Judicial proceedings in the case of the nobility of Fyodor Yevlashovsky: causes, course, outcomes

The paper offers a micro-historical study of the lawsuit over "the proof of nobility" (wywód szlachectwa) of Fyodor Yevlashovsky observed as a window into everyday mechanisms by which the szlachta (nobility) maintained status in the later 16th century. The analysis traces how statutory prescriptions of the Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (required evidence, consequences of insulting a noble's honour, the procedure of retracting one's words) interacted with honour culture, kinship networks and local judicial infrastructure. The narrative reconstructs the causes (a public doubt cast on lineage), the course (a bundle of grod court extracts and oath testimonies along paternal and maternal lines; the opponent's attempt to terminate the case by formal retraction; a counter-motion to compel the accuser to undergo his own proof), and the decisions of the Council of Lords (pany-rada) to summon and fine for non-appearance.