna Ioanovna of Russia sent Yuri Liven to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, who offered official support in the struggle for the crown to Mikhail Vishnevetsky and Pavel Sangushka. The electoral decision made at the Sejm proved the popularity of the «pyast» and Catholic candidates, specifically – Stanislaus Leschinsky. In turn, Russia – following Austria – showed its support for the candidacy of Frederick August. The magnates of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania remained in opposition in the crown issue until the very last. Opposition to Leschinsky was united under the motto of «free choice». For that reason, it was comprised of «pyasta» candidates, who were in a deadlock with one another, and were now ready for the compromise candidacy of Frederick Augustus. In order to counter the possible election of Leschinsky, Russia created the Novograd Confederation in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was organized by the Novograd Voevoda Faustin Radzivill. This confederation became the core of the General Warsaw Confederation that – on October 5th 1733 – elected the Saxon King to the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.


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