Žemaitijos seniūnija XV - XVIII a. kartografijoje

Abstract

The Duchy of Žemaitija has performed an important function in the Great Duchy of Lithuania speaking about the political and military tendencies during the Middle Ages period. The Duchy of Žemaitija, as a self – dependent territorial – administrative unit was formed in the beginning of the 15th century. The old cartography could be qualified as an important and interesting source to analyze some bigger or smaller administrative units. But it’s very important to emphasize that in this instance the old cartography aren’t the proximate source that could help to determine the boundaries of the Duchy of Žemaitija. Analyzing the old maps we could try only to qualify the results of the borderline delimitations and other facts. The main task of this investigation is to analyze the cartographical view of The Duchy of Žemaitija trying to qualify the results of the borderline delimitations. The second task is to describe the geographical space of Žemaitija and the third – to identify the settlements, fixing in the old maps; it’s very important to assign the most reliable motives that could be the criteria of the objects selection. The cartographical sources can be dividing into four groups. The first period referable with the maps of N. Cusanus, M. Beneventanus and other authors. In these maps we can see only the name of the Duchy of Žemaitija and some very fragmentary information about the couple settlements. The cartographical proceedings of B. Wapowskis can be referable with the beginning of the second period of the cartographical development that had extended till the end of the 16th century. In the maps of that period it was formed the stable position of the Duchy of Žemaitija in the cartographical plane. There were no symptoms of the geographical space reflection in these maps, inter alia it can be state that there were no reflection about the boundaries of the Duchy of Žemaitija as the self – dependent territorial – administrative unit. It was fixed about 44 settlements of Žemaitija in the maps of the second period. The third period of the cartographical development is referable with the map of M. K. Radvila - Našlaitėlis (1613). That map marked the progress tendencies of the cartographical sciences. It was fixed about 70 settlements of Žemaitija; approximately 25 was fixed for the first time. The geographical space of the Duchy of Žemaitija wasn’t perceived like the natural landscape, it was underlined only the hydrographical network or Žemaitija. In that map the Duchy of Žemaitija was fixed as the self – dependent territorial – administrative unit of the commonwealth. The later cartographers copied the information of the map of the 1613. But it could be excluded the fourth period of the development of the old cartography. There were found some maps, which could be qualified like an examples, reflecting the symptoms about the beginning of the new cartographical period.