XVIII amžiaus studijos / The Eighteenth Century Studies

On the map of schools in 18th-century Vilnius, a prominent place was occupied by the Vilnius Academy, which during the times of the Commission of National Education was called the Main School of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and after the loss of independence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Vilnius Main School. In addition to the university, there were also schools providing secondary and elementary education, as well as educational institutions. The paper is an attempt to look at the possibilities of education in Vilnius during the period of the Commission of National Education and in the years after the Commission, until the reform of Alexander I in 1803.

The handwritten diary of Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł (1702–1762), also known as Rybeńko, a source familiar to researchers dealing with the history of the 18th century in various fields, is certainly extremely interesting. The diary is kept in the Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw (Archiwum Główny Akt Dawnych w Warszawie, AGAD) in the Radziwiłł Archive collection (section VI, sign. II-80). Rybeńko was one of the richest magnates of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the time, and this is evidenced by the numerous and extensive estates he owned in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He owned about 20 towns, and more than 300 villages, which he inherited from his father and from his father-in-law Janusz Antoni Wiśniowiecki. In view of the above, and concerning the fact that Michal Kazimierz Radziwiłł held one of the highest senatorial offices (from 1744 he was governor of Vilnius, so he was formally in charge of the city that he knew well), did he include information about the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the pages of his diary? Being a politically active man who was in possession of such extensive estates, he was constantly on the road (pursuing at the same time a variety of political, economic and social goals), which both his wives complained about. He stayed in many cities of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, including the capital of Lithuania. Therefore, this article has been written with the intention of presenting the diary as a source for researching one of the most important centres of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at that time. An attempt is made to consider the circumstances in which entries appear in the diary, whether the prince visited the city regularly or only occasionally, and whether the entries in the diary are systematic reports, or if they are ‘second hand’ information. Finally, the question should be raised as to what type of data was recorded by Rybeńko in the context of Vilnius, and to what extent it can be useful in the study of the city’s history. It also seems crucial to consider the question of what image of the Lithuanian capital emerges from the governor’s records.

The article presents a discussion of the state of the city of Vilnius, its buildings, people, disasters and memorable events following the disasters that swept through in the beginning of the 18th century. The start of the Great Northern War in 1700 (1700–1721), the campaigns of the Lithuanian, Russian and Swedish armies and the plague epidemic that followed the war (1710) severely affected the city of Vilnius and its inhabitants. Despite the devastation and disasters, Vilnius was still the most important city in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania where the most important political affairs in the land were decided. The article is mainly based on the letters of Maciej Józef Ancuta, the suffragan of the Bishop of Vilnius, to the Chancellor of Lithuania, Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł.

Straipsnyje nagrinėjama Vilniaus vaito suolininkų teismo veikla 1795–1814 m. Aptariamos vaito ir suolininkų profesinės biografijos, teismo darbo veiklos sąlygos, nulemtos ilgamečių tradicijų ir naujų kardinalių politinių pokyčių, taip pat teismo nagrinėjamų civilinių ir kriminalinių bylų turinys, teismų sprendimų praktikos. Atskleidžiama teisminės kultūros tradicijos kaita Vilniaus mieste po Abiejų Tautų Respublikos padalijimų. Tyrimas padeda geriau pažinti miestiečių luomo ūkines, finansines, kriminalines, visuomenines ir šeimyninio gyvenimo problemas bei jų santykius su kitų luomų ir sluoksnių miesto gyventojais.

Kad būtų vertinamas politinėje scenoje, didikas privalėjo turėti atitinkamą rezidenciją Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės sostinėje. Savininko poreikius ir ambicijas atliepiantys rūmai atliko ne tik reprezentacinį vaidmenį, bet ir buvo vieta, apie kurią telkėsi giminės bei didikų klientų gyvenimas. Be to, įsiliedami į gyvą miesto organizmą rūmai tapdavo jo tvaria puošmena, neretai demonstruodavo jų savininkų tikėjimą ir politinę poziciją. Šiame straipsnyje sintetiškai aptariama XVII a. Vilniaus rūmų architektūra tiek tipiškų, tiek miesto įvaizdį formavusių originalių sprendimų kontekste. Taip pat verta atkreipti dėmesį į Vilniaus topografiją – labiau ar mažiau prestižines vietas ir priemiesčius, ypač Antakalnį.