Istorijos šaltinių tyrimai / Studies in Historical Sources

The GDL signs in the 15th-16th century would not only send a symbolic and informationrelated message, but would also express the exceptional relation between a person or a group of persons and things or objects. This is suggested by the signs bearing legal protective power that were used in property marking. The said signs were used by people of humble descent and also by those representing a higher social class prior to the introduction of coats of arms. It is obvious that signs of the base-born people are seldom subjected to analysis, most probably due to the limited possibilities offered by sparse sources. Therefore the article focuses on the issues related to non-heraldic signs used in the GDL in the 15th-16th century, viewing them as an object of research. The article dwells on various concepts utilized in multilingual GDL sources of the 15th-16th century to denote the said signs, analyses the conditions of their appearance and application. Written sources and iconography detected therein serve as the basis for the consideration of the graphic aspects of such signs. In addition, in order to supplement the number of the published sources dedicated to the analysis of the GDL signs, the appendix of the book contains an archival GDL document dating back to 1541, namely a letter of Vilnius cathedral chapter listing the tribute paid by peasants of Volčia domain (Dokshytsy District, Belarus) and featuring 29 legal signs used by these peasants.