Religijność mieszkańców późnośredniowiecznego Szadku w świetle aktów ich ostatniej woli
Religiousness of Szadek inhabitants in the late middle ages in the light of their testaments

Summary/Abstract: The municipal records in Szadek contain 42 testaments from the period 1446–1502, which is a considerable number compared with e.g. the neighbouring cities. There also is information about four bequests that do not have the character of testaments, but are indicative of the main traits of the citizens’ religiousness. The analysed material comprises dispositions given by 61 burghers (some of the legacies were done jointly by married couples). The parish church was the main beneficiary of the bequests for religious purposes (which were quite frequent).The form of the analysed testaments shows that they were made orally, while the written version was secondary, and was sometimes made after the donor’s death. The great variety of the bequests and the number of entries informing about them in city records cannot be regarded as typical of a small town. It is an interesting evidence of the high cultural level of Szadek – a town small but actively participating in modernization processes taking place in the 15th century in the Kingdom of Poland.

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