scholarly journals The Document in the Hierarchy of Evidence of the Legal Process in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Late Fifteenth Century and the First Half of the Sixteenth Century

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 8-24
Author(s):  
Irena Valikonytė
Keyword(s):  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Legal Process ◽  
Judicial Process ◽  
Judicial Affairs ◽  
Legal Evidence ◽  
Legal Power ◽  
Late Fifteenth ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
Grand Duchy

The discussion on the legal power of documents generated by the researchers exploring the written culture of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries invites for a more detailed analysis of the usage of a written document in the legal process, the chronology of its legal regulation, the document’s place in the system of evidence as well as its meaning in the legal consciousness of the nobles. The legal proceedings and rulings recorded in the judicial affairs books incorporated into the Lithuanian Metrica reveal the process when, with the development of the written culture and the increase of the demand for documents in the state’s internal affairs, the written document evolved into an independent and sound legal evidence in the judicial process. In the civil cases, primarily concerning the land ownership, the legal power of a written document was recognized already in the middle of the fifteenth century (although there was no peremptory requirement to present written documents in the judicial process), and approved by the extended edition of the First Statute of Lithuania. In the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, the long-lived “colorful robes of justice” (the oath, the gesture, the placing of one’s cap) were replaced in the system of legal evidence by written documents which, from then on, were considered as more reliable evidence than a personal oath, and, in some cases, even a testimony. Eventually, this view found its place in the consciousness of the nobles who documented their transactions and used documents to solve legal conflicts. Moreover, in Lithuania, unlike in the Kingdom of Poland, the judges considered not only the public, but also the legitimate private documents as legal evidence of equal importance. Although, the hierarchy of legal evidence, that prioritized the documents was embedded only in the Second Statute of Lithuania (chapter IV article 52, entitled “On evidence and defense” (O dovodech i otvodech), the analysis of sources allows to decisively affirm that the main source of the aforementioned article was the practice of the courts in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.

scholarly journals The History of Vilnius Old Jewish Cemetery at Šnipiškės in the Period of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-92
Author(s):  
Elmantas Meilus
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
General Situation ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Tax Exemptions ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Fifteenth ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
Grand Duchy

The recent international outcry concerning an old Jewish cemetery once again being destroyed in a former suburb of Vilnius, namely Šnipiškės (nowadays in the very centre of the city), forces us to revise the history of its origin and development in the period of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Summarizing the history of the cemetery, one plausible conclusion is that the cemetery was established on state-owned land in the jurisdiction of the Castle possibly in the late fifteenth century and the first reliable historical data goes back to the late sixteenth century in relation to tax exemptions. A comparison of historical, cartographic and archaeological data permits to make a valid assumption that the oldest burials from the second half of the sixteenth century were located in the south-western and central section of the cemetery based on the layout of 1808 (in the area between the Sports Hall and swimming pool built in the Soviet period). The cemetery developed gradually by acquiring separate state land plots belonging to the Castle Authority (Horodnictwo) and Forestry Authority (Derewnictwo) which were rented by different persons and by taking over payment of the taxes and fees they used to pay. The general situation of the cemetery at that period was marked in the plan from the Fürstenhof collection, drafted in approximately 1730. The Jewish cemetery was combined into one mas out of separate plots around 1790 in listing the urban possessions (land plots). Such situation was reflected in the layout of 1808 (possession no. 1116).

scholarly journals Prices and Value of the Hunted Animals and Hunting Products in the Late Fifteenth and the Second Half of the Sixteenth Century in the Environment of the Ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Lituanistica ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Toma Zarankaitė-Margienė
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Bone Material ◽  
Historical Phenomenon ◽  
Late Fifteenth ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
Grand Duchy

The essence of hunting as a historical phenomenon cannot be defined in the economic aspect alone. In the Middle Ages and in the Early Modern Period, it was a multi-faceted symbiotic relationship combining both the daily life of the Grand Duke of Lithuania, the economic life of the state, and even foreign policy. It also partially shaped the image of the sovereign and legitimated his power. Hunted animals provided meat, bone material, furs, skins, and other products necessary for the needs of the ruler’s court. This article represents the latest research on the prices and value of the hunted animals and the products made from them in late fifteenth century and the second half of the sixteenth century in the environment of the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The second part of the analysis reveals the variety and prices of different products made from the hunted animals and their use.

scholarly journals Knighthood in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the Late Fourteenth to the Early Sixteenth Centuries

2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-66
Author(s):  
Rimvydas Petrauskas
Keyword(s):  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Early Development ◽  
High Ranking ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Times ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
Grand Duchy

The main aim of this article is to collect and assess all accessible data about the early development of chivalric culture in the GDL and to identify possible trends. This phenomenon is perceived as part of the history of the European knighthood in the late Middle Ages. The article also seeks to investigate the meaning of the conception of the knight in the GDL documents of the fifteenth century in order to determine the spread of knighthood in the nobility of the Grand Duchy. In the research of these aspects the flourishing of the knighthood culture at the court of Grand Duke Vytautas in the early-fifteenth century is distinguished as a period when high-ranking representatives of the country’s nobility were awarded titles; and a new enhancement is noticeable in the times of Alexander Jogailaitis when an initiative, a unique phenomenon in Poland-Lithuania, was undertaken to establish a brotherhood of knights. In the analysis of the use of the concept of knighthood, emphasis is placed on the difference between the singular use of the knightly title and the pluralistic estate conception.

scholarly journals Judicial Agency in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th Century

2021 ◽  
pp. 007-018
Author(s):  
M. P. Belyaev
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Design ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
Judicial Process ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
The Status ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
First Time ◽  
Grand Duchy

This article describes the development of judicial representation in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th century. For the first time, the organizational design and legislative consolidation of judicial representation took place in cities with Magdeburg law. The emergence of professional judicial representatives was associated, first of all, with the adoption of the Statute of 1529, which contains legal norms that allow substituting parties in court. The status of professional representatives – lawyers who were called procurators – was consolidated. The statute of 1566, which actually summarized the 30-year practice of law, quite clearly regulated the conduct of the case in court, both personally and through a procurator. The grounds were established when a lawyer was provided free of charge by appointment of a court. The 1588 Statute regulated in detail the procedure for empowering a judicial representative. The author concludes that the institution of representation is firmly rooted in the judicial process, received its written confirmation in the Statutes and, as a result, led to the formation of the institution of the Advocacy.

scholarly journals GENESIS OF THE LEGAL REGULATION OF PRE-TRIAL CRIMINAL PROCEDURE IN THE ANCIENT BELARUSIAN LANDS

2021 ◽  
pp. 137-140
Author(s):  
Y. Shkaplerov
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Procedure ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
Xix Century ◽  
Grand Duchy

The article considers the genesis of the legal regulation of pre-trial criminal procedure in the ancient Belarusian lands from the beginning of the XI century. In particular, the provisions of the senior written source of Kievan Rus law – Russkaya Pravda, which regulates such procedural institutions as “svod”, “gonenie sleda”, are analyzed. Thus is considered their essence and opinions of various authors on the designated problems. The author focuses the attention on the fact that the legal regulation of traces fixation of socially dangerous acts, determined by some provisions of the Russkaya Pravda, was taken by the legislator after some centuries and reflected in the Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1529, 1566, 1588, which were in force on the Belarusian land until the XIX century.

scholarly journals The Legal Regulation of Neighbourly Water use in Ukraine: Development Prospects

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-136
Author(s):  
Ihor Muronenko
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Public Law ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
Development Prospects ◽  
Grand Duchy ◽  
Land Code

The article is devoted to some questions of the legal adjusting of neighbourliness relations. Neighbourly water use should be defined as the use of water resources aimed at meeting the needs of owners or tenants of neighbouring land parcels. The regulation of neighbourly water use has historically been an inseparable part of neighbour law. Regulations of this kind were contained in many historically significant Ukrainian legal documents, including “The Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania”. Currently, the regulation of the use of water resources mainly comes under the sphere of public law. Consequently, the current Land Code of Ukraine does not contain regulations of this kind. Nevertheless, a study of international legislation and regulation policies on neighbourly relations emphasizes the necessity to legislate on the private aspects of neighbourly water use. The findings of the study has made it possible to formulate the proposals aimed at improving the current legislation on this issue.

scholarly journals The Role of Charitable Activity in the Formation of Vilnius Society in the 14th to mid-16th Centuries

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.C. Rowell
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Medical Doctor ◽  
Eastern Orthodox ◽  
Mary Magdalene ◽  
Late Fifteenth ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
First Time ◽  
The City

This article examines the development of charitable activity in the city of Vilnius and elsewhere in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania before the middle of the sixteenth century by studying the foundation of almshouses to care for the poor and destitute and foster the memory and salvation of pious benefactors. Almshouse foundations developed from increasing forms of practical piety within the GDL from the late fifteenth century, following earlier west European and Polish models. The first, dedicated to traditional patrons of such institutions, St Job and St Mary Magdalene, was founded by a Vilnius canon and medical doctor, Martin of Duszniki with the support of the monarch, Sigismund the Old, and his counsellors between 1518 and 1522. The almshouse swiftly became an established part of the city’s sacral topography. The fashion was adopted by Eastern Orthodox parishes in Vilnius too, and later spread to other confessional groups. Twelve charters are published for the first time in an appendix.

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