Pergamon

PII" S0304- 4181 ( 98) 00003- 7

Journal of Medieval Histo~,,Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 127-154, 1998
1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Printed in The Netherlands.
0304-4181/98 $19.00 + 0.00
Communities of Legal Memory in Medieval Poland, c. 1200-1240
Piotr Gfrecki
Department of History, University of CaliJbrnia, Riverside, CA 92521-0204, USA
For Gerald Gunther
Abstract
An important feature of the legal system of medieval Poland in the later twelfth and earlier
thirteenth centuries was the role of several kinds of local groups in legal transactions, especially
transfers of landed property. Such groups were varied and fluid, but their membership,
mobilization, and functions comprise coherent patterns, which can be traced from lists of
witnesses present at legal transactions presided over by Piast dukes, and from the collective
activities whereby high clergy, ducal officials, and local groups effected, reiterated, and
remembered legal transactions. The local groups included (among others) ' neighbourhoods' of
settlers near the places that were affected by the legal transactions; inhabitants of local centres of
population, exchange, and lordship; and f ami l i ae of the high clergy, ducal officials, or parties to
the transactions. This paper reconstructs the collective activities whereby such groups recognized
and remembered legal transactions, as well as the physical, personal, and environmental anchors of
their collective memory. It is a local study of how communities of legal memory functioned as a
source of legal knowledge and record. 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywor ds : Poland; Law; Communities; Society; Social memory
In a pi oneer i ng st udy publ i s hed near l y fi ft een year s ago, Susan Reynol ds r ecast
me di e va l i nst i t ut i onal hi st or y by f ocusi ng on t he r ol es of sever al ki nds of soci al gr oups
in t he f or mat i on and mai nt enance of l aw and t he pol i t i cal c ommuni t y) Her wor k has
r esul t ed in an el egant wor ki ng def i ni t i on of t he medi eval c ommuni t y as a soci al gr oup
t hat per f or med a speci f i ed r ange of col l ect i ve act i vi t i es, whi ch i n t urn e ndowe d t he
par t i ci pant s wi t h r out i ne r ol es, and per haps wi t h a sense of gr oup i dent i t y; and of t he
me di e va l l egal or der as an aggr egat e of communi t i es t hus defi ned. The year s si nce she
wr ot e have wi t nes s ed a mar ked r evi val of i nt er est in one par t i cul ar ar ea of col l ect i ve
PIOTR GORECKI is Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Riverside. His
publications include Economy, society and lordship in medieval Poland, 1100-1250 (New York, 1992) and
a wide range of articles on medieval Polish history.
~S. Reynolds, Kingdoms and communities in western Europe, 900-1300 (Oxford, 1984); she anticipated some
of her reassessments in the context of urban history in An introduction to the history of English medieval
towns (Oxford, 1977), especially 80-85, 103-04, 108-10.
128 Pi ot r G6r ecki
activity that defi ned c ommuni t i e s - - t he approaches whereby i ndi vi dual s and groups
established, maintained, and manipulated patterns o f col l ect i ve memory. 2 This revival o f
interest coi nci des wi th a new appreciation o f the role o f group process and strategy in
the l egal systems o f medi eval Europe; 3 and with an ongoi ng reassessment o f the relative
status o f writing, hearing, speech, and performance as the preferred modes o f record and
transmission o f kno wl e dg e - - i nc l udi ng (among other subjects) l egal knowl edge. 4 Thus,
col l ect i ve memory has emerged as an important domai n o f l egal knowl edge, and the
col l ect i ve activities whereby that memory was established, reproduced, and altered, have
emerged as an important area o f l egal practice.
Col l ect i ve memory, and the group activities that establ i shed and mobi l i zed it in the
cont ext o f l egal transactions, were rel ati vel y important el ements o f the l egal system o f
thirteenth-century Poland. Pol i sh historians most concerned with the l egal si gni fi cance
and roles o f l ocal soci al groups have usual l y f ocused on the ' nei ghbourhood' , a rather
el usi ve group defi ned by resi dence and c ommon obl i gati ons, and attested in the written
sources as the vi ci ni a or the opol e, s In general, the interested scholars have portrayed the
2E Conne r t on, How societies remember ( Ca mbr i dge , 1989); M. Car r ut her s , The book of memory. A study of
memory in medieval culture ( Ca mbr i dge , 1990); J. Fent r es s and C. Wi c kha m, Social memory ( Oxf or d,
1992); J. Col e ma n, Ancient and medieval memories. Studies in the reconstruction of the past ( Ca mbr i dge ,
1992); a nd E J. Gear y, Phantoms of remembrance. Memory and oblivion at the end of the first millennium
( Pr i nc e t on, 1994).
3S. D. Whi t e, Custom, kinship, and gifts to saints. The laudatio parentum in western France, 1050-1150
( Chapel Hi l l , N. C. , 1988); E. Z. Ta but e a u, Transfers of property in eleventh-century Norman law ( Chapel
Hi l l , N. C. , 1988); W. Davi es , Small worlds. The village community in early medieval Brittany ( Be r ke l e y and
Los Ange l e s , 1988), and s ever al pr e vi ous ar t i cl es by t he s a me aut hor s ci t ed i n t hes e works. The f ocus on
pr oces s a nd gr oup pr act i ce i s i nde bt e d t o l egal ant hr opol ogi s t s , a bove al l J. Co ma r o f f and S. Rober t s, Rules
and processes. The cultural logic of dispute in an African context ( Chi c a go, 1981), and Rober t s, ' Th e s t udy
o f di sput e. Ant hr opol ogi c a l p e r s p e c t i v e s ' , in: Disputes and settlements. Law and human relations in the
West, ed. J. Bos s y ( Ca mbr i dge , 1983), 1 - 2 4 . I n t he Pol i s h cont ext , see E G6r ecki , 'Ad controversiam
reprimendam. Fa mi l y gr oups a nd di s put e pr e ve nt i on i n me di e va l Pol and, c. 1200' , Law and History Review,
14 ( 1996) , 2 1 3 - 4 3 , a nd ' Pol i t i c s o f t he l egal pr oces s i n ear l y me di e va l Po l a n d ' , Oxford Slavonic Papers,
n.s., 17 ( 1984) , 2 3 - 4 4 .
4B. St ock, The implications of literacy. Written language and models of interpretation in the eleventh and
twelfth centuries ( Pr i ncet on, 1983); M. Cl a nc hy, From memory to written record. England, 1066-1307
(2ri d ed., Oxf or d, 1993); R. McKi t t er i ck, The Carolingians and the written word ( Ca mbr i dge , 1989); and
The uses of literacy in early mediaeval Europe, ed. R. Mc Ki t t e r i c k ( Ca mbr i dge , 1990); f or me di e va l
Hungar y, see E. Fi i gedi , 'Verba volant... Or al cul t ur e and l i t er acy a mo n g t he me di e va l Hunga r i a n n o b i l i t y ' ,
i n: Kings, bishops, nobles and burghers in medieval Hungary, ed. J. Bak ( London, 1986), es s ay VI. By
' l e ga l k n o wl e d g e ' I me a n knowl e dge o f t r ans act i ons , event s , or nor ms r e l e va nt t o t he pr e ve nt i on or
s e t t l e me nt of di sput e; see t he wor ki ng def i ni t i ons i n E G6r ecki , 'Ad controversiam', 2 1 4 - 1 5 , nn. 6, 8, 10.
5K. Modzel ews ki , ' L' o r g a n i s a t i o n de l'opole (vicinia) da ns l a Pol ogne des Pi a s t s ' , Acta Poloniae Historica, 57
( 1988) , 4 3 - 7 6 ; Z. Podwi fi ska, Zmiany osadnictwa wiejskiego na ziemiach polskich we wcze~niejszym
gredniowieczu: ~reb, wie~, opole [ Cha nge s i n t he f or ms o f r ur al s e t t l e me nt i n Po l a n d i n t he ear l i er Mi ddl e
Ages: hol di ng, vi l l age, ne i ghbor hood] ( Wr ocl aw, 1971 ); mos t r ecent l y, see J. Mat us zews ki , Vicinia id est...
Poszukiwania alternatywnej koncepcji staropolskiego opola [Vicinia id est: a s ear ch f or a new c onc e pt i on o f
t he Ol d Pol i s h ne i ghbour hood] ( L6 d l , 1991), and J. Mat us zews ki , ' Or g a n i z a c j a opol na w Na j s t a r s z ym
zwodzi e pr a wa pol s ki e go' [ The n e i g h b o u r h o o d or ga ni z a t i on i n t he ear l i es t c ompi l a t i on o f Pol i s h l aw],
Przegl#d Historyczny, 80 ( 1989) , 1 - 1 6 - - - f r a me d l ar gel y as a pol e mi c a ga i ns t K. Modzel ews ki , Chlopi w
monarchii wczesnopiastowskiej [ The peas ant s i n t he ear l y Pi as t mona r c hy] ( Wr ocl aw, 1987), and K.
Modzel ews ki , ' Or g a n i z a c j a opol na w Pol s ce pi a s t ows ki e j ' [ The n e i g h b o u r h o o d or gani zat i on i n Pi as t
Pol and] , Przeglqd Historyczny, 77 ( 1986) , 1 7 7 - 2 2 0 .
Communities of Legal Memory in Medieval Poland, c. 1200-1240 129
' nei ghbour hood' - - and other units of settlement and authority, especially castellanies and
major estates--primarily as support structures for ducal and royal power, and so as
aspects of the rather traditional administrative history of early statecraft which Reynolds
and her successors have revised. 6 This approach has tended to deflect attention from
several informal, and currently very interesting, features of the ' neighbourhood' and
other units of settlement. Although it is quite fragmentary, Polish evidence illustrates the
recruitment and composition of ' neighbourhoods' and other types of groups, their
participation in legal transactions, and, most importantly, the ways in which they
recorded, recalled, and- - somet i mes- - f or got or deliberately altered important aspects of
legal reality. 7 Such groups functioned as communities of legal memory, which was
therefore a significant aspect of the legal system of earlier medieval Poland. s
The evidence consists of two series of ducal diplomas issued between the first years of
the thirteenth century and the early 1240s, and of one narrative source compiled in the
late 1260s. The diplomas and the narrative source come from two southern provinces of
Piast Poland, Silesia and Little Poland, centred respectively on the cities of Wroctaw and
Krak6w--t he largest towns of each province, important residences of the dukes of
Silesia and Little Poland, and episcopal seats of each province. 9 Most of the diplomas
were issued by the Piast dukes to ecclesiastical institutions--above all, to Cistercian
~T. Wasilewski, ' Pol and' s administrative structure in early Piast t i mes' , Acta Poloniae Historica, 44 (1981),
5- 31; K. Modzelewski, Organizacja gospodarcza pahstwa piastowskiego, X- XI I I wiek [The economic
organization of the Piast state from the tenth to the thirteenth centuryl (Wroctaw, 1975); Modzelewski,
' L' organi zzazi one dello stato polacco nei secoli X- XI I I : la societh e le strutture del pot ere' , Settimane di
studio del Centro ltaliano di Studi sull'Alto Medioevo, 30 (1983), 557-99. For a bri ef survey of the
literature emphasizing statecraft, see P. Gt recki , Economy, society, and lordship in medieval Poland,
1100-1250 (New York, 1992), 3, 6- 8, 30-31 (nn. 10-13).
7Despite a common formalist emphasis, both Modzelewski and Matuszewski reconsider the traditional views
of the role of the ' nei ghbourhood' ; see J. Matuszewski, Vicinia, 106, 163, 166-68, 183-84, 193-95,
200- 01, 223- 39; and K. Modzelewski, Chlopi, 176-84.
SMy notion of a community of legal memory is indebted to St ock' s idea of a textual community, Implications,
especially 88-91. The most suggestive recent work concerning the relationship between memory, groups,
and law in medieval Poland (especially in context of boundary perambulation by local and regional
communities) is by G. Mygliwski, ' Zjawiska ' cudowne' w pisarstwie gredniowiecznym (XII-poczatek XIII
w.)' [' Miraculous' events in medieval literature (the twelfth to the early thirteenth century)], Przeglqd
Historyczny, 81 (1990), 405- 22; ' Czas na Mazowszu gredniowiecznym. Praktyka s~dowa ziemi plofiskiej w
pocz~tkach XV wieku' [Time in medieval Masovia: judicial practice in the Ptofisk district in the early
fifteenth century], Przeglqd Historyczny, 83 (1992), 49- 63; ' Powstanie i r ozwt j granicy liniowej na
Mazowszu (XII-pol. XVI w.)' [The origins and development of the linear boundary in Masovia from the
twelfth to the mid-sixteenth century], Kwartalnik Historyczny, 101 (1994), 3- 24, and ' Boundary delimita-
tion and its socio-cultural contexts in medieval Pol and' , paper delivered at the V World Congress of the
I.C.C.E.E.S., Warsaw, August 1995.
9By ' provi nce' , I mean one of the major subdivisions of what was until 1138 a united kingdom (or duchy) of
Poland, ruled by descendants of Duke Boleslaw III the Wrymouth (1102-38), conventionally known as the
Piasts; by ' duchy' , I mean a province or its subdivision ruled by one of the Piast lineages. See N. Davies,
God's playground. A history of Poland (New York, 1982), 1:61-105; M. Barber, The two cities. Medieval
Europe 1050-1320 (London, 1992), 365-73; J. Topolski, An outline history of Poland (Warsaw, 1985),
38-51; P. Knoll, ' Economi c and political integration on the Pol i sh- Ger man frontier in the middle ages.
Action, reaction, interaction' , in: Medieval frontier societies, eds. R. Bartlett and A. MacKay (Oxford,
1989), 151-74; P. G6recki, Economy, society, and lordship, 11-17.
130 Piotr G6recki
mo n a s t e r i e s i n Si l e s i a ~ a n d h o u s e s o f t he c a n o n s r e g u l a r o f t he St J o h n a n d o f t he Ho l y
S e p u l c h r e i n Li t t l e P o l a n d I l - - a n d r e c o r d g r a n t s o f e s t a t e s , j u r i s d i c t i o n , a n d i mmu n i t y . ~2
Fi f t y o f t he d i p l o ma s i s s u e d i n Si l e s i a b y Du k e He n r y I t he Be a r d e d , hi s wi f e He d wi g
o f Ba v a r i a , t h e i r s o n He n r y I I t he Pi ous , t h e i r d a u g h t e r Ge r t r u d e , t h e i r g r a n d s o n
Bo l e s t a w II t he Ba l d, a n d He n r y t he P i o u s ' wi d o w An n e , ~3 a n d 19 o f t he d i p l o ma s
i s s u e d i n Li t t l e P o l a n d b y Du k e Le s z e k t he Wh i t e , hi s wi d o w Gr z y mi s t a wa , a n d t h e i r
s o n Bo l e s t a w t he Ch a s t e , i n c l u d e wi t n e s s l i st s, t4 T a k e n t o g e t h e r , t h e s e wi t n e s s l i s t s
p i n p o i n t t h o s e g r o u p s wi t h i n Si l e s i a a n d Li t t l e P o l a n d t h a t we r e mo s t l i ke l y t o b e
s u mmo n e d t o, p a r t i c i p a t e i n, a n d p e r h a p s r e ma i n k n o wl e d g e a b l e a bout , t he mo s t
~On the foundations in the Polish duchies and Silesia in particular, see: J. Ktoczowski, 'Les Cisterciens en
Pologne, du XII e au XIII si~cle', Cfteaux, 28 (1977), 111-34; L. Lekai, ' Germans and the medieval
Cistercian abbeys in Poland' , Cfteaux, 28 (1977), 121-32; D. H. Williams, ' East of the Order', Cfteaux, 29
(1978), 228-67; P. Grrecki, Economy, society, and lordship, 14-16; A. M. Wyrwa, 'Cystersi. Geneza,
duchowogr, organizacja 2ycia w zakonie (do XV wieku) i pocz~tki fundacji na ziemiach polskich' [The
Cistercians: origins, spirituality, organization of life in the order to the fifteenth century, and the beginnings
of foundations in the Polish lands], in: Cystersi w Polsce. W 850-lecie fundacji opactwa Jcdrzejowskiego
[Cistercians in Poland: on the eight hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the JCdrzej6w
abbey], ed. D. Olszewski (Kielce, 1990), 11-39, especially 35-39; J. Strzelczyk, ed., Historia i kultura
cystersdw w Polsce i ich europejskie zwiqzki [History and culture of the Cistercians in Poland, and their
European connections] (Poznafi, 1987); and references to the literature specifically concerning the
monasteries of Lubi~L Trzebnica, and Henryk6w below.
~P. G6recki, Economy, society, and lordship, 15-16; K. Tymieniecki, 'Maj~tno~6 ksi~2~ca w Zago~ciu i
pierwotne uposaZenie klasztoru joannitrw na tie osadnictwa dorzecza dolnej Nidy. Studium z dziejrw
gospodarczych XII wieku' [The ducal estate at Zago~6 and the earliest endowment of the cloister of the
Hospitallers of St John in the context of the settlement of the lower Nida river system: a study in
twelfth-century economic history], in: K. Tymieniecki, Pisma wybrane [Selected writings] (Warsaw, 1956),
35-126; W. Oblizajek, 'Najstarsze dokumenty bo2ogrobc6w miechowskich (1198)' [The earliest documents
of the canons regular of the Holy Sepulchre of Miech6w (1198)], Studia Zrrdtoznawcze, 24 (1979),
97-108.
~2The remaining diplomas were issued by the dukes to other types of beneficiaries, such as ducal officials,
German pioneering settlers (locatores or viUici), or private persons who especially distinguished themselves
in ducal service; or were issued by private persons; or concerned relatively specific issues, such as gifts of
particular sources of revenue (including mills, minerals, fisheries, butcher stalls and other sources of coin
revenue), testaments, and descriptions of steps intended to prevent or settle specific disputes. See in general
K. Maleczyfiski, M. Bielifiska, and A. Gosiorowski, Dyplomatyka wiekrw grednich [Medieval diplomatics]
(Warsaw, 1971), 126-29.
~3Schlesisches Urkundenbuch, vol. 1, ed. H. Appelt (Vienna, Cologne, and Graz, 1963-71) [hereafter S.U., 1],
no. 77 (1202), 49-51; no. 83 (1202-03), 54-58; no. 123 (1211), 89-90; no. 142 (1214), 100-01; no. 166
(1217), 119-20; no. 219 (1222), 159-60; no. 227 (1223), 166-67; no. 246 (1224-34), 178-79; no. 278
(1216-27), 202-03; no. 287 (1228), 210-11; no. 290 (1228), 213-14; no. 305 (1229), 225-26; no. 308
(1230), 227-27; no. 314-15 (1230), 230-32; vol. 2, ed. W. Irgang (Vienna, Cologne, and Graz, 1978)
[hereafter S.U., 2], no. 5 (1231), 3; no. 8 (1231), 4; no. 19-20 (1232), 9-11; no. 23 (1232), 12-13; no. 49
(1233), 32-33; no. 73 (1234), 46-47; no. 80 (1234), 51-53; no. 85 (1234), 55-56; no. 106 (1235), 72-73;
no. 112 (1236), 75; no. 136-37 (1237), 89-90; no. 140 (1237), 91-92; no. 145-46 (1238), 94-95; no. 164
(1239), 105-06; no. 167-68 (1239), 107-09; no. 172 (1239), 110-11; no. 181 (1240), 115-16; no. 203
(1239-41), 127-28; no. 229 (1242), 138-39; no. 234 (1242), 141-42; no. 239 (1242), 144; no. 241 (1243),
145; no. 244 (1243), 147-48; no. 252 (1243), 150-51; no. 255 (1243), 153; no. 270-73 (1244), 162-65;
no. 296-300 (1245), 177-81.
~4Kodeks Dyplomatyczny Matopolski, ed. F. Piekosifiski (Krakrw, 1876-86; repr. New York, 1965) [hereafter
K.Mp.], l:no. 4 (1206), 9; no. 10 (1224), 16-17; no. 11 (1228), 17-18; no. 12 (1229), 18-19; no. 13
(1231), 22; no. 19 (1236), 25; no. 21 (1237), 26-27; no. 24 (1239), 30-31; no. 26 (1243), 31-32; 2:no. 384
(1217), 26-27; no. 387 (1223), 29; no. 389 (1224), 32-33; no. 393 (1227), 37; no. 395 (1228), 38-40; no.
400-01 (1230), 45-47; no. 403-05 (1232), 48-51; no. 412 (1235), 57; no. 416-17 (1239), 61-62; Album
Palaeographicum, ed. S. Krzyzanowski (Krak6w, 1959-60) [hereafter A.P.], no. 5 (1222/1224), 7-9.
Communities of Legal Memory in Medieval Poland, c. 1200-1240 131
important legal transactions in their duchies. ~5 In addition, a handful of relatively
detailed documents show the roles of much more local, and more sparsely recorded,
social groups in effecting and securing legal transactions. The detailed charters include
four diplomas from Duke Henry I the Bearded to the Cistercian monasteries at Lubi~2
and Trzebnica in Silesia, issued between 1202 and 1208,16 and two diplomas from Duke
Leszek the White and his widow Grzymislawa to the house of the canons regular of the
Holy Sepulchre at Miech6w, issued in 1224 and 1228 respectively. ~7 The narrative
source is a history of the Cistercian monastery at Henryk6w in Silesia spanning the later
twelfth and the first half of the thirteenth century, written by its fourth abbot, Peter in the
1260s) 8 These seven sources illustrate in some detail the persons and groups who were
present at legal transactions, and the approaches whereby these persons and groups
recorded and subsequently recalled the significant events of these transactions.
tSAs their colleagues el sewhere have done, Polish scholars have used witness lists in ducal diplomas to assess
the strength of Piast ducal governance, including the composition of ducal entourages, the relative roles of
assemblies and ducal councils, the localities and offices from which persons summoned to legal transactions
were recruited, a nd- - a t least ci rcumst ant i al l y--t he participation of such persons in governance, usually
expressed as consent to legal transactions. See J.-F. Lemarignier, Le gouvernement royal aux premiers temps
cap~tiens (987-1108) (Paris, 1965); also O. Guyotjeannin, J. Pycke, and B.-M. Tock, La diplomatique
mgdi~vale (Turnhout, 1993), 91-92; K. Maleczyfiski et al., Dyplomatyka, 129; I. Panic, ' Ze studi6w nad
list~ ~wiadk6w na dokumentach ksi~cia malopolskiego Boleslawa Wstydliwego' [Studies on the witness lists
on the documents of the duke of Little Poland, Bolestaw the Chaste], Studia Historyczne, 33 (1990),
493-501; I. Panic, ' Lista gwiadk6w na dokumentach ksi~cia opolskiego Wladyslawa (1246-1281)' [The
witness lists on the documents of the duke of Opole, Wladyslaw (1246-81 )], Sobttka, 28 (1987), 171-91;
K. Bracha, ' Wi ece Bolestawa Wstydliwego 1234-1279' [The assemblies of Boleslaw the Chaste, 1234-79],
Kwartalnik Historyczny, 93 (1987), 663-77; J. Mularczyk, Dob6r i rola gwiadk6w w dokumentach gl~skich
do kotica XIII wieku [The selection and role of witnesses in the Silesian documents to the end of the
thirteenth century] (Wroctaw, 1977); S. Russocki, ' Probl em rady k s i ~ c e j w Polsce dzi el ni cowej ' [The
problem of the ducal council in appanage Poland], Czasopismo Prawno-Historyczne, 27 (1975), 89-95;
compare also M. Prestwich, English politics in the thirteenth century (Houndmills, 1990), 34-36. I have not
had access to I. Panic, ' Raciborskie otoczenie ksi~cia Wladyslawa opolskiego (1246-1281 )' [The Racib6rz
clientage of Duke Wtadystaw of Opole (1246-81 )], Zeszyty Raciborskie Strzecha, 4 (1984), 7- 12. For the
rather different issue of the relationship of witnesses to local groups and communities, see S. Reynolds,
Kingdoms and communities, 138-54, W. Davies, Small worlds, 109-26, and the recent remarks by M. A.
Hicks, ' The sources' , in: Wars of the Roses ed. A. J. Pollard (New York, 1995), 37: ' Whet her lists of
witnesses are crucial political sources or politically valueless depends on our assessments of who counted
politically and how local politics wor ked- - mat t er s on which historians are not yet agreed' .
~6S.U., l:no. 77 (1202), 49- 51 (Lubi~2); no. 83 (1202-03), 54- 58 (Trzebnica); no. 114-15 (1208), 79- 85
(Trzebnica); for the discussion of these sources, see the works by their editor, H. Appelt, ' Di e Echtheit der
Trebnitzer Griindungsurkunden ( 1208 / 18)' , Zeitschrift des Vereins f i i r Geschichte Schlesiens, 71 (1937),
1-50; Die Urkundenfiilschungen des Klosters Trebnitz (Breslau, 1940); ' Zur schlesischen Diplomatik des
12. Jahrhunderts' , Zei t schri f t f i i r Os(forschung, 2 (1953), 568-80.
~TA.P., no. 5 (1222/1224), 7- 9; K.Mp., 2:no. 395 (1228), 38-40.
~SR. Grodecki, ed. and tr., Ksi~ga henrykowska. Liber Fundationis claustri sancte Marie Virginis in
Heinrichow (Poznafi and Wroclaw, 1949); reissued without change, though with a new preface by J. and J.
Matuszewski as Liber Fundationis claustri sancte Marie Virginis in Heinrichow, czyli Ksi f ga henrykowska
(Wroctaw, 1991) [hereafter K.H., with page references to the 1991 edition]. The best formal analysis of this
source is J. Matuszewski, Najstarsze polskie zdanie prozaiczne: zdanie henrykowskie i j ego tto historyczne
[The oldest Polish sentence in prose: the sentence of Henryk6w and its historical background] (Wroclaw,
1981), 13-14, 21-29. The full edition of the Book remains G. A. Stenzel, Liber Fundationis Claustri
Sanctae Mariae Virginis in Heinrichow (Breslau, 1854), with a detailed analysis of the codex on v- xi . For
the origins and history of the monastery itself, see H. Griiger, Heinrichau: Geschichte eines schlesischen
Zisterzienserklosters, 1227-1977 (Cologne and Vienna, 1978); and R. Aubert, ' Henryk6w' , in: Dictionnaire
d'histoire et de g~ographie eccl~siastiques, vol. 23, fasc. 136-137, col. 1279-1285.
132 Piotr G6recki
Duke Le s z e k ' s doc ume nt is i ssued i n an obj ect i ve voi ce, and consi st s of t hr ee l ong
not i ces ~9 of t hose phases of set t l ement of a di s put e bet ween Bi s hop I vo of Kr ak6w and a
l andhol der named Bar an concer ni ng t he est at e of Pet czys ka whi ch t ook pl ace in 1222
and 1224. The di sput e was set t l ed at t hr ee as s embl i es , al l hel d bef or e Le s z e k and
subst ant i al gr oups: t he first hel d in 1222 ' at t he st one br i dge on t he Szr eni awa [ r i ver ] ' ,
t he s econd and t hi r d t wo year s l at er, wh e n - - p e r h a p s af t er s ome har r as s ment by
Ba r a n - - Bi s h o p l vo s ummone d hi s opponent to Rozegr och, agai n obt ai ned a f avour abl e
deci si on, and had i t conf i r med a f ew days l at er in what t he doc ume nt cal l s a ' r e ne wa l o f
t he hol di ngs ' ( i n n o v a t i o a l l o d i o r u m) , i n front of a l ar ge gr oup of wi t nesses, whi ch was
s omewhat expanded on t he next and fi nal day of t he cont r over s y. 2 The nar r at i ons and
wi t ness l i st s in each not i ce r ecor d i nvol vement by speci f i c per sons and gr oups at
di f f er ent phases of t he di sput e. I n cont r ast t o Leszek, Duches s Gr z ymi s t a wa i ssued t he
deed of 1228 concer ni ng a sal e of par t of a l ocal i t y cal l ed Dzi er ~k6wek in her name, but
she or her scr i be s uppl ement ed i t - - o n t he ver so of t he t e x t - - b y an i mper s onal not i ce of
its f ur t her conf i r mat i on a f ew days l at er. 2~ These t wo document s r ecor d t wo gat her i ngs
of par t i es to t he t r ansact i ons and wi t nesses, t he first hel d in Skar ys zew bef or e t he
duchess and her nobl es, t he s econd pr e s uma bl y in t he same pl ace a f ew days af t er war ds.
Duke Henr y i ssued t he L u b i ~ and Tr zebni ca char t er s at t he ver y out set of hi s rei gn,
i n what appear s to have been a bur st of e ndowme nt and r ecor d. In 1202, he conf i r med,
cl ar i f i ed, and e xpa nde d t he f oundat i on and e ndowme nt of t he Lubi ~k monas t er y by hi s
fat her, Bol es t aw t he Tal l , s omet i me bet ween 1 163 and 1175. 22 Lat er t hat year or in ear l y
1203, he i ssued a det ai l ed r ecor d of hi s own f oundat i on and e ndowme nt of t he convent
of nuns at Tr zebni ca, and s uppl ement ed t hat doc ume nt wi t h a r ent al of t hei r est at e in
1204 23 Four year s t her eaf t er , he c ompi l e d a r ecor d of addi t i ons t o t he nuns ' est at e, and
i ncor por at ed t hat new r ecor d i nt o an e xpa nde d r edact i on of t he f oundat i on and
e ndowme nt di pl oma of 1202 or 1203. 24 One of t he subj ect s wi t h whi ch Henr y was
concer ned in t hese det ai l ed document s was a t wo- s t ep pr ocedur e of pr oper t y conveyance
to t he t wo Ci st er ci an communi t i es : per ambul at i on of t he c onve ye d pr oper t y by
~9For this rather unusual type of document, issued in an objective voice without a preamble, see O.
Guyotjeannin et al., Diplomatique, 25, 76-78, 272-73.
2A.P., no. 5 (1222/1224), 7-9.
2~K.Mp., 2:no. 395 (1228), 38-40.
22S.U., l:no. 45 (1175), 26-29; no. 77 (1202), 49-51.
23S.U., l:no. 83 (1202-03), 54-58; no. 93 (1204), 63-66. For the latter source--not relevant to the concerns
of this essay--see P. G6recki, Economy, society, and lordship, 23-26.
24S.U., l:no. 114-15 (1208), 78-83. Each of the documents for the two monasteries is quite detailed; taken
together, they constitute a valuable source of several aspects of the Polish economic, social, institutional,
and legal history at the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Among other researchers, I have used the
Trzebnica charters to reconstruct--and reassess--several dimensions of the Polish economic and social
structure, significance of German immigration and 'German law', and patterns of control over tithe revenues
in central Silesia; see P. G6recki, Economy, society, and lordship, 51-56, 75-88, 91-101, 108-09, 126-30,
132, 137, 140, 165-66, 251-54; and P. G6recki, Parishes, tithes, and society in earlier medieval Poland, c.
1100-c. 1250 (Philadelphia, 1993), 83-95.
Communities of Legal Memory in Medieval Poland, c. 1200-1240 133
subst ant i al gr oups of peopl e, ot her t han t he donor s and r eci pi ent s; and demar cat i on of a
bounda r y al ong t he pe r a mbul a t e d r out e pe r a mbul a t e d wi t h s ever al ki nds of phys i cal
mar ker s, or ' s i gns ' as Duke Henr y cal l ed t hem. 2s Al l of He n r y ' s char t er s f or t he L u b i ~
and Tr zebni ca monas t er i es r ecor d t he par t i ci pant s in t he cer emoni es of per ambul at i on
and demar cat i on, as wel l as sever al ki nds of physi cal , geogr aphi c, ecol ogi cal , and
de mogr a phi c mar ker s in t er ms of whi ch t he boundar i es wer e def i ned, r emember ed,
a n d - - o c c a s i o n a l l y - - f o r g o t t e n .
In hi s account of t he hi st or y of t he sever al dozen h o l d i n g s - - v i l l a g e s , i ndi vi dual
dwel l i ngs , forest s, me a dow, and a r a b l e - - t h a t wer e i ncl uded in t he est at e of t he
monas t er y bet ween i t s f oundat i on af t er 1222 and t he mi ddl e of t he t hi r t eent h cent ur y,
Abbot Pet er s hows how some of t hese t ypes of mar ker s act ual l y f unct i oned in t he
col l ect i ve me mo r y of t he l ocal soci et y ar ound Henr yk6w. Pet er r econst r uct ed t he hi st or y
in par t f r om t he me mor y of speci fi c per sons and gr oups i n t he r egi on of He nr yk6w who
r e me mbe r e d i t - - t h a t is, f r om soci al memor y. Hi s t r eat i se is es peci al l y i nst r uct i ve on t he
ways in whi ch soci al knowl edge-----expressed as me mor y or r eput at i on hel d by some
popul ace in t he mona s t e r y' s r e g i o n - - wa s hel d and r epr oduced; and on t he ways in
whi ch such knowl e dge coul d be mobi l i zed and changed as a del i ber at e act of power .
I. Presence and participation at legal transactions: overall patterns
At first gl ance, t he over al l pat t er ns of wi t ness r ecr ui t ment are not ver y st rong. Over
hal f t he wi t nesses r ecor ded in t he di pl omat i c evi dence t aken as a whol e, as wel l as in
most of t he i ndi vi dual char t er s, are not i dent i f i ed i n t er ms of pl ace of or i gi n, or
as s oci at ed wi t h any par t i cul ar gr oup, mi l i eu, or i nst i t ut i on. I n addi t i on, a subst ant i al
pr opor t i on are r ecor ded on onl y one occasi on. However , t he r emai nder can cl ear l y be
i dent i f i ed wi t h speci f i c l ocal i t i es, gr oups, or i ns t i t ut i ons - - s ome t i me s in combi nat i on.
Al t hough wi t nesses i n bot h pr ovi nces wer e s ummone d f r om l ar ge number s of l ocal i t i es
( 36 in Si l esi a, 42 i n Li t t l e Pol and) , 26 onl y a f ew subst ant i al t owns f ur ni shed wi t nesses
wi t h any r egul ar i t y. Wr oc l a w pr ovi de d wi t nesses on t he l ar gest number of occas i ons i n
S i l e s i a - - 2 6 - - a s di d Kr ak6w and Sa ndomi e r z in Li t t l e P o l a n d - - 1 8 and 16 r es pect i vel y.
2~G. My~liwski, "Boundary delimitation' , describes the importance of the Trzebnica documentation as a record
of this particular ceremony, and offers some intriguing remarks on its twelfth-century origins in the Polish
duchies. On these perambulations, see also H.-J. Karp, Grenzen in Ostmitteleuropa wgihrend des
Mittelalters. Ein Beitrag zur Entstehungsgeschichte der Grenzlinie aus dem Grenzsaum (Cologne and
Vienna, 1972), 117-19.
2~The subsequent assessment of places of origin and number of appearances of specific witnesses is based on
the witness lists in notes 13-14 above. In general, the patterns conform to the findings of I. Panic, ' Ze
studi6w' , 499, K. Bracha, ' Wiece' , 667-70, and J. Mularczyk, Dob6r, passim. The number of instances
noted may vary because of the authors' and my own slightly different decisions about the inclusion of
particular documents in the analysis.
134 Piotr Grrecki
Th e p e r s o n s wh o a p p e a r e d as wi t n e s s e s mo s t r e g u l a r l y i n c l u d e d : t he c l e r g y o f t he
c a t h e d r a l s o f t he t wo p r o v i n c e s ( at Kr a k r w a n d Wr o c t a w) , o f t h e c o l l e g i a t e c h u r c h e s a n d
mo n a s t e r i e s e l s e wh e r e i n e a c h p r o v i n c e , a n d - - f a r mo r e s e l d o m- - o f p a r i s h a n d o t h e r
c h u r c h e s ; a n d d u c a l of f i c i a l s , b a s e d i n t he di s t r i c t s o f t he t o wn s o f e a c h p r o v i n c e , a n d at
t he d u c a l c our t . As wi t h s e c u l a r of f i ci al s , t he r e c r u i t me n t f r o m t h e s e l oc a l i t i e s wa s
s t r o n g l y c o n c e n t r a t e d i n f a v o u r o f t he mo s t i mp o r t a n t t o wn s . Th e c a t h e d r a l c h a p t e r s i n
Wr o c t a w a n d Kr a k r w, a n d t he c ol l e gi a t e , p a r i s h , a n d mo n a s t i c c h u r c h e s i n a n d a r o u n d
e a c h t o wn , f u r n i s h e d wi t n e s s e s t he mo s t of t e n, a n d i n t he l a r g e s t n u mb e r s 27 Ap p e a r -
a n c e s o f Wr o c t a w a n d Kr a k r w c l e r i c s f r o m o u t s i d e t he c a t h e d r a l c h a p t e r s we r e
c o n s i d e r a b l y l e s s f r e q u e n t f8
Th e d u c a l of f i c i a l s s u mmo n e d mo s t f r e q u e n t l y i n b o t h p r o v i n c e s we r e t he c a s t e l l a n
a n d t he p a l a t i n e - - t e r r i t o r i a l d e p u t i e s o f d u c a l a u t h o r i t y b a s e d i n t o wn s , or cast ra i n t he
l a n g u a g e o f t he s our c e s . 29 Ca s t e l l a n s a p p e a r e d wi t h t he h i g h e s t f r e q u e n c y i n b o t h
Z7The bishop of Wroclaw appeared on eight occasions: S.U., l:no. 77 (1202), 51; no. 83 (1202-03), 57; no.
219 (1222), 160; no. 227 (1223), 167; no. 290 (1228), 214; 2:no. 73 (1234), 47; no. 234 (1242), 142; no.
252 (1243), 151; no. 271 (1244), 163; officials of the cathedral chapter on thirteen: S.U., l:no. 77 (1202),
51; no. 83 (1202-03), 57; no. 227 (1223), 167; no. 246 (1224-34), 179; no. 287 (1228), 211; no. 290
(1228), 214; no. 308 (1230), 228); 2:no. 73 (1234), 47; no. 181 (1240), 116; no. 203 (1239-41), 128; no.
255 (1243), 153; no. 271 (1244), 163; no. 271 (1244), 163; other canons of Wroclaw on seven: S.U., l:no.
77 (1202), 51; no. 83 (1202-03), 57; no. 227 (1223), 167; no. 246 (1224-34), 179; no. 278 (1216-27),
203; no. 305 (1229), 225; no. 308 (1230), 228; 2:no. 73 (1234), 47; no. 203 (1239-41), 128; no. 239
(1242), 144; no. 296 (1245), 178. Likewise, the Little Polish charters note the presence of Bishop Pelka,
Ivo, chancellor of the Krakrw chapter (later himself bishop), Peter the dean, and John the chanter in 1206:
K.Mp., 1 :no. 4 (1206), 9; Bishop Vincent, Archdeacon Andrew, and Provost Boguchwal eleven years later:
K.Mp., 2:no. 384 (1217), 26-27; Archdeacon Nicholas, and Canons Peter and James on three occasions in
1222 and 1224; Bishop lvo himself in 1223, 1227, and 1232: K.Mp., l:no. 387 (1223), 29; no. 393 (1227),
37; 2:no. 403 (1232), 48-49; eleven individually named canons (including Master Bogus{aw, the chancellor,
and Chanter Matthew) in 1239: K.Mp., 2:no. 416 (1239), 61; Bishop Wieslaw later that year: K.Mp., 2:no.
417 (1239), 61-62; and Bishop Prandota in 1243: K.Mp., 2:no. 26 (1243), 31-32.
28The abbot of the Wroclaw monastery of St Vincent' s appeared on one occasion. Canons of the Krakrw
collegiate churches of St Florian' s and St Michael' s, and of the parish church of St Mary' s, were present
individually in 1222, 1224, 1227, 1228, and 1229: A.P., no. 5 (122211224), 8; K.Mp., l:no. 10 (1224),
16-17; no. 12 (1229), 18-19; clerical witnesses in Silesia outside of Wroclaw were recruited from two of
the localities that were otherwise important sources of witnesses--Lubusz and GIogrw--and, less
frequently, from the Cistercian monasteries at Lubi ~ and Trzebnica and a handful of parish churches; the
bishop of Lubusz appeared six times--S.U., l:no. 227 (1223), 167; 2:no. 19-20 (1232), 10-11; no. 234
(1242), 142; no. 252 (1243), 151--the provost of the Lubusz chapter twice--S.U., 2:no. 140 (1237), 92; no.
255 (1243), 153--and the canons twice--S.U., 2:no. 296 (1245), 178; no. 300 (1245), 181. Gtog6w was
represented by the chapter of its collegiate church, specifically the archdeacon, provost, scholar, and a
canon: S.U., 2:no. 49 (1233), 33; no. 203 (1239-41), 128; no. 270 (1244), 162; no. 299 (1245), 180; no.
300 (1245), 181; in Silesia, the parish priest of the church at Wlefi appeared twice: S.U., l:no. 246
(1224-34), 179; no. 305 (1229), 225. Sandomierz contrasted with Krakrw as a source of cl ergy--
understandably as it was not an episcopal ci t y--yet canons from its collegiate church witnessed the
transactions of 1224 and 1229, on the latter occasion the archdeacon, provost, chanter, and a fourth canon:
A.P., no. 5 (1222/1224), 9; K.Mp., l:no. 10 (1224), 16-17; no. 12 (1229), 18-19. Finally, the records show
infrequent appearances by abbots from several monasteries in both provinces: in Silesia, two appearances by
monks from Lubi~p2 and Trzebnica: S.U., l:no. 246 (1224-34), 179; no. 305 (1229), 225; in Little Poland,
two appearances by the abbots of Tyniec, JCdrzejrw, and wi t r w, one each by the abbots of Kamiefi,
Koprzywnica, Lysa Grra, and Sieciech6w--and two appearances by the archdeacon of Lublin: K.Mp., 1 :no.
4 (1206), 9; no. 10 (1224), 16; 2:no. 393 (1227), 37; A.P., no. 5 (1222/1224), 7-9.
29For the meaning of these two offices, see P. Grrecki, Economy, society, and lordship, 164, 188 (note 3).
Communities of Legal Memory in Medieval Poland, c. 1200-1240 135
p r o v i n c e s ; i n a d d i t i o n , t h e p a l a t i n e a p p e a r e d e v e n mo r e f r e q u e n t l y i n Li t t l e P o l a n d
( t h o u g h n o t i n Si l es i a) No t s u r p r i s i n g l y , t he l oc a l i t i e s f r o m wh i c h t h e s e t wo h i g h
of f i c i a l s we r e r e c r u i t e d i n c l u d e d s o me o f t he mo r e i mp o r t a n t s o u r c e s o f wi t n e s s e s i n
30
g e n e r a l wi t h i n t he t wo p r o v i n c e s Se v e r a l k i n d s o f d u c a l of f i c i a l s l o we r t h a n c a s t e l l a n
or p a l a t i n e a p p e a r as wi t n e s s e s i n b o t h p r o v i n c e s Th e s e of f i c i a l s we r e p r e s e n t o n 21
o c c a s i o n s i n Si l e s i a , a n d 11 i n Li t t l e P o l a n d - - j u s t u n d e r a n d j u s t o v e r a h a l f t he r e c o r d e d
o c c a s i o n s , r e s p e c t i v e l y . A r e l a t i v e l y f r e q u e n t c o u r t of f i ci al i n Si l e s i a wa s t h e i u d e x - -
s o me t i me s d e s c r i b e d as a ' j u d g e o f t he c o u r t ' ( i u d e x c u r i a e ) , or ' o u r [i . e. , t he d u k e ' s ]
j u d g e ' ( i u d e x n o s t e r ) - - w h o a p p e a r e d o n e l e v e n o c c a s i o n s 31 An i mp o r t a n t of f i ci al i n
32
Li t t l e P o l a n d wa s a b u t l e r ( p i n c e r n a ) , wh o a p p e a r e d o n s e v e n o c c a s i o n s , wh i l e t he
i u d e x a p p e a r e d o n l y o n c e 33 A v a r i e t y o f o t h e r of f i c i a l s a p p e a r e d i n b o t h p r o v i n c e s , wi t h
3In Silesia, the castellan of Wroclaw appeared on ten occasions: S.U., l:no. 142 (1214), 101; 2:no. 167
(1239), 108; no. 229 (1242), 139; no. 234 (1242), 142; no. 245 (1243), 148; no. 252 (1243), 151; no. 255
(1243), 153; no. 270-71 (1244), 162-63; no. 273 (1244), 165; no. 297 (1245), 178; of Niemcza on eleven:
S.U., 2:no. 167 (1239), 108; no. 172 (1239), l l l ; no. 229 (1242), 139; no. 234 (1242), 142; no. 241 (1243),
145; no 245 (1243), 148; no. 252 (1243), 151; no. 270-71 (1244), 162-63; no. 273 (1244), 165; no. 297
(1245), 178; of Legnica on eight: S.U., l:no. 77 (1202), 51; no. 83 (1202-03), 57; 2:no. 181 (1240), 116;
no. 229 (1242), 139; no. 234 (1242), 142; no. 252 (1243), 151; no. 273 (1244), 165; no. 297 (1245), 178;
no. 300 (1245), 181; of Krosno and Bolesiawiec on seven: Krosno-~. U. , l:no. 83 (1202-03), 57; no. 219
(1222), 160; no. 227 (1223), 167; no. 287 (1228), 211; no. 290 (1228), 214; no. 319 (1230), 231; 2:no. 252
(1243), 151; Bolestawiec--S.U., l:no. 77 (1202), 51; no. 83 (1202-03), 57; no. 319 (1230), 231; 2:no. 252
(1243), 151; no. 255 (1243), 153; no. 270 (1244), 162; no. 297 (1245), 178; no. 299 0245) , 180; of Ryczyn
on six: S.U., 2:no. 167 (1239), 108; no. 252 (1243), 151; no. 270 (1244), 162; no. 273 (1244), 165; no. 297
(1245), 178; no. 299 (1245), 180; of Giog6w on four: S.U., l:no. 77 (1202), 51; no. 83 (1202-03), 57; no.
227 (1223), 167; 2:no. 252 (1243), 151; but of Lubusz only twice: S.U., 2:no. 112 (1236), 75; no. 234
(1242), 142. In Little Poland, the castellan of Wiglica appeared eleven times: K.Mp., l:no. 10 (1224), 16;
no. l l (1228), 17; no. 12 (1229), 19; no. 26 (1243), 32; 2:no. 384 (1217), 27; no. 389 (1224), 33; no. 393
(1227), 37 (Mark); no. 395 (1228), 39; no. 417 (1239), 62; of Sandomierz five: K.Mp., l:no. l 0 (1224), 16;
no. 11 (1228), 17; no. 12 (1229), 19; no. 26 (1243), 32; 2:no. 384 (1217), 27; no. 417 (1239), 62; and of
Krak6w four: K.Mp., 2:no. 384 (1217), 27; no. 387 (1223), 29; no. 389 (1224), 33; A.P., no. 5 (1222/1224),
7-9. Far more frequent in Little Poland was the palatine of Sandomierz, who appeared eleven times: K.Mp.,
l:no. 10 (1224), 16; no. 11 (1228), 17; no. 12 (1229), 19; no. 24 (1239), 31; 2:no. 384 (1217), 27; no. 387
(1223), 29; no. 389 (1224), 33; no. 393 (1227), 37; no. 395 (1228), 39; no. 412 (1235), 57; no. 417 (1239),
62; A.P., no. 5 (! 222/1224), 7- 9; his Krak6w counterpart again put in four appearances--K.Mp., 1 :no. I l
(1228), 17; no. 19 (1236), 25; 2:no. 384 (1217), 27; no. 389 (1224), 33--whi l e the palatine of Lg.czyca
(otherwise not documented as an important source of witnesses) appeared twice: K.Mp., 2:no. 403 (1232),
49; no. 417 (1239), 62.
3~S.U., l:no. 77 (1202), 51 (iudex curiae); no. 142 (1214), 101 (iudex); no. 219 (1222), 160 (iudex); 2:no. 80
(1234), 53 (iudex); no. 85 (1234), 56 (iudex terre); no. 140 (1237), 92 (iudex curie); no. 164 (1239), 106
(iudex nostre curie); no. 229 (1242), 139 (iudex); no. 241 (1243), 145 (iudex curie); no. 255 (1243), 153
(iudex curie); no. 270 (1244), 162 (iudex curie); no. 297 (1245), 178 (iudex curie); no. 299 (1245), 180
(iudex curie).
32K.Mp., l:no 10 (1224), 16; no. 12 (1229), 19; 2:no. 387 (1223), 29; no. 389 (1224), 33; no. 395 (1228), 39;
A.P., no. 5 O222/1224), 7- 9 (on two occasions).
~3K.Mp., 2:no. 384 (1217), 27 (iudex curie).
136 Piotr G6recki
very little recurrence by specific persons. 34 Finally, a few witness lists in both provinces
also record officials who served important persons. 35 These witnesses were the Polish
counterpart of the medieval familiae--groups of followers of persons of central
importance which are recorded in witness and household lists in different parts of
Eu r o p e . 36
On s e v e r a l o c c a s i o n s , s o me o f wi t n e s s e s - - o r c a t e g o r i e s o f wi t n e s s e s - - wh o mo s t
f r e q u e n t l y r e c u r i n t he wi t n e s s l i s t s a c t i v e l y f a c i l i t a t e d p a r t i c u l a r l e ga l t r a n s a c t i o n s . T h e y
mo b i l i z e d s e v e r a l k i n d s o f l oc a l g r o u p s - - wh i c h t h e ms e l v e s v e r y r a r e l y a p p e a r i n wi t n e s s
l i s t s - - i n o r d e r t o e f f e c t p a r t i c u l a r l e ga l t r a n s a c t i o n s at t he l oc a l l evel . Th e d e t a i l e d
d i p l o ma s o f Du k e He n r y t he Be a r d e d , Du k e Le s z e k t he Wh i t e , a n d Du c h e s s
Gr z y mi s l a wa , as we l l as t he Ab b o t P e t e r ' s mo n a s t i c hi s t or y, s h e d l i ght o n t he
c o mp o s i t i o n a n d f u n c t i o n o f s e v e r a l s u c h gr oups . Th e y s h o w h o w d u k e s , d u c a l of f i ci al s ,
a n d o t h e r i mp o r t a n t p e r s o n s mo b i l i z e d s oc i a l g r o u p s i n o r d e r t o e s t a b l i s h , s a f e g u a r d , a n d
a l t e r l oc a l s oc i a l me mo r i e s a b o u t l e ga l t r a n s a t i o n s ; a n d t he e l e me n t s f r o m wh i c h t h a t
l oc a l s oc i a l me mo r y wa s c o n s t r u c t e d , a n d i n t e r ms o f wh i c h i t wa s al t er ed.
2. l v o , Bar an, a n d Gr z ymi s t awa
The sequences o f proceedi ngs concerni ng Pe/ czyska and Dzi er~k6wek were facilitated
by small groups of persons. In 1228 Grzymi sl awa not ed ' Bodgasz, son o f Mal uj' , as
'mediator o f this matter' (huius rei mediator), and as one o f the wi tnesses o f both stages
o f the al i enati on o f Dzi er2k6wek. 37 Similarly, Pakosl aw, 'then castellan o f Krak6w,
mediated' the initial settlement o f the dispute bet ween Baran and Ivo before the
assembl y on the stone bridge in 1222. 38 Two years later at Ro z e g r o c h- - ha v i ng ' newl y
3"S.U., l:no. 83 (1202-03), 57 (subcamerarius); 2:no. 146 (1238), 95 (camerarius ducisse); no. 164 (1239),
106 (subcamerarius matris nostre); no. 181 (1240), 116 (subcamerarius); no. 239 (1242), 144 (sub-
kamerarius.., ducisse); and six in Little Poland: K.Mp., l:no. 10 (1224), 16 (subcamerarius ducis); no. 11
(1228), 17 (subcamerarius); 2:no. 393 (1227), 37 (subcamerarius); no. 395 (1228), 39 (camerarius
palatini); A.P., no. 5 (1222/1224), 7- 9 (subcamerarius, camerarius palatini----each on one occasion); S.U.,
l:no. 305 (1229), 225 (Nouifori scultetus, scultetus de Wratislavia); 2:no. 49 (1233), 33 (scultetus de
Novoforo); dapifer: K.Mp., 2:no. 389 (1224), 33; no. 393 (1227), 37; K.Mp., l:no. 10 (1224), 16; no. 11
(1228), 17; 2:no. 393 (1227), 37; A.P., no. 5 (1222/1224), 7- 9 (on one occasion); S.U., l:no. 142 (1214),
101; no. 219 (1222), 160; no. 290 (1228), 214; no. 305 (1229), 225; 2:no. 49 (1233), 33; no. 73 (1234), 47;
no. 146 (1238), 95; no. 164 (1239), 106; no. 146 (1238), 95; no. 181 (1240), 116; Valentine, 'notary of
Silesia' , made three appearances in 1244 and 1245; S.U., 2:no. 271 (1244), 163; no. 296 (1245), 178; no.
299 (1245), 180; while Albert, ' hunter of Silesia', was present twice in the same two years; S.U., 2:no. 273
(1244), 165; no. 297 (1245), 178; in addition, an official of the duchess--Hedwig or Anne- - a camerarius
named Adlard, appeared three times, in 1238, 1239, and 1240; S.U., 2:no. 146 (1238), 95; no. 164 (1239),
106; no. 181 (1240), 116.
35In Silesia, a 'camerarius of the lady Duchess [Hedwig]' appeared on three occasions, and her two ' chaplains'
appeared once: S.U., 2:no. 146 (1238), 95; no. 164 (1239), 106; no. 234 (1242), 142; no. 239 (1242), 144;
while the Little Polish charters record appearances--most of them on only one occasion----of a camerarius,
subcamerarius, and hunter of the castellan of Krak6w; a camerarius, dapifer, and two chaplains of the
palatine of Sandomierz; a camerarius and a butler of the bishop of Krak6w; a camerarius of the castellan of
Lublin; the ducal butler' s own butler; and a camerarius of Duchess Grzymistawa: K.Mp., 2:no. 389 (1224),
33; A.P., no. 5 (1222/1224), 7-9.
36M. Prestwich, English politics, 34-36.
37K.Mp., 2:no. 395 (1228), 39.
38A.P., no. 5 (1222/1224), 8: comite Pacoslao tunc Cracoviensi castellano mediante.
Communities of Legal Memory in Medieval Poland, c. 1200-1240 137
[been] made palatine' of Sandomi er z- - he entered into the proceedings between Baran
and Ivo as mediator ' while the matter was cont est ed' , ' chast i sed' Baran for reneging on
the earlier compromi se settlement, ' publ i cl y announced' another compromi se, 39 and,
40
finally, presided over the innovatio allodiorum in the final phase of the proceedings.
Pakostaw received assistance in his mediation efforts at two stages: at the Rozegroch
assembl y of 1224, when Os t as z- - who had succeeded Pakostaw as castellan of
Kr akr w- - hel ped arrange, or at least strongly supported, the consent of Baran' s relatives
to the new compromi se, and a few days later, when ' Strze~ek, the duke' s butler, j oi ned'
Pakostaw in the final innovatio allodiorum of Pet czyska 4] The medi at ors' activities fell
into two phases, which were repeated three times in the controversy between Ivo and
Baran. The first phase was arrangement of a compromi se between the parties. This role
clearly antedated the specific events narrated in the written record. Apart from the hint
that Pakostaw had exerted pressure on Baran in 1224, the record sheds no light on how
he persuaded the parties to compr omi se- - i ndeed suggesting that this part of his function
was private and not intended for subsequent knowledge. The second phase was the
' renewal of the holdings' that expressed and secured that compr omi se- - per haps a series
of perambulations of the type performed near Lubi~2 and Tr zebni ca- - car r i ed out at the
behest of the parties and the ruler, before substantial groups of witnesses At particular
phases of an alienation or dispute, the mediator was joined by hel per s- - i n this
controversy, once when consent by the family of the more recalcitrant party was sought,
and again during the final innovatio allodiorum.
The records of 1222, 1224, and 1228 suggest that the Poles of the earlier thirteenth
century created, and recorded, legal realities through a continuous presence of a few
specific persons; and, beyond that core, to have relied on much l ar ger - - per haps
deliberately var i ed- - gr oups of other persons The list of witnesses present at the
assembl y concerning Pel czyska held at the stone bridge in 1222, and Duchess
Gr zymi sl awa' s record of the participants in the second phase of the grant of Dzier-
2krwek in 1228, shed light on the composition of local groups present at legal
transactions, and on the possible functions of such groups as sources of legal memory.
The record of the assembly on the river is unusual not only for the number of
witnesses it lists, but also for their classification into specific groups. After a
conventional list of 22 names of ecclesiastics and laymen, the document categorizes the
remaining 74 persons i nt o- - i n this or der - - 8 ' knights living around Pet czyska' (milites
circumadiacentes circa Pelchisch); 13 ' chaplains of the bi shop' s court ' (capellani curie
episcopi); 27 ' knights of his [i.e., of the bi shop]' (milites eiusdem); 18 ' knights of
Pakosl aw' (milites Pacoslay); and 9 persons noted only as ' f r om the settlement' (de
osada), without further identification 42 These groups were associated with the persons
and places central to the controversy. One group of ' chapl ai ns' and two groups of
~gA.P., no. 5 (1222/1224), 8-9.
4A.e., no. 5 (1222/1224), 9: dominus lvo.., episcopus..., uolens hanc actionem firmam et ratam obseruari et
inviolabilem permanere, comite Pacoslao palatino a duce misso mediatore.., predicte uille allodia iterato
idibus iunii innouauit.
4LA.P., no. 5 (1222/1224), 9.
42A.p., no. 5 (1222/1224), 8-9. Matuszewski squarely identifies the osada with the opole (or 'neigh-
bourhood'), as an alternative term in the vernacular, Vicinia, 15-16.
138 Piotr G6recki
knights were followers of Palatine Pakostaw and Bishop Ivo. In addition, Ost asz- -
Pakostaw' s successor as castellan of Krak6w and an important participant and witness in
the proceedings of 122a~ brought in a small group of his own court officials, who were
however not identified as a separate group in this document 43 The recruitment of
Pakostaw' s, Ivo' s, and Ostasz' s familiae expressed the relations of authority and
lordship of some of the most important participants in the controversy; and the
44
mobilization of those relationships in the legal process.
The other two groups were based in particular places, rather than associated with
particular persons. One included the knights settled near Pelczyska, the other, rather
vaguely, ' the set t l ement ' --perhaps other inhabitants of that location. A third group of
this type were seven ' chaplains' of Petczyska, 45 who, like Ostasz' s men, are recorded
elsewhere in the charter. Here several categories of witnesses--knights, ecclesiastics,
and possibly other settlers, who were clearly associated with a single important
pl ace--Pet czyska, the subject of the di sput e--were summoned to witness, recall, and
possibly participate in, the resolution of the controversy. The recruitment and com-
position of such local groups, and the ways in which they were mobilized in the legal
process, are well illustrated by Duchess Grzymislawa' s two records concerning
DzierSk6wek.
Both of the gatherings presided over by the duchess were held in a locality called
Skaryszew. Skaryszew had long been an important part of the estate of the canons
regular of Miech6w. At the time of the foundation of that monastic community in the
later twelfth century it had included a market place, a tavern, and a parish church that
serviced six other settlements and that collected a respectable tithe revenue 46 It was also
politically significant; in 1230, Duchess Grzymistawa used it as a resting place en route
to a diplomatic parley 47 In both phases of the proceedings before Duchess Grzymislawa
of 1228, and in later years, Skaryszew served as an important source of witnesses for
transactions specifically concerning subsequent transfers of Dzier~k6wek to the estate of
the canons regular at Miech6w. The witnesses who appeared before the duchess in 1228
included ' Janek, master of the monks of the grange [magister monachorum curiae] of
Skaryszew, his brother-in-law Geoffrey, [and] Siegfried, bailiff [villicus] of
Skaryszew, '48 while the diplomatic parley of two years later was attended, among
others, by the same Siegfred, 'all the townsmen [omnes burgenses] of Skaryszew' , and
' John, priest of Skaryszew '49
Like her husband six years earlier, Grzymistawa in 1228 gathered settlers from
specific nearby localities to witness a phase of a legal transaction, but in contrast to him
she noted in detail the composition of that group and the territory from which it was
recruited: At the head of the list recorded on the verso of her charter, she identified the
4 3 A . p . , no. 5 ( 1222/ 1224) , 8: Poui rzon camerari us Ostasii, Sulislav venat or ei usdem, Det hmar, Mat heus
subcamerari us ei usdem.
44Compare M. Prestwich, E n g l i s h p o l i t i c s , 34- 36.
4 5 A . P . , no. 5 ( 1222/ 1224) , 8: Egi di us et Bogdasi us capellani de Pelchisch.
4 6 K . M p . , 2:no. 375- 76 (1198), 13- 14, 16.
4 7 K . M p . , 2:no. 401 (1230), 46.
4 8 K . M p . , 2:no. 395 (1228), 39.
4 9 K d l , l p . , 2:no. 401 (1230), 46.
5 K . M p . , 2:no. 395 (1228), 39; t he verso portion of t he charter.
Communities of Legal Memory in Medieval Poland, c. 1200-1240 139
entire group of 25 men who were present as ' neighbours settled near' Dzier~krwek
( v i c i n i c i r c u m i a c e n t e s ) , and, at the end, somewhat more formally as ' the neighbourhood'
( v i c i n i a ) . 5~ This ' neighbourhood' was recruited from seven settlements, of which
Skaryszew was again relatively important. Skaryszew furnished three ' neighbours' ,
including a parish priest, a monk or lay brother, and a person identified only by name. In
contrast, the six other named localities--Dzier~k6wek, Odech6w, Krzy~anowice,
Modrzejowice, Rzepin, and Krupsko---were represented by only one inhabitant each.
Although not all of these localities can be identified, those that can be were situated
between 6 and 11 kilometers from Skaryszew itself; the ' neighbourhood' was therefore
recruited from a region of less than about 200 square kilometers. The recruitment
favoured Skaryszew, but was otherwise evenl y--t hough thinly---distributed around the
remainder of the settlements that comprised the ' neighbourhood' .
The ' neighbours' were quite diverse in terms of status and function. Three of
them---one each recruited from Skaryszew, Rzepin, and Krupsko---were monks, or
possibly lay brothers ( f r a t r e s ) , of the Mi echrw community. Several of the other
' neighbours' comprised family groups; five ' neighbours' were linked to each other as
fathers and sons, and as either sons- or brothers-in-law. One was identified as a ' peasant'
( c me t h o ) ; this was Roznat, summoned to the assembly from a nearby settlement of
Odech6w. Thus, the three identifiable categories of recruits into the ' neighbourhood'
summoned to Skaryszew included: families (of people whose status was not explicitly
identified); the monastery' s ' brothers' ; and peasants. The list closes with Bogdasz, the
medi at or--once again underscoring the importance of the very small core group in
different phases of particular transactions.
The witnesses recruited from Skaryszew in 1228 reflect the formation of a complex
rural community during the preceding decades, and the use of that community in the
process of formation and reproduction of legal knowledge. Long after the canons of
Miech6w appropriated its church, Skaryszew had remained a parish centre; became the
location a monastic grange, headed by a ' master' ; and attracted German immigrants,
who acquired formal communal status. In short, it had long been a regional centre of
economic and demographic change, and the social groups recruited from it to witness
(and presumably remember) legal transactions included the participants in that change.
This suggests a deliberate strategy of effecting and consolidating legal knowledge at the
local level. That knowledge rested on persons who participated i n- - i ndeed embodi ed- -
economic, demographic, and legal expansion and dynamism within the localities
affected by the legal transactions which took place. The recurrence of witnesses from
Skaryszew in transactions specifically concerning DzierZk6wek suggests another deliber-
ate pattern of recruitment of persons from one locality to affect, and remember, legal
realities in another. Along with its other functions as a central place in the region,
Skaryszew was used an anchor for a community of legal knowledge concerning a
particular beneficiary and a particular set of transactions.
The most local community of legal knowledge accessible through the sources
therefore rested on a geographic cluster of settlement, and on a network of persons. That
network supplemented, and overlapped with, a range of other groups and persons from a
5~The transactions were done coram uicinis circumiacentibus and coram uicinia.
140 Piotr Grrecki
l ocal l y i mport ant pl a c e - - Ska r ys z e w- - whi c h, al t hough it furni shed some of the ' nei gh-
bour s' , is cl earl y identified as a l ocal i t y (and a base of legal knowl edge) distinct f r om the
' nei ghbour hood' . The actual number of persons recrui t ed f r om each l ocal i t y was small,
and the ' nei ghbour s' vari ed in status. What ever its ot her funct i ons, the ' nei ghbour hood'
was an assembl y of all kinds of pe opl e - - t he y mi ght have i ncl uded bot h the ' kni ght s
settled near ' Pel czyska, and the rather myst eri ous ' set t l ement ' r ecor ded in the wi t ness
list of the pr oceedi ngs at the stone bri dge in 1222. Abbot Pet er ' s reconst ruct i on of the
distant past o f his monast ery, and Duke Henr y' s account s of the clarifications of
boundari es short l y after the t urn of the thirteenth cent ury, provi de unusual l y good
evi dence o f what such persons mi ght remember, and of the ways in t hey structured,
mai nt ai ned, and- - somet i mes- - - del i ber at el y changed the memor i es rel evant t o l aw and
pr oper t y rights.
3. Henryk6w
Abbot Pet er drew much o f his knowl edge o f the most distant past of the monast i c
estate f r om the recol l ect i on o f one ol d peasant who had l i ved in the regi on of He nr ykr w
bet ween the 1220s and 1245. Thi s peasant was named named Kwi eci k, a n d - - a s Peter
put i t - - h e di vul ged t o the monks ' al l the ant i qui t i es' o f the hol di ngs the monast er y
acqui red bet ween the third quart er o f the t wel ft h cent ury and the Mongol i nvasi on of
1241. 52 The specific subject of the earl y hi st ory of monast i c hol di ngs Pet er dr ew f r om
Kwi eci k was the ori gi ns and t ransformat i on of the names of the localities acqui red by
the monks, especi al l y their relationships t o features of the local geogr aphy, and their
propri et ary significance. Thi s subj ect suggest s t hat the central el ement of a peasant ' s
me mor y of the past was the hi st ory and meani ng of the pl a c e mna me s within the regi on
wi t h whi ch he was familiar. 53 The localities whose names and hi st ory Kwi eci k
r emember ed i ncl uded: individual hol di ngs ( s o r t e s ) , villages, forests, streams, springs,
and ot her features o f ecol ogy or settlement. 54 Peter relied on Kwi eci k' s memor y t o
expl ai n several features o f the hi st ory of the names of pl aces i ncl uded in the estate: their
ori gi ns; their change over time; their rel at i onshi ps t o features of the local geogr aphy;
and, above all, their propri et ary significance. These strands of knowl edge were cl earl y
interrelated. Pet er ' s i nformant , and Peter after him, did not di fferent i at e their account s
52K.H., chap. 83, p. 134. The 'antiquities' include in particular the following stories: 'a small holding formerly
called Henrykrw' that had in the past been a possession of a petty knight named Henry--after whom, Peter
notes, 'this whole territory is called Henrykrw' in the present (chap. 34, p. 119); a holding 'formerly called
Janusz6w' which had had been possessed by a Janusz and his brother 'long ago' (antiquitus) (chap. 29, p.
118); and a 'place once called Zukowice', formerly a possession of two peasants named Krzepisz and Zuk,
who had 'exceeded the others by a certain degree of power' (chap. 32, p. 119).
53The history and meaning of place--names are therefore a local example of peasant collective memory; see J.
Fentress and C. Wickham, Social memory, 92-114.
54For the rather fluid meaning of sors and the other territorial categories in Abbot Peter's usage, see R Grrecki,
'Viator to ascriptitius. Rural economy, lordship, and the origins of serfdom in medieval Poland', Slavic
Review, 42 (1983), 19-20.
Communities of Legal Memory in Medieval Poland, c. 1200-1240 141
into legal, geographic, economic, demographic, and ecological information, but instead
expressed the proprietary history of the region in terms of all these features. 55
All the pl ace-name origins Peter traced in reliance on Kwiecik referred to particular
possessors of the places named, and to some distinctive and memorabl e activities or
characteristics of these possessors. Their life stories entailed residence, seniority within a
fami l y group, economi c activity such as land clearing, or ' power ' ( p o t e s t a s ) within the
locality, social climbing, labour, and assertiveness or outright aggression. Some were
' ducal peasant s' ( r u s t i c i d u c i s ) , others aspired to knighthood or practised robbery, and
yet others ' usurped' land beyond what they acquired from the dukes. 56 Several had
acquired their holdings early during the time of the ' ol d dukes' , that is, before the
Mongol invasion. They had been recruited to the region by Dukes Bolestaw the Tall and
Henry the Bearded, ' i n the old days when the lords of this province of Silesia distributed
inheritances and manors [ h e r e d i t a t e s e d p r e d i a ] to the noble and medi ocre' .
Some of these early eponyms were remembered by name alone; thus, a holding
' formerl y called Janusz6w' had been so called because it had ' l ong ago' ( a n t i q u i t u s )
been possessed by two brothers ' of whom the elder was called Janusz' . 57 Peter did not
explicitly state how long ago or for how long Janusz and his brother had possessed the
holding, but clearly implied that both their possession and the place name that referred to
it were part of the past. Likewise, ' i n those days' a nearby holding had been a possession
of two peasants, Krzepisz and Zuk, who ' exceeded the other [peasants] by a certain
degree of power' , which was why ' this place was once called Zukowice'.58 Once again,
Peter implied that this place name was no longer in use in his own time; in addition, he
identified the location of 7,ukowice with the location of a monastic grange ( c u r i a ) in his
own present, indicating a complete transformation in the possession and use of that
location after Krzepisz and Zuk led it. Thus, both the place name and the settlement to
which it referred were aspects of the past. Finally, ' [a] small holding [ s or s ] formerly
called Henr ykr w' had been a possession of a petty knight named Henry before the
foundation of the monastery. 59 Peter said nothing about the structure or size of Henr y' s
holding, except he implied, once again, that in his own present this holding was not
called by the name that referred to Henry.
The past remembered by Kwiecik was a time of rather fluid social relations in the
region of Henryk6w. Several of the original settlers had aspired to knighthood. Abbot
Peter variously referred to Henr y- - t he original possessor of the holding formerly known
as He nr ykr w- - a s an aspiring knight, ' pet t y knight' ( m i l i t e l l u s ) , or knight ( m i l e s ) . The
original possessors of Janusz6w, Janusz and his brother Dobrogost, were both ' petty
kni ght s' , and in addition Dobrogost was a robber, for which he was ' expel l ed from the
land' .60 Other inhabitants expressed their social aspirations differently. Peter explained
~SFor similar medieval conceptualizations of proprietary rights, expecially among peasants, see A. Gurevich,
'Reprrsentations et attitudes h l'rgard de la propri&6 pendant le haut moyen ~ge', Annales E. S. C., 27
(1972), 523-47.
56For a partial reconstruction of these stories, see P. Grrecki, "Viator to ascriptitius', 14-35, especially 19-25.
5VK.H., chap. 29, p. 118.
58K.H., chap. 32, p. 119.
59K.H., chap. 34, p. 119.
6K.H., chap. 29. p. 118.
142 Pi ot r G6r ecki
that ' because the land was very forested and almost empty of cultivators in those days' ,
a Czech immigrant Boguchwat ' usurped for himself [enough] land for three large
ploughs in the district' beyond a substantial farmstead he had received from Duke
Bolestaw the Tall 6~ Likewise, Krzepisz and Zuk bitterly competed with each other over
leadership of their village of Zukowice, with disastrous consequences for their village.
Peter recalled that they ' killed one another. After their deaths, all the other peasants
living there dispersed' . The ensuing conflict destroyed the entire settlement over which
they presided, and ultimately allowed the monastery of Henryk6w to acquire their
substantial village, and turn it into a grange.
The associations between an original possessor and territory varied in space as well as
over time. Particular eponyms from the distant past gave their names not only to
localities in which they dwelled, or settlements they managed, but also to larger
territories. Thus, Abbot Peter noted that although in the distant past the name of the
petty knight Henry had been the source of the name Henryk6w for the small holding he
then possessed, in the present 'this whole territory is called Henryk6w' in reference to
Henry' s name. 62 Thus, between the time of the ' old dukes' and Peter' s own present, the
eponym' s name shifted to designate the entire group of settlements from which the
monastic estate was formed, and whose history Peter attributed to the memory of the old
peasant Kwiecik. ' Also in the old days' , Peter noted, ' a certain old.., peasant named
Kolacz... ruled over [dominabatur] many woods and forests' to the east of what became
the monastic estate, ' hence this territory is called Ko/acz6w from long ago. Let it be
known that now certain hamlets [viUule] are situated in the territory of Kotacz6w, whose
names are: Witostowice with its district, Raczyce, Skalice, [and] Jaworowice' . 63 That
place name remained in use into the abbot' s present despite subsequent immigration,
settlement, and division of the ' territory of Kotacz6w' into four small villages with
distinct place names. This shifting association between persons and territory offers
insight into peasant conceptualization of space and proprietary rights; and the care with
which Abbot Peter noted that association reflects the relevance of that conceptualization
for the description of the monks' own proprietary rights over that same space.
Peter occasionally referred to a local population that coined and employed place
names, and to the specific reasons why that population adopted a particular name. He
recalled that during the reign of Bolestaw the Tall, a peasant immigrant from Bohemia,
Boguchwat, and his wife, established a substantial farmstead where they, among other
things, operated a hand-quern. Boguchwat' s wife ' very often stood at the millstones and
ground grain' , but her husband ' sometimes' relieved her, and ' turned the millstones as
his wife did' , in turns with her. 64 Here as elsewhere, hand milling was evidently
considered women' s work 65 and so Boguchwa! earned himself an ironic nickname in the
local society, which in turn became the source of the name for the large holding he, his
61K.H., chap. 113, p. 147.
62K.H., chap. 113, p. 147.
63K, H., chap. 36, p. 120.
64K.H., chap. 113, p. 147.
65M. Dembi f i s ka, ' Da y ut i a pobr us a a ti p o z i wa i ' [ ' Le t me gr i nd and you r e s t ' ] , Kwartalnik Historii Kultury
Materialnej, 25 ( 1977) , 4 9 9 - 5 0 2 ; R. Hol t , The mills of medieval England ( Oxf or d, 1988), 2; P. G6r ecki ,
Economy, society, and lordship, 1 0 9 - 1 0 , 1 2 1 , 2 3 3 .
Communities of Legal Memory in Medieval Poland, c. 1200-1240 143
wife, and their descendant s possessed. ' Upon seei ng' his shared effort wi t h his wife, ' t he
nei ghbours [ v i c i ni ] - - t hough few at the time----called hi m Boguchwat Brukat [i.e., the
Grind], and so his entire successi on [post eri t as] is cal l ed Brukal i ce ' 66 I n this case, Pet er
identified the ori gi ns of a pl ace name in terms of a percept i on of an unusual pract i ce, and
the resul t i ng reputation, among ' nei ghbour s' , and in addi t i on not ed t hat the resul t i ng
name r emai ned in use i nt o his own present.
What was the meani ng of the resulting pl ace names and of their changes? Among
ot her things, pl ace names expressed propri et ary rights. Thei r meani ng and change over
t i me were t herefore i mport ant subjects of legal knowl edge within the local soci et y 67
Peter illustrates this part i cul ar significance of pl ace names with t wo rel at i vel y detailed
stories: his account of the t ransformat i on of the meani ng of the place name He n r y k 6 w
over the precedi ng 50 years; 6s and his hi st ory of names of localities that had f or mer l y
been possessed by the l i neage of a peasant named Gl i b, who had mi grat ed into the
6 9
regi on under ducal lordship somet i me in the t wel ft h cent ury.
I n the course of the 1220s, all the hol di ngs that later made up the ' t erri t ory of
He nr yk6w' - - i nc l udi ng Zukowi ce, J anus zt w, and the original He nr yk6w- - we r e ac-
qui red by Ni chol as, a cleric and chi ef not ary of Duke Henr y the Bearded. 7 Ni chol as
consol i dat ed his hol d on these pl aces by obliterating their associ at i ons with their original
possessors, and by reassoci at i ng the same hol di ngs with hi msel f and wi t h Duke Henry.
First, he el i mi nat ed an ecol ogi cal feature of J a nus z t w that local inhabitants had l ong
associ at ed wi t h the initial possessors of t hat holding. He cut down a large tree situated
next t o a spring in the mi ddl e of Janusz6w. The tree had been an i mpressi ve l andmark;
Peter referred t o it as ' t he f amous t r ee' , so it was r emember ed as i mport ant in his own
present. The tree also lent a name t o the st ream that fl owed f r om the spring, JaworzycaT. ~
Second, Ni chol as consol i dat ed Janusz6w, the ori gi nal He nr ykt w, and the f or mer
Zukowi ce, i nt o one large estate, whi ch he named He nr ykt w expl i ci t l y in reference t o
Duke Henry, not to the kni ght by the same name who had possessed it earlier. Peter
descri bed these acts, and the reassoci at i on of the new estate with Duke Henry, in a
single chapter, significantly entitled ' On the cut t i ng of the f amous t r ee' : ' Aft er. . .
Ni chol as [acqui red the three hol di ngs], he caused the said tree t o be cut down, and
t hereby obl i t erat ed the name Janusz6w f r om this hol di ng. And because he j oi ned [the
acqui red hol di ng] t o his hol di ng [of] Zukowi ce, he named the entire [estate] Henr yk6w,
66K.H.., chap. 113, p. 147.
67A different approach from mine to the legal meaning of patronymic place-names is represented by W.
Taszycki, Slowiahskie nazwy miejscowe, Ustalenie podziatu [Slavic place-names: a basic typology]
(Kraktw, 1946); Patronimiczne nazwy miejscowe na Mazowszu [Patronymic place-names in Masovia]
(Krak6w, 1951 ); and by H. Lowmiafiski, Poczqtki Polski [Origins of Poland], 6 vols. (Warsaw, 1963-73),
3:22-25. I prefer A. Gurevich, 'Reprtsentations', 530-34.
68K.H., chap. 31, 33-35, 39, pp. 118-19.
69K.H., chap. 82-83, pp. 133-34; chap. 89, p. 137.
7On Nicholas, see P. G6recki, 'Politics', 32-39; and Z. Koztowska-Budkowa, 'Przyczynki do krytyki
dokument6w gloskich z pierwszej polowy XIII wieku" [Contribution to the critique of Silesian documents
from the first half of the thirteenth century], in: Studia z historii gospodarczej i spolecznej pogwifcone Fr.
Bujakowi [Studies in economic and social history dedicated to Franciszek Bujak] (Lw6w, 1931), 1-6.
7~K.H., chap. 34, p. 119.
144 Piotr G6recki
out of reverence for... Duke [Henry 1]' . 72 The exci si on of the tree was the cruci al act in
re-associ at i ng the f or mer hol di ngs with a new legal reality. Ni chol as altered an
i mport ant , memor abl e feature o f the local ecol ogy as part of an overall, deliberate
st rat egy to t ermi nat e the associ at i on bet ween the lands i ncorporat ed into the ' ne w'
Henr yk6w and their f or mer hol ders 73
Ni chol as' s st rat egy was part l y successful. Bet ween his death in 1227 and Abbot
Pet er ' s own time, the name of the st ream that fl owed f r om the tree al so shifted f r om
reference to the tree t owar d reference t o cereals gr own al ong its banks. The name of the
st ream evol ved wi t h t i me t owar d J a g i e l n o , after the Pol i sh wor d f or millet, whi ch ' t he
Pol es had pl ant ed in [its] r avi ne' as far back as anyone coul d r emember ] 4 Over time,
therefore, the spatial concept i ons shared by the local popul at i on evol ved away f r om the
compl ex o f spring, tree, and Janusz, t oward the compl ex of stream, cereal, and Duke
Henry. But this change in ment al geogr aphy was not compl et e; the associ at i on bet ween
tree and pl ace cont i nued in the l ocal i t y f or generations. Pet er noted, in the present tense,
t hat ' t he ol d Pol es [still] call the st ream J a wo r z y c a ' ] 5 in reference t o the spring and the
tree, and el sewhere in his narrat i on that ' t hi s entire t erri t ory' was ' cal l ed Henr yk6w'
after the small kni ght Henr y in his own time 76 Ni chol as' s at t empt t o uproot the
associ at i on of Janusz wi t h the ori gi nal ecol ogy of his dwel l i ng was t herefore not ent i rel y
successful for bet ween 40 and 60 years. Peter r ecogni zed the resul t i ng ambi gui t y; his
recogni t i on reflects mul t i pl e associ at i ons of pl aces wi t h persons, and limits to deliberate
strategies i nt ended to alter such associations.
The st ory of the peasant Gt~b and his successors furt her shows the legal and social
meani ng of place names and their change. Once Gl i b settled in the regi on under ducal
l ordshi p ar ound the mi d-t wel ft h cent ury, he cl eared and led a substantial settlement. 77
The vi l l age and the surroundi ng forest all acqui red the name GtCbowice. This ori gi nal
GtCbowice remai ned economi cal l y viable f or t wo or three generations. In the rei gn of
Duke Henr y the Bearded, the peasant s of Gt ~bowi ce were led by Gt 0b' s grandson,
Kwi eci k, ' t he most emi nent and power f ul ' of Gt 0b' s successors. Dur i ng Kwi eci k' s
leadership, the peasant s were repeat edl y at t acked by local ar med settlers, who pr ompt ed
Kwi eci k' s gr oup t o move f r om the forest vi l l age east ward t o f ound a new set t l ement that
later became the core of the monast i c estate, and that ' was at that t i me called
Kwi eci kowi ce, and is still so cal l ed by some t oda y' J s
Vi ol ence must have f ol l owed Kwi eci k i nt o Kwi eci kowi ce, because by 1228 at the
72K.H., chap. 35, p. 119: De succissione arboris famose. [P]ostquam dominus Nycolaus fecerat com-
mutationem cum prefato Heinrico fecit succidi predictam arborem et delevit per hoc vocabulum illius sortis
Ianusow; et quia coniunxerat sue sorti Sucuwizi ob reverenciam domini ducis antiqui apellavit totum
Heinrichov.
73In a period of dramatically shifting religiosity, the tree, and its excision, may also have had a supernatural
significance; see the suggestive remarks by S. C. Rowell, Lithuania ascending. A pagan empire within East
Central Europe, 1295-1345 (Cambridge, 1994), 122.
74K.H., chap. 34, p. 119.
75K.H., chap. 31, p. 118: ad rivulum qui vocatur aput antiquos Polonos laurowika.
76K.H., chap. 33, p. 119: uncle sors huius militis modica tunc temporis vocabatur Heinrichow et inde totum
istud territorium dicitur Heinrichow.
77K.H., chap. 82, p. 134.
7SK.H., chap. 83, p. 134: quidam rusticus ceteris potentia eminentior.., unde locus ille dicebatur tunc temporis
Quetikowicz, quod vocabulum adhuc aput quosdam nominando servatur.
Communities of Legal Memory in Medieval Poland, c. 1200-1240 145
latest, he was totally disabled by sword cuts. He concluded his long and eventful life in
retirement on the cl oi st er' s premises, in complete dependence on the monks for survival.
His disability compl et el y transformed his social role. The handicap became his
memorabl e feature, much as his ' power ' and ' emi nence' as peasant leader had been
earlier. It endowed hi m with a nickname among ' t he Poles at that t i me ' - - ' t h e St ump' .
He also functioned as a source of wonder and humour for ' Duke Henry and his
entourage .... [and] so... was more esteemed at the duke' s court than any of his relatives. '
Through an unusual combination of disability and humour, Kwiecik maintained himself
quite literally in public vi ew- - and in subsequent remembrance. It was in this social
context that he also functioned as the monks' source of knowledge, and record of local
memory, about the early history of their estate. Peter recalled that Kwiecik had divulged
' t he antiquities' of the estate of Henryk6w to the monks over a long series of
conversations that continued until his death in 1245. 79 The abbot considered hi msel f and
his monks to be especially indebted to Kwiecik; he was the only rusticus whose name he
mandated the monks to include among the recipients of the monastic liturgy. 8
In vi ew of Kwi eci k' s disability and transformation of his social role, it is perhaps not
surprising that between the 1220s and the 1260s the name of the holding he had cleared
moved away from reference to him. Abbot Peter noted that the locality ' where the
[monast ery' s] grange is si t uat ed' - - whi ch he elsewhere identifies as the original
Kwi eci kowi ce- - i n his own time carried the name Gt~bowice. 8~ Thus, the name of
Kwi eci k' s clearing gradually evol ved toward the memory of the progenitor of the whole
clan in the region, G10b. As the actual, physical association of a person with the land
waned, it was partially replaced in local memory by an abstract association of the land
with the progenitor of that person' s clan. Meanwhile, on the other hand, the names used
by the local population to designate the forested area that had initially been cleared by
Gt0b a century earlier shifted away from reference to that eponym. 82 In 1234, during the
period of Kwi eci k' s dependence on the monastery, the monks acquired the forest, and
had its name changed in a ceremony, so as to eliminate its association with Gtob. After
the monks acquired the holding, ' Duke [Henry] personally perambulated this forest, on
the abbot ' s request .... and at that time the name of the forest, Gl~bowice, was changed to
another name, Bukowina, which is used by the Poles t oday' 83 This name referred to the
ecological state of the former village, not its possessor.
However, the local memori es of Glob and Kwiecik were not entirely eclipsed. Peter
noted that ' t oday' ' some Poles' were using the name Gl~bowice for the forest that had
been officially renamed in 1234, and the name Kwiecikowice for the holding that had
been cleared by Kwiecik. The survival of these names in the 1260s suggests continued
association by the local society between a landed area and the lineage which had
formerly cleared it. The social aggregation of place names reflects a tension between
7"~K.H., chap. 83, p. 134: vocabatur tunc temporis apud Polonos Kicka... narravit nobis omnes antiquitates
hereditatum circa huius claustri territorium.
~K.H., chap. 84, p. 135.
8~K.H., chap. 84, p. 135.
S2K.H., chap. 82, p. 134.
8~K.H., chap. 89, p. 137.
146 Piotr G6recki
change in rights and use of land, and the memor y of the ki n that had ori gi nal l y pi oneered
its use.
Thr ough his narrative, Abbot Pet er const ruct ed a past legal reality by dr awi ng a map
of associ at i ons of part i cul ar possessors with localities within the ' t er r i t or y' of Henr ykr w,
bet ween the turn of the t wel ft h and thirteenth cent ury and the later 1260s. He drew the
map f r om social memor y, possessed by local gr oups of varyi ng breadth, whi ch he
vari ousl y defines as ' Pol es ' , ' s ome Pol es' , ' ol d Pol es' , or ' nei ghbour s' settled in or near
the hol di ngs that were the subject of his history. The map was a composi t e of personal
and geogr aphi c knowl edge. Its personal ori ent i ng points were memor abl e traits of past,
especi al l y original, possessors. Its physi cal ori ent i ng poi nt s were ecol ogi cal f e a t ur e s - -
especi al l y streams, springs, and t r e e s - - a nd units o f set t l ement ( s o r t e s ) . Al t hough the
gr oups that possessed the l ocal social memor y appear to have been rather fluid and
i nformal , the me mor y itself coul d be mobi l i zed, and del i berat el y changed, t hr ough
several kinds of formal acts or gestures di rect ed t oward, or per f or med upon, the physi cal
ori ent i ng points o f the Abbot Pet er ' s ma t t - - s uc h as the cut t i ng of a tree, a change or
reinterpretation of a pl ace name, or a perambul at i on. I n t hi rt eent h-cent ury Pol and, the
best evi dence of this t ype of commemor at i on, and of the gr oup processes it entailed, is
the col l ect i ve definition of boundari es t hrough perambul at i on. This is a central subject of
Duke Henr y' s l ong charters f or the monast i c communi t i es of L u b i ~ and Tr zebni ca of
the earl y years of the thirteenth cent ury.
4. Lubi gz and Trzebnica
In his document s f or t he monks of L u b i ~ and nuns o f Trzebni ca, Duke Henr y
r ecor ded a total o f 15 cycl es of perambul at i on and boundar y definition. 84 The
participants in these events cl osel y mat ch the gr oups document ed as i mport ant at
Dzi er ~kr wek, Skaryszew, and in the ' t er r i t or y' o f Henr ykr w. The perambul at i ons and
boundar y definitions were per f or med by: t he duke (or an official act i ng in his stead), the
duke' s ' bar ons ' (or ' nobl es ' ) , mor e local groups descri bed in several ways, and
occasi onal l y the bi shop and canons of Wroct aw. On 13 occasi ons, Henr y hi msel f
' per ambul at ed' a part i cul ar locality, and ' st r engt hened' the resul t i ng boundari es with
several kinds of physi cal marks whi ch he cal l ed ' si gns' . 85 On t wo ot her occasi ons, he
ent rust ed t he perambul at i on t o his officials. In or short l y before 1202, St ephen, cast el l an
H4These include: S.U., l:no. 77 (1202), 50-51 ([1] Lubi~' with market and appurtenances; [2] Dzier~ykraj's
'district' [circuitus]; [3] Ujazd; [4] Bogdanrw; 15] Godkrw; [6] Wilczyn; [7] part of Osiecznica); no. 83
(1202-03), 55-58: ([8] Tyniec and nearby villages; [9] Trzebnica and its 'manor' [praedium]; [10]
Kotowice and its 'manor' [praedium]; Il l ] Ozorowice); no, 114 (1208), 79: [12] landed area near
Cerekwica; [13] oak forest near Pilzech; [14] boundary between Lososiewice and Stobno); no. 115 (1208),
83-85 ([15] Trzebnica and its 'manor' [praedium]).
85S.U., l:no. 77 (1202), 50 (circuivi et circuitum signis munivi; circuivi et... terminos ampliavi ambitum
signorum muniens firmitate; signis ambiens communivi; ego.., eam [i.e., Wilczyn] circuivi et munivi); no. 83
(1202-03), 55 (melioravi et signis roboravi), 56 (totum... predium [of Trzebnica] in circuitu.., limitare
curavi), 57 (totum [Kotowice] in circuitu certis limitibus communivi; ipse [Ozorowice] circuivi); no. 114
(1208), 79 (contuli... et in propria persona.., circuivi; ego.., equitans limitem.., feci et prout equitavi); no.
115 (1208), 81 (circuivi [manor of Trzebnica]; circuivi [Tyniec]), 82 (ambivi et signis munivi [manor of
Trzebnica]; circuivi [Kotowice]), 84 ([e]go... circuiens ambitum Trebnicensem munivi [with signs]).
Communi t i es of Legal Memor y in Medi eval Poland, c. 1200- 1240 147
of Legnica, ' travelled around' Godkr w ' and strengthened it with signs' , while another
Stephen, castellan of Zagafi --here joined by another offical, Mirslaw, tribune of
Krosno---' perambulated' a part of Osiecznica for the monks, on both occasions ' in my
stead' . 86 The leaders of the perambulations were clearly the persons identified as
especially important witnesses to all kinds of legal transactions.
The duke, or his high official, was accompanied by larger groups that included
members of the ducal entourage, and people settled near the places subject to
conveyance. Henry recalled in 1202 that he had perambulated Lubi ~ and appurtenances
with ' my barons and people settled nearby [homines ci rcumsedent es]' ; and that he
confirmed the boundaries around Ujazd and Wilczyn ' in the company of many nobles
and people [nobiles et popul ares]' , 87 the boundaries between Lososiewice and Stobno
' with many men [homines]' , 88 and the boundaries around several other localities ' with
my barons'.89 Likewise, Castellan Stephen of Legnica was joined on his perambulation
of Godkr w by ' many nearby settlers [pl uri mi ci rcumsedent es]' , while his namesake
Stephen of Zagafi and Tribune Mirstaw of Krosno were accompanied by ' several nearby
settlers [quam pl ures circumsedentes]'9. In addition, Duke Henry and the ' many men'
who traced out a boundary between the settlements of Lososiewice and Stobno in 1208
were joined by Bishop Lawrence of Wroctaw; 9J while later that year the bishop and
' certain canons' of the Wroclaw chapter accompanied Henry and his ' barons' on the
perambulation of the estate of Trzebnica and demarcation of its boundaries. 92
The perambulations were mobile assemblies, which acted to clarify proprietary
relationships that had been uncertain in the past--specifically during the reign of
Henry' s father, Bolestaw the Tall. Duke Henry recalled in 1202 that ' after my father' s
departure on the eternal j ourney' he and the others perambulated the village of Lubi~2
and its environs ' because the extent of the boundaries' of that locality and several other
holdings included in the monks' estate ' was not clear when my father was alive' 93 Six
years later, he similarly remarked that ' it seems fitting to me that the boundary [ambitus]
of Trzebnica be fixed with stronger and clearer signs' . Also in 1208, he described
boundaries between---or around--several specified localities where a boundary line had
not been clear, or where a clearly marked boundary had nevertheless been a source of
proprietary complications. Thus, he recalled that ' I myself in my own person--wi t h lord
Lawrence the bishop [of Wroctaw] and with many men--have. . . made the boundary
between Lososiewice and Stobno, where it did not exist before, and as I rode around it
on horseback, I established that the Gtog6w road shall forever separate these villages.'
Elsewhere he noted that he had earlier traced a boundary ' in error' , and now rectified the
matter by means of an exchange of holdings (though without fixing a new boundary).
Finally, he recalled that, even though yet another ' good portion of land.., had been
8 ~ S . U . , l:no. 77 (1202), 50- 51.
8 7 S . U . , l : no. 77 (1202), 50.
8 8 S . U . , l : no. 114 (1208), 79.
8 g S . U . , l : no. 114- 15 (1208), 81- 82, 84.
9 S . U . , l : no. 77 (1202), 50- 51.
9 ~ S . U . , l : no. 114 (1208), 79.
9 2 S . U . , l : no. 115 (1208), 84.
9 3 S . U . , 1 :no. 77 (1202), 50: qui a patre meo vi vent e ambi t us t ermi norum non erat distinctus.
148 Piotr G6recki
perambulated in the time of my father' , the bishop and diocese had nevertheless ' not
been able to gain it in court' . 94
These actions were actively sought, and recalled, by specific groups. Henry noted in
1208 that he renewed the boundaries of the Trzebnica estate ' on the request of the nuns
of Trzebnica' , after ' counsel of many barons of mine' , and ' induced by counsel of many
men.., at the time when Lawrence was bishop' .95 Elsewhere, the duke identified some of
the people and groups through whom knowledge of earlier legal transactions--currently
subject to doubt or cont roversy--had been transmitted between his father' s reign and his
own. He recalled that Dzier~ykraj' s holding had been granted to the monks of Lubi ~
' under witness of my father and many nobles of his' , and that ' after many nobles of
mine related this to me I perambulated it anew' . 96 On this occasion, the group that
conveyed the crucial knowledge across the generations and reigns were the ' nobles.'
Elsewhere, the son of a donor played the same role. Henry noted that Ujazd had been
granted by ' lord Gniewomir, who had received it from, and had it perambulated by, my
father' , that 'his son Emmeram, my baron and castellan, reacknowledged [recognovit]
this grant in my audience' , and that Henry perambulated it anew with a group of
followers. On the other hand, in another case Henry implied that the knowledge of the
history of a given holding, and the composition of the social group that may have
conveyed that knowledge into the present, were quite vague; he noted that in 1202 he
and a larger group had perambulated and strengthened ' Wilczyn, as it had been granted
to the monastery by some [donors]' at some time in the past. 97
The documents of 1202 and 1208 show some of the groups and individuals who
transmitted knowledge of past legal transactions into the present---either by reporting
these events prior to their renewals by the duke, or by requesting clarification through a
new set of events in the present. These groups consisted of the duke (or his deputy); the
duke' s ' barons' , ' nobles' , or ' men' ; the ' neighbours' or ' nearby settlers' of the locality
that was the object of the perambulation; the cathedral clergy; and relatives of the
donors. The intended effect of their actions was resolution of past legal doubt - - a
collective response to the existing state of social memory and oblivion. Duke Henry' s
detailed descriptions of the boundaries of the Trzebnica estate show in considerable
detail the acts through which the boundary was established, and the possible mnemonic
function of these acts, and of the boundary itself. 98
In 1202-03, and again in 1208, the boundary was fixed with at least three kinds of
physical markers, in course of one or more perambulations. On the earlier occasion,
Henry noted that he ' took care to fix the boundary of the entire...manor in a
perambulation, by erecting piles of rocks and placing signs on trees' along the
perambulated perimeter. 99 Later, he, his ' barons' , Bishop Lawrence, and several canons
9 4 5 . U . , l:no. 114 (1208), 79.
9 5 S . U . , l:no. 114-15 (1208), 79, 83.
9 6 S . U . , l:no. 77 (1202), 50.
9 T s . u . , l:no. 77 (1202), 50: Vilxino sicut a quibusdam eidem est collata monasterio ita ego in propria persona
cum nobilium meorum et popularium vicinorum comitatu circuivi et munivi.
98The relevant clauses are at: S . U . , l:no. 83 (1202-03), 56; no. 114-15 (1208), 79, 84.
99S.U., l:no. 83 (1202-03), 56: totum prefatum predium in circuitu aggerum erectione et arborum signatione
limitare curavi.
Communities of Legal Memory in Medieval Poland, c. 1200-1240 149
of Wr oc t a w ' p e r a mb u l a t e d t he a mbi t of Tr z e b n i c a anew, a nd s t r e ngt he ne d it wi t h s i gns
by er ect i ng pi l es of r ocks a nd pl a c i ng s i gns on t r ees ' . 1 Thus , o n each oc c a s i on, t he
p e r a mb u l a t i n g gr oup pl a c e d t hes e t wo ki nds of ma r ke r s on a s i ngl e j o u r n e y - - p i l e s of
r ocks a nd t r ee ma r ki ngs . He n r y not e d t hat t he a i m of t he p e r a mb u l a t i o n a nd t hes e t wo
set s of ' s i g n s ' was ' s o t hat no one by an evi l ef f or t ma y dar e to d i mi n i s h t he i nt egr i t y of
t he ma n o r of Tr z e b n i c a ' . ~1
I n addi t i on, t hes e t wo t ypes of ma r ke r s wer e on bot h oc c a s i ons r e i nf or c e d wi t h a
t hi r d. Du k e He n r y di d not st at e whe t he r t hese ma r ke r s wer e pl aced i n t he cour s e of t he
s a me p e r a mb u l a t i o n s as wer e t he pi l es of r ocks a nd t ree ma r ki ngs ; but he de s c r i be d t hei r
p l a c e me n t as a di s t i nct event , e xpl a i ne d it wi t h a di s t i nct r at i onal e, a nd t hus at t he ver y
l east c ons i de r e d t hi s par t i cul ar l egal t r ace es peci al l y i mpor t a nt a nd f or ma l l y ( i f not
c hr onol ogi c a l l y) s epar at e f r om t he ot her t wo set s of ma r ki ngs . ' I have di r e c t e d' , he
r ecal l ed i n 1202 or 1203, ' t hat , i n p r u d e n c e of f ul l er c a ut i on [and] i n or der t o quel l a ny
c ont r ove r s y a bout t he bounda r i e s ] of t he est at e] t hat mi ght e me r ge [i n t he f ut ur e] , s t ones
s cul pt ed wi t h t he l et t er s of my n a me be pr ude nt l y pl aced i nt o t he ear t h' a r ound t he
pe r i me t e r of t he est at e. ~2 Fi ve or si x year s l at er he not ed t hat ' s i nc e t hese s i g n s ' - - s t o n e
pi l es a nd t r ee ma r k i n g s - - ' s e e me d t o me r at her i nadequat e, . . . I have decr eed t hat s t ones
s cul pt ed wi t h t he l et t er s of my n a me be pl a c e d ne a r s ome of t he pi l es of st ones, as f ul l er
103
c a u t i o n ' agai ns t f ut ur e c ont r ove r s y.
I n bot h doc ume nt s , He n r y t hen r ecor ded t he b o u n d a r y of t he est at e wi t h r ef er ence to
t he s t ones i ns c r i be d wi t h hi s i ns i gni a, s t one by st one, i n ge ogr a phi c pr ogr e s s i on t hat
cl ear l y f ol l ows t he act ual p e r a mb u l a t i o n s ma de on bot h occas i on. I n t he l at er char t er , he
was es peci al l y expl i ci t t hat t hi s is wha t he was r e c or di ng; hi s r ecor d ope ns a l i st of ' t he
pl aces wher e t hese s t ones have be e n dug i nt o [the g r o u n d ] ' , a nd i n c l os i ng not es t hat
' t he p e r a mb u l a t i o n e nds r i ght t her e [ i b i f i n i t c i r c u i t i o ] ' . ~4 I ns of a r as c a n be r econ-
~S.U., l:no. 115 (1208), 84: Ego vero cum eodem domino Laurentio episcopo et quibusdam canonicis et cum
meis baronibus denuo circuiens ambitum Trebnicensem munivi signis scilicet aggerum erectione et arborum
signatione.
rich S.U., l :no. 83 (1202-03), 56: ne itaque quispiam studio malignitatis integritati predii Trebnicensis derogare
temere moliatur.
~2S.U., l:no. 83 (1202-03), 56: ad habundantioris cautele providentiam.., in ambitu Trebnicensi lapides
apicibus meis nominis insculptos ad controversiam, si qua de teminis emerserit, reprimendam caute terre
infodi precepi.
~3S.U., l:no. 115 (1208), 84: cum hec signa michi minus sufficientia sint visa ad maioris habundantiam
cautele decrevi lapides nominis mei litteris insculptos iuxta quosdam aggeres ponere.
U4Here and subsequently, it is difficult to convey the two lists of boundary stones in transparent narrative. The
analysis here is based on the passages in the document of 1202-03, its expanded and amended redaction of
1208, and the intervening shorter document of 1208. Most of the stones are described as situated directly at
a particular feature of ecology, settlement, and so forth, or between two or three such features. Names of
some features are therefore used more than once, which is why the total number of references to
place-names in the description of the boundary far exceeds the number of documented localities. For
example, in the list of boundary stones of 1208, Duke Henry recorded new boundary stones with reference
to earlier boundary ' signs' on four occasions, and again in conjunction with other types of markers. 'The
eighth [stone]', he noted, '[is] at the mouth of the stream which flows through Paniglowice, and there
divides [the boundary] up to another [stream] which flows through the village of Benik6w, where there is
also a sign [marking the boundary] up to the place where Benik6w, Piotrkowice [and] W~grzyn6w come
together' [S.U., l :no. 115 (1208), 84: [olctavus ubi oritur rivulus qui fluit per Panglov it idem disterminat
usque ad alium qui fluit per villam Benicovo, idemque est signum usque ad locum in quo Benicovo,
Potrcouichi, Wangrinovo concurrunt.]
150 Piotr G6recki
structed, the two perambulations traversed the same itinerary. 15 Thus, the repetition of
the perambulation in 1208 does not, on its face, reflect a territorial expansion of the
estate, but rather was a part of the succession of markings of a particular boundary that
Duke Henry culminated with the placement of the inscribed stones and with the issuance
of the written records in 1202-03 and 1208. The clearest difference between the
boundaries recorded in the two documents is a slight increase in the number of the
inscribed stones over time. Whereas the record of 1202-03 traces the boundary along 17
stones, the record of 1208 mentions 20. This increase seems to reflect a substantial rise
in the proxi mi t y of these markers to one another on at least one (relatively) identifiable
stretch of the boundary.
The inscribed stones were placed at, and recorded with reference to, several features
of geography, ecology and settlement: stream or river banks; springs; villages identified
by name; notable trees or groves; and boundary ' si gns' that had been established earlier.
In both records, the most frequent frame of reference for the record of boundary stones
is an existing settlement, designated by a place-name. Thus, in 1202-03 Duke Henry
described the estate boundary with reference to 27 place-names, and in 1208 with
reference to 60. Thirteen of the 17 stones listed in 1202 or 1203, and all 20 stones listed
in 1208, are recorded in the proxi mi t y of at least one named settlement. Streams and
springs are less frequent, but also quite important on both occasions. Duke Henry
situated boundary stones with reference to the ' mout h' of a stream or river seven times
in 1202-03, and six times in 1208; with reference to a bank of a stream or river, five and
eleven times respectively; and, only once on the later occasion, with reference to a ' ford
of Lubia~.' Eleven of the 17 stones listed in Henr y' s earlier document, and ten of the 20
listed later, were situated at a spring or river bank. Henry recorded the pl acement of
boundary stones with reference to trees, groves, and previously fixed boundary ' si gns'
far less frequently, and always in conjunction with the other, more frequent features of
settlement and ecology.
Duke Henry and his contemporaries viewed the boundary as an anchor of legal
security and permanence in several ways. The boundary was a geographic palimpsest of
several kinds of markers: piles of stones; signs carved out on trees; and single rocks
inscribed with the letters of the duke' s name (perhaps monograms), and impaled into the
ground. Although each kind of marker enhanced the security of the territory it
encompassed, and although their function as a source of security was cumulative, they
clearly varied in their force. The vertical stones with the ducal inscriptions were clearly
the cul mi nat i ng- - t he strongest possi bl e--enhancement s of legal security applied to the
~5I have not had access to t he monogr aph- l engt h st udy of t he regi on within whi ch t he perambul at i ons t ook
place, K. Dziewofiski, Geografia Trzebnicy i ujazdu trzebnickiego [The geography of Trzebni ca and t he
Trzebni ca district] (Wroclaw, 1952), and t he remarks in t hi s paragraph are therefore somewhat tentative;
t hey are based on J. Ka~mierczyk, M. Ml ynarska-Kal et yn, and Z. Podwifiska, ' Recher ches sur l ' habi t at
humai n dans le r f gi on de Trzebni ca h l ' f poque du moyen ~ge' , Archaeologia Polona, 10 (1968), 171- 201,
map 1 (partly reproduced in P. G6recki, Economy, society, and lordship, 77, map 3); and my own
reconst ruct i on of t he boundari es of 1202- 03 and 1208 from Appel t ' s regi st er of names (of persons and
places) at S.U., 1: 315-78, and Topograficzna mapa Polski, no. M-33-VI (Ostrfw Wielkopolski), no.
M-33-XII (Wroclaw) (Warsaw, 1991).
Communities of Legal Memory in Medieval Poland, c. 1200-1240 151
boundary by the perambulating group (or groups). 16 Each of these stones was situated
among several previously existing markers, and thus was presumabl y intended to serve
as a visual reinforcement for a thicker though more transient and unwi el dy- - l i ne of
rocks, bulges, and tree carvings that the duke considered useful but ultimately
unsatisfactory as parts of a permanent boundary.
The features with reference to which the boundary st ones- - and presumabl y the other
signs the stones reinforced and cl ari fi ed--provi de a rather thick repertoire of markers
within which the legal knowledge expressly intended to prevent proprietary dispute, and
the memor y intended to inform that knowledge, were anchored. These features
correspond to the orienting points of the map of legal associations Abbot Peter later
drew from the memori es of Kwiecik and other local populations in the ' t erri t ory' of
Henr ykr w. In addition, the participants in the definitions of the boundary between 1202
and 1208 correspond to the groups involved in the innovatio allodiorum at Petczyska,
the alienations of Dzier~krwek, and the production and change of pl ace-names within
what became the estate of the monastery of Henr ykr w. In different ways, these cases
demonstrate the significance of collective memor y as an aspect of the legal culture of
thirteenth-century Poland.
5. Conclusion
It has been nearly fifteen years since Susan Reynolds attracted attention to the
significance of group practice in effecting legal transactions in the earlier and central
Middle Ages. The Polish documents of the first hal f of the thirteenth century shed
considerable light on a number of issues Reynolds pioneered in her work: the
composition of groups most closely i nvol ved in legal transactions; the actions whereby
legal transactions were effected; the resources on which the participants relied in
effecting legal transactions; and the ways in which these transactions were remembered
by the participants and by others.
Apart from the i mmedi at e parties to legal t ransact i ons--al i enors and recipients of
pr oper t y- - t he groups involved included a wide range of other persons. In general, some
of these persons can be identified from the witness lists in the ducal diplomas that record
legal transactions, and in detail from much more fragment ary evidence recorded in the
narrations, dispositions, and witness lists of a handful of diplomas issued for the
monasteries of Lubi~L Trzebnica, and Miech6w, and in several passages of Abbot
Pet er' s history of his monastery. Considered together, the witness lists reveal those
individuals, categories of persons, and social groups who were most frequently present
at legal transactions. They were most often ducal court officials (especially castellans or
palatines), and members of the cathedral clergy of the most important towns of each
province.
One of their roles was to mobilize, or at least interact with, a wide variety of local and
~6For the comparison of boundary perambulation to the process of inscription, I am indebted to Richard
Godbeer's comment in response to an earlier version of this essay.
152 Piotr G6recki
regional groups that are themselves very sparsely recorded in the diplomatic and
narrative evidence, but that emerge as important on closer view. These local groups are
recorded with a variety of terms, ranging from the apparently formal collective
nouns--' nei ghbourhood' (vicinia) and ' settlement' (osada)--and status t e r ms -
' knights' , ' chapl ai ns' --t hrough nouns in the plural that appear to be descriptive rather
then f or mal - - ' nei ghbour s' (vicini), ' people settled nearby' (homines circumsedentes),
' nobles and people' (nobiles et popul ares)--t o rather open-ended and fleeting records of
' some people' , ' old Poles' , and present descendants of past settlers. The terminology is
fleeting and clearly unsystematic, but the detailed evidence concerning Petczyska,
Dzier~k6wek, and Skaryszew shows that such groups were related to legal transactions
in several coherent ways: through association with some of the castellans, palatines,
bishops, and other agents of ducal and ecclesiastical power involved in the transactions;
through residence in or near the localities affected by the transactions, or in or near
localities that were relatively important centres of expansion of settlement, exchange,
and lordship; and through recruitment of participants of perhaps deliberately varied
status.
These persons and groups effected legal transactions through several kinds of
activities. At one or more phases of a legal transaction, ducal officials mediated between
the parties in order to quell or prevent dispute. In addition, the officials, the dukes
themselves, or the bishops perambulated the estates that were the object of the legal
transactions, and formally fixed the boundaries along the perambulated routes. They
performed this act with participation of two groups--members of the ducal entourage
(variously recorded as the dukes' ' barons' or ' nobles' ), and the ' neighbours' of, or
' people settled near' , the localities that were the object of the legal transactions--and
with reference several kinds of geographic markers, which included existing settlements,
specific features of land use, ecology, and geography, previously fixed boundary signs,
and boundary signs newly placed along the trajectories of the perambulations.
Despite their variety, these geographic markers shared two traits: they referred to
places and people; and they were intended to be visible, permanent, and memorable.
Abbot Peter clearly indicated that the inhabitants of the Henryk6w region conceptualized
and remembered proprietary relations largely in terms of the same features of settlement
and ecology that Duke Henry had used as a trajectory of the perambulations and
boundary definitions near Lubi ~ and Trzebnica: places of settlement by specific, and
remarkable persons; areas of early land clearing; trees, springs, and streams; a nd- -
bridging persons and pl aces--pl ace-names and their alteration over time. The Polish
evidence therefore shows some of the ways in which local groups functioned as
communities of memory and record.
The evidence raises several broader issues currently of interest to medievalists in
Poland and elsewhere. One is the ever lurking issue of the relationship of local and
regional communities to ducal power. With help from his most important lay and
ecclesiastical agents, the duke projected, and expressed, his authority within particular
localities and legal transactions, and mobilized local and regional groups into the
exercise of that authority. The effectiveness of that authority is a very uncertain issue.
The evidence does not suggest that the local communi t i es--' nei ghbourhoods' or
ot herwi se--were part of a systematic structure, let alone anything like an administrative
Communities of Legal Memory in Medieval Poland, c. 1200-1240 153
network, on which the Piast dukes could or did rely in their governance. Contrary to
Modzelewski, Duke Henry' s troubled allusions to his own and his father' s difficulties in
making and effectuating legal decisions do not suggest a quality of ducal power that in
some sense requires the existence of some such network for an explanation. On the other
hand, contrary to Matuszewski, local communities--whatever, if anything, they are
called in the evi dence- - wer e more than ' neighbourhoods' in the nominal sense of
groups of people who resided in close proximity. They clearly comprised an important
legal resource--above all, as repositories of collective memor y- - i n ways that appear to
have been quite standardized and coherent.
The issue of effectiveness of ducal power relates to a question of medieval legal
theory with which Dukes Henry and Leszek clearly grappl ed--but on which their
diplomas are understandably opaque. Both dukes, but especially Henry, noted that
several legal transactions made in the past had been entirely valid and binding in the
formal sense, but that they were in their own present subject to doubt or oblivion----or
perhaps unenforceable against recalcitrant parties. Henry was especially explicit in this
regard when he described the uncertainties surrounding his father' s perambulations of
the boundaries for the monastery of Lubi ~. These concerns clearly reflect a recurrent
medieval fear that formally binding transactions may be destroyed by the passage of
t i me- - whi ch Henry himself clearly expressed in stereotypical formul as--and the
difficulties of effecting legal transaction with certainty of finality in the f u t u r e . 17
Whatever their thoughts on what might be called the jurisprudence of the past and the
present, the dukes and other participants responded to that fear with a very specific
approach: a ' renewal' , that is, a physical reenactment of the legal transaction, before or
with the participation of the persons and groups that funct i oned--among other t hi ngs- -
as communities of legal memory. That reenactment combined bodily performance with
the placement, and remembrance of, several types of signs. These signs, and the
sequence of their use, comprise a case study of different types of authoritative record,
and, possibly, of their interaction. Legally relevant knowledge was reproduced above all
by collective presence and performance, periodically reenacted through repetition, and
strengthened by alteration of the environment, or by placement or marking of physical
objects.
Notably, the culminating (and, in Duke Henry' s mind, the strongest) such objects
were the stones inscribed with letters of the ducal name, presumably monograms.
Thereafter, on two occasions, the entire result was inscribed in a written r ecor d- - whi ch
marks a start of a steady, and expanding, output of diplomatic activity by Duke Henry
the Bearded and his successors. The duke' s concern with the legal permanence of the
boundary matches his descriptions of the perambulations made for the Lubi ~ monas-
tery. On both occasions, Henry needed to repeat and reiterate an earlier set of actions
that, while formally authoritative in the past, required reinforcement in the present. The
resulting multiplicity of signs, the concern with legal permanence and possibility of
oblivion, and the culminating validation with an object symbolizing ducal authority, are
t7On the jurisprudence Of this issue, see H. Krause, ' Dauer und Verg~inglichkeit im Mittelalterlichen Recht ' ,
Z e i t s c h r i f t d e r S a v i g n y - S t i f t u n g f i i r R e c h t s g e s c h i c h t e , G e r m a n i s t i s c h e A b t e i l u n g , 57 (1958), 206-51.
154 Piotr G6recki
all strikingly parallel to the compilation, significance, and form of cont emporary
chart ers--i ncl udi ng the two charters in which the boundary and its making are
described. The boundary was a direct topographical and visual counterpart of diplomatic
-~ 1 0 8
evlaence. Thus, the Polish evidence from the earlier thirteenth century reflects a
transition from the oral, performed, and remembered record toward writing; a process
clearly as compl ex in this part of Europe as it was elsewhere, and an intriguing direction
for future work.
Acknowledgements
I am very grateful to J~inos Bak, Robert Bartlett, Patrick Geary, Richard Godbeer,
Paul Knoll and Grzegorz My~liwski for their very helpful comment s on earlier versions
of this article. One such version was presented at the University of California Medieval
History Seminar at the Huntington Library (San Marino, CA), on June 1, 1996; a portion
of another appears in the Proceedi ngs of the V World Congress of the I.C.C.E.E.S.,
Warsaw, August 1995 (Houndmills: Macmillan), and in a Fest schri f t for Jerzy
Kt oczowski (Lublin: Wydawni ct wo KUL), for which I owe thanks to Stanislav
Kirschbaum, Henryk Gapski, and the editors of the Journal o f Medi eval History.
~8On the relationship between physical demarcation (including perambulation), and a written text, see the
remarks of C. Harker, 'Translatio memoriae. The construction of corporate memory in William of
Malmesbury's de antiquitate Glastonie ecclesie and its thirteenth-century continuations', paper delivered at
the University of California Medieval History Seminar, Huntington Library, February 3, 1996, ms., 20-24.