DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.23631#0023
knights in armour with pavises are holding pennons, while in the background guards armed with halberds
are standing watch.
It should be noted however that the Behem Codex is not merely an illustration of guild life. The artist,
or artists, took infinite trouble not only to depict the customs and ideals of the guild community but
also to put over a moral lesson. Critical of craftsmen's defects and shortcomings, they added touches of
subtle humour and satire to their work; they exposed and enriched some motifs abandoning fidelity to
reality for the sake of superior didactic aims.
The period documents described above, as well as other surviving sources dating from the 15 th and
16th centuries, betoken the abundance and variety of objects produced by craftsmen in Poland under the
Jagiellon dynasty. This was facilitated by developments in other arts, and by progress in science and lite-
rature, at first written in Latin, later in Polish. Jan Dhigosz, Andrzej Frycz-Modrzewski and Jan Kocha-
nowski were building up the edifice of national culture; Nicolaus Copernicus was revolutionizing world
science.
The discrepancy between the prolific development of applied art in 15th and 16th century Poland,
to which documentary sources testify conclusively, and the relatively modest cultural heritage which has
come down to us in this respect, may be explained in the first place by the unprecedented losses which
Poland sustained during wars fought in the 17th and the following centuries. Looting by invading armies
and the levies they imposed, war taxation and contributions in kind paid to the Polish state — all this
caused extremely heavy losses, primarily in objects made of precious metals and stones. Royal treasuries
and treasuries of the magnates, the gentry and rich burghers, were plundered and gradually emptied.
The endless lists of objects in surviving inventories provide some idea of the magnitude of the losses
sustained. In the circumstances, practically only objects in the keeping of the Church stood a good chance
of being preserved — though invaders did not spare the churches either — as well as those hidden away,
buried in the ground, or placed in coffins, which were discovered much later by archaeologists. The Royal
Treasury in Wawel Castle, repeatedly taken away and hidden for safe-keeping, even beyond the country's
frontiers, sustained heavy losses due to looting at the time of the partitions.
Objects of high quality, and great historical interest, which have been preserved, though in incomplete
condition, include above all the royal insignia from the tomb of Queen Jadwiga, found in 1949, and the
royal insignia removed from the tomb of King Casimir the Jagiellon in 1973. The former find
consisted of pieces of magnificent patterned material, probably of Italian manufacture, a fairly well-
preserved sceptre and orb in gilded wood, and crumbling remnants of a crown of gilt leather. The existence
of this sepulchral crown of gilt leather had only been vaguely suspected, but subsequently the suspicion
was given confirmation when a similar crown was found in the tomb of Casimir the Jagiellon; the crown,
painted gold, was shaped in floral design (though not in Angevin lilies). Casimir's tomb also contained
a wooden sceptre painted crimson and with its head composed of leather petals, a leather orb, an original
Late Gothic sword, with a bronze pear-shaped pommel and S-shaped quillons, a small gold ring set with
a heart-shaped turquoise, and finally remnants of crimson Italian silver-knit brocade.
The first maces or staffs used by rectors of Cracow University date from the Jagiellonian period. In
mace with the armorial bearings of the Jagiellons, rescued from the Royal Treasury by Tadeusz Czacki,
and left for safe-keeping in the Temple of Sibyl in Pulawy (residence of the Czartoryski family), at present
in the Czartoryski Collection in Cracow, on loan to Wawel Castle. This 15 th century mace was, following
the French and Flemish custom, probably used by the king's bodyguard.
The first maces or staffs used by Rectors of Cracow University date from the Jagiellonian period. In
the Middle Ages the mace or sceptre, which, along with the crown and orb topped with a cross, were sym-
bols of royal power, was also an attribute of certain dignitaries. The earliest mace used by rectors of Cra-
cow University is a long silver staff with a leafy crown. Its base forms a multilateral knob with nine shields
emblazoned with the armorial bearings of Poland, Lithuania, Great Poland, the Angevins and leading
Polish families. It is assumed that this mace was presented to the University on the occasion of its restora-
tion in 1400. Two other rector's maces originally belonged to two cardinals, Zbigniew Olesnicki (d. 1455)
and Frederick Jagiellon (d. 1503). Cardinal Olesnicki's mace resembles the one described above, which
dates from 1400. The rim of the leafy crown is engraved with the coat-of-arms of the Papacy with the Keys
of St. Peter, Poland, Lithuania and the Olesnicki family (Debno). Four shields at the base of the crown
carry the coat-of-arms of the Olesnicki family, the Polish Eagle and the arms of Lower Austria of Elizabeth
of Austria. An inscription which runs round the shaft is engraved in Gothic minuscule letters. The Late
are standing watch.
It should be noted however that the Behem Codex is not merely an illustration of guild life. The artist,
or artists, took infinite trouble not only to depict the customs and ideals of the guild community but
also to put over a moral lesson. Critical of craftsmen's defects and shortcomings, they added touches of
subtle humour and satire to their work; they exposed and enriched some motifs abandoning fidelity to
reality for the sake of superior didactic aims.
The period documents described above, as well as other surviving sources dating from the 15 th and
16th centuries, betoken the abundance and variety of objects produced by craftsmen in Poland under the
Jagiellon dynasty. This was facilitated by developments in other arts, and by progress in science and lite-
rature, at first written in Latin, later in Polish. Jan Dhigosz, Andrzej Frycz-Modrzewski and Jan Kocha-
nowski were building up the edifice of national culture; Nicolaus Copernicus was revolutionizing world
science.
The discrepancy between the prolific development of applied art in 15th and 16th century Poland,
to which documentary sources testify conclusively, and the relatively modest cultural heritage which has
come down to us in this respect, may be explained in the first place by the unprecedented losses which
Poland sustained during wars fought in the 17th and the following centuries. Looting by invading armies
and the levies they imposed, war taxation and contributions in kind paid to the Polish state — all this
caused extremely heavy losses, primarily in objects made of precious metals and stones. Royal treasuries
and treasuries of the magnates, the gentry and rich burghers, were plundered and gradually emptied.
The endless lists of objects in surviving inventories provide some idea of the magnitude of the losses
sustained. In the circumstances, practically only objects in the keeping of the Church stood a good chance
of being preserved — though invaders did not spare the churches either — as well as those hidden away,
buried in the ground, or placed in coffins, which were discovered much later by archaeologists. The Royal
Treasury in Wawel Castle, repeatedly taken away and hidden for safe-keeping, even beyond the country's
frontiers, sustained heavy losses due to looting at the time of the partitions.
Objects of high quality, and great historical interest, which have been preserved, though in incomplete
condition, include above all the royal insignia from the tomb of Queen Jadwiga, found in 1949, and the
royal insignia removed from the tomb of King Casimir the Jagiellon in 1973. The former find
consisted of pieces of magnificent patterned material, probably of Italian manufacture, a fairly well-
preserved sceptre and orb in gilded wood, and crumbling remnants of a crown of gilt leather. The existence
of this sepulchral crown of gilt leather had only been vaguely suspected, but subsequently the suspicion
was given confirmation when a similar crown was found in the tomb of Casimir the Jagiellon; the crown,
painted gold, was shaped in floral design (though not in Angevin lilies). Casimir's tomb also contained
a wooden sceptre painted crimson and with its head composed of leather petals, a leather orb, an original
Late Gothic sword, with a bronze pear-shaped pommel and S-shaped quillons, a small gold ring set with
a heart-shaped turquoise, and finally remnants of crimson Italian silver-knit brocade.
The first maces or staffs used by rectors of Cracow University date from the Jagiellonian period. In
mace with the armorial bearings of the Jagiellons, rescued from the Royal Treasury by Tadeusz Czacki,
and left for safe-keeping in the Temple of Sibyl in Pulawy (residence of the Czartoryski family), at present
in the Czartoryski Collection in Cracow, on loan to Wawel Castle. This 15 th century mace was, following
the French and Flemish custom, probably used by the king's bodyguard.
The first maces or staffs used by Rectors of Cracow University date from the Jagiellonian period. In
the Middle Ages the mace or sceptre, which, along with the crown and orb topped with a cross, were sym-
bols of royal power, was also an attribute of certain dignitaries. The earliest mace used by rectors of Cra-
cow University is a long silver staff with a leafy crown. Its base forms a multilateral knob with nine shields
emblazoned with the armorial bearings of Poland, Lithuania, Great Poland, the Angevins and leading
Polish families. It is assumed that this mace was presented to the University on the occasion of its restora-
tion in 1400. Two other rector's maces originally belonged to two cardinals, Zbigniew Olesnicki (d. 1455)
and Frederick Jagiellon (d. 1503). Cardinal Olesnicki's mace resembles the one described above, which
dates from 1400. The rim of the leafy crown is engraved with the coat-of-arms of the Papacy with the Keys
of St. Peter, Poland, Lithuania and the Olesnicki family (Debno). Four shields at the base of the crown
carry the coat-of-arms of the Olesnicki family, the Polish Eagle and the arms of Lower Austria of Elizabeth
of Austria. An inscription which runs round the shaft is engraved in Gothic minuscule letters. The Late