Klaipėdos universitetas

The article presents the oldest forms of puppet theatre in Samogitia, the use of puppets in their natural environment, from Church feasts to entertainment or educational activities with puppets in the home environment. It discusses the sources of puppet theatre in ethnic culture, presents the beginnings of the artistic language of puppet theatre in the spontaneous development of puppet theatre, from dolls and masks in ethnic culture and religious ceremonies, to playing with dolls in the home environment and family celebrations. Authentic testimonies from inhabitants of Samogitian towns and villages are presented: a real treasure for those exploring the material and intangible cultural heritage tradition of this region, introducing it into the region’s ethnic cultural space.

On the basis of archaeological and historical sources and the accumulated historiographical materials, the article analyzes the data on the wooden castles in the ethnic territory of Samogitia in the 13th c. which survived as mounds to the present time. The information about the said castles is scanty. The mounds best studied in terms of archaeology are those of Daugėliškiai, Šaukštelis, and Vedriai, however, no obvious findings of the 13th c. were found in them. Historical sources mention a nameless castle next to Georgenburg castle, built by the Order in 1259, and a never localized Tviremet castle in the same region. The scantiness of the data on wooden castles in Samogitia in the 13th c. cannot be accounted for by merely a shortage of research.