Społeczeństwo i religijność na średniowiecznym Mazowszu. (Ze studiów nad aktami czynności biskupich Płockiego Archiwum Diecezjalnego)

Abstract

The article is a suggestion of a possible direction of research on the question of medieval religiosity postulated in the literature. The medieval Acta episcopalia preserved almost entirely in the Diocesan Archives in Płock give a very interesting picture of the church life in Mazovia in the area of the diocese of Płock. Bishop’s court dealt with cases which for some reason were disturbing the conscience of the faithful and at the same time were a testimony of their religious sensitivity and awareness. The bishop had to settle incidents of dishonesty and unreliability of the presbyters, their immoral behaviour, but also marital problems, often associated with the intimate sphere of human feelings. Paradoxically, the negative image of the clergy of that time is also a positive testimony of community’s approach to the issue of faith and religion. It is also extremely important that the bishop's court, it seems, treated in a similar way testimonies of people of noble origin, townsmen or peasants. Similarly, bishop’s court paid due attention to the relations or complaints brought by women from various states, and in the eyes of church officials they had the same value as those made by men. All this makes the book of episcopal activities an extremely important historical source, bringing a lot of interesting information also in the field of social culture.