be as much as possible proved by documents, which is especially important for the
studies of the second half of the 14
th
–16
th
centuries, where the source base is rather
limited. Given that the main source material of the research were the records of the
Lviv magistrate, royal decrees, privileges and universals, the so-called internal source
criticism plays the main role – verification of messages present in the text, such as:
whether the date of the source corresponds to the events described, or are the names of
the persons referred consistent with each other in time and circumstances? How much
can one trust the testimony of the victim and the accused party when it comes to
litigation? In view of this, when working with the material of Early Modern Age, the
researcher is particularly at risk of falling into the trap of sources, excessively trusting
the source evidence. Therefore, the study should be supplemented by a criticism of
interpretation, that is, attention to a situation that could have caused some or other
source evidence.
In order to find out the rule-making activity of the kings of Poland and the
Rzeczpospolitaita, Lviv magistrate in the field of urban defense, it is advisable to use
the legal methods. Such activities were carried out during the performance of the
above-mentioned institutions and envisaged the creation of legal principles that would
regulate activities in the field of ensuring city defense. On the basis of these methods,
the legal basis for the creation of certain documents related to the defense of Lviv in
the second half of the 14
th
–16
th
centuries has been assessed.
When working with the sources of the second half of the 14
th
–16
th
centuries it is
impossible to do without the method of structural analysis. This method is used as a
technical operation, through which the document form has been analyzed. When
working with the documents of the Lviv magistrate, the monarchs of Poland and the
Rzeczpospolita, we are dealing with established forms of documents. By dividing the
text of the document into structural units (clauses), it may be easier to obtain the
necessary information. Having selected a certain group of documents, which were
created on a well-established sample of the form, we have managed to quickly find the
necessary information without processing the entire document.
Source science has long established its approaches to working with historical
sources. In the process of analysis of the source material for its full-fledged critical
processing, the following data is taken into account:
1) the institution that managed the documentation, its composition,
competencies, years of existence;
2) the name of the source in the original;
3) the time period that covers the source;
4) the condition and clerical-chancellery nature of the source (completeness and
fragmentary nature of the source, fair and draft texts, original and copy);
5) the source language;
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