Najwcześniejsze (szesnastowieczne) rejestry archiwalne szlachty Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego
The Earliest Registers of the Private Archives of the Nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th Century

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to the earliest registers of private archives of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania nobility of the 16th century. Traditions of their drawing up had developed throughout this century. Very few original noblemen’s document registers have been preserved until our days, and the knowledge of the majority of them comes from inscriptions in court books and from the Lithuanian Metrica acts. Already at the outset of the century, books of document copies (cartularies) were written in the courts of the GDL magnates. Document inventories of the representatives of the medium and the minor nobility started appearing in the second half of the 16th century. The last quarter of the century witnessed the final formation of the inventory characteristics typical of later years. Based on the typology of documents described in the registers, registers are grouped into general, covering the basic documentation, and partial. However, even in the general registers only the most important to the owner documents were listed. Hence, the registers of the private archives can turn into “reality trap” reflecting but a part of the archivalia. The article analyses the purposes of the drawing up of registers as well.

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