FAMILY NETWORKS AND THE RULING ELITE OF THE CITY OF LUBLIN IN THE EARLY 16TH CENTURY

• Authors: Chojeta M.
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

This analysis focuses on a group of 56 persons whose family ties can be traced in the municipal records of the city of Lublin, ie. proceedings of the mayoral and councilmen's courts, official civic records, entries from registers of grants, property transfers, wills and deeds. Family connections seem to have played an important role in the functioning of the Lublin civic elite. They were employed both as a means of advancement and of entrenchment on the social ladder. The case material collected for this study contains ample evidence of the process of turning privileged status into a heritable possession. Moreover, the ambitions of some families seem to have been fixed on creating office-holding dynasties (eg. the Minczarowie-Kropidlowie, Kielbasowie, Lubomelscy, Stanowie, and Byczkowie-Sierpowscy). While it is possible to trace the mechanisms of intermarriage within the power elite, it would be wrong to call it an in-group closed to outsiders. In the choice of marriage partners local candidates were the norm, although there were some exceptions. It cannot be ruled out that romantic attachment played a role in a number of matches, especially those where the bride was not a Lublin resident. The source material is less clear on the status of widows from that social group. Those that married again were, it seems, in a position to assist the rise of their new husbands. However, in the majority of cases widows simply dropped out of the Lublin civic elite. The picture which emerges from the data on medieval Lublin elites demonstrates that family networks not only had a conspicuous presence in the life of Polish cities in the Middle Ages but also could be used as a sure foothold by outsiders aspiring to join the privileged upper crust.

Keywords

EN

CIVIC ELITES (LUBLIN); FAMILY NETWORKS; POLAND (16TH C.)

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Księgarnia Akademicka
• Journal: Studia Historyczne
• Year: 2008
• Volume: 51
• Issue: 3-4
• Pages: 263-278
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Chojeta M.

• M. Chojeta, c/o Redakcja 'Studia Historyczne', ul. Golebia 13, 31-007 Kraków, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

09PLAAAA056710