Klaipėdos universitetas

The article analyzes polysemous phenomenon of the history of European law and historical culture of European cities, the part of which is granting the privileges of the Lübeck and Kulm Law to Klaipėda in the Middle Ages. The development of the Lübeck and Magdeburg Law and the modification of the latter, the Kulm Law, is researched by historians, law and culture history experts of many European countries in various aspects, however, this phenomenon has not been systematically presented in the Lithuanian research literature. Therefore, basing the present investigation on the generalized analyses of the researchers working in Germany and in other countries, the article introduces the features of the historical development of the Lübeck, Magdeburg and Kulm Law. This article accords a particular attention to the analysis of the genesis of the medieval German towns’ laws, as well as the reasons and ways of their dispersion. The article also investigates the historical circumstances and factors which determined the expansion of the Lübeck and Magdeburg Law in the Middle Europe and to the East of Europe during the Middle and the Early New Ages. The ways, chronology, and area of the transfer eastwards of these laws are introduced. The sources and transformations of these laws are also analyzed in the article. The historical context of the emergence of the Kulm Law is discussed. The significance of these laws in the Middle and East Europe is presented in general outline in the article.

Maria Znamierowska-Prufferowa was born in 1898 in Kybartai, Lithuania. In 1924 she became an assistant lecturer at the Faculty of Ethnography and Ethnology of the Stefan Batory University in Vilnius. It was at her initiative that the Ethnographic Museum here embarked upon the quest to research and to present the culture of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania. She had managed to complete a number of field research projects which focused primarily on fishing (tools and methods used by fishermen, as well as their witchcraft and beliefs) and handicraft. This article identifies the theoretical and social contexts of the research, as well as the scope and availability of materials gathered by the scholar. It also discusses the value of the above materials as a source of knowledge for the contemporary ethnologist.

The article is devoted to the researches into ‘the texts – books – libraries’ resources in the men’s orders in Vilnius from the 17th–18th C. The analysis of the source database helps us to reconstruct the picture of the intellectual output of the monasteries in Vilnius. Grand Duchy of Lithuania for many years was the place of working many various monasteries. Vilnius was the most important centre of the monastic life in the Nobles’ Commonwealth in the 18th century. In Vilnius there were orders engaged in education, management of schools, scientific and other publication, and charitable works. In this work great importance was always attached to a book, it helped to cultivate the intellectual traditions of the community. They had an important influence on the spiritual life of the monks.

The article is devoted to the history of Vilnius evangelics in the 20th Century. The Vilnius evangelics played a significant role on the Polish protestant map in the interwar period. For the Lutherans inhabiting the North-Eastern area of Poland, Vilnius was the capital of their diocese. In turn, the Calvinists had their own Vilnius Church. It steadily developed throughout the interwar period founding its branches in central Poland. The Vilnius Calvinists never forgot about the tradition of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, keeping contact with the church in the Lithuanian Republic. The custom of Polish and Lithuanian Evangelics’ cooperation was returned to after regaining independence in 1989, which is exemplified by the cooperation of Lutheran Polish and Lithuanian churches.

The article presents historical and economic study of Volhynia–Gdańsk regional trade end economic zones during the period from the beginning of the 16th to the middle of the 17th centuries. Change of a dominating role of the Mediterranean economic region, decline of the territories concerned with it, and also processes of economic growth of the countries concerned with Baltic, considerably has affected commodity structure of Volhynia at that time. By these tendencies increases value of Volhynia in geography of the European trade. It was one of barter centres among the East and the West of the Europe. However, already from the middle of the 16th century occurred an active inclusion of the representatives of narrow-mindedness, clergy and gentry to the trade. During this period significantly increases the export to the international market through the Baltic trade and economic region.

The article is devoted to the historical studies of a princely landownership concentration in Volhyn lands in the 16th century. This landownership was the highest in all the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. According to historical materials, in first third of the 16th century Volhynian princes owned 44% of all landed fund of Volhyn (in correlation with ‘pans’ and ‘zemiane’ landownership; the royal and church was insignificant), in the last third it slightly grew up to 45 %. In the end of century these indexes remained unchanging. In Lutsk district of the Volhynian province a level of concentration of princely landownership was a few other. In last third of the 16th century princes owned 40 % lands, and on the end of century it percent correlation diminished to 38 %. Such calculations are conducted by author on materials of Lutsk deed books, and it allowed to trace and to analyze the specificity of the landed circulation of Volhynian princes in details.

The article is devoted to the problem of jurisdiction of ‘starosta’ (a medieval official) during the second half of the 15th – the first third of the 16th century. ‘Starosta’ was one from the most important officials in the Volhyn land. He was designated by the Great Lithuanian Duke. During this period the judicial duties of ‘starosta’ were regulated by the norms of legislative acts named ‘ustavna zems’ka gramota’ issued by great Lithuanian duke in their home policy. An author shows in his materials, that according to these documents ‘starosta’ was the main person at the time of legal proceedings.