Klientalizmo kultūra Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės pilies teismuose XVI a.

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Klientalizmo kultūra XVI a. pabaigoje; Klienteliniai santykiai; LDK Pilies teismai; Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė (LDK; Grand Duchy of Lithuania; GDL); Vilniaus Pilies teismas; 16 amžius; Cliental relations; Clientalism of the end of the 16th-eighteenth century; The GDL castle courts; The Grand Duchy of Lithuania; The Vilnius castle court, the sixteenth century.

ENClientalism of the end of the sixteenth-eighteenth century in the public life of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth, the ways and forms of its manifestation were theoretically elucidated and factographically described in the works of A. Mączak, U. Augustyniak, W. Tygielski and other authors. On the other hand, the problem of cliental relations in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) until the Lublin Union of 1569 remain a terra incognita of historiography. The notion “client” and its derivatives are but rarely used in descriptions of internal relations of GDL nobility before the Union. This situation implies a question whether clientalism, or a type of social relations, was merely a borrowed phenomenon - reception of the Polish model in the GDL or the relations patron-client had in this social medium their own genesis, development and cultural traditions. The searches for an answer are complicated by the fact that the sources of the sixteenth century GDL are less representative in the sense of informativeness century. On the other hand the sixteenth century sources are attractive to researchers of clientalism for their being a reflection of how this phenomenen of the early modem times began to expand in the eastern territories of the Central Europe. It is also important that the establishment and development of cliental relations coincided with substantial and dynamic changes taking place in all spheres of GDL nobility life - political (the Lublin Union of 1569), international relations (Livonian problem; war with Moscow), confessional (Reformation), legal (reform of GDL courts and administration in 1564-1566; the Lithuanian Statute of 1566), economic (The Land reform of 1557), and cultural (the first Lithuanian book appeared in 1547; the Vilnius University was founded in 1579).The dynamics of sociocultural medium determined the gratifying eloquence of sources and presents a possibility to find out and evaluate the data revealing the development of the culture of clientalism. The life in the sixteenth century GDL was in full swing. Educated, devoted and well working people were in great demand in all its spheres. Nobility as the leading elite of the GDL found itself in a position of patrons looking for intelligent and industrious people. Gentry looking for possibilities of getting social advance became the potential clients. The reciprocal search intensified the establishment and development of cliental relations. The relationship patron-client occurred in all most important spheres of state life and became a standard of public and private life culture. We have chosen only one njedium as an object of the present article - the GDL castle courts led by governors (voivodes) and their system of relationships before the sixteenth century reforms. This choice was determined by the fact that under the conditions of expanding contacts with other states, intensification of internal life and codification of legal norms there rapidly grew a demand for everyday services of lawyers. The castle courts of the sixteenth century served as a place where ordinary members of gentry could not only litigate but also set their most important life affairs in order. In our opinion the castle courts may by interpreted as a reflection of public and private life of GDL gentry before the union of the sixteenth century.There has survived a complex of sources - 23 books of pre-reform Vilnius castle court 1542-1564 (See: Кяупене Юрате. Книги Вильнюсского замкового суда 16 в. в составе Литовской Метрики // Lietuvos Metrika. 1988 metų tyrin girnai / Литовская Метрика. Исследования 1988 г. / Lithuanian Metrica. Investigations in 1988. Vilnius. 1992. P. 71-84 [Summaries - Jūratė Kiaupienė. Judical Books of the Vilnius Castle Court of the 16th century in the Lithuanian Metrica. P. 175-178]) and a supplementary material of Vitebsk, Grodno solitary castle court books. An analysis of available material revealed that in the middle of the sixteenth century the pre-reform castle courts had a well developed system of cliental relations. This is proved by a long-term order of choice and appointment of court officials. Governors - the highest officials of territorial administration of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania who led the castle courts - used to rally the most devoted representatives of local gentry, took care of their legal professional education and gave jobs. Governor's viceregent (namiestnik) was authorized to organize and lead the everyday work of castle courts. Being a judge in the castle court often turned into a family profession. Judge's post would often be taken by his son, brother, etc. The change of governor would entail the change of the court staff. A new governor would bring along with him a new “team” of court officials. In this sense the situation has not changed even after 1551 when the Vilnius castle court finally obeyed the law of Lithuanian Statute of 1529 according to which judge's candidacy had to be proposed to governor by the local gentry. [From the publication]