The Ruthenian Burgomaster and His Library: A Vilnius Inventory from 1648

A posthumous inventory of the worldly possessions of Stefan Lebiedzicz, a Uniate burgomaster of Vilnius, was conducted on 27 September 1649 and entered into the acta of the city magistracy. It was printed in 1878 in volume 9 of the Akty, izdavaemye Vilenskoiu arkheograficheskoiu komissieiu (AVAK), with all the scholarly care characteristic of that estimable series. The author has found no documents confirming Lebiedzicz's presence among the benchers, but the ladder to higher office practically required spending some time on this lower rung. After his first election to the annual council, he served per revolutionem, that is, every six years. Thus we find him as councilor again in 1629 and 1635. Then, for no obvious reason we find him only five years later, in 1640, and then again the following year, 1641, which would have been the expected year on the six-year rotation.