Nadzorować, nie karząc: władza, sąd i społeczeństwo szlacheckie. Studium przypadku wołyńskiego (1566-1648)

ENBased on sources from the Volhynian Voivodeship, the author proposes a new approach to analyzing the judiciary, grounded in fresh perspectives on the history of violence. This approach views violence not only as a destabilizing factor but also as an institutional tool that helped early modern communities enforce order. The focus is on how the noble corporation interacted with the judiciary to restore disrupted social balance, specifically on how the nobility represented and described these interactions. The primary questions addressed in the article are: what were the functions of the judiciary as an instrument for confirming ‘common peace’ within a self-governing community, and how was the judiciary modified under the pressure of community culture? The author argues that social order was primarily based on the society’s ability to reconcile the interests of conflicting parties and restrain hostility, while helping parties save face. Additionally, the article describes the specifics of judicial records and the approach to working with these sources. The author analyzes how testimonies were constructed at various stages of the preparatory proceedings. The narratives of the parties were imbued with their understanding of their own society and its core values. The article emphasizes the need to rethink concepts such as ‘state’, ‘judiciary’, ‘social order’, and ‘social discipline’ to account for the realities of early modern society.