Lietuvos istorijos institutas

The article examines ethnological research on family customs carried out since 1990, and its directions, revealed in monographs, studies and publications and articles of a methodological nature, if the publications mark the beginning or the development of a new methodological, thematic or theoretical approach in the restored Republic of Lithuania. After the restoration of independence, ideological restrictions on the study of family customs related to religion and religiosity disappeared. Since then, research has been carried out on the past and the present, rural and urban society, Lithuanians and national minorities, and ethnically mixed families in Lithuania and abroad. The research has also extended to calendar customs celebrated in the family, and interactions with other social communities through customs. To sum up the ethnological research on family feasts carried out since 1990, the thematic, methodological and problematic development of studies of family customs is evident.

The article highlights the story of one provincial feudal family ( Jacob and Marianna Nagórsky) from the second half of the eighteenth century in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and attempts to trace its emotional climate. There is a quite large base of sources about it, such as personal letters, wills, economic letters, etc. Unfortunately, Jacob Nagórsky’s letters to his wife are missing, which makes it difficult to trace his emotional relationship with his spouse. The study is influenced by the English historian Lawrence Stone who wrote about the “rise of the nuclear family” in the eighteenth century, which gradually pushed out the “open lineage family”. The historian perceived this concept of the nuclear family as a social and psychological unit based on the emotional connection and closed kinship ties. e surviving correspondence of Jacob Nagórsky and other sources show his rather cold and unemotional attitude towards his wife, but he was constantly concerned about the well-being of his family. Meanwhile, Marianna’s surviving letters reflect more expressions of love. Children were the main binding tie of the family.