Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The aim of this text is two-fold. Firstly, a general view of terminological difficulties arising when attempting to name nobility as a whole is presented with the main issue to be faced is the fact that terms such as ‘bajorija’ (a Lithuanian term) or ‘szlachta’ (a Polish one) simultaneously denote a specific and smaller subclass of nobility. Therefore, the Lithuanian neologism ‘kilnuomenė’ has been presented and introduced. It is justified as etymologically bearing two significant notions which were core to the nobility – that of lineage plus nobleness (by nobility, we mean here a ‘noble’ quality of personality character, a virtue). Secondly, departing from this proposed concept of nobility, a historical enquiry and analysis have been carried out whose main purpose was that of demonstrating how both lineage and nobleness (via virtue) functioned in defining membership in the group and acting as an important element of self-representation.
Source: Lietuvos istorijos studijos
Author: Karolis Čižauskas
Institution: Vilnius University
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4405423329