LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė; Lietuvos XV-XVI a. istorija; Žemaitija; Teismai; Teisė; Lietuvos Statutai. Keywords: The Great Duchy of Lithuania; Lithuanian XV-XVI c. history; Samogitia; Courts; Law; Lithuanian Statutes.Reikšminiai žodžiai: 15 amžius; 16 amžius; Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė (LDK; Grand Duchy of Lithuania; GDL); Žemaitija (Samogitia); Seniūnai; Seniūnijos; Teismai; Istoriografija; Elders; Eldership; Courts; Historiography; 15th century; 16th century.
ENSince the beginning of the twentieth century, research on the elders’ court in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the fift eenth and sixteenth centuries (to 1566) has remained relatively poor. The aim of this study is to find out the main issues related to the organisation and functioning of the elders’ court in Samogitia. The text is based on the Metrica of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (especially the Sixth Book of Court Records), and about 200 documents from various manuscript collections. On the basis of this material, it is possible to see how much the reality of the organisation and functioning of the elders’ court differed from the norms established in the First Lithuanian Statute (1529) and the regulations of Samogitia declared in 1529 and 1536. [From the publication]