Archaeologia Baltica

Straipsnyje sprendžiama etnografinio regiono sampratos problema. Nors Etninės kultūros valstybinės globos pagrindų įstatyme apibrėžiama, kad etnografinis regionas – istoriškai susiformavusi teritorijos dalis, kurioje išlaikyta savita tarmė, tradicijos ir papročiai, integruotas baltų genčių palikimas, sunku suderinti kalbininkų, istorikų ir etnologų duomenis ir požiūrius, o analizuojant Vilniaus ir jo apylinkių priklausomybę etnografiniam regionui, straipsnyje parodoma, kad skiriasi tradicinėmis kultūros reikšmėmis paremti etnografiniai žemėlapiai, daugeliu atvejų priskiriantys Vilnių Dzūkijai, ir šiose vietovėse gyvenančių žmonių suvokimas, kad ši teritorija yra Aukštaitija.

The paper discusses the territorial-geopolitical aspect of the Lithuanian policy during the First World War, which is still not sufficiently studied or properly understood. It concerns the strategic line proposed by members of Lithuania’s conservative elite. The visible side of the line was a game of orientations: first pro-Russian, then pro-German. However, these orientations were based on an ethnographic principle, which created preconditions for the practical development of the Lithuanian nation. On the other hand, the ethnographic principle was related to the idea of national self-determination, raised by the democratic thought, which paved the way for Lithuanian national statehood. Therefore, the strategic line offered by some of the Lithuanian elite went beyond party ideology and became national.

Mobility and journeys were an integral part of the life of intellectual elites, including the clergy, in the Early Modern Period. Taking to the road was often the outcome of the functions they performed: arrival at the destination was the main aim. In the case of pilgrimages, both the destination and the route were important. Itinerant clergy in search of sustenance became a disciplinary problem for their superiors. This article is based on records of journeys undertaken by canons and prelates of Vilnius Cathedral.

The article is devoted to the new results on literary research about the power of memory in “Roadside Doggy” by Czesław Miłosz (1911-2004). Cz. Miłosz remembers episodes from his life in Vilnius, which is a proof of his special point of view. Miłosz’s journey, which started at the beginning of the previous century, has no limits in “Roadside Doggy”. “Two horses driven carriage” goes without obstructions, penetrates deeply into the mind, and reaches the farthest neighbourhoods. It is a kind of account with one’s past according to the idea that “man without memory is nearly dead and represents the inferior part of humanity.”

The article concentrates on the role and importance of the intellectual culture of contemplative female orders in the societies of the onetime Vilnius. The article depicts the use of normative liturgical texts and the preaching creativity in the religious activity of the order. What was emphasized were the books functioning in the characterised environment as well as the individual and collective religious reading matter and the organisation and contents of the monasterial libraries.