Źródła wiedzy heraldycznej Ludwiga Wilhelma Brüggemanna. Herby miejskie w Ausführliche Beschreibung des gegenwärtigen Zustandes des Königl. Preussischen Herzogtums Vor- und Hinter-Pommern
Sources of Heraldic Knowledge of Ludwig Wilhelm Brüggemann. Urban Coats of Arms in Ausführliche Beschreibung des gegenwärtigen Zustandes des Königl. Preussischen Herzogtums Vor- und Hinter-Pommern

Summary/Abstract: The article contains an analysis of the most important work written by Ludwig W. Brüggemann entitled Ausführliche Beschreibung des gegenwärtigen Zustandes des Königl. Preussischen Herzogtums Vor- und Hinter-Pommern; it presents the 17th-century Western Pomerania. One of the elements of his description are coats of arms, thanks to which Brüggemann’s work has become the first written source of direct information on urban coats of arms, and as a result is a very valuable source for research into urban heraldry. The aim of the article is to identify the sources Brüggemann had drawn his knowledge from on the coats of arms of West Pomeranian towns. According to the analysis the basic source of heraldic information for Brüggemann were first of all the seals of particular towns. Another source of heraldic knowledge were scientific works written by Pomeranian historians: P. Friedeborn, J. Micraelius, Ch.W. Haken, W.C. Stolle, S. Gadebusch, M. Rangonis. Yet, Brüggemann had never copied their texts in extenso or slavishly; instead, he had shortened the texts and modified them to make them more suitable for his own needs. In some cases – eight to be exact – it was impossible to identify the sources he had drawn the information from on the history or the symbolism of the coats of arms. On the other hand, only in three cases the heraldic descriptions of towns had come from the topography and had been sent by clerks as a reply to a questionnaire prepared by L.W. Brüggemann. The results of the research lead to very important conclusions concerning the present-day urban heraldry. It has turned out that the overwhelming majority of the descriptions of coats of arms included the ones in Ausführliche Beschreibung… result from Brüggemann’s interpretations of seal images he had seen with his own eyes. They were not created on the basis of the information given by clerks of the local town halls. Therefore they are rather a reflection of the state of heraldic consciousness of Brüggemann himself, and not of the owners of those coats of arms – the burghers and the municipal authorities.

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