The necessity to reexamine the question of Lithuanian particularism during the reign of Sigismund III and Władysław IV

The article includes the critical evaluation of the achievements of the research on Lithuanian particularism; the author puts forward a number of suggestions for looking at the problem during the reign of the first two Vasas in a new light. Detailed research should be carried out in order to prepare an exact definition of the phenomenon, its extent and the analysis of the characteristic features of Lithuanian particularism. An important aspect of the problem is comparative research which could reveal similarities and differences in the attitudes of the szlachta of the Crown and the Lithuanian szlachta and their attitude to the common state. The frequency and dynamics of the Polish-Lithuanian conflicts should also be examined, and the quantitative analysis of demands put forward by Lithuanian dietines ought to be conducted.