Vilniaus miestiečiai ir miestų kultūra XVII-XVIII amžiuose

ENThe present book is second volume of scholarly articles and studies written by renowned Lithuanian urban and art historian Dr. Stasys Samalavičius (1930-1992), following the book Vilnius City Culture and Everyday Life in the 17—18lh Centuries published by Edukologija Publishers in 2011 that contained his research in Vilnius' town-dwellers everyday life and city culture of the period. The author of the articles, studies and notes published in this volume was the founder of everyday life studies in Lithuania and has left a vast amount of unpublished research as well as number - of writings published in different journals during the Soviet period when historical studies were other than those promoted by the Soviet regime and its Communist party were discouraged and kept within the limits established and supervised by authorities. Dr. Stasys Samalavičius spent most of his scholarly career doing research at the Institute of Restoration of Monuments where he leid a position of senior research fellow during the last two decades of his life was a rare exception among his fellow historians of the period and pursued research going far beyond the promoted official scholarship of the Soviet era. Choosing rather neglected and largely unresearched areas - i. e. focusing on general life of urban dwellers that included research into urban institutions and their functions, the activities of artisan and merchant guilds (his special focus of interest was Vilnius' builders guild - a topic he studied in his doctoral dissertation), festivities, musical activities and musical instruments posessed by urbanites, public performances, business institutions and activities, material culture of Vilnius' town dwellers: structure and elements of their houses, workshops, their furniture, belongings, etc.This volume of his writings is made up of three parts. Part I includes research of Stasys Samalavičius focused on such subjects as: Vilnius shops in the XVII-XVIII centuries, the decoration of the interiors of Vilnius urban population, musical instruments posessed by the citizen, public signboards used by shop keepers and artisans belonging to various guilds, activities of Vilnius builders guild and those practitioners of this profession that did not belong to the guild as well as his writings on how street names of Kaunas city changed during several centuries. His later unpublished research into churches and manor houses once comissioned by the Institute of Restoration of Monuments is also published in this part. Part II contains notes by Stasys Samalavičius on books and librararies of Vilnius urban dwellers, clocks that were used and kept by the members of various professions of Vilniusites as well as on armament of urban dwellers belonging to different guilds. This material was researched for a book the author was unable to finish because of premature death. The publication of this material provides a better insight into historian's scope of scholarly interests as well and will hopefully provide guideliness for further research. Part III features previously published writings and book reviews of Stasys Samalavičius as far as they were published several dozen of years ago and are now virtually unaccesable, especially to readers who have interest in historical studies but are not professional historians themselves. This part alongside with book reviews written by the author also contains several esssays: on Vilnius SS. Peter and Paul's Church (unlike his later scholarly book on the subject it is an essay aimed at a general reader) as well as his pioneering writings on Lithuanian heraldry (although he eventually abandoned this topic of study and moved to other areas) and also an overview article on the first history of Lithuania ever published in English.

• Menotyra / Arts
• Istorija / History