The Poor and the community: the Lutheran charitable system in eighteenth-century Wilna

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė (LDK; Grand Duchy of Lithuania; GDL); Lietuvos istorija; Socialinė istorija; Kasdienybė; Liuteronai; Bendruomenės; Labdara; The Lithuanian history; Social history; Trivial round; Lutheran; Communities; Charity.

ENThe questions related to poor relief in the capital city of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania still require more scrutiny, although, in recent years, more research has been conducted on the topic from various perspectives. Nevertheless, it should be considered that, by the end of the sixteenth century, the city was multiconfessional with five Christian confessions (Latin-rite Catholics, Uniates, Orthodox, Lutherans and Calvinists) as well as Jewish and Tatar communities, and that, unlike many western European cities, it did not experience the centralization of poor relief institutions. Thus, more detailed case studies at the community level could reveal varying perceptions of charity, and differences in the provision of relief, characterized by a distinct role of the community or organizational features of charitable institutions. Certainly, institutional relief is always just one side of the story, because people tended to look to their family, relatives and neighbours for help in the first place. These networks of mutual support, however, are difficult to trace in historical sources. Therefore, this chapter focuses on the Lutheran charitable system, which I define as a whole, comprised of institutions, as well as individuals - the receivers and givers of poor relief. The chapter aims to explore the elements of the charitable system, with a particular focus on the receivers of charity.The Lutheran charitable system seems suitable for a more detailed case study (limited, however, by the space available) not only because it has not yet been thoroughly studied, but also because of the hitherto virtually unexamined corpus of sources. Surviving registers of charitable institutions, the records of baptism, marriage and burial, as well as other sources, allow for investigation of the topic employing the nominative approach, common in micro-historical studies, which helps to reconstruct family structure or life-cycle, thus providing additional explanations for the impoverishment of certain individuals. [Extract, p. 47-48 ]