LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Ginčai; Kasdieninis gyvenimas; Kasdienybė; Miestietės; Miestų istorija; Muštynės; Nesutarimai; Prievarta; Skandalai; Vaidai; Vilnius; 18 amžius; 18th century; Everyday life; Fights; Quarrels; Town history; Townswomen; Vilnius; Violence.
ENViolence was a part of everyday life in the broad sense of the term, including family life. It was a part of the family contact and interpersonal relations in every social group. It is not easy, however, to research this problem, especially among the burgher classes. The most important source are the court books, which are rarely used by historians. The source material kept in the Lithuanian National Historical Archive in Vilnius determines the spectrum of the research possibilities, connected with the topic of the violence against women, in this case against the Vilnian townswomen. Th e purpose of this article is to answer the following questions: To what extent the Mayor and City Council Court Books of the Vilnius from the first half of the 18th century give us the information about violence against women of Vilnius; which forms of violence were noted in court books, and whether the townswomen were victims only? The essay is written based on the analysis of the selected cases of the persecution of women. It is essential to add that it is only a contribution to further research into the subject of the violence among and against Vilnian townswomen in the first half of the 18th century and does not pretend to be a complete study. [From the publication]