DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.23631#0017
local court, assisted by assessors elected by the burghers. In order to limit the power wielded by the
headman, a town council was elected by a mayor. The council made decisions relating to economic and
administrative conditions in the town, and left jurisdiction to the headman. The towns which developed
in Poland rapidly became centres of trade and industry. The right to hold markets and the right of storage,
whereby itinerant merchants had to stop in the town and present their goods for sale for a specified number
of days, were beneficial to towns. Inviting foreign settlers was a remedy for the depopulation of the country
following Tartar invasions. Thus there arrived in Poland not only Germans, but also Jews, Armenians,
and occasionally Italians and Greeks. This gave rise to language and other differences. The flow of foreign
settlers became so great that in some towns the Polish population was in the minority.
Craftsmen became organized in guilds. The guild was ah extremely hierarchical body, divided into
the three categories of masters, journeymen and apprentices. Upon completing his training an apprentice
became a journeyman, and continued to learn and gain experience until he passed his master's examination
which usually consisted in making a piece of work in accordance with guild rules and up to guild standards
(the 'masterpiece'). Guilds saw to the quality of production, just distribution of work and earnings and
established honest prices. They also took measures against members who did not observe guild rules
and against craftsmen who were not members of guilds.
Many excellent examples of the 13th century goldsmith's art have been preserved; some of them may
have been the work of local masters, others are unquestionably of foreign origin but have played a special
role in Polish culture, in shaping national awareness and tradition. They served to add splendour to ducal
courts and churches. Among such objects pride of place goes to two gold crowns, occasionally erroneously
called diadems, which once belonged to Duke Boleslaus the Bashful and his wife Kinga. Deposited at
Wawel Cathedral as votive offerings, in the 1 5 th century they were made into a cross which may be seen
in the Cathedral treasury. The crowns, made of chased gold, consisted of seven or eight plates respec-
tively, larger and smaller alternately, each crowned with a lily. Each plate was adorned with figures of
fantastic animals, cabochons of various precious stones, pearls, and coral, and with niello ornaments. The
duke's crown in addition featured miniature figures of ladies and knights jousting on horseback and on
foot, and hunting with falcons, and also representations of birds and animals. Each lily was surmounted
with an eagle facing ahead.
The crown decorating the herma (a reliquary in the form of a bust) of St. Sigismund, presented to
Plock Cathedral by King Casimir the Great, though much altered at a later period, was very similar to
the crowns just described. According to tradition, this crown was made for Kinga's sister, Yolanda, spouse
of Boleslaus the Pious, Duke of Great Poland. The two princesses were daughters of King Bela IV of
Hungary, of the Arpad dynasty. There have been many suppositions as to the origins of these crowns.
According to the most recent hypothesis they were ordered and made in Venice. There was a fourth
crown belonging to this group (now lost but known from photographs) formerly preserved in Seville,
which was also attributed to the Arpad dynasty. Poland's relations with Hungary were close both as
regards dynastic connections, and in respect of economic and cultural contacts.
The crowns described above testify to the splendour of ducal courts in 13 th century Poland, and their
extensive connections with other European courts. From the point of view of national tradition, however,
by far the most important heirloom is the sword known as Sipgrbiec (Jagged Sword) which served at
the coronation of Ladislaus the Short in 1320, but it was unquestionably in Polish hands as early as
the 1 3th century. In all probability it was a ceremonial sword (gladius iustitiae), carried by one of the
nobles in front of the ruler at the opening of the annual Royal Assizes. Originally, the gold hilt of the
sword carried the inscription 'Boleslaus', and therefore some historians have attributed it to Boleslaus,
Duke of Mazovia and Sandomierz, son of Duke Conrad of Mazovia, and paternal great grand-uncle of
Ladislaus the Short, who died in 1248. The Jagged Sword, preserved in the Royal Treasury at Wawel
Castle, was the coronation sword of the kings of Poland. Hidden away during the partitions, it passed
out of Polish hands after 1795. Recovered from the Ermitage in Leningrad in 1924, it is no longer in its
original state. The hilt is covered with a gold niello plate bearing inscriptions from the Gospels and various
cabbalistic signs. Despite sustained research the origin of this most cherished heirloom of the Polish people
remains shrouded in mystery. Very appropriately, the Jagged Sword is kept in the most ancient part of
Wawel Castle.
In the 1 3th century important symbols of ducal power were the seals with which each provincial
duke stamped documents. Polish seals, used both by state and Church dignitaries, were designed according
headman, a town council was elected by a mayor. The council made decisions relating to economic and
administrative conditions in the town, and left jurisdiction to the headman. The towns which developed
in Poland rapidly became centres of trade and industry. The right to hold markets and the right of storage,
whereby itinerant merchants had to stop in the town and present their goods for sale for a specified number
of days, were beneficial to towns. Inviting foreign settlers was a remedy for the depopulation of the country
following Tartar invasions. Thus there arrived in Poland not only Germans, but also Jews, Armenians,
and occasionally Italians and Greeks. This gave rise to language and other differences. The flow of foreign
settlers became so great that in some towns the Polish population was in the minority.
Craftsmen became organized in guilds. The guild was ah extremely hierarchical body, divided into
the three categories of masters, journeymen and apprentices. Upon completing his training an apprentice
became a journeyman, and continued to learn and gain experience until he passed his master's examination
which usually consisted in making a piece of work in accordance with guild rules and up to guild standards
(the 'masterpiece'). Guilds saw to the quality of production, just distribution of work and earnings and
established honest prices. They also took measures against members who did not observe guild rules
and against craftsmen who were not members of guilds.
Many excellent examples of the 13th century goldsmith's art have been preserved; some of them may
have been the work of local masters, others are unquestionably of foreign origin but have played a special
role in Polish culture, in shaping national awareness and tradition. They served to add splendour to ducal
courts and churches. Among such objects pride of place goes to two gold crowns, occasionally erroneously
called diadems, which once belonged to Duke Boleslaus the Bashful and his wife Kinga. Deposited at
Wawel Cathedral as votive offerings, in the 1 5 th century they were made into a cross which may be seen
in the Cathedral treasury. The crowns, made of chased gold, consisted of seven or eight plates respec-
tively, larger and smaller alternately, each crowned with a lily. Each plate was adorned with figures of
fantastic animals, cabochons of various precious stones, pearls, and coral, and with niello ornaments. The
duke's crown in addition featured miniature figures of ladies and knights jousting on horseback and on
foot, and hunting with falcons, and also representations of birds and animals. Each lily was surmounted
with an eagle facing ahead.
The crown decorating the herma (a reliquary in the form of a bust) of St. Sigismund, presented to
Plock Cathedral by King Casimir the Great, though much altered at a later period, was very similar to
the crowns just described. According to tradition, this crown was made for Kinga's sister, Yolanda, spouse
of Boleslaus the Pious, Duke of Great Poland. The two princesses were daughters of King Bela IV of
Hungary, of the Arpad dynasty. There have been many suppositions as to the origins of these crowns.
According to the most recent hypothesis they were ordered and made in Venice. There was a fourth
crown belonging to this group (now lost but known from photographs) formerly preserved in Seville,
which was also attributed to the Arpad dynasty. Poland's relations with Hungary were close both as
regards dynastic connections, and in respect of economic and cultural contacts.
The crowns described above testify to the splendour of ducal courts in 13 th century Poland, and their
extensive connections with other European courts. From the point of view of national tradition, however,
by far the most important heirloom is the sword known as Sipgrbiec (Jagged Sword) which served at
the coronation of Ladislaus the Short in 1320, but it was unquestionably in Polish hands as early as
the 1 3th century. In all probability it was a ceremonial sword (gladius iustitiae), carried by one of the
nobles in front of the ruler at the opening of the annual Royal Assizes. Originally, the gold hilt of the
sword carried the inscription 'Boleslaus', and therefore some historians have attributed it to Boleslaus,
Duke of Mazovia and Sandomierz, son of Duke Conrad of Mazovia, and paternal great grand-uncle of
Ladislaus the Short, who died in 1248. The Jagged Sword, preserved in the Royal Treasury at Wawel
Castle, was the coronation sword of the kings of Poland. Hidden away during the partitions, it passed
out of Polish hands after 1795. Recovered from the Ermitage in Leningrad in 1924, it is no longer in its
original state. The hilt is covered with a gold niello plate bearing inscriptions from the Gospels and various
cabbalistic signs. Despite sustained research the origin of this most cherished heirloom of the Polish people
remains shrouded in mystery. Very appropriately, the Jagged Sword is kept in the most ancient part of
Wawel Castle.
In the 1 3th century important symbols of ducal power were the seals with which each provincial
duke stamped documents. Polish seals, used both by state and Church dignitaries, were designed according