Lietuvos istorijos metraštis /The Yearbook of Lithuanian History

In the eighteenth century an individual would realize oneself by being a part of a wider group of people. A successful career in the state service would be impossible by just having some connections. A great example of this theory is Juozapatas Mykolas Karpis (1679–1739), who in the beginning of the career was able to enter the circle of the Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Karolis Stanislovas Radvila (1669–1719). Seemingly, K. S. Radvila and his circle had a big influence on the further career of J. M. Karpis. This assumption is based on a source found in the Sėla Museum of Biržai. This source is comprised of the letters from various people written to J. M. Karpis in 1720–1722, when he worked in the episcopate of Vilnius. Some letters are from the years prior to that. It is a new source for historiography, and the letters enrich the research on J. M. Karpis with new information. They reveal his work and, most importantly, the environment in which he acted. Many of the names were not mentioned in the research on J. M. Karpis earlier. So, the main aim is to identify the connections forged in the circle of the Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and their influence to J. M. Karpis’ career. Next in this research, after a short presentation of the direct influence of K. S. Radvila to J. M. Karpis’ career, the environment is explored in which J. M. Karpis was most active and a few important figures that helped him to reach higher positions are identified. It is important to mention that in this article we analyse two separate periods of J. M. Karpis’ life to show the lasting links between those two episodes. Hereby, the method of prosopography comes handy. It helps to find connections between J. M. Karpis, his patron K. S. Radvila and the people mentioned in the letters. This kind of analysis allows for the separation of the most important individuals in his circle and tracking the impact of K. S. Radvila to J. M. Karpis’ career.