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Traveling in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th–17th Century. Mobility Conditions and Travellers’ Everyday Life

Tomas Čelkis

Faculty of History, Vilnius University, Lithuania, e-mail: tomas.celkis@if.vu.lt

DOI number: 10.53604/rjbns.v11i2_6

Tomas Čelkis (2019), Traveling in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th–17th Century. Mobility Conditions and Travellers’ Everyday Life. RJBNS 11(2), 79-119. DOI: 10.53604/rjbns.v11i2_6. https://balticnordic.hypotheses.org/files/2020/08/08.-Celkis.pdf

AbstractRezumat
The article analyses traveling conditions in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th–17th century. It is aimed at establishing the reasons for the mobility of the GDL citizens in the period in question which were affected by social and economic changes as well as those related to the development of the urban network in the country. Several types of journeys have been distinguished which is indicative of the intensity of population mobility. The general road condition was far from excellent which affected their usability, particularly in wet spells. Attempts to ensure road maintenance and repairs were not equally distributed and not always timely. This was one of the factors accountable for the pace and comfort of traveling. The research also dwells on the everyday life on the road that both the citizens of the country and its visitors experienced as well as issues related to attacks on travellers and highway robberies.Articolul de față analizează condițiile de călătorie în Marele Ducat al Lituaniei din secolele al XVI-lea și al XVII-lea. Acesta are ca scop stabilirea motivelor pentru mobilitatea cetățenilor din Marele Ducat în perioada avută în vedere care au fost afectate de schimbările sociale și economice intervenite, precum și de dezvoltarea rețelei urbane din țară. Au fost identificate câteva tipuri de călătorii, ceea ce indică intensitatea mobilității populației. Starea generală a drumurilor a fost departe de a fi excelentă, ceea ce a afectat capacitatea de utilizare a acestora, în special în perioadele cu umiditate accentuată. Asigurarea lucrărilor de întreținere și reparații a drumurilor nu a fost realizată într-o manieră unitară iar muncile nu au fost întotdeauna efectuate în timp util. Acesta a fost unul dintre factorii responsabili pentru ritmul și confortul călătoriei. Cercetarea investighează, de asemenea, viața de zi cu zi pe trasele pe care s-au deplasat atât cetățenii țării, cât și vizitatorii acesteia, precum și aspectele legate de atacuri asupra călătorilor și jafuri la drumul mare.
Keywords: Grand Duchy of Lithuania, historical geography, traveling, roads, guides, robbers.
CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)
The research was carried out as part of the research project Overland Routes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 13th-18th Century: Structure, Architecture, Maintenance, and Functionality, funded by the Research Council of Lithuania, Researcher Groups Project, contract No. S-MIP-17-43.

Full text in pdf: https://balticnordic.hypotheses.org/files/2020/08/08.-Celkis.pdf