dr Katarzyna Płonka- Bałus

The paper critically recapitulates the knowledge about the Płock Gospel called the Golden Codex of Pułtusk ( Princes Czartoryski Library MNK 1207 IV), one of the four "golden codices “ from the 11th century, apart from Krakow, preserved in Gniezno (Codex aureus gnesnensis, Archdiocesan Archives Ms 1 A) and Prague (Gospel Books: Cathedrals of St. Vitus and the so-called Visegrad, Knihovna pražské metropolitní kapituly Cim. 3 and XIV A 4). The origins of the group and its internal chronology remain an open question. Referring to the results of historical, codicological and technological research, supplemented with the reflection of an art historian, we make a new attempt to determine the place of the “Golden Code of Pułtusk” in the culture of the early Piast monarchy, at the same time revealing the process of creating a scientific myth of Polish historiography around this important work of the Piast era.

prof. dr hab. Piotr Z. Oliński

The Matilda Codex had been kept in the Düsseldorf City Library since around 1870, and later in the Düsseldorf University Library. Before that, it was in St. Hedwig's Church in Berlin. It came to this library from the Cistercian monastery of Neuzelle after its suppression. In contrast, nothing is known about the circumstances under which our manuscript found its way to this monastery. Perhaps the manuscript was already in the Nienburg monastery in early 1030. Such a theory was formed on the basis of the description of several events from 1028-1030 and polemical emphases in German yearbooks. If the manuscript could have been in the Nienburg monastery, it would be interesting to see if some circumstances would indicate that it could have been transferred from that monastery to the Neuzelle monastery. The paper will therefore attempt to search for possible solutions to the early fate of Matilda's book in the context of the histories of the Nienburg and Neuzelle monasteries, as well as the

dr hab. Monika Jakubek-Raczkowska, prof. UMK

The custom of attributing special symbolic values to certain historical objects, making them attributes of power and 'relics of the past' in local founding myths, has been a phenomenon in Europe since the late modern period. In Poland, the conditions for attributing historical significance to works of art by linking them to the persons of certain rulers were created in the 19th c. in connection with the struggle for the survival of national identity and historical memory; this trend of thought also marked the later period. The paper will attempt to identify the circumstances under which certain medieval artworks began their 'new life' as bearers of national identity and focus on the scientific consequences of this way of thinking, as a result of which history and art history have long struggled – and in some cases still struggle – with the myth of the beginning, which hinders a modern view of these objects as historical documents and the reconstruction of their real contexts.

dr hab. Juliusz Raczkowski, prof. UMK

A modern analysis of all the material aspects of historical objects is one way of properly recognising them for the purposes of art history and evaluation for conservation purposes. The paper will present the results of the latest material research carried out on early Polish codices using non-destructive techniques as part of the ‘Liturgica Poloniae’ project, as a basis for assessing their material prestige and for revising the definition of ‘codex aureus’, ‘codex pretiosus’, as well as a starting point for further research on luxury manuscript of the 11th-century Europe.

dr hab. Monika Jakubek-Raczkowska, prof. UMK

dr hab. Juliusz Raczkowski, prof. UMK

There is no doubt about the undeniable importance of the so-called Matilda Codex in literature. The copy of the Liber officiorum, kept in Düsseldorf and thoroughly studied by a team led by Prof. Brygida Kürbis, is considered to be a unique document of the politics and culture of the 11th century, associated with Mieszko II. The lost miniature, which shows Matilda of Swabia as the donor and the enthroned Polish ruler, became part of the permanent repertoire of iconography in early Piast Poland, reproduced in every history manual. However, the aspects related to the materiality of this object have not yet been fully analysed: the materials used, the care taken in its production, its artistic quality (the Liturgica Poloniae project has provided opportunities for such research). The results of the analysis will be crucial in assessing the extent to which this inconspicuous book can indeed be considered a Codex Pretiosus, a deliberate diplomatic gift to the sovereign on the occasion of his

dr hab. Jerzy Pysiak, prof. UW

It is not known when the coronation crown of Polish kings, known from the inventories of the Kraków Cathedral treasury from the 16th to the 18th century as privilegiata and mentioned as one of the five royal crowns at the disposal of Polish monarchs, was created. In iconography, it appears for the first time in a 16th-century portrait of King Stefan Batory and can be seen in unchanged form in royal portraits until the fall of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The destruction of the Polish royal insignia on the orders of the Prussian authorities at the beginning of the 19th century forces historians’ attempts to date it to be based on preserved iconography only. In modern times, the name “Chrobry Crown” attributed to it meant that it was considered the insignia of the first Polish king, a symbol of the antiquity and durability of the Kingdom of Poland. It was not until the 19th century, and especially in the 20th century, that historians and art historians, guided by both the stylistic analysis of the crown as depicted in the iconography and the evidence of written sources, proved that this insignia was much younger. Most often it is assumed that the crown was made for the coronation of Władysław Łokietek in 1320. The name of “Chrobry Crown” has been therefore replaced by the “Łokietek Crown”. This attribution, however, can hardly be considered unquestionable.
The attribution of the Polish coronation crown to an emblematic figure of the Kingdom of Poland – Bolesław the Brave (Chrobry) – cannot, however, by any means be considered as unique in the history of European coronation insignia. Similar means of creating a historical myth or a renewed historical memory – are also known from France, England and Bohemia, from the late Middle Ages to the modern era.

dr Wojciech Baran

One of the most valuable and oldest medieval manuscripts from the Archives of the Cracow Cathedral Chapter is the Evangeliary of St. Emmeram, written in Carolingian script and adorned with beautiful illuminations on folio. The last detailed research on this masterpiece was conducted in the 1970s by Gerard Labuda and Bolesława Malik-Gumińska. Although the codex itself has remained unchanged since then, research methodologies and comparative studies on manuscripts of this stature have evolved significantly. In this paper, I aim to present the current state of preservation and storage of the codex, reassess the prevailing scholarly opinions on its gold decorations, and explore hypotheses regarding the book’s origins and its journey to Cracow Cathedral.