History of a Cossack Officer Family Through the Cultural Space of a Testament: The Kalenovskyis (mid-18th Century)

Abstract

The purpose of the research paper is to examine the testament of the fellow of the banner Zakharii Kalistratovych Kalenovskyi (1747). The study aims to establish the genealogical ties of the Kalenovskyis with other families of the Hetmanate, as well as to clarify the economic and social status of the testator and his family within the socio-political system of the Cossack officer corps in the Ukrainian Cossack State. The research objectives encompass analysing the extensive text of this testament and investigating the genealogy of the Kalenovskyi’ family alongside allied lineages, particularly through female lines. Furthermore, the study seeks to expand existing family genealogical registers and determine the actual status of the Kalenovskyi lineage during earlier periods, specifically in the 17^th and early 18^th centuries.

The scientific novelty resides in the investigation of a prominent Cossack officer family of the Hetmanate that had largely lost its elevated social status by the mid-18^th century. The last will offers insight into the testator’s relations with the women of his lineage. When supplemented with other historical sources, it unfolds the genealogical saga of the Kalenovskyi family. The publication progressively reveals the history of several branches of influential noble and Cossack officer families of the Hetmanate. It details their socio-political status, the factors behind its formation, and the mechanisms through which their descendants subsequently lost it. In addition, the economic capacity of the Kalenovskyi’ family is elucidated through the analysis of the estates outlined in the testament.

Conclusions. The last will of Zakhar Kalistratovych Kalenovskyi substantially revises and expands current understanding regarding the genealogy and status of this family and its related lineages. Their interrelationship was grounded in noble origins, membership in the middle and elite strata of the Cossack officer corps, and residence in Krolevets. It was precisely Krolevets and the ownership of manorial estates in this region of the Nizhyn Regiment that facilitated intermarriages among influential local families.

During the 17^th century, the Kalenovskyi family and their kin maintained a high social standing within the Hetmanate. The usage of a coat of arms and the marital alliances of Kalenovskyi men with female representatives of noble families point to the probable noble origins of the family. However, by the 1690s, the family had gradually lost its prominent positions, becoming localized within the region. A marriage with a representative of the once-powerful Holub family enabled Zakhar Kalenovskyi to secure a place among the non-governing Cossack officer corps of the Nizhyn Regiment and to stabilize the social standing of his lineage. Finally, the last will of Zakhar Kalenovskyi revealed extensive family landholdings in Krolevets, alongside complex intergenerational dynamics among three generations of this family in the mid-18^th century.