Kosztowności pomorskich klasztorów w świetle wykazów z czasów sekularyzacji w 1. poł. XVI w.
Valuables of the Pomeranian Monasteries in the Light of the Registers of the Period of Secularisation in the First Half of the 16th Century

Summary/Abstract: The paper is aimed at analysing the circumstances of creating and the contents of the registers of valuables from the Pomeranian monasteries gathered as a result of secularisation in the period when the ideas of Martin Luther were being introduced in West Pomerania in the first half of the 16th century. The term ‘valuables’ (jewels) includes paraments and liturgical vestments, noble metals (gold and silver) and cash. Valuables were among the main elements of the movables of the dissolved monastic congregations. In most cases the registers were set up on the strength of an order issued by the dukes and were compiled by clerks or members of a particular order in the presence of other monks and representatives of urban authorities. The registered valuables, unless they had been lost during the riots against the religious clergy, were given to town councils for safe keeping. Finally, most valuables landed in the duke’s treasury and later was divided and inherited within the Family of the Griffins. The registers of valuables are a very important source of knowledge about the material culture of the Pomeranian monasteries; they provide information on the equipment of the monastic churches, chapels and altars, as well as on the reserves of precious metals. They may also be considered to be an indirect source of knowledge on various currents of religiousness in different religious orders.

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