Mykhailo Hrushevsky.

History of Ukraine-Rus'.

Volume 5

In this fifth volume of his History, Mykhailo Hrushevsky focuses on social, political, and ecclesiastical structures and relations in the Ukrainian lands during the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries. Here the eminent historian examines the social order, civil administration, church organization, and the circumstances that led to a split in the Ruthenian-Ukrainian Church.

Hrushevsky’s narrative is based on an exhaustive examination of documents and scholarly literature on the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland that relate to life on the Ukrainian territories. His study of the available sources and discussion of historical terms join to explore the complex relations of diverse strata of the population on these lands. His focus is on the Ruthenian-Ukrainian population, yet he also deals with other ethnic groups (Poles, Jews, Armenians, and Lithuanians). In comparing developments in the Ukrainian lands under Lithuania with those under Poland, Hrushevsky highlights differences in their governance and society, especially ones remaining after the Union of Lublin (1569). He is especially critical of the consequences of the adoption of the model of Polish nobiliary society, which included subjugation of the peasantry and the decline of cities. Having traced the evolution and structures of the Orthodox Church, he examines the genesis of the Uniate Church that culminated with the Union of Brest (1596), an event that shook the very foundations of Ukrainian society.

Together with volumes 4 and 6, volume 5 gives the first complete study of Ukraine between what Hrushevsky saw as the fall of princely Rus' and the rebirth of the Cossack age. Fully in evidence here is Hrushevsky’s dedication to the study of the popular masses, an approach that allowed him to chart the continuities in Ukrainian history through the time of statelessness and the alienation of elites.

The introduction examines the historian’s contribution to scholarship. An extensive glossary defines terms that figure prominently in the text. Hrushevsky’s eleven bibliographic Notes are each followed by a survey of subsequent research and publications. The newly compiled bibliography includes all sources and publications mentioned by Hrushevsky. Two maps, two appendices, tables of rulers, and a comprehensive index complete the volume.

Пов'язані документи:

History of Ukraine-Rus'. Vol. 5 : Sociopolitical and Church Organization and Relations in the Lands of Ukraine-Rus’ in the Fourteenth to Seventeenth Centuries (2019)