Przemoc, przymus i perswazja na sejmikach litewskich i inflanckich w dobie saskiej w świetle korepondencji

ENThe article attempts to view sejmiks mechanisms of the Saxon era through the prism of epistolographic texts. Coercion was a legally and socially accepted form of political life, which manifested itself in the liberum veto rule or in the procedure of ending the session without formal protestations. Incidents of bloodshed at sessions followed, among other things, political conflicts where the mob played the part of catalytic agent in aggressive behaviours. Violence was also used in individual confrontations as consequence of private disputes. Also prevalent was the practice of persuasion, making it possible to amicably resolve conflicts that arose at the sessions. The phenomena of violence, referred to in letters of the clientele, accompanied frequently complaints to patrons about settlements by force used by their political opponents. Occasionally, the letters contain their authors’ apologies for their own incompetence or tardiness at the sejmiks sessions. The clients writing letters to magnates entrusted themselves to their patrons’ care and complained about injustice they met in private conflicts which more than once found their final solutions at sessions. The letters include the whole array of terms describing how the sejmiks operated. The analysed material requires to be confronted with other sources.