First publication of documents of dietines of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Abstract

Review of the collection of acts of the Kaunas dietine 1733–1795 compiled by M. Jusupowić («Akta sejmiku kowieńskiego z lat 1733–1795» / Wyd. Jusupović, Monika. Warszawa: Instytut Historii PAN, Wydawnictwo Neriton, 2019. 660 p.). T. Ambroziak points out the importance of this publication for the study of the political and social life of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century. The reviewer notes the relative stability of the activities of the Kaunas dietine, due to the political position of the Zabiełło family. The author draws attention to the significant difference in the publication of dietines’ documents of Lithuania and Poland and to the fact that this work is the first publication of documents of dietines of the Grand Duchy. T. Ambroziak positively assesses this publication, emphasizing its completeness and the fact that materials from the collections of various archives and libraries in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and Russia were attracted. The peer-reviewed publication complies with the modern Polish archaeographic practice of publication of such source material. This collection suits the model of the publication of «acts» of the dietine, formulated by S. Kutrzeba. At the same time, the reviewer points to a number of issues that have not yet been resolved by Polish historiography, as the question of transmission of the text of the source material. The author emphasizes that, despite the ongoing discussion on the development of a new instruction for the publication of historical sources of the Early Modern period, Polish scholars still, although with significant reservations, adhere to the «Publishing instruction for historical sources of the 16th – first half of the 19th centuries» formulated in the middle of the last century by K. Lepszy.