Vilniaus Šv. Jono bažnyčios 1602-1615 metų santuokos metrikų knyga

• Kaminskas-Krinčius, Algimantas, parengė [com]
• Klovas, Mindaugas, parengė [com]

LTVilniaus Šv. Jono bažnyčios 1602-1615 metų santuokos metrikų knyga yra pati seniausia Vilniaus miesto metrikų knyga, kurią sudaro 111 numeruotų lapų su 2 818 jungtuvių įrašų (iš viso kiek daugiau nei vienuolika tūkstančių asmenų). Knygoje daug informacijos apie XVII a. pradžios vilniečius - apie jų socialinį statusą, profesiją, tautybę bei tarpusavio ryšius. Be įvairaus rango dvasininkų ir kitų bažnyčios tarnautojų, fiksuojami miesto valdžios elito atstovai ir kiti vilniečiai, kurie vertėsi amatais, prekiavo ar teikė įvairias reikalingas paslaugas (šaltinyje užfiksuota daugiau nei 100 skirtingų amatų, kuriais užsiėmė virš 900 žmonių), taip pat pasitaiko miesto socialiniame paribyje atsidūrusių vargšų - elgetų. Vilniaus Šv. Jono bažnyčioje tuokėsi ar buvo liudininkais ne tik vietos gyventojai, bet ir atvykėliai iš aplinkinių ar tolimesnių šalies vietovių bei svetimšaliai. Būta atvykėlių iš aplinkinių Vilniaus vietovių, taip pat iš kitų Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės ir Lenkijos karalystės miestų. Be lietuvių, šaltinyje fiksuojami įvairių tautybių asmenys: lenkai, rusenai, maskvėnai, vokiečiai, vengrai, čekai, čigonai, švedai, mazoviečiai, škotai, latviai, italai, totoriai, armėnai, turkai, čerkesai. [Anotacija knygoje]

ENThe Church of St John was constructed in Vilnius in the late 14th-early 15th centuries, and for a long time it was the only parish church in the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Ever since the church’s founding the members of the Vilnius magistrate were responsible for its economic and administrative affairs, along with other influential burghers, while the church itself was the most important religious center for Catholics in the city; it was where they married and baptised their children, plus there was also a parish school. A unique historical source concerning the Catholic burghers of Vilnius from the early 17th century has come to light - a marriages register for the years 1602-1615, which is one of the oldest surviving church registry books in Lithuania overall and is an indispensable source for learning about the history of the inhabitants of Vilnius. The register being published here consists of 111 numbered pages with 2,818 marriage entries. The starting date of this source is most likely April 28,1602, and it ends on February 22,1615 (the page numeration indicates that 37 pages are missing, thus the register may have actually been started in 1599). From the year 1602 to November 30,1613 the entries were made by the church sacristan Krzysztof Kazimierz Blinstrub, while from December 15,1613 until the end of the manuscript source, i.e., February 22,1615, the entries were made by unidentified people. The manuscript is kept in the Lithuanian State Historical Archives in Vilnius. The source material shows that the Sacrament of Marriage was granted on Sundays, with a few to several dozen couples being married on the same day. On other days of the week, only one or two couples would be married. The Sacrament of Marriage was not bestowed on longer periods of fasting, such as during Advent and Lent (apart from a few exceptions].The source also offers a reflection of certain other aspects regarding preparations for marriage and its confirmation. Couples had to make the proper preparations, as there was one case where after their examination, the priest refused to marry them. Another condition was that the future marriage had to be announced for three Sundays ahead of the wedding date, and if no unsuitable circumstances arose in that time, the marriage could go ahead. If this three weeks of advance announcement could not be organized for some reason, for example, a long period of fasting was approaching, or for other discreet reasons, the couple would ask for permission for this period to be waived from the church hierarchy - the parish priest, canon or bishop. The Sacrament of Marriage could only go ahead with their permission. The church vicars or other priests would perform the rituals involved with granting the Sacrament of Marriage, less commonly, the parish priest or on single occasions, the bishop, canon official or the canon. It was a rarity not to have witnesses at the wedding, some couples had three or four, others had the usual two people. There were also cases where there was just one witness, or very rarely, none. The wedding would take place in the church, sometimes also in the chapel, and in some instances, at the homes of noble residents of Vilnius. The book contains a lot of information about Vilnius burghers from the early 17th century, such as their social status, professions, nationality and interpersonal relations. In addition to members of the clergy of various rank (vicars, canons, parish priests, bishops, etc.) there are also other servants of the church mentioned in the register - the sacristans, bell-ringers, organists and a steward. A kaleidoscope of people from different layers of society also appear in this historical source.A somewhat larger layer of the city’s society consisted of those who engaged in artisan activities, were traders or merchants, or provided various necessary services. There is a record of over too different crafts and artisan activities in the source, in which more than 900 people were involved. The majority of crafts and businesses were associated with the production and sale of food products, especially beverages, as well as furs, clothing and footwear. The most regularly featured occupations entered in the register were maltsters (66), skinners (50), cobblers (50), tanners (42), butchers (40) and beer brewers (22). A few of the businesses were entered in Lithuanian in this source - swiestinikas, swiestinis (both meaning butter-churners, Lith. sviestas - butter), darbinik[as) (workers, labourers), oskinik(as) (goat-keepers). It should be noted that in this register, the majority of individuals who were entered do not have their craft, trade or other occupation identified. By referring to the existing historiography, the authors managed to recognise individuals of specific professions - merchants, chiefs of certain workshops, goldsmiths, pharmacists, etc. In addition to the craftsmen and service providers, there were also individuals of other, more specific occupations, such as doctors, pharmacists, musicians, book-binders, printers and alike. There were even some people from the poorest fringes of society, such as beggars. Aside from the local population who were married or were witnesses at the Church of St John, the records show that arrivals from the surrounding areas, more distant locations in the country and even foreigners would also come to be married there. [...]. [From the publication]