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Book Rcwicvs 175 BOOK REVIEWS Kiaupa, Z., Mickevicius, Sarceviciene, J. ( eds.) Lietuvos valstybe XII-XVIII a., Vilnius 1997, 584 p. [The Lithuanian State in the Twelfth-Eighteenth Centuries] In order to gather specialists in the social and political history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania together and to assess their poten tial, a large international conference on the Lithuanian State in the Twelfth-Eighteenth Centuries was held at the Lithuanian Institute of History in Vilnius on 7-10 November 1995. The conference coincided symbolically with two relevant dates in Lithuanian history: 200 years have passed since the collapse of the Polish - Lithuanian Common wealth - and hence, of the independent Grand Duchy of Lithuania alike; and the thousandth anniversary of the written record of Lithuania's name, the entry for 1009 in the Quedlinburg Annals. Forty one papers were presented by scholars and students during the confer ence. The main result of this collective work is that 29 papers have been published in a collection under the same title as the conference. This volume comprises three parts devoted to a variety of issues: I. Power and society; II. Problems of statehood and policy direction; III. The army and warfare. The contents of the book cover Lithuanian hist01y from the pre-state formation period to the collapse of the GDL. Articles deal with the development of social structures as well as state institutions; there were attempts to analyse such questions as the in teraction of society and power, to discuss the statehood problems and several relevant events of political and state life, to reveal the ideo logical basics of the state life and to consider the matter of warfare as well. The first part includes an article by the archaeologist Vladas Zulkus- Baltic Society in the Early Middle Ages, in which the author analyses the traditional model of the Baltic society, formed from a compilation of all known archaeological data; he presents the main differences in economical development in the areas populated by the western and eastern Baits, which have found their reflection in a dis tinct character of agriculture; the author discusses the impact of those differences upon the further development of social processes and con cludes that it had a significant influence to the formation of the Lithuanian state in the area of the eastern Baits. The historian Artliras Dubonis in his-Leythey- 'the Lithuanians behind the term Lithuanians': A Problem in Lithuanian Historiography and Histolical Sources ( 13- 16th Cent.), attempts to develop further a new hypothesis on the ori- Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 09:09:48PM via free access 176 Book Reviews gins of the name "Lithuania"; S. C. Rowell -Treason or just Differences of Opinion? Casimir Jagiellofzczyk and the Lithuanian Nobility 1440- 1481 -analyses the relationship between the Grand Duke of Lithuania -Casimir and the nobility of that country, discusses the issue of evalu ation of rebellions against the grand duke and reveals the process of consolidation of the political nation; the author concludes with the generalising statement that the Jagiellonian belief "l'etat, c'est moi" became modified by grand ducal I aristocratic confidence as "l'etat, c'est nous"; Krzysztof Pietkiewicz - The Court of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander Jagiellonczyk (1492-1506)- analyses the financial records of the court of Alexander Jagiellonczyk, kept in Archiwum Gt6wne Akt Dawnych in Warsaw, which are the oldest accounts records of the court of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and discusses the role of that court in the life of the GDL; Edvardas Gudavicius - The Lithuanian Nobility of the Sixteenth Century- presents the image of the Lithuanian nobility, distinguishing its political, economic and legal sta tus as well as its functions, influence to the state life, determines the criteria of its consciousness; this researcher emphasizes that in the late sixteenth century the Lithuanian nobility became the political na tion and clearly expressed its political views; Irena Valikonyte - The Right of Noble Woman in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to Free Mar riage: Reality or Fiction, examines the norms of three Lithuanians Stat utes relating to the marriage right of noble woman in order to reveal the certain attitude of the contemporary society towards that issue; Darius Vi lim as-Michalo Lituanus and Teodor Jewlaszewski: Two Views on the Reform of Courts in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - discloses different standpoints of view upon the reform of courts comparing two texts of the sixteenth century (by the diplomat and the lawyer); he asserts that the judicial reform did not live up to expectations; Andrzej B. Zakrzewski -The Die tine Limitation of the Royal Rights to Nominate Judicial Officials in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - characterises the activity of Lithuanian Dietines and its relationship to the ruler's free dom of decision, compares that phenomenon with the Polish one and affirms that it was one of the effects of the decentralisation of the supreme power; Magdalena Slusarska - The Preachers of the Chief Lithuanian Tribunal of the Epoch of Stanislas Augustus Poniatowski: About Love of the Fatherland, Concord and Solidarity of Citizens - ex amines the Tribunal sermons as a specific sort of the spiritual occa sional orations, intentions of which were to encourage different state reforms and to improve the moral status of the nation; Edmuncl;as Rimsa- Town Heraldry During the Partitions of the Republic- considtrs the impact of the political changes in the state life upon the develop ment of town heraldry, affirms that the town heraldry was re-designed for particular political purposes according to the laws of the Russian Empire. Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 09:09:48PM via free access Book Rcwicvs 177 The second part of the book includes articles by such research ers as: Arturas Mickevicius- The Problem of the State Formation in the Area of ftestem Baits, who discusses the theoretical works on the pro cesses of state formation and asserts those in western Lithuania, con ditioned by external geographic factors, were of major importance; Jurate Kiaupiene - The Act ofAugust 14, 1385, in the History and His toriography of the Polish - Lithuanian Union, - defines the place that the Kreva Act occupied in the past and does occupy nowadays, and examines the works of historians of both Lithuania and Poland relat ing to the Act; she outlines and propounds a problem, once again at tracts the attention of the scholars to the Kreva document, seeking to provoke new investigations and a discussion about its peculiarities and origin; Zydrunas MaCiukas - The Legal Conflict of the Coronation of Vytautas - traces the attempts of Vytautas to become king and deals with the legal conflict in the rights of the Pope and of the emperor of the I:Ioly Roman Empire to create and proclaim a kingdom; Vigintas Stancelis - The Pasvalys Treaties of 1557 as a Result of the Changes in the Relations Between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Hohenzollem Dynasty - analyses the geopolitical situation of Livonia and its relation to the aspirations of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and features the way in which those purposes have been accomplished; Kastytis Antanaitis- The Lithuanian Seim of 1576 in Grodno -pre sents the political context, in which the Grodno Diet has started its work, overviews its activity and the reaction of the Polish side towards it; this author concludes that the Grodno Diet marked the efforts of the Lithuanian nobles to restore the state sovereignty; Henryk Wisner - Some Remarks Regarding the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in First Half of the Seventeenth Century -discusses the GDI..:s perception of its in ternational situation and the motives behind its relations with its clos est neighbours; Gintautas Sliesoriunas - The Adoption of Law Equalisation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish Kingdom in 1697- takes under consideration the impact of the equalisation of laws (coaequatio iurium) on the political status (sovereignty) of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and analyses the political rivalry relating the adoption of the bill; Elmantas Meilus - Relations Between the Re public and Russia in 1649-1771 According to the Legal Code ofthe Empire -looks in greater detail at the role of Russia in the history of Lithuania, reviewing the main sources that reflect the official relations between Russia and the Republic before the first partition; Feliksas Sliesoriunas - Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the Interregnum of 1733-1736 - presents an overview of research into that interregnum, traces the activity of rival political groups, analyses changes in the position of the Lithuanian magnates and concludes with the results which influenced the further political development of the Republic; Zigmantas Kiaupa -On the Political Status of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Polish - Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 09:09:48PM via free access 178 Book Reviews Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569-1764- characterises the changes in the political status of the GDL and its response to those shifts, sug gests the possible smaller chronological periodization of the two-cen tury span; Deimantas Karvelis- Concerning the 1764 General Confed erations of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, - describes the activities of the confederations and gives a brief account of their results; Ramune Smigelskyte - The Activity of the Lithuanian Confederation Leaders - Brothers Kosakowski at the Grodno Diet in 1793 - reveals