ТОРГОВІ ШЛЯХИ ЧЕРЕЗ ЗАХІДНОРУСЬКІ ЗЕМЛІ В ПОЛІТИЦІ ПОЛЬСЬКОГО КОРОЛІВСТВА XIV–XV СТОЛІТЬ

The article deals with the issues of the emergence, functioning, and political role of transit trade routes through the West Ruthenian lands in the Late Middle Ages. These routes are considered an important regional economic and geopolitical phenomenon that had long-term consequences for Ruthenian-Polish relations at that time. The work is structured according to geographical and chronological principles. It traces the emergence of the Hanseatic trading network at the mouth of the Vistula River and the establishment of ties with the Galicia–Volhynia state and its two main centers, Volodymyr and Lviv. The geography of each of the four known Hanseatic trade routes to them and the range of traded goods are identified. New chronological frameworks for dating the main source on this issue, the Toruń customs list, are proposed. Using the example of the trade wars in the 1340s by the Polish king Casimir III, additional justification is provided for why his expansion towards Ruthenian lands should be dated from 1349 rather than 1340. An attempt has been made to date three trade seals from Tournai found in Halych on the basis of the chronology of stable activity on the Hanseatic- Ruthenian routes. A review of the potential route of the “Tatar Road” during the 14th century was conducted, taking into account the latest archaeological and numismatic findings. The continuity of the Central European routes since Early Middle Ages was noted. Using this example, the duality of the trade policy of Polish kings regarding West Ruthenian routes in the 15th century is demonstrated: limiting their previous export capabilities in foreign markets and directing them towards the development of the southern lands of the Polish Kingdom. The context of the formation of the “Wallachian Road” was reviewed. For the first time, the 1469 Lustration of Royal Estates is used to reconstruct the Ruthenian section of this route and characterize its source potential in the study of regional trade. A conclusion is made about the somewhat deterministic external economic conditions that had a significant impact on the political consequences of the functioning of these routes.