Garasymchuk M. Acts books of Sambir ekonomia from the end of the 16th -17th centuries: Historical and source study research.

The thesis presents a comprehensive analysis of a set of acts books of Sambir ekonomia from the end of the 16th - 17th centuries. I defined the principles of the castle and zhupna chanceries that were used in the judicial proceedings - the period of work and the system of document creation. It was found out that the chanceries worked throughout the calendar year except for the biggest religious holidays. I outlined the main duties and tasks of the clerks who were required to possess some specific knowledge and skills. They had to be proficient in writing, some foreign languages and know the samples of entries. Based on the available source information I created a table about the clerks staff. The thesis presents the characteristics of external design and the state of preservation of all types of acts books from castle, zhupnyy, assembly and commissar courts. The thesis provides a correct numbering system of pages in cases of making errors in their binding. There is also a detailed description of exterior features acquired in the course of restoration work. The thesis shows the trends of certain rules for acts books keeping in the castle сhancery which apparently were established by the chancery and shaped by contemporary scribe traditions. The general characteristics and differences in work of zhupna chancery are given. There is a separate analysis of the internal structure of assembly books different from all other acts in the structuring of information in a form of tables. The commissar books depict the peculiarities of judicial activities of the royal commissioners delegated to the territory of the ekonomia who acted according to some clear instructions outlining the rights and responsibilities. Given the characteristics of scribe traditions, I developed my own classification scheme for the entries. I singled out four categories: legal, administrative and regulatory, financial and property, and private records. For each type of entries, I analyzed the structure of an act sample indicating some peculiarities of its internal structure. I singled out formulas required for legal documents to acquire legal force as well as replaceable components of the samples that appeared in different variations with different frequency. Special attention is drawn to the content of the entries that allowed to consider how the acts books can provide data on political, social, economic and legal relations on the territory of Sambir ekonomia. In the light of the study of the work organization of the chanceries, I discovered some aspects of the administrative and judicial systems of the day as well as of the work of the officials of the ekonomia. Based on the available information sources, I researched the characteristics of family relations: principles for arranging marriages and violation of moral and ethical norms of marital relationships, conflicts in wide family circles. Acts books are presented as a source for studying certain aspects of taxation and relations between the royal administration, local officials and residents of the ekonomia. In light of numerous appeals and court decrees with approved penalties, I studied the existence of crime that could have been a threat to the residents of the ekonomia. I analyzed various offenses against life, health, property, moral customs and religion.