STYLI IN VILNIUS
Rytis JONAITIS
PhD. in History, Research Fellow,
Lithuanian Institute of History
(Lithuania, Vilnius), This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1079-330X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/ul2024.07.065
Abstract
Stylus is a metal or bone instrument that was used for writing on a birch bark or wax-coated wooden tablets. The tool itself (Greek: stilos; Latin: stilus) originated in antiquity: styli were common in ancient Greece and Rome. In Medieval Rus', which is characterised by an abundance of archaeological finds related to writing, the first styli date back to the 10th century. In the Middle Ages two types of styli were used – made of iron, for writing on birch, and made of animal bone, for writing on waxed tablets. This particular paper focuses on the latter. Medieval bone styli are a very rare find in Lithuanian archaeological material, especially in burial monuments. According to the data from 1998, only 15 graves out of almost 8000 contained styli. Bone styli are also rare in urban cultural layers. In addition, styli found in cities precede those found in burial grounds. Styli found in ethnic Lithuania are identical to those found in other cities of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, therefore their origin and spread could be associated with the influence of Ruthenian cities of the duchy. Two medieval burial grounds were found in the earliest towns of pagan Lithuania – Kernavė and Vilnius – where the dead were buried according to the Christian tradition (inhumation of the deceased, the east-west orientation (head to the west), wooden constructions, the scant presence of grave goods, and so forth). The most abundant type of grave goods included ornaments; however no tools or weapons typical of pagan burials were found in these two burial grounds. According to archaeological and historical material, burial grounds in Kernavė and Bokšto Street are nearly contemporaneous, both dating back to 13th–14th century although, the burial ground in Bokšto Street remained in use late as the 15th century. Various arguments are provided in debates on the religious affiliation of those who buried members of their community in these burial grounds. Some researchers disagree that the Orthodox were buried in these two burial grounds in the still pagan Lithuania. The lack of evidence on writing in the layers of the town of Kernavė, that is the absence of styli (except those found on the site of the ruler's castle), birch bark or waxed tablets, is presented as one of the arguments supporting the theory of non-Orthodox burials there. It is well known, that such finds were typical of Rus' cities, especially in Great Novgorod, where 1144 items of birch bark have been found up to 2021. Notably, fewer such finds were found in other cities of the Rus'. During the detailed archaeological investigations on the burial ground in Bokšto Street, several bone styli were found. It must be mentioned, that these artefacts were not found in the horizon of the burial ground, but in the later cultural layer, dating back to the 16th century. The material found is discussed in this paper. We also tried to answer the question of whether these styli could have originated from the horizon of the burial ground and how (or if) they could be associated with the 'Civitas Rutenica', Ruthenian city of Vilnius, which was mentioned in historical sources in 1383.
Keywords:
styli, writing, Orthodoxy, burial rites, Middle Ages.
References
1. Arcikhovskij A., Tixomirov, M. (1953). Novgorodskie gramoty na bereste (iz rasskopok 1951 g.). Moskva: izdatel'stvo akademii nauk SSSR. [in Russian].
2. Caune, A. (1990). Viduslaiku rakstãmriku – stilu atradumi Latvijã. Zinãtniskãs atskaites sesijas materiãli par archeologu un etnogrãfu 1988 un 1989 gada pȇtijumi rezultãtiem. Archeologija, 61–65. [in Latvian].
3. Caune, A. (1992). Viduslaiku rakstãmriku stilu atradumi Latvijã. Latvijas vȇstures institūta žurnãls, 1(2), 9–27. [in Latvian].
4. Celminš, A. (1996). 13–14 gs. Bronzas stilu atradumi Rigã 1994 gada. Archeologija un etnogrãfija, XVIII, 72–76. [in Latvian].
5. Celminš, A. (1997) Rigas Doma pagalma viduslaiku rakstãmirbuļi. Latvijas vȇstures institūta žurnãls, 2(23), 5–17. [in Latvian].
6. Dubonis, A. (2001) Raštininkas. Lietuvos didžiosios kunigaikštystės kultūra. Tyrinėjimai ir vaizdai. (Ed. V. Ališauskas, L. Jovaiša, M. Paknys, R. Petrauskas, E. Raila), Vilnius: Aidai, 574–587. [in Lithuanian].
7. Gurevich, F. (1973). Gramotnost' gorozhan drevnerusskogo Ponemaniya. Kratkie soobshheniya instituta arkheologii, vyp. 135, 28–34. [in Russian].
8. Haak, A. (2014). Tartust leitud keskaegsetest stiilustest. Ajast ja ruumist. Uurimusi Mare Auna auks. Muinasaja teadus, 25, 51–64.
https://www.academia.edu/10351192/Tartust_leitud_keskaegsetest_stiilustest_Medieval_styli_from_Tartu_ [in Estonian].
9. Jonaitis, R. (2017). Golovnye venchiki kak indikator migracionnogo puti v XIII–XIV vv. cherez Kiev v Litvu. Ukraina Lithuanica: studії z іstorії Velikogo knyazіvstva Litovs'kogo. T. ІV: Na poshanu Mikoli Fedorovicha Kotlyara z nagodi jogo 85-rіchchya. Kiїv-Kam’yanec' Podіl's'kij: Instytut istorii Ukrainy NAN Ukrainy, 125–145. [in Russian].
10. Jonaitis, R. (2018) Pravoslavnye devocionalii v Vil'nyuse. Lokaciya, datirovka i znachenie drevnerusskikh e'nkol'pionov v kul'turnykh sloyakh goroda. Arkheologiya i istoriya Pskova i Pskovskoj zemli, 63, 334–346. [in Russian].
11. Jonaitis, R. (2018). Vilniaus senojo miesto vietoje su priemiesčiais (25504), Ligoninės statinių komplekso (1033) ir Vilniaus gynybinių įtvirtinimų liekanų (39) teritorijos, Vilniaus m. sav., Vilniaus m. Bokšto g. 6, 2009-2011 metų detaliųjų archeologinių tyrimų ataskaita. Archaeological report. Lietuvos istorijos instituto bibliotekos rankraštynas, f. 1., b. 8704. [in Lithuanian].
12. Jonaitis, R., Kaplūnaitė, I. (2020). Senkapis Vilniuje, Bokšto gatvėje. XIII–XV a. laidosenos Lietuvoje bruožai. Vilnius: Lietuvos istorijos institutas. [in Lithuanian].
13. Luchtanas, A. (1993). Aukuro kalno piliakalnio Kernavėje 1992 metų archeologinių tyrinėjimų ataskaita. Archaeological report. Lietuvos istorijos instituto bibliotekos rankraštynas, f. 1., b. 2032. [in Lithuanian].
14. Marburgietis, V. (1999). Naujoji Prūsijos kronika. Sud. R. Trimonienė, K. Gudmantas. Vilnius: Vaga. [in Lithuanian].
15. Miedynceva, A. (1983). Nachalo pis'mennosti na Rusi po arkheologicheskim dannym. Istoriya, kul'tura, e'tnografiya i fol'klor slavyanskix narodov. IX mezhdunarodnyj s’iezd slavistov, 86–97. [in Russian].
16. Miedviediev, A. (1960). Drevnerusskie pisala X–XV vv. Sovetskaya arkheologiya, (2), 63–88. [in Russian].
17. Oliejnikov, O. (2018). K voprosu o pis'mennoj kul'ture srednevekovogo Novgoroda. Zemli rodnoj inuvshaya sud'ba… K yubileyu E. A. Leont'eva. Moskva, 175–184. [in Russian].
18. Ovchinnikova, B. (2000). Pisala – stilosy drevnego Novgoroda X–XV vv. Svod arkheologicheskogo istochnika. Novgorodskaya Rus': istoricheskoe prostranstvo i kul'turnoe nasledie. Problemy istorii Rossii, (3), 45–105. [in Russian].
19. Svetikas, E. (1998). Kauliniai stiliai Lietuvos vėlyvųjų viduramžių ir naujųjų amžių kapinynuose. Lituanistica, Nr. 3 (35), 26–42. [in Lithuanian].
20. Valionienė, O. (2019). Viduramžių Vilniaus erdvės evoliucija (XIII a. vidurys – XVI a. pirmas ketvirtis). Vilnius: Lietuvos istorijos institutas. [in Lithuanian].
21. Vėlius, G. (2005). Kernavės miesto bendruomenė XIII–XIV a. Vilnius: Vilnius universiteto leidykla. [in Lithuanian].
22. Velius, G. (2013). Mogil'nik XIII–XIV vv. v Kyarnave (Krivejkishkis): e'tnicheskaya prinadlezhnost' pogrebyonnyx. Arkheologiya i istoriya Litvy i Severo-Zapada Rossii v srednevekov'e, 59–79. [in Russian].
23. Źak, J. (1956). Z dziejow znajomości pisma w Polsce. Slavia antiqua, (V), 377–397. [in Polish].