Lietuvos istorijos institutas

The article addresses the development of Liudvinavas, a town in south-eastern Lithuania, which was established by Ludwik Konstanty Pociej and was granted the Magdeburg Law in 1719, in the eighteenth century. The history of the town is analysed by discussing its location (the process of establishment) and spatial structure, the town authorities (officials, voigts, the elders of Punia), and the community of its residents (its ethnic and confessional composition).

Straipsnyje tiriama Žemaitijos aukštumos vakarinėje dalyje XVI a. antroje pusėje įsikūrusio Plungės miestelio pradžia. Tuometiniuose šaltiniuose išnyrantys Gandingos miesto bei vėliau jį pakeitusio Plungės miestelio įvardijimai analizuojami pasitelkiant istorinius, geografinius ir lingvistinius duomenis, taip rekonstruojant ankstyvąjį Plungės miestelio kūrimosi etapą.

The article presents an analysis of a genealogical chronicle of the Bilevičius family from the 15th to the first half of the 17th centuries that was found in Lviv, and was written up in the beginning of the 17th century. It is an exclusive genealogical written source relating to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which mentions 520 individuals and presents up to five generations of the history of another 51 families (besides the Bilevičius family).

The article analyses data of the 567 Franciscan Friars Conventual from the Lithuanian St Casimir province, who died in the period of 1775–1832: age of entry, geographic and social background. These are the factors that allow to restore the dynamics of the development of this brotherhood. Order of Friars Minor Conventual accepted individuals from 12 to 40 years of age (94.6 % of all candidates), and this was in accordance with age requirements set within the Franciscan Order. Later, when faced with the calling crisis, the brotherhood started integrating candidates of a more mature age (sometimes even 67 years old) who could become both lay brothers (Lat. laicus professus) and friars priests (Lat. clericus proffessus). Likewise, both groups could include married men, who were formally named as friars of the Third Order (Lat. tertiarius claustralis). Therefore, this flexibility of the brotherhood, its ability to deal with the issues of the period, ensured viability of the community. The research revealed, that sometimes the brotherhood would be “enlivened” by the inter-congregational “migration” of the friars, which was not voluminous: the Franciscan Order would be joined by friars formerly from Carthusian, Bernardine, Discalced Carmelite and Piarist orders, yet sometimes Franciscan Conventual Friars would leave for the Dominicans or the Carmelites. Such movement shows the continuous search by the “men of prayer” on the path of spiritual calling. The established presence of several converts (Uniats, Jews) in the brotherhood shows that the Franciscans did have, even if not strong, influence in towns and in the eastern part of the Grand Duchy. On the other hand, “migrant” friars and converts would enrich the brotherhood spiritually and culturally. The dominance of nobility in the brotherhood shows specific social identity of the Franciscans Conventual. This was the reason for such limited number of callings, because eastern part of the province was dominated by the Uniats and nobility was less numerous. The other side of this phenomenon was that regions of Podlasie, Mazovia and Samogitia (with only one convent in each), with a numerous presence of Roman Catholic petty nobility, have become the resource “bases” for Franciscan candidates, unlike voivodeships of Vilnius, Trakai and Polatsk with the thickest network of convents, where the number of callings was small. townspeople (half of them from Vilnius and the rest – from other regional towns). Around 9 % of the friars were from peasantry (most of them were from the Franciscan dominions, also nearby parishes as well as further located parishes). The largest part, a whole 68 %, were individuals from nobility. Such social composition was first of all defined by family relations, when after one person joining the convent others would follow, either close or more distant relatives. At the same time, attracting (recruitment) of the new members was aided by the appeal of the Franciscans, their influence in society and their devotion. In time, a peculiar symbiosis of confessional and social factors was formed, when joining the brotherhood

This article reviews the attitude firmly entrenched in historiography that Polish noblemen who came to live in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania both prior and after the Union of Lublin were considered aliens. The investigation revealed that in the 15th century and in the first half of the 16th century Poles, and later other incoming nobility, were viewed as “aliens” and perceived as a new and powerful rival to the GDL nobility. Therefore attempts were made to eliminate the former by means of introducing a number of prohibitive protective articles to the First Statute of Lithuania (prohibiting to confer incumbencies and award land, restricting the possibility to become procurator, paying the dowry of a noble woman about to be married in cash, and obligating to prove their noble descent when necessary). On the other hand, when it was necessary, the abovementioned articles were driven through, thus opening new spaces for the formation of future legal standards. In the second stage (second half of the 16th century), following substantial modification of former articles and introduction of new ones in the Second and Third Statutes of Lithuania, modes of settlement of Polish noblemen in the GDL were started to be regulated. The nature of articles was also modified – prohibitions were substituted with permissions, thus facilitating gradual integration of Polish noblemen into the local society. In the second half of the 16th century when the relations with Poland were increasingly becoming closer and at the same time due to internal and external changes in the GDL, new terms denoting incomers, including Poles, were coined, for the most part conveying the ideas of alienage or movement. Changes in the perception of Poles are evidenced by three theoretically tinted legal categories which crystalized out at that time and all of which could also be used to refer to a nobleman relocated from Poland: “alien” (чужоземец, cudzozięmec), “foreigner” (заграничник, zagranicznik), “neighbour” (сусед, sąsiad), and the divergent informal “brother” (brat). In addition, the abundance and variety of terms points at the immigration processes observable in the GDL. Hence, the evolution of the content of articles of the Statutes of Lithuania pertaining to aliens and changes in attitudes simultaneously reflect changes within the noble society of the GDL, as the “medieval” defensive attitudes hiding behind the term “alien” were substituted with factors facilitating the integration of the state.