Royal Chancellery Research Articles

On Rittmaster Stanisław Studziński, translator of eastern languages in the service of the castellan of Cracow, Grand Hetman of the Crown Adam Mikołaj Sieniawski

The last will of the Grand Hetman of the Crown Adam Mikołaj Sieniawski, drawn up on 17 February 1726 in Lvov (today: Lviv), mentions Rittmaster Stanisław Studziński. Rittmaster Studziński won the hetman’s trust not only through his military activities, but also through his work as a court translator of Oriental languages. Studziński also worked in the royal chancellery, serving as the translator of Oriental languages to the Crown and continuing to maintain contact with the hetman. He left a manuscript containing a collection of letters and notes relating to matters with the Ottoman Porte and Crimea. Józef Ignacy Kraszewski’s article provides information on the Studziński manuscript and includes a description of letters from Crimean and Ottoman officials to Polish dignitaries from 1714–1731. The current location of the manuscript is unknown. In this text, an analysis of Studziński’s manuscript (time frame, correspondents, personal documents) is carried out to indicate the scope of the translator’s activities. Kraszewski’s information was supplemented by other information collected in the Princes Czartoryski Library, which sheds light on certain aspects of the Studziński’s activities during his years of service to Sieniawski.

The Șipeniț Land and the question of its cession to Poland in 1436

The article analyses the circumstances surrounding the decision of the Moldavian ruler, Iliaș I, to cede the Șipeniț Land to the Kingdom of Poland on September 19, 1436, the Șipeniț Land – a historical region located in the area of the Moldavian-Polish border. This episode remains a topic of discussion in the Romanian, Polish and Ukrainian historiographies, the opinions being split either in favor of the instatement of the Polish administration in Hotin, Țețina and Hmelov in year 1436, or supporting the Moldovan ruler’s failure to fulfill his promise. Based on a study of the main official records of the Moldavian-Polish relations and the mentions of the governors of Hotin and Țețina in the documents of the royal chancellery for the years 1430-1440, it can be deduced that the Șipeniț Land was not ceded to Poland in 1436.

Pigment composition in the privilegio rodado of Juan the Second

The article examines the pigments used in the design of the privilege of King Juan II of Castile and Leon to his favorite Alvaro de Luna for a third part of the city of Arevalo. The charter comes from the collection of Academician Nikolai Petrovich Likhachev (1862-1936), held at the St. Petersburg Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The document belongs to the most solemn type in the Royal Chancellery of Castile; its formula was extremely stable, while its exterior design was dynamic. The design consists of three parts: the initial, the rueda and the border. The study of pigments of was carried out by optical microscopy, multispectral imaging and X-ray fluorescence analysis. It was found that, contrary to the prevailing opinion in the literature, the pigments were placed on the parchment without any ground or pre-drawing. It was found that both mineral and organic pigments were used. Different pigments were used in different elements of the decoration of the charter. The rueda and initial form one group, the border another. In the first group, red is obtained using pure cinnabar or a mixture of it and red lead. Blue and pink are formed by organic dyes in combination with lead white. The traditional Western European azurite and lapis lazuli are not used. The green is most likely a mixture of orpiment and indigo. This combination was not typical of Western European illuminations of the Late Middle Ages. Copper pigments were more common during this period. Black pigment is represented by soot, white by lead white. Green, on the other hand, is represented by copper pigments in the border, while blue and pink contain no lead. The difference in pigments set may indicate two different stages of the fabrication of the charter, different in time and place. A study also confirmed the use of natural gold, which is consistent with the high status of the recipient of the privilege, Alvaro de Luna, who played an important role in the Castilian court. Refs. 30.

Ius caducum w Lublinie w pierwszej ćwierci XVII w.

The research objective of the study focuses on the functioning of the escheat law within cities. The research, although undertaken in a limited chronological scope, may contribute to the introduction of an issue that has not yet been recognized. The subject of the findings are the detailed issues of the functioning of the escheat law in former Poland, in particular the implementation of the monarch’s prerogative in the light of its limitations imposed in the parliamentary constitutions, the property scope of the escheat law and the issue of the participation of local royal state authorities, i.e. the starost’s office and local (municipal) government authorities, in the execution of the monarch’s decisions. Apart from persons appointed to the inheritance by virtue of law or will, the monarch could also participate in the inheritance proceedings. A heirless or testamentless inheritance fell to the king who, under the law of the escheat (ius caducum), embraced such an inheritance, which was then known in Poland as the “puścizna”. The ruler’s powers in the field of ius caducum were limited by the parliamentary constitutions requiring the king to grant noble goods acquired under the escheat law only to distinguished persons from among the nobility. These restrictions did not apply to the king’s administration and disposal of the bourgeois escheat goods. The process of granting by the king the caduceus estates of the burghers to the nobility are presented on the basis of royal documents concerning the inheritance of Lublin residents passing down to the nobility in the first quarter of the 17th century. The sources used in the research are eighteen documents found in the books of the Crown Record kept by the royal chancellery. The applied research method relates to research on the sources of law. A feature of the presented findings is reliance on unpublished archival sources, which require taking into account the philological and palaeographic methods related to the preparation of sources for analysis.

Word of notary. The notarial record of Gonzalo Pérez, a notary public of Castrillo-Tejeriego (Valladolid) (1334-1335).

En este trabajo damos noticia del hallazgo en el Archivo de la Real Chancillería de Valladolid del registro notarial escrito en 1334 y 1335 por Gonzalo Pérez, escribano público de Castrillo-Tejeriego (Valladolid). Se presentó en 1520 en la Chancillería de Valladolid porque era testimonio de la firmeza y legalidad que proporcionó el notario al registro en el primer tercio del siglo XIV. El registro notarial de Gonzalo Pérez de Castrillo-Tejeriego es el más antiguo de los registros conocidos de Castilla.

Os tabeliães de notas de Coimbra entre os séculos XVI e XVIII

O presente artigo aborda os homens e mulher que receberam a propriedade dos ofícios de tabelião de notas de Coimbra entre o início do século XVI e os meados do século XVIII. Para este efeito, suportamo-nos essencialmente nas cartas de nomeação, apresentação ou confirmação efetuadas pela Casa de Aveiro e pela Coroa portuguesa e registadas na chancelaria régia. Assim, a informação recolhida permitirá analisar qual o enquadramento legal e como se processou o exercício desta prerrogativa senhorial, observar a transmissão dos ofícios e identificar os seus proprietários.

Del «Diario de a bordo» a la biografía: Las campañas marítimas (1407 y 1410) en la Crónica de Juan II de Alvar García de Santa María y la doble redacción de El Victorial

La biographie médiévale de don Pero Niño, cornee de Buelna, appelée Le Victorial, contient dans les deux tiers du récit les événements que eurent lieu au cours de deux ans seulement de la vie du personnage. Ces moments de sa vie correspondent aux années 1404-1406, c'est à dire, le temps dans lequel Pero Niño fut capitaine des expéditions maritimes le long de la côte atlantique européene et dans la Méditerranée. Les procédés linguistiques et littéraires du récit extraordinairement détaillé, que le Victorial en fait, sont confrontés avec d'autres récits des journaux maritimes ressemblants de la Crónica de Juan II, jusqu'a nos jours inédits. Cette confrontation nous permet de déduire que quelqu'un, à côté du futur comte, tenait ponctuellement un «journal de bord», comme c'était obligatoire à cette époque, journal destiné à l'archive de la chancellerie royale. Ce même journal devait être réélaboré, vingt-cinq ans plus tard, avec des intentions différentes aux premières, mais probablement par la même personne. Cette seconde rédaction est celle que nous pouvons lire aujourd'hui comme la plus longue partie du Victorial.

Functional Analysis of Privileges in Document-Communication System of Royal Chancellery of the Jagiellonian Dynasty Lviv Defense Policy During Its Pre-Source Existence (Information Potential of Archival Funds Tsdial of Ukraine)

The funds of the Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Lviv have been analyzed. It is turned out that the most significant information potential regarding the Jagiellonian dynasties Lviv defense policy is fund: 52, 131. One of the types of documents created by the Royal Chancellery, namely privileges as a result of the activity of the document-communication system of the defense policy of Lviv of the Jagiellonian dynasty, was researched. During the document processing, privileges in the content have been systematized as those issued for the restoration of the city’s defense capability, for protection against attacks by Turkish-Tatar troops and for natural disasters elimination. On the basis of them, the analysis of the functions they performed during their pre-source existence was made. The analysis of documents in the period of its pre-source existence makes it possible to consider it as a real phenomenon, and as a fact of the historical process. Another benefit of this research is that, depending on the role that privileges have played in the past, its significance in the source base is largely determined. The more significant the primary social function of the source (the impact on subsequent historical events, processes, phenomena, breadth of scope, etc.), the more important the value of the source as the information bearer. Thus, the following functions were clarified as informational, social, communicative, administrative, legal, and historical functions, which acquired privileges after their operational acting role and were sent to Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Lviv for preservation. The paper gives examples of the Jagiellonian dynasty privileges and the dynamics of their issuance during the defense capabilities and fortifications construction enhancement in Lviv for natural disasters or enemy attack protection. The study found that the urban privileges granted by monarchs at different times were the main research source into the kings’ policy to strengthen Lviv’s defense capabilities. The informative value of the sources consists of the possibility to trace the emergence of Lviv as an important defense and strategic center by analyzing the document content. The city fortifications are first mentioned in the privileges of Vladislav II Jagiello. During the reign of the successors of Vladislav II Jagiello – Casimir IV and Jan Olbracht, a large-scale construction of new fortifications, walls and towers was completed. The privileges of the successor kings Jagiel are typologically similar and granted for the same purpose as Vladislav II Jagiel himself. Keywords: document-communication system, Jagiellonian dynasty, medieval Lviv, defense fortifications, archival sources, privileges, functional analysis.

La légitimation des bâtards de Raymond-Roger de Comminges et Jeanne d’Espagne (1447). Eglise, royauté et réhabilitation des enfants issus d’une union incestueuse au XVe siècle

The legitimation of the bastard children of Raymond-Roger de Comminges and Jeanne d’Espagne (1447). Church, royalty and the rehabilitation of the children of an incestuous union in the XVth century This study sets out to provide a detailed analysis of the letters of legitimisation granted by the royal chancellery of Charles VII to the five children of the union of Raymond-Roger de Comminges and Jeanne d’Espagne (1447). This marriage was a voidable act due to transgression of the interdictions on consanguinity set out in canon law. This case permits one to address the possibility of rehabilitation of the children carrying the double stigma of incest and illegitimacy. In the event, Raymond-Roger de Comminges chose to address the royal jurisdiction, even when retrospective régularisation of the marriage would have been possible by obtaining a matrimonial dispensation from the apostolic Penitentiary. The common competence of the two administrations -royal and pontifical- in this matter seems to constitute a point of crystallisation of the debates on the limits of the temporal and spiritual spheres. The letters of legitimisation usually set out legal reasoning based upon a principle, informed by secular values, of compensation for the blemish of illegitimacy. An argument of circumstances adapted to the case of Raymond-Roger de Comminges brings to bear the notion of incest. It strives to put into practice a principle of mitigating the fault through the incorporation of language and of elements of interpretation which derive from canon law.

Notas sobre la Cancillería del Onceno en tiempos de Minoridad: a propósito de dos cartas de Alfonso XI a la Orden de Santiago

El estudio de la documentación de Alfonso XI ha sido una de nuestras principales áreas de investigación durante los últimos años. Su análisis pormenorizado nos ha permitido conocer a fondo la escritura de la primera mitad del siglo XIV, así como la actividad y funciones de la Cancillería real. Centramos nuestra atención en los diplomas depositados en la sección de Órdenes Militares del Archivo Histórico Nacional, de los cuales hemos creído conveniente revisar dos, emitidos durante el tiempo de las tutorías, por cuanto detectamos ciertos elementos susceptibles de realizar una crítica diplomática. Gracias a su examen, hemos podido establecer cuál era la práctica cancilleresca en aquel periodo cronológico y hemos comprobado que durante la menor edad del Onceno fueron frecuentes las corruptelas y mala praxis de quienes formaban parte de la principal oficina de expedición documental.

Listy przypowiednie dla Marcina Zamoyskiego z lat 1656, 1679 i 1683 na chorągwie jazdy i regiment pieszy w wojsku koronnym

In this edition we would like to present three enlistment letters (listy przypowiednie) issued by the Royal Chancellery to Marcin Zamoyski: for enlisting cossack (cavalry) banner (company) in 1656, taking command of foot regiment in 1679 and strengthening of the (winged) hussars banner in 1683. All three sources came from Zamoyskis’ Archive (Archiwum Zamoyskich), currently part of the Central Archives of Historical Records (Archiwum Glowne Akt Dawnych) in Warsaw, from the archive no 463, containing correspondence between Polish kings and Marcin Zamoyski, 4th owner of Zamoyska’s fee tail (Ordynacja Zamoyska) and Grand Crown Under-treasurer (podskarbi wielki koronny) in the period 1685–1689. Next to the original letters we have added introduction with description of the mechanisms behind Marcin Zamoyski’s political-military career, with special emphasis on the aspect of keeping military units as the part of Crown standing army (komput koronny).

Valladolid, una ciudad en fiestas (siglos XVII-XVIII)

The festival was a great sociocultural event whose dimensions reached their maximum evolution in Early Modern Spain, especially in the 17th and 18th centuries and in its urban centres. This was the «festive society» par excellence, because of the frequency of the celebrations and the multiplicity of meanings, implications and consequences. Society and power, ultimately, were represented at the festival. In this context, the specific case of Valladolid demonstrates both its character as a germane model, applicable to any other town, and its uniqueness. Significantly, in the early 17th century it was once again the seat of the Court and yet even after being abandoned by Philip III in 1606, it continued to be one of the most important towns of Castile, the seat of the Royal Chancellery.

Isabel de Coímbra y los modelos de religiosidad reginal en los reinos ibéricos a fines de la Edad Media

Algunas reinas ibéricas sobresalieron por su religiosidad hasta ser veneradas como santas. Otras tuvieron una acción más discreta en este campo, como Isabel de Coímbra (1432-1455). En su corta vida, lo que impresionó a los cronistas fue la forma en que supo conciliar sus deberes de hija y de esposa en el conflicto que opuso a su padre, el infante Pedro, y su marido Afonso V de Portugal y que culminó en la muerte de aquél en armas contra el rey. Sin embargo, los documentos de la cancillería real nos enseñan que Isabel protegió a los desvalidos, mantuvo mujeres pobres y honradas, e impulsó la instalación en Portugal de una nueva congregación, la de San Juan Evangelista, dotándola de un nuevo convento en Lisboa. El ejemplo de Isabel de Coímbra, cruzado con los de otras reinas de su tiempo, nos permitirá definir los modelos de religiosidad disponibles para las reinas ibéricas medievales, que variaban según su posición en el ciclo de vida así como sus devociones personales.

La Corona y el control del reconocimiento nobiliario: la actividad del fiscal de la Real Chancillería de Granada a examen. Análisis y documentos

The inquiries made in 1590 about the activities of general attorneys of Granada in lawsuits of gentlemanship from 1579 until 1590 are analyzed and studied here, along with the edition of a documental collection which summarizes them. The full text of the inquiries performed by the magistrate Benavente de Benavides, which were focused on general attorney Diego de Amezaga and are enclosed in the Visit by don Juan de Acuna to that Royal Chancellery, as well as a documental collection summarising them, are provided. The precision of this performance, its neatly legal nature and the consequences it had, give a new perspective on these litigations that in certain cases have been defined by the historiography as mere formalities and that however had a complex and hard nature that were kept unnoticed until now.

Sekretariat Stanu Księstwa Warszawskiego (1807-1813)

Urząd ministra sekretarza stanu Ksiestwa Warszawskiego powstal na mocy konstytucji z lipca 1807 roku. Sekretariat Stanu Ksiestwa Warszawskiego stanowil aparat pomocniczy ministra sekretarza stanu, a jego glowną siedzibą, wynikającą z obowiązkow urzednika, bylo Drezno. Zatem cezura czasowa funkcjonowania Sekretariatu Stanu to lata 1807–1813. Glownym wyznacznikiem zadan, wykonywanych w Sekretariacie Stanu, byly zadania, wynikające z obowiązkow ministra sekretarza stanu. Tym obowiązkom podporządkowano system pracy kancelarii. Jakośc wykonywanych zadan przy ich nadmiarze pozostawiala czasem wiele do zyczenia. Jakkolwiek, Sekretariat Stanu stanowil jedyną droge dla obywateli do skontaktowania sie z monarchą. Gabinet Stanislawa Augusta mial wspolne elementy z gabinetem saskim, a Sekretariat Stanu byl kancelarią przy saskim krolu. Zatem w przypadku tej kancelarii krolewskiej mozemy spodziewac sie raczej kontynuacji wcześniejszych zwyczajow niz wprowadzenia nowej formy akt spraw, charakterystycznej dla XIX wieku. Argumentem przemawiającym za zastosowaniem w Sekretariacie Stanu znanych juz rozwiązan, jest takze fakt, ze krol saski byl niechetny gwaltownym zmianom. Choc w Ksiestwie Warszawskim wprowadzano nowoczesne rozwiązania ustrojowe i kancelaryjne, to jednak Krolestwo Saksonii bylo w tym okresie bardziej zachowawcze. Fryderyk August ostroznie podchodzil do przeprowadzanych w Ksiestwie reform i nie zamierzal w krotkim czasie przenosic ich na grunt saski. Moglo to takze powodowac sceptyczne podejście do nowoczesnej kancelarii akt spraw. Sekretariat Stanu zostal urządzony ogolnie wedlug rozwiązan XVIII-wiecznych, z uwzglednieniem potrzeb kancelarii do spraw Ksiestwa Warszawskiego. Unowocześnienie polskiej kancelarii krolewskiej, za jaką nalezy uznac Sekretariat Stanu Ksiestwa Warszawskiego, w tym przypadku stanowily rozbudowane pomoce ewidencyjne. W kancelarii stanislawowskiej dopiero zaczynano wprowadzac dzienniki korespondencyjne ogolne. Akt krolewski we wszystkich egzemplarzach: oryginal w archiwum, wpis w protokole sekretariatu stanu i kopia urzedowa, czyli wypis z protokolu sekretariatu stanu, powinien zawsze byc zgodny co do treści. Wedlug prawa odpowiadal za to minister sekretarz stanu. Niestety, przeglądając protokoly posiedzen Rady Stanu, dowiadujemy sie o uchybieniach w tym zakresie.

Comment écrivait la chancellerie royale capétienne au XIIIe siècle ?

A major issue in the history of the French language that has remained open until today concerns the nature of the French used by the royal institutions in Paris, especially the Royal Chancery, which is the most important. The completion of the full edition of 120 French documents that we identified as coming from the Parisian Royal Chancery enables us, for the first time, to analyze more closely the question posed in the title of this article – How did the Royal French Chancery write in the 13th century ? – on an empirical rather than a speculative basis. On a macro-linguistic level, it appears that in the 13th century, the Royal Chancellery was far from being a « monolingual » institution, even regarding the use of the vernacular language : next to documents written in a decidedly « central » French, in some particular situations also Picard is used. On a micro-linguistic level, it results that the internal variation of the « central » French used by the Royal Chancery constantly decreases during the 13th century, but that even at the end of this period, some residual variation remains clearly observable.

A Colorimetric Characterization and Assessment of the Chromatic Deterioration of the Medieval Manuscript Registro Notarial de Torres in the Archives of the Royal Chancellery in Granada, Spain

AbstractColour analysis contributes to better characterization and appraisal of cultural objects such as historic written documents, because measurements of their colour and chromatic differences may facilitate suitable assessment and control of their state of preservation. This paper describes a colorimetric study undertaken on the parchment binding and the paper leaves of a medieval manuscript notebook (1382–1400), now kept in the Archives of the Royal Chancellery of Granada, Spain. The aim of the study was a physical characterization of the notebook and an evaluation of the chromatic changes caused by its ageing. To this end we measured the colour of the binding and the pages of the document and evaluated the differences in colour between various points on the binding. As a result of this analysis we detected significant alterations in colour between protected areas of the binding, which retained their original colour, and others exposed to the effects of damaging agents such as light, humidity or dirt. These chromatic changes manifest in a decrease in brightness

The Sierra Nevada serpentinites: the serpentinites most used in Spanish heritage buildings

Abstract Serpentinites from Sierra Nevada (Granada, south of Spain) have traditionally been used as ornamental elements in historical buildings, both indoors and outdoors. The cathedral, the Palace of Charles V, the Royal Chancellery in Granada and some others are good examples of their use. Outside Granada, the serpentinites are seen at the monastery of El Escorial, The Royal Palace and the convent of Las Salesas Reales, all of them part of Madrid's architectural heritage, although there are much more examples to be found across the country. There are two quarries located in Sierra Nevada that supplied all the material to make the different elements in the above buildings. In this work, we report a thorough characterization of the main characteristics of the serpentinites from Sierra Nevada in order to propose this stone as a possible candidate as a ‘Global Heritage Stone Resource’. This work is important for duly recognizing a natural stone that has been profusely used in the past in the construction of a magnificent heritage of important cities, and historical quarries should be protected so that they can provide original material if required to do so in the future.

Analysis of a royal 15th century illuminated parchment using a portable XRF–XRD system and micro-invasive techniques

A system of complementary X-ray diffraction (XRD) and fluorescence (XRF) was used for non-invasive in situ identification of inorganic materials in a highly valuable illuminated parchment, now preserved at the Archive of the Royal Chancellery in Granada (Spain), via which King Enrique IV (1425–1474) conferred nobility on Gil Fernandez and Alonso Covo. The study of organic matter, by capillary electrophoresis (CE), could not be performed without taking microsamples that had also been used to confirm – by micro-Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM–EDX) – the nature of inorganic materials that had been identified by XRD–XRF.Gold and silver were detected as well as lead tin oxide in yellow, azurite in blue, vermilion and minium in reddish colours and malachite in green. Calcite was applied to the entire sheets and gypsum to the text area. Iron-based ink was used for the parchment text. These analyses enable the document to be put into its historical context; they serve as a starting point in a comparative study with other similar documents, for the reconstruction of its documentary archaeology.

Identification of starch and determination of its botanical source in ancient manuscripts by MEKC–DAD and LDA

A simple and rapid Micellar Electrokinetic Capillary Chromatography method with UV diode-array detection (MEKC–DAD) has been developed for the identification of the two starch polysaccharides, amylopectin and amylose, in ancient manuscripts. Moreover, a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) has been used in order to determine the botanical source of the starch (wheat, maize or rice). The reason to develop this method is that starch has been used throughout history in paper manufacture as glue and sizing agent.The LDA was applied to the amylopectin/amylose ratio using the area and height data recorded.The separation was performed in an extended path-length fused-silica capillary (‘bubble capillary’) of 36cm in length and 50μm i.d.. The running buffer was composed of 20mM sodium acetate, 1.2mM I2, 7.2mM KI, and 50mM sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) at pH6. The potential applied was 22kV in positive polarity, the temperature was 25°C, and the detection was performed at 560nm. Injection of the samples was performed at 20mbar for 2s.An artificial ageing test was carried out in the three types of starch in order to determine the effect of the temperature, relative humidity and irradiance on this compound. The procedure was performed in an ageing chamber according to the ISO 5630-3:1996 and 11341:2004 standards.The methods were applied to samples from manuscripts preserved in the Historic Archive of the University of Granada and the Royal Chancellery Archive of Granada (Spain).