| Abstract [eng] |
Research object: seals used by the land, castle and chamberlain courts and the court of the Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (in Vilnius and Trakai voivodeships and 9 of their districts) from 1565 to 1792. It has been established that regulations for the use of court seals set out in the Second Statute of Lithuania (1566), the Third Statute of Lithuania (1588), the Diet and the Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania were followed in the practices of that period, and seals representing those courts were used. The dissertation provides the analysis of the courts (land, castle, chamberlain and the Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania), their establishment, activities, composition and development. The research of regulations for the use of court seals in the legal system of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania reveals what kind of seals (institutional and/or official) were used at each court. By means of analysis of non-published archive sources, seals used at the aforementioned courts were identified and their heraldic and sphragistic analysis provided. The way of depicting the following elements on court seals was analysed: the coat of arms shield, the coat of arms helmet, the helmet crest, the shield supporters, the crowns and caps of rank, mantles and other decorative elements. Seal inscriptions and legends as well as the orthography of the dates were analysed. The shape and size of court seals, corroboration and signatures, seal material and colour and the act of placing a seal on deeds was discussed. The fee for the use of seal courts and punishments for forgery of seal courts and stamps were analysed. The appearance of the national coat of arms on the institutional seals of land courts and the Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania and the way it changed over time were analysed, and it was established that the seals of court officials is an interesting and very important source for research of genealogic self-awareness of the officials. |
