Wileńska Kapituła Katedralna w drugiej połowie XVI wieku : disertacija

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Vilnius; Dvasininkai; 16 amžius; Vilniaus katedros kapitula.

ENThe principal aim of the dissertation is to present the functioning of the cathedral chapter of Wilno (Vilnius) in the second half of the sixteenth century and the functioning of the prelates and canons within the capitular structures. In our view, it is possibile to understand the functioning of the chapter only when its personnel has been established as accurately as possible. So the first problem which we sought to solve was the identification of the prelates and canons who composed the chapter. Biographical research on the members of the chapter, submitted to prosopographical analysis, has permitted the tracing of trends and phenomena of change and continuity among the group of Vilnan clergy. Among these clergymen were both well-known figures in the life of the Polish Crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and lesser-known individuals, not noted hitherto in the scholarly literature. Other questions addressed include sessions of the chapter, its officials, and the administration of capitular properties. The various stages by which canonries and prelatures were obtained have been described, while the question of the respective influence on the corporation of royal and episcopal patronage and capitular election has been considered. We have also sought to indicate the social, institutional and informal conditions of ecclesiastical careers. The dissertation is chiefly based on sources created by the chapter itself – notably the capitular statute of 1515 and stenographs of the session of the corporation.