The article raises the question about the way the officials of the Grand Duke’s Office accumulated power and used it to ascend the social and political ladder at the beginning of the 16th century. This question is answered based on the case study of the career of Jonas Bogdanaitis Sapiega (Иван Богданович Сапега), the Scribe of the Supreme Council of the Grand Duke. The analysis of the correspondence revealed that this position not only granted J. B. Sapiega the opportunity to be in the closest environment of the Grand Duke but also to influence his decisions related to the matters of the state or private affairs of the Lithuanian nobility. This enabled J. B. Sapiega to develop close and friendly (horizontal) relations with Lithuanian noblemen of the highest social ranking as well as to benefit from their protection and patronage.

[tekstas lietuvių kalba]

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The article presents an analysis of internal factors behind the emergence of treason as a crime in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the mid-14th to mid-15th centuries. The research showed that the main social group in which this crime started to form in the early to mid-15th centuries were the grand duke’s adversaries and foes (Latin: adversarius, inimicus; Ruthenian: недруг, неприятель, враг; German: fynd). The appearance of terms for treason within the context of precisely this social group is evidence of the intensifying links between state structures, whereby closer bonds were established between the ruler and his officials/friends, primarily within the institutional milieu of the ruler’s court and the system of public offices. In this particular context, going beyond the boundaries of loyalty and allegiance was no longer understood just as a demonstration of hostility, but as the crime of treason.