SCENY BIBLIJNE NA ŚREDNIOWIECZNYCH PIECZĘCIACH ŚLĄSKICH PROBOSZCZÓW
BIBLICAL SCENES ON MEDIEVAL SEALS OF SILESIAN PARISH PRIESTS

Summary/Abstract: This article deals with the appearance of biblical scenes on the medieval seals of Silesian parish priests, which is one of the least examined areas of sigillography. Six imprints from the 13th through 15th centuries are analysed, belonging to Wojslaw, the parish priest of Otmuchow; Bertold, the parish priest of Nowy Kosciol; Stefan, the parish priest of Nysa; Jan, the parish priest of Wegry; Tomasz, the parish priest of Strzelin; and Jan Bawde, the parish priest of St Peter’s Church in Legnica. The above-mentioned analysis confirms the adoption of biblical scenes on parish sigils. Moreover, all six cases exhibit references to the New Testament. Five of the seals show events known from the Gospel: the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or the baptism of Jesus (the only reproduction available today is blurry, preventing a clear interpretation of the image it represents), the Flight into Egypt, the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and his meeting with St Thomas. One of the imprints portrays the scene of Archangel Michael’s Battle with the Dragon as it is described in the Apocalypse of St John. The iconography of those sigils is related to the iconosphere that surrounded its disposers. Such a measure proved that a parish priest’s choice of sigil image was not always influenced by the patrocinium of his parish church; sometimes the images represented only their personal piety. However, the scarcity of those relics proves that they are exceptions among the seals of Silesian parish priests.

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