Abstract
The article introduces the origin of the urban status of Sokil and the way of its transmission into the possession of the Sokolsky family of princes. The author analyses two privileges granted to Sokil in 1559 and 1605 by its owners, the princes of Sokil, and also the Grand Ducal privilege issued in 1564. The latter used to be previously considered as the beginning of the urban history of Sokil. The granting of Magdeburg Charter influenced the emergence of the reeve government and it became an essential institution in the system of municipal self-government. This is one the reasons why it is extremely important to identify the names of the reeves who played an essential role in the life of the town. People received the office of reeve, in most cases, as a pledge. The author identifies eight names of the reeves in Sokil, as well as the periods of their activity. All of them were mainly nobles by origin and only one of them belonged to burghers. Taking into account their first and second names, the author assumes that most of the reeves were Poles. Most of them were also personally involved in municipal judicature, occasionally transferring this function to landreeves. The available sources allowed to make a research on the financial and entrepreneurial activities of some reeves.
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