The collections of the manuscript public life documents of 17th-18th centuries in Vilnius’ libraries and archives

Abstract

The collections of public life documents (commonly referred to as miscellanea or silva rerum) were one of the most popular types of manuscript books in the period of the „Noblemen’s Republic” (17th-18th centuries). In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania the biggest collections were created and stored in magnates’ courts, and single copies were produced and owned by the common nobility. The fall of the Lithuanian statehood at the end of the 18th century caused their outflow from the former territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithu- ania both to Polish and Russian (currently Ukrainian) libraries and archives. However, a considerable part of discussed documents has remained in Lithuania and is presently found primarily in Vilnius, mainly in the Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and the Lithuanian State Historical Archives (little more than 100 copies). They are a testimony to literary culture of the society inhabiting Lithuanian and Belorussian lands in the 17th-18th centuries and constitute an important source for the history of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania.