Kunigaikštystė ankstyvajame Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės funkcionavimo etape: Svyrių kunigaikštystės pavyzdys

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Didikai ir magnatai; Giminės; Kunigaikštystė; Kunigaikščiai Svirskiai; Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė (LDK; Grand Duchy of Lithuania; GDL); 13 amžius; 14 amžius; Radvilos (Radziwill; Radvila family); Svyrių kunigaikštystė; 14 amžius; 14th century; Families; Noblemen; Svyriai Duchy; Svyriai dukes; The Duchy; The Great Duchy of Lithuania; The Lithuanian XIII-XIV c. history.

ENThere are only scanty written sources about the evolution of duchy within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL). For this reason, analysis of the evolution of duchy should be based as much as possible on other kind of data (archaeological and retrospective). This would help to reconstruct the historical past as fully as possible. The present work is based on the available data about Svyriai Duchy and is designed to unfold at least partly the structure of the GDL and to fill the gaps of knowledge in the Lithuanian historiography. In his undertaking, the author promotes bold presumptions and invites the whole community of historians for discussion. In his discussion about the Svyriai dukes, the author compares the legends about the ducal origin of Svyriai and Radvilos families and makes an assumption that they might have appeared at the same time. The legends evidence the aspirations of one family to create a legend of its ducal origin and of the other family to consolidate its ducal status. The knowledge about the process of conferring the first title of a duke to a representative of Radvilos family is also presented. It turns out that before the procedure, the mentioned representative of Radvilos family took trouble to become an adopted son of Svyriai duke.Though not peremptory, these data imply the ducal origin of Svirskiai family. Based on retrospective data, an attempt was made to reconstruct the boundaries of Svyriai duchy presumably running between the Neris and Narčia rivers. Three defensive units could be distinguished in this area: the Svyriai castle, the Svyriai towers and the fortifications of Garaniai hill fort most likely used as a hiding-place in the 18th century. The dukes of Svyriai duchy have early become service dukes. Already in the first half of the 14th century, they had no right to manage foreign affairs independently even in petty matters. This could be done only through the sovereign. At the time of the splitting of the dynasty in the second half of the 14th century, the Svyriai dukes remained subordinates of the Grand Duke. Only some time later, they became men of Algirdas progeny. [From the publication]