Didiko valdžia, humanistai ir raudonas vaškas: Mikalojaus Radvilos suteiktis žemioniui Jonui Slavskiui

Abstract

A NOBLEMAN’S RULE, HUMANISTS AND RED WAX: MIKALOJUS RADVILA’S GRANT TO LANDOWNER JAN SŁAWSKI This is the publication of the grant issued in 1519 by the Voivode of Vilnius and the Chancellor of the State Mikalojus Radvila (Mikołaj Radziwiłł) in favour of landowner Jan Sławski. It is a document written on a parchment in a manner akin to the humanist minuscule. The parchment has a red wax seal of Mikalojus Radvila attached to it. The published document is accompanied by the text aimed at disclosing and relating the history of the issuance and existence of this document. The main reasons for drawing up such document was the model of Mikalojus Radvila’s rule in Podlachia. When in 1509 the sovereign Žygimantas Senasis (Sigismund I the Old) conceded the domains in Goniądz and Rajgród to the said nobleman and in 1517 also granted the immunity, Radvila employed several interrelated methods to establish his power in the territory. Alongside the castle another important manifestation of such power was subordinate noblemen who eventually would become local officers and form a part of the organization of the lord’s court.