The Deputies of Vitebsk District to the Sejm of Lublin in 1569: The Social Biography of Piotr Kisiel and Tymofiej Hurko

The aim of the article is to examine the most important forms of social activity of the petty and middle nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the second half of the 16th century on the example of the unique life stories of two Vitebsk noblemen. The article discusses biographies of Piotr Kisiel and Tymofiej Hurka, who represented the Vitebsk district at the Sejm in 1569 and directly participated in the conclusion of the Union of Lublin. For a long time, the historiography discussed only the most influential participants of the sessions of this Sejm. However, ‘ordinary’ representatives of the wide group of nobles from the districts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also played their part in negotiations regarding the conclusion of the union. The aims, ideas, worldview, and values along with the personal experiences of those people directly affected their social and political position, and thus, to some extent, shaped the entire state. The author shows the influence of military and political events of the 1560s on the political activities of Piotr Kisiel and Tymofiej Hurka. The experience gained from the Livonian War influenced their attitude towards the union between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish Crown in 1569. The investigations presented by the author show that significant transformations of the 1560s (reforms of the political system of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the creation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) gave the Kisiel and Hurka families the opportunity to actively participate in public life and allowed them to occupy a permanent place among the political elites of the Vitebsk district. The research results are based on various types of documentary sources, both published ones and manuscripts. The methodological basis of the analysis is the biographical method. The article emphasizes that detailed investigations of the biographies of ‘ordinary’ nobles opened new research perspectives in regard to the history of the noblemen of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the entire Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.