Bajorystės patikrinimas ir Lietuvos bajorų genealoginis sąjūdis XIX amžiaus pirmojoje pusėje

LTStraipsnyje nagrinėjama, kaip Rusijos imperijos prisijungtose žemėse vykęs privalomas bajorystės patikrinimas virto kilminės bajorijos masiniu genealoginiu sąjūdžiu. Tiriama, kaip buvusios LDK bajorai individualiai ir kolektyviai kūrė giminės genealogiją. Atkreipiamas dėmesys į bajorystę įrodančių dokumentų ir bajorų deputacijose sudarytų bajorystės išvadų raštų bei genealogijos knygų pobūdį. Remiantis Vilniaus bajorų deputacijoje suformuotomis bajorystės bylomis, analizuojamas įvairių bajorų grupių (aristokratų, dvarininkų ir smulkiųjų bajorų) santykis su giminės praeitimi ir jų genealoginės savimonės apraiškos. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Kilminiai bajorai; Bajorystės patikrinimas; Genealoginė savimonė; Kunigaikščio titulas; Socialinis statusas.

ENAt the end of the 18th – first half of the 19th century all former noblemen of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania who became subjects of the Russian Empire had to prove their nobility. Their descent was verified by specially formed noblemen’s deputations and finally approved by the Heroldia department of the Ruling Senate. The verification of nobility was first of all an act of legitimation, but it also encouraged noblemen to go deeper into the past of their family and had a strong impact on the development of the nobility’s genealogical consciousness. The interest in the family’s history and genealogy was characteristic of noblemen even before the verification of nobility. In the 19th century, however, everyone concerned with retaining the privileged status and exercising the rights of the nobility became involved in genealogical research. Therefore there are grounds to discuss the mass genealogical movement of the nobility that formed in the first decades of the 19th century. Undoubtedly, it also had a shade of bureaucracy in it. The main attribute of the said movement was a personal and communal act related to the search for documents necessary for the verification of the noble descent. There were legal regulations defining the type of required documents and the criteria for their reliability. This, however, did not prevent claimants from getting enthusiastically involved into genealogical research and creative interpretation of genealogical sources. Thus, the verification of nobility transformed from a legal to a cultural action.The verification of nobility involved opening a separate systematically updated file for each family claiming nobility that was filled in for as long as the members of the family applied to the noblemen’s deputation. The file contained document of both genealogical and non-genealogical nature. Documents related to genealogy included those testifying noble descent and family relations that formed the basis of genealogies. Letters of nobility confirmation and family genealogical schemes are attributable to documents drawn up in the noblemen’s deputations. Genealogy books formed a separate document that was not included into the nobility files. Unassisted study of the family’s descent, description of the family, drawing of family trees, etc. suggested of the level of the genealogical consciousness manifested by some. Families attributable to the major nobility would hire people to take care of their genealogy. Part of the noble families had brought along the tradition of genealogy from the past, however, in the 19th century the genealogical consciousness was becoming more democratic. The minor nobility, which due to the nobility verification underwent a certain training course of genealogical research, also became involved into the genealogical movement. Its genealogy related achievements were rather modest, yet just like the major or middle nobility, minor noblemen acquired an official nobility confirmation, a genealogical demonstration, and a genealogical scheme, even though the family’s noble descent had not been confirmed. The article dwells on several cases exhibiting the differences in the genealogical consciousness as manifested by representatives of the major (the Marcinkevičius family), middle (the Zavadskis family), and minor (the Lukaševičius and Zapasnikas families) nobility. [From the publication]The genealogical research of the noble families which claimed the title of the Duke (the Giedraitis and Oginskis families) is considered separately.