AROUND TABLE OF LITHUANIAN NOBLES YELENSKYS (BASED ON MATERIAL OF MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION FROM MID-18th CENTURY FROM FAMILY GATHERING)

Abstract

The aim of the work is to analyze the gastronomic preferences of the Lithuanian noble family of Yelenskis in the mid-18th century based on a manuscript collection (1744—1752) that belonged to the owner of Skorbutyan, Michal Yelensky, the local sub-chamberlain of Mozyr, as well as to involve this little-known source into scientific circulation. The methodology is grounded in interdisciplinary areas such as everyday history and food studies, comparative methods, and the principles of publishing old Polish manuscript sources from the 16th to the 19th century. At the same time, chronological and historical methods, as well as principles of codicological and source analysis, were applied. Scientific novelty. A new manuscript source has been introduced into scientific circulation, which highlights the characteristics of the table of the Lithuanian nobles, the Yelensks, and the role of Michal Yelensky as the owner of the estate in Skorbutyany. An analysis of invoices, product registers, and dishes mentioned in the text of the collection allows us to model the gastronomic preferences and eating habits of the Yelensks. For the first time, the recipe for coffee by M. Yelensky from the mid-18th century, originating from Lithuanian territories, has been published. Conclusions. The consumption of coffee and tea, which lost their medicinal function by the mid-18th century, is viewed as evidence of the reception of European Enlightenment models by the Lithuanian gentry. Significant innovations — coffee and tea — are analyzed in the context of fashionable trends concerning table setting, tableware, and furniture, which recreated an atmosphere of intimacy during dinner conversations. In contrast, the gastronomic preferences of the Yelensky family, characterized by such markers of social distinction as the richness of spices, sugar, and other additives, demonstrate their adherence to the old Polish aesthetic of taste. At the same time, the owners emphasize the quality of the products. The supply routes of imported products and ingredients to consumers in the region were served by ports on the Baltic, primarily Königsberg.