Rycerski ceremoniał katolickich pogrzebów w Polsce XVI wieku a plastyka nagrobna

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Date
2008
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Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL
Abstract
The Catholic funeral rites of the Polish nobility in the sixteenth century had a form that was probably determined in the late Middle Ages. Our scarce sources from that period make it impossible to provide a complete picture of funeral rites in this social group. They most certainly imitated stately royal burials and those magnate ones that were more modest. The descriptions of Polish royal funeral rites are therefore of considerable value for us. They show the most important elements of knightly rites. The earliest text of this type is Jan of Czarnków’s Chronicle that reports on the funeral of Kazimierz Wielki of 1370. We find more details, however, in the sources concerning funeral rites of Zygmunt I Stary of 1548. Among other sources that have been preserved up to date we can mention Ordo Pompe funebris Serenissimi Sigismundi Regis Poloniae written by the Kraków Bishop Samuel Maciejowski, and written records. The funeral was very pompous. The funeral procession consisted, among other things, of a rider who symbolised the king in full arms with a sword pointed downwards. He was accompanied by a shield-bearer that carried a shield with the royal coat-of-arms and a lance. On the third day of the funeral there was a culminating moment. The helmet, sword, and shield covered with wax were left in front of the altar, whereas the lance was ritually broken. Then a heavily armed knight rode into the presbytery and fell to the floor. Hetman Jan Tarnowski’s funeral (d. 1561) looked similar. We owe its detailed description to Stanislaw Orzechowski. Other sources witness that similar rites were used at the nobility’s funerals, as we can read it in e.g. Stanislaw Morawicki of Szczodrkowic’s Catholic dialogues on church rites (A Conversation Between a Pilgrim and a Landlord... of 1549) and Wit Korczewski’s Polish Conversations... of 1553. The influence of funeral rites is apparent in the Renaissance tomb sculpture. The monuments represent knights in full arms, lying most often on their sides and podpierających their heads with an arm. Aside to figures there were also other attributes: the helmet, sword, and shield (in a stylised and heraldic convention), and also until the 1550s lances ornamented with a pennon.
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Keywords
katolicki ceremoniał pogrzebowy, rycerstwo, szlachta polska XVI wieku, broń rycerska, nagrobki renesansowe, catholic funeral rites, knighthood, Polish nobilety of the XVIth century, knightly weapons, renaissance tomb monuments
Citation
Studia nad sztuką renesansu i baroku, T. IX: Ceremoniał i obyczaj w XVI-XVIII wieku, red. J. Lileyko, I. Rolska-Boruch, Lublin 2008, s. 235-256
ISBN
978-83-7306-410-2