Pieczęcie Trybunału Głównego Litewskiego w latach 1581-1792. Pieczęcie kadencji wileńskiej

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Collection:
Mokslo publikacijos / Scientific publications
Document Type:
Straipsnis / Article
Language:
Lenkų kalba / Polish
Title:
Pieczęcie Trybunału Głównego Litewskiego w latach 1581-1792. Pieczęcie kadencji wileńskiej
Alternative Title:
Seals of the Lithuanian Supreme Tribunal in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 1581-1792: seals of Vilnius term
Authors:
Sipavičiūtė, Justina
In the Journal:
Rocznik Lituanistyczny, 2023, 9, p. 211-242
Subject Category:
LT
Genealogija. Heraldika / Genealogy. Heraldry; Sigilografija / Sigilography; 1569-1795. Lietuva ATR laikotarpiu; Vilnius. Vilniaus kraštas (Vilnius region); Lietuva (Lithuania).
Summary / Abstract:

ENDuring the 1565–1566 court reform in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the following courts were established: the Land Courts (for civil proceedings), the Castle Courts (for criminal proceedings) and the Chamberlain Courts (for land boundary disputes). These courts also performed notarial functions. The Supreme Tribunal of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was established in 1581 (its fi rst session was held on 30 April 1582) to hear appeals from the Land, Castle, and Chamberlain Courts. The documents of the Lithuanian Supreme Tribunal were certifi ed with seals. Since its inception, the Tribunal had no regular chancery and seat. Therefore, it held its meetings not in a single city but in Vilnius, Trakai, Minsk, and Navahrudak in succession. The provisions of the Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania of 1581 were used to study the legal regulations governing the use of seals of the Lithuanian Supreme Tribunal. It shows that since its establishment in 1582, the Tribunal used the stamp of the Land Court of the relevant district. For example, the seal of the Land Court of Vilnius was used by the Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania during its Vilnius term, the seal of the Land Court of Navahrudak was used during its Navahrudak term, the stamp of the Land Court of Trakai during its Trakai term, and the seal of the Land Court of Minsk during its Minsk term. The decrees of the Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania were signed by the judges of each province and the scribe of the Land Court. For practical reasons (the lack of a permanent seat and chancery), only two sessions per year were held aft er the 1588 reform instead of the previous four (Vilnius, Trakai, Navahrudak, and Minsk). One was held in Vilnius, the second one (Navahrudak–Minsk) was held in Minsk one year, and in Navahrudak the next. The Trakai term was abolished.A thorough analysis of the heraldry and the sigillography of the Tribunal Court of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania is presented based on unpublished archival sources (seals) stored in library and archive collections, which was the largest and most important body of references for this research. It confi rms that the regulations concerning the use of seals of the Tribunal Court were established in the provisions of the Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania of 1581 and the Sejm Constitution and were implemented in actual-life practice. The independent seals of the Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania began to be used at the end of the seventeenth century in Vilnius, Minsk, and Navahrudak and from the end of the eighteenth century in Grodno. The highest-rank independent institutional seal of the Lithuanian Supreme Tribunal initially had only the state coat of arms. Several decades later, it changed into the state coat of arms at the top and the court scribe’s coat of arms below it. Th roughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the state coat of arms had already been established in the seal of the Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania of Vilnius term, but their depiction was diff erent. The traditions of depicting shields of that period governed the shapes of shields visible on these court seals. A duke’s cap was located above the state coat of arms, and similarly, a cape of rank was situated above the scribe’s coat of arms. It was typical for a scribe of the Lithuanian Supreme Tribunal of Vilnius term to locate the crest above the heraldic helmet. Feathers were the most common crest. Mantles were uncommon in seals of the Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania of Vilnius term. They were introduced relatively late, at the end of the eighteenth century. A press-sealing method was mainly used with seals of the Lithuanian Supreme Tribunal.The size of the seals of this Tribunal tended to increase. They usually had an oval shape from the end of the seventeenth century to the second half of the eighteenth century. The round shape was only used at the end of the eighteenth century. The legends of seals of the Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania were not immutable from the seventeenth through to the eighteenth century. Renaissance lettering (humanistic capitals) appeared in the seal inscriptions, most of which were written in Polish, and only rare Latin inclusions could be found. Dates were commonly placed at the end of the seal’s legend and indicated when the stamp was produced. Corroborations, or the formula according to which a seal was impressed, were used on documents of the Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania. They specifi ed the Tribunal’s name and the seal type used but recorded only the fact of sealing. The article also includes a single counterfeit document with the seal of the Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania stored at the Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and several highly decorated Tribunal documents with ornamental initial letters. The similarities to the heraldry and sigillography of the Tribunal of Vilnius term can be found in other sessions of the Supreme Tribunal Court. However, this should be the subject of further detailed research. Finally, on 6 June 1792, Lithuania’s Supreme Tribunal Court was dissolved. Keywords: seal, stamp, heraldry, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Tribunal Court.

DOI:
10.12775/RL.2023.9.10
ISSN:
2450-8446; 2450-8454
Subject:
Istorija / History
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https://www.lituanistika.lt/content/114007
Updated:
2025-07-29 19:18:43
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