Origo et arma. Kilmė ir herbas Lietuvos Didžiojoje Kunigaikštystėje XVI-XVIII amžiuje

LTMonografijoje tiriama Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės kilmingųjų genealoginė savimonė ir heraldika XVI–XVIII amžiuje, palyginimui pasitelkiant platų europinį kontekstą. Remiantis proginių leidinių, genealoginių medžių, schemų ir iliustracijų teikiama informacija bei gausia heraldikos ir sfragistikos šaltinių baze, išskiriami devyni kilmingųjų puoselėtos genealoginės savimonės aspektai, nagrinėjami genealoginės atminties konstravimo niuansai, kilmės, herbo funkcijos ir reikšmės kilmingojo gyvenime ypatumai. Didelis dėmesys skiriamas jungtinių herbų, kilmingų vyrų ir moterų, katalikų ir unitų dvasininkų herbų bei antspaudų, vokiečių kilmės kilmingųjų genealoginės sampratos ir jų naudotos heraldikos tyrimui. Ar esate girdėję apie Europos kilmingųjų protėvių kilmės iš Trojos ir Romos legendas ar animalistinius mitus? Kokią ypatingą reikšmę turėjo sena, garbinga, neretai legendinė kilmė aristokratijos atstovams? Kaip susiformavo genealoginiai medžiai? Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės, kaip ir kitų Europos šalių, kilmingųjų gyvenime buvo ypač svarbi kilmė (lot. origo) ir herbas (lot. arma), kurie išskyrė juos kaip privilegijuotus visuomenės narius ir neretai buvo naudojami kaip vizitinė kortelė ar net propaganda siekiant ambicingų tikslų. Genealoginė samprata ir atmintis buvo svarbūs sraigtai, padėję suktis didelio masto socialiniampolitiniam-kultūriniam mechanizmui. Heraldika ir genealogija galėjo būti šių dienų darbų aplanko (angl. portfolio) atitikmuo. Kaip jis buvo formuojamas ir viešinamas? Ši knyga padės įminti ne tik kilmingųjų genealoginės savimonės ypatybes, bet ir jų heraldikos reikšmę, funkcijas ir mįsles. Atskleis, kokiu principu būdavo sudaromi kilmingųjų jungtiniai herbai, kodėl jų heraldikoje karaliavo ne viena fantastinė būtybė, herbą laikydavo ant patrankos sėdintis karys ar kiek spaudų galėjo turėti vienas kilmingasis.

ENGenealogy is a multi-faceted semantic field where a chess-like strategy is harnessed to create and model the historic identity of a noble family. This monograph does not study the specific genealogy of the nobility in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) but rather, their genealogical self-awareness, i.e., the self-identification of nobles from the genealogical aspect in the time and space when they lived, the information available to nobles about their ancestors and the identity constructed by using this knowledge. The memory of ancestors and their “discovery”, or the selection of ancestors according to certain criteria dictated by personal intentions, formed the genealogical portrait of a family, which would be promoted in society - the portrait gallery of the nobility. Actual biological kinship would often be altered or enhanced with legendary motifs, or ancestors known for a particular outstanding feature would be highlighted so that the past could serve the present and help achieve a higher status in the future. While some regional differences do exist, the situation that unfolded in the GDL was testimony of joining in the general European, especially the Western cultural, area. Thanks to cultural and personal links to the Western and Central European aristocracy, a collective general European self-awareness was in place. Thus, the study of the genealogical self-awareness of the nobility in the GDL is important in terms of both the local and broader regional aspects. Nonetheless, this book has two main leitmotifs: one’s origin (origo), their understanding, creation and use, and the coat of arms (arma) as the main symbol representing a noble persons status - one that not only distinguishes him/her as a privileged member of society but an image that also carries important functions in the life of a noble.The coat of arms served in the interest of personal goals while also marking one as a state official, revealing the noble s genealogical self-awareness, which often bore relation to politics and warfare, and was a reflection of cultural and mental trends in the GDL and Europe at large. This study is the first attempt to conduct complex research of the genealogical self-awareness and heraldry of nobles of various ranks from the GDL in the 16th- 18th centuries based on genealogical trees, genealogical diagrams and illustrations, publications released to mark special occasions, heraldry, sigillography and other sources. This book also sees the introduction into academic circulation of such large quantities of genealogical trees and diagrams of GDL nobles of various ranks, as well as the coats of arms and seals they used. Particular attention is given to combined coats of arms and the ways in which these arms were combined. The heraldry of women and supporters is also studied. While the monograph has a strong focus on seals, comprehensive sigillographic research was not undertaken, yet an attempt was made, as far as possible, to present a multi-faceted view of armorial seals by discussing the sealing material, seal size, legends, etc.Genealogical memory sources that helped preserve genealogical information and formed people’s genealogical self-awareness may be divided into several groups: i) the Lithuanian Chronicles; 2) various chronicles and histories (the works by Maciej Stryjkowski, Alessandro Guagnini (Alexander Gwagnin), Albertas Kojalavičius-Vijūkas and Marcin Kromer); 3) old armorials (by Simon Okol- ski, Bartosz Paprocki, Kasper Niesiecki, Albertas Kojalavičius-Vijūkas); 4) legal documents (last wills, property sales documents, privileges); and 5) other documents, portrait galleries, living memory, etc. The sources in the groups listed above on the one hand performed a momentary function - they helped in the construction of a specific genealogical narrative or visual genealogical source. On the other, their function could have been more long-lasting if the genealogical source would not be swapped for another, while the facts and information provided by the mentioned source remained the same. A third aspect is also worth mentioning - a genealogical memory source would become a specific genealogical source created by a specific family. We should not forget that the creation and construction of genealogical sources could have been determined by the personal whims of certain nobles, their mental, political or social intentions, as the result of which we can today witness the creation of a legendary genealogy that once existed, and the selection process of ancestors deemed worthy of being remembered and represented. Illustrative examples of such mental processes are often used by geographers, who apply them to describe processes occurring in nature - the small and large water cycles. [...]. [From the publication]

• Archeologija / Archaeology
• Istorija / History