ENHistorians have been studying various state crediting practices in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for more than a century. Grand-ducal demesne pledging has also received attention, among other topics. Mainstream research has primarily focused on the amounts of borrowed money or pledged lands, whereas the issue of pledge deeds has not yet been thoroughly discussed. The present study addresses this historiographic gap by investigating the provisions of pledge deeds. The analysis of the sources has made it possible to distinguish two types of contracts: open-ended and fixed-term. During the period under review, the first type of pledge deeds prevailed. In open-ended contracts, the income of the pledged holding, which stood as a guarantee of the loan, was transferred to the creditor for an indefi nite period (until the debt was repaid), leaving the ruler only with a small part of the benefits. Due to the persistent treasury shortage, the pledged holdings remained at the disposal of the lenders for an extended period, providing significant financial benefits exceeding the loaned amount. This resulted in fi erce competition between creditors who were constantly competing for profi table pledges. Attempts were made to take them over from competitors by lending larger sums of money or signing contract terms more favourable to the ruler. As a result, the second type of fixed-term contract developed over time. The main provisions were not fundamentally different from the ones in the open-ended contracts, but the pledge was only available for one to nine years. Competition between lenders led to an intense change in contract terms and variation of pledge holders. However, the ruler’s consent in open-ended arrangements to transfer the pledged property to the deceased person’s heirs helped some noble families retain pledged holdings for several decades. Keywords: Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL), pledge deeds, terms of agreement. [From the publication]