15. The role of monasteries in strengthening royal and princely power - economic aspects
The proposed section aims to create a space for presenting the results of research on the role that monasteries played in strengthening royal and princely power in medieval Poland, especially in terms of economic aspects. The presentations will focus on analyzing the importance of monasteries in the stabilization and development of the Polish state. The main topics of the section include: 1. Economic support of royal and princely power - how monasteries financially and materially supported the rulers, e.g. organizing coronations, military campaigns, financing the needs of monarchs. 2. Management of landed estates - strategies for managing land and resources by monasteries and their impact on local communities and the economy. 3. Technological innovations - the introduction of new technologies and production methods by monasteries and their impact on economic development. 4. Relations with secular authorities - economic cooperation and conflicts between monasteries and monarchs. 5. Monasteries as centers of trade and production - analysis of commercial and craft activities conducted by monasteries and their role in local trade networks.
Since Benedykt Zientara's classic monograph on Henry the Bearded, there has been a common belief that the ruler's foundation campaign was aimed at including the monasteries in the great development plan of Silesia. Is this thesis still relevant after years of research on the economic activity of monasteries in Silesia in the Middle Ages? I will try to answer this question in my speech.
The Cistercian monastery in Ląd in the early 14th century sought confirmation of its assets and rights from the princes ruling in Poland and from the Teutonic Order. It obtained the privilege from Władysław the Elbow-high in 1314, a few months after he took power in Greater Poland. The abbey used the lawsuit with the peasants of one of its estates a few years later not only to strengthen very specific rights, but also to confirm the foundation document, which was in fact a forgery. The monastery was traditionally an important political partner in Greater Poland and its position contributed to reconciling the local elite with Władysław's triumph. The Cistercians in Ląd were Germans and maintained contacts with Cistercian monasteries in Saxony and other parts of Germany. They had estates and contacts in the country of the Teutonic Order. This created an opportunity to use them in diplomatic activities. Another area worth analyzing is the formation of a new order after the unification of some of the Piast duchies: defining the scope of the monarch's power and its willingness to interfere in local relations. It is worth asking whether the monarch's chancellery could and wanted to verify the authenticity of the documents submitted by the Cistercians. Perhaps a decision was made to tolerate the fact of forgery.
The abbeys of the regular canons of Ślęża/Wrocław and Nowogród Bobrzański/Żagań actively participated in the economic life of the communities in which they operated. Possessing material goods, these monasteries pursued an economic policy that depended not only on the resources they had, but also on relations with secular authorities, including rulers. The objectives of the presentation will be to present the strategy for managing the monastery property and the changes that occurred in it until the beginning of the 16th century, to discuss the dependencies that the social environment of the abbeys had on this process, and to indicate the influence that the monastery economy could have on local communities.
The ruling of prince Henry the Bearded was a time of intense colonisation of the Silesia according to the German law. The ruler who came to this land which appeared to be “emerging from the wilderness” undertook a number of ventures targeted at developing and modernizing the economy in his state. One of such actions was the establishment of monasteries and providing them with wastelands on which new settlements were to be formed. This concept also encompasses the funding by prince Henry the Bearded and his wife, Duchess Hedwig of a monastery (initially a provostry) of regular canons of the rule of Saint Augustine in Nowogród Bobrzański (before 1219). The Nowogród canons obtained land in the region of Nowogród along with 200 hides of forests and wastelands in the Lubuski land for further development.
The canons turned out to be good hosts, having fulfilled the ducal intention related to melioratio terrae. Villages, mills, gardens, vineyards were formed on lands gifted to the canon comm
Silesian Dominican monasteries were active entities in the economic life of cities and their surroundings. Their importance in this field is shown by the accounting books from Wrocław, Brzeg and Świdnica, preserved to this day. Their content allows us to present monasteries as institutions ordering specialized external services from local craftsmen. Showing this phenomenon is important for understanding the economic ties connecting these religious houses with their immediate social environment.
Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie
In the middle of the13th century, the endowment of the Bishopric of Plock consisted 160 settlements and approximately 90 villages located in the vicinity of Plock, Plonsk, Sierpc and Wyszogrod. By the end of the 14th century, around 280 settlements belonged to the Church of Plock. The foundation of new settlements in the 14th century (e.g. Brzozie, Gorzno, Grazawa, Gleboczek) under German law in the estates of Bishops of Plock, as well as the relocation of already existing ones, contributed to economic progress, not only by expanding the cultivated land area but also by making more efficient use of already developed territories.
Fairs in the monastic estates of medieval Poland were an important element of economic and social life, as monasteries, in addition to their religious function, also acted as local and regional economic centres. In the early Middle Ages, income from fairs was a frequent component of the original endowment of newly founded monasteries, providing them with an income in coins or precious metals. On many occasions, these markets were located outside the monastic estates. Thanks to princely and royal grants and later privileges, monasteries were able to organise fairs and markets on their own estates. Legal and economic changes were accompanied by the development of monastery towns, of which there were 58 in Poland by the mid-16th century. Fairs began to play an increasingly important role at that time. Over time, some of the towns belonging to monasteries managed to obtain the right to organise even several fairs a year. The dates of annual fairs were often correlated with religious celebrations, such as patronal feasts of local parish churches or indulgences.
Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie
Until the death of the founder of the Cistercian Monastery in Szczyrzyc, Teodor Gryfita, in 1238, the Ludzmierz-Szczyrzyc abbey, though not among the richest, was well endowed. Its real estate consisted of 20 villages concentrated in the Nowatorszczyzna region. In the following centuries, the monastery’s holdings expanded, partly through land purchases. As early as 1252, the monastery acquired two villages: Kurdwanow and Sciborzyce. Before the 15th century, the village of Maszana was part of the monastery’s estate. A document from 1254 mentions the village of Pogorzany as belonging to the monastery.
In 1403, the abbot of Szczyrzyc, Mikolaj Suchorabski, purchased half a pond located between Jodlownik and Dobroniow in Dabrowka from Mikolaj Droboth, also known as Dobracht of Jodlownik, for 20 grzywnas. Two years later, in 1405, he acquired one-third of the Sciborzyce village headship from Jakusz of Zarnowiec and Jan Mleczko with his wife for 70 grzywnas. By the end of the 15th century, th
Historical Lesser Polacomprised the lands of Kraków and Sandomierz. The position of Kraków as the capital city, the centre of power and seat of one of the most important Polish bishoprics, gave to the region a special role in the political history of Poland during the period of the partition and the reborn Polish Kingdom of the last Piasts (symbolically closed between the dates 1138-1370). In addition to the prominent role of the bishops and high clergy in the political, cultural and socio-economic phenomena of this era, monasteries also played a significant role. Lesser Poland had a densely developed network of monasteries of various rules. A special economic role was played by big abbayes with extensive landholdings. In terms of the modernisation of power, one has to consider the role of immunities, settlement and colonisation policy, participation in the development of crafts and trade, strengthening of frontiers and routes, services to the ruler and the state, and expert support
The subject of the presentation will be the policy of the princes: of Świdnica (Bolek II Mały) and of Ziębice (Bolek II, Mikołaj Mały, Bolko III and Jan) towards the monasteries within their domains. As a result of research on these domains, it was noticed that in the 14th century in the Duchy of Świdnica and Ziębice there were different approaches of the rulers towards the monasteries. In the Duchy of Świdnica - the number of princely donations to the monasteries was decreasing, while in Duchy of Ziębice there was first a long-term dispute with the monasteries (especially with the Henryków Abbey), temporarily interrupted by princely donations. The paper is to show certain models of relations between the princes and the monasteries, which can be observed in 14th and 15th century Silesia.
At the end of the 12th and in the 13th century, several foundations of monastic orders were established in Gdańsk Pomerania, endowed with relatively large land holdings. Among them were the Cistercian abbeys in Oliwa (founded around 1188) and Pogódki (established in 1258 and relocated to Pelplin in 1276), as well as the Cistercian nunnery in Żarnowiec, subordinated to the Oliwa monastery (founded before 1257). The Premonstratensian nuns in Żukowo (established in 1209) and the Knights Hospitaller (possessing lands around Lubiszewo, Skarszewy, and Starogard since 1198) also held rural estates in the region. Smaller estates belonged to the Benedictines (the priory in Święty Wojciech, founded at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries and dependent on the Mogilno monastery) and the Augustinians in Swornegacie (established around 1255). From 1283, the Teutonic Order also established a presence in the area (Gniew lands). This presentation will outline the organization and functioning of the economy on the estates of these monastic orders, with particular attention to their relations with the authorities (local dukes or princes).
