Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės XVI a. parlamentinės kultūros atodangos: institucinė politikos kalba

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Bajorai; Institucinė politikos kalba; Kalba; Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštija, XVI a.; Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė (LDK; Grand Duchy of Lithuania; GDL); 16 amžius; Parlamentinė kultūra; Politinės institucijos; Seimas; Vilniaus seimo 1563 m. liepos 21 d. instrukcija; Diet; Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 16th century; Institutional political language; Instructio from the Vilnius Diet of 21 Jule, 1563; Language; Lithuanian XVI c. history; Noblemen; Parliamentary culture; Political Institutions; The Great Duchy of Lithuania.

ENKnowledge of institutional political language opens the opportunity to expand the parliamentary culture research space, showing the role of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Seimas, as the most important public political institution, in the formation and spread of humanistic political thought. The article, based on the Instruction from the Vilnius Seimas of 21 07 1563 to delegates appointed to attend the Warsaw Seimas of 1563-1564, presents a collective portrait of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Seimas in institutional language. The Seimas introduces itself, consisting of two noble estates, clergy and laymen: prelates, dukes, lords from the Council of Lords, land and court officials, other noble knights and nobles, as well as representatives of the city. In the instructions, they are grouped into two parliamentary structural branches. One was called the Seimas elders branch and included lords from the Council. The other structural branch consisted of local territorial unit administrative officials and politicians. The branches were titled in 16th-century Polish by the concepts: “przedniejsza ławica rady pańskiej i inszych stanów ławica”. This structure shows that in the early Modern Ages, the Seimas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was understood by its founders and participants as a bicameral parliament, or, using contemporary parliamentary language, it consisted of an “upper and a lower house”.The instructions also discuss the link between these two structural branches and their interrelation. Seimas delegates who do not belong to the senior or Council of Lords branch are reminded that they must uphold the honour of all who delegated them and behave respectfully in all matters, showing the due respect to Council lords. They do not have the right to take action in the deliberation of public affairs without permission or encouragement to do so from their superiors (de publicis rebus, w rzeczac ziemskich). In turn, the Council lords must display sincere affinity to these Seimas delegates, to speak with them in a brotherly way about state affairs and to hear them out, behaving with them like loyal and genuine Commonwealth superiors must behave with their children. If all the Seimas delegates ever had the chance to participate in a conversation about a union, a joining or a merger with the Kingdom of Poland, then none of the delegate lords or the Seimas superiors were allowed to interfere in these conversations without the order, permission or knowledge of their Graces, the Council lords. All such conversations had to take place with the knowledge and as per the will of the superiors, though together and with the general agreement of all the delegated lords. [From the publication]