dr hab. Zofia Wilk-Woś, prof. Uniwersytetu WSB Merito w Toruniu

Section 27.: Ways of manifesting secular and ecclesiastical power in medieval sources

The metropolitan cross mentioned in the title of the paper as a symbol of supremacy over the ecclesiastical province of Gniezno is an important iconographic element of archbishop seal representations. The metropolitans of Gniezno continued the custom, common since the 13th century, of carrying the cross before them during processions and other ceremonies. Among the courtiers we find people who performed the function of crucifer, and carried the cross before the archbishop. The cross also appears on archbishops' tombstones, foundation tablets, and even stove tiles or as a compositional element of the initial in the archbishop's document. In addition to the cross, in late medieval sources we can also find other symbols of the power of the archbishops of Gniezno and primates (e.g. miter, pallium, seal), which will be discussed in the paper.