METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES OF RESEARCHING SELF-GOVERNMENT IN VOLYN CITIES IN THE LATE MIDDLE AGES

Abstract

The theoretical and methodological foundations of the study of self-government in the cities of Volyn in the late Middle Ages have been summarised. It is a set of general scientific and special historical methods of knowledge, such as ascent from the abstract to the concrete, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, systemic, institutional, structural and functional, interdisciplinary, comparative, quantitative analysis, etc. Among the special historical methods problematic-chronological, retrospective, prosopographical, historical and legal, and other methods have been used. Particular attention has been paid to the issues of adherence to the principles of objectivity and the departure from ideological clichés and restrictions that have prevailed in historical science until recent years. The methods of cognition and theoretical generalisations of auxiliary disciplines have been involved: military history, historical regionalism, historical urbanism, historical anthropology, history of international relations, history of state and law, history and theory of local self-government, etc. That is, we are talking about the introduction of a multidisciplinary methodology of scientific analysis. The localisation of history at the level of individual cities, family ties, and the study of the mental characteristics of the subjects and objects of urban governance required the use of appropriate methods that are generally inherent in local and micro social history, historical anthropology, etc. The city and the castle were parts of a single social organism. The specifics of the complex socio-cultural structure of the urban population, which required legal regulation and was reflected in the order of city management, its structure, functions, and the nature of relations with the institutions of state and local authorities has been shown. The legal status of Volyn towns within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia, and Zemaitia was determined by the spheres of zemstvo (grand ducal), patrimonial (princes, lords, and polish landed gentry), and Magdeburg (city) law. Alongside them, there were systems of law of ethno-confessional communities of Tatars, Armenians, Jews, Karaites and others with their own jurisdiction. The author shows that the existence of different systems of law in the city had a negative impact on the development of the economy and replenishment of the city treasury, since the main burden of taxes was borne by the burghers, including those of Magdeburg jurisdiction. It has been proved that the existence of different systems of law and the existence of the so-called juridica system significantly influenced the nature of social relations in cities, leading to unequal relations between certain groups of the population.