Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis

The appearance of portrait miniature is traditionally dated back to the 16th century when the miniature became a portrait genre. The Reformation processes occurring in Europe at the time also influenced the genesis of forms, technique and style of portrait miniatures. This paper focuses on the factors (related to the Reformation) which affected the formation of new images embodied in H. Holbein’s and N. Hilliard’s works. The rise of the portrait miniature as a new type of portrait, its features, and uniqueness of its properties are explained through the study of certain political, social, and cultural aspects of the Reformation movement in the context of English art.

The article analyzes the links between the hymnals of Prussian Lithuanians (M. Mažvydas, B. Vilentas, A. F. Šimelpenigis and others) and local German publications until 1750. It is assumed that the Prussian Lithuanians prepared their official hymns by using books relied on indigenous Germans. The main conclusion was that Prussia and all diferent national groups had a common treasure of hymns, which could be freely adjusted and supplemented.

How were the Reformation and a variety of different confessionalisations manifested in material culture? The article discusses this issue by presenting a dozen examples of works of art relating to the present territory of Latvia. In 1521, when urban citizens there responded to the ideas of the Reformation for the first time, a large part of present-day Latvia belonged to a conglomerate of various holdings called the Livonian Confederation. The religious polarisation of society characteristic of the early period of the Reformation (the 1520s) is represented in works of art discussed in the first chapter. The second chapter discusses works from the period of political instability caused by the First Northern War (1558–1583). It is characterised by Livonia’s political, cultural and confessional division, of which representations can also be seen in many examples of the visual arts.

There was no ideal or typical way of establishing the Reformation in Europe, while Church reform in East Central Europe cannot be attributed solely to the influence of the ideas from Wittenberg. Much more important than looking for a causal relationship is to analyse the responses, correlations and interactions. This is done in the article by looking for an answer to the question why Protestantism established itself relatively late in the geographical area called Courland (Kurland, present-day Kurzeme), and more precisely how the creation of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1561–1562) was connected with the establishment of the Evangelical Church in this region. In looking for an answer, the article outlines the challenges faced by the Teutonic Order’s domains in Livonia during the Reformation in the first half of the 16th century. It explores the activities of Gotthard Kettler, the last Master of the Teutonic Order in Livonia (1559–1561), in the conversion to Protestantism, and the creation of the Duchy. Finally, the article discusses how ‘the princely Reformation’ that created new confessional and cultural realities in the northeast of Central Europe during the second half of the 16th century manifested itself in a specific region.

The article examines the role of the last Jagiellonian monarchs, Sigismund I (1506-1548) and his son Sigismund II Augustus (1548-1572), in promoting and securing religious peace in the multi-confessional society of the 16th-century Rzeczpospolita. The author argues that the Jagiellonian dynasty, which ascended to the Polish throne in 1386 and ruled until 1572, contributed significantly to the rise of religious pluralism in Poland and Lithuania, and paved the way for a mechanism of tolerance which made it possible for religious groups to live together and to respect their religious diversity. The author analyses the anti-heretical laws passed by Sigismund I in the 1520s, and Sigismund II in the 1550s, which were intended to suppress the dissemination of Reformation ideas. In these documents, both monarchs declared their loyalty to the Roman Church, and threatened followers of the Reformation with severe penalties. All these documents give an insight into the religious policy of the Polish kings. Anti-heretical legislation was just one part of a more complex and sophisticated policy of the Jagiellonian kings, which aimed at preserving the religious status quo in the multi-ethnic and multi-confessional Rzeczpospolita.