Introduction

Abstract

The scholars are part of the current of traditional social history seen – thanks to, among others, the French school “Annales” – through the lens of mainly recurrent and mass phenomena, considered in the categories of social groups. The geographical scope of the book does not overlap with the contemporary borders of Poland. The work largely revolves around both components of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – but necessarily the authors pay more attention to the central lands of the Polish Crown, whose historiography is more abundant. The source base for this volume is enormously varied. Of crucial importance were the traditional demographic mass sources, primarily the records of three series: weddings, baptisms and funerals, from churches of various denominations. A lot of valuable information was provided by property and family files, including personal documents, correspondence, diaries and memoirs.