Society

The writers of Eastern Baltic lands of the 13th-14th centuries were not particularly interested in the holidays and ritual commemoration of the sinful pagan nation. Therefore, one can only talk about them today based on random and fragmentary facts and indirect hints found in historical sources. […]

In the Late Middle Ages, the prevalence of apocalyptic mood in Western Europe became more increasingly pronounced. Manifestations of anticipation for the Last Judgement could be observed, with abundant literary descriptions of this very old subject in history and its portrayals in art. Such apocalyptic trends were influenced by the outbreak of plague in the mid-14th century, the so-called Black Death, devastating Europe, with a death toll of almost one third of its population. […]

The Sejm of the Polish – Lithuanian joint state – the Commonwealth of the Two Nations – that convened on 1 February 1717, and sat in conference for only six or seven hours instead of the usual several weeks or several months, was given a name of “silent” because the draft laws were approved without considering them and none of the participants was allowed to start discussions. This procedure for adopting laws was agreed upon in advance. Only the Speaker of the Sejm was allowed to speak whose candidature was coordinated prior to the beginning of the Sejm. There was no usual election of the Speaker of the Sejm either. […]