Execution of traitors in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1447-1529

Straipsnyje nagrinėjamas mirties bausmės vykdymas asmenims, nuteistiems už valdovo išdavystės nusikaltimą Lietuvos Didžiojoje Kunigaikštystėje XV a. viduryje - XVI a. pirmajame trečdalyje. Atliekant tyrimą buvo pasitelkti rašytiniai ir archeologiniai šaltiniai. Dėl jų fragmentiškumo pagrindine pasakojimo ašimi kaip analogija pasirinktas 1515 m. egzekucijos, skirtos už brolžudystę, aprašymas. Šis atvejis analizuojamas ir lyginamas su turimais duomenimis, reprezentuojančiais valdovo išdavikų egzekucijų atvejus. Priede pateikiamas mirties bausme nuteistų asmenų sąrašas.The article dwells on the execution of the death penalty for those convicted of treason. Treason here is defined as a political offence perpetrated by a member (or several members) of a group sharing an identity and targeted at the leader (the sovereign) of this group or the structures that represent its public authority. Data represented in this article were gathered researching written and archaeological sources. Due to the fragmented character of the said sources, the description featuring the commitment of fratricide in 1515 was selected as an analogue and used as the main story line. This description was analysed and juxtaposed to the available data on the execution of traitors. The appendix lists the persons convicted of treason and sentenced to death. In the period covered in this research there was no legal regulation as to the execution of traitors. Analysis of written sources revealed that offenders convicted of the offence in question were beheaded, hanged or even drowned. If the insights of H. Ivakin and O. Kozak concerning the remains found in the Dormition Cathedral of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra are correct, it can be stated that criminals were also quartered. An assumption can be made that before the execution traitors were allowed to make confession, receive the Eucharist and be buried as Christians. In the mid- and late 15th century those convicted of treason and sentenced to death were usually of the higher social standing (most often such offenders were dukes and other persons of higher social status), since the beginning of the 16th century, however, the situation changed. An increase in the number of ordinary noblemen sentenced to death for the offence in question was observed. The dissemination of written culture in the institutional model of rule is accountable for the fact, as the majority of such offenders were counterfeiters of documents and seals of the Grand Duke