A confirmation of immunities and privileges

Translated letter:

In the name of our lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.  We, Boleslaw by the grace of god duke of Kraków and Sandomierz with our most serene mother Gremislava, duchess of the named lands, desiring to participate in the freedom by which Christ freed his [people].  We wish to help as much as we can to preserve ecclesiastical freedom and transmit it to be preserved by our successors.  Therefore impelled by the sollicitude of the venerable father bishop Prandota and the chapter of the Kraków church, [we have] established certain articles of liberty for canons, some from approved and prescribed custom, others from the donation of our ancestors and especially duke Leszek our father of bright memory, some also from our own suitable to that church, over which doubt was raised to us and our barons. We have declared in the present writing that every bit of doubt over those articles be cut off from now on and liberty in those be fully preserved for that bishop and the named church by us and our successors. 

And first we approve that no cleric of whatever rank or order may be summoned by any secular judge or, summoned, appear or be compelled to respond in a meeting for whatever thing impelled by malicious contract, except only by a hereditary question.  Similarly it is observed for those bound to the church namely that cited they should not appear before secular judges, not even the duke.  About which bound if anyone is killed, the church would receive the man price (wergild).  And if a man of the church should kill anyone outside, he would pay the man price to the secular jurisdiction, so only that a man of the church would pay this much, namely three marks of silver, and for a beating one mark, which the church would receive from the other [the perpetrator]  in this case.  All those bound to the bishop and cathedral church and other churches pertaining to them are free in themselves and their estate from any payment and service of the land whether by order or accident and only as asigned for the use of their lords, with no guest or other kind of of hunter acting for the prince. 

Again the canons of the cathedral church would enjoy this privilege that anyone of them would have power to liberate six serving persons or twelve whoever they wished from every service and payment of land, ordinary or extraordinary.  Of other churches of Vislicia namely Kilcien and Scarbimirien, they will free six persons and three simple canons.  Again all the towns of the church of Kraków are free from payment of all expenses of the duke and his hunters, namely from naraz and povoz and from payment for guards of the town which in the vernacular is called strosa; the ancient habit is observed as to the free, except those which are newly transferred into the property of the bishop and the church.  For he will possess such with their burdens or liberties.  This unless if perhaps any ecclesiastical person or town shall have promised a special liberty.  In the castles of the bishop in which he has every ducal and military right this is observed that if it should happen that the duke pass through any castellancy of theirs, he should be led through by the men of the bishop and in that year sustained with food in a sign of his seignory and right of patronage.  But if he crossed through several within the course of that year, then the bishop’s men will be held to do prevod and two men with two dogs which are called Slednicj will feed while the duke wishes to hunt crossing into the woods.  But he will not remain in them hunting nor send to be hunted.  For we promise firmly that in ecclesiastical cases and affairs neither we nor any other secular judges have a right nor do we interfere in them.  But the bishop, provost, archdeacon and other ecclesiastical judges judge and dispose of them freely.  As the bishop promised us for himself and said ecclesiastical judges that they would in no way interfere in secular cases which are ours to investigate.

And so that all these have strength in the future and be inviolably observed by our descendants/heirs we have had the present page strengthened by our seal and those of our barons whom we consulted.  These were enacted in Ogledów in a meeting in the1252nd year of the lord.  On the day of St. Rufus.  These are the names of those present:  venerable father Fulco, archbishop of Gniezdo, Michael castellan of Kraków, Clement palatine of Kraków, Sando, palatine of Sandomierz,  Adam castellan of Vislicia, Predpelk chancellor of the duke, Signeus castellan of Lubli,. Sulislaw castellan of Zavichost,  John castellan of Chechou,  Florian butler,  Bogufal seneschal, Falislaw subchamberlain, Sbislaw, subseneschal of Sandomierz, Domaratus and Kilian subjudges and many other knights of the court.  And all these were confirmed by us and our barons in a meeting held in Chroberz.  In the 1254th year, 14 kalends of July.  Again if anyone bound should assault anyone who belongs to the judgment of the prince and responds to investigation before the bishop, still the duke imposes the punishment for that and conversely if a man of the duke should assault one bound to the church, the duke may hear the case and the bishop levy the punishment.  Again if any cleric or one bound should transgress testifying before a secular judge he would be punished by that judge in whose jurisdiction he had transgressed and conversely if any layman should transgress while giving testimony the punishment will be levied by that ecclesiastical judge.

Original letter:

In nomine domini nostri iesu christi.  Amen.  Nos Bolezlaus dei gracia dux cracouie et Sandomirie cum Serenissima matre nostra. G(rimislava). ducissa terrarum nominatarum cupientes libertatis participes efficj qua christus suos liberauit.  Volumus quantum ipso adiuuante possumus libertatem ecclesiasticam conseruare. et nostris successoribus transmittere conseruandam.  Eapropter uenerabilis patris Prandote episcopi et capituli Ecclesie cracouiensis sollicitudine propulsati quosdam libertatis articulos ex canonicis institutis. quosdam ex approbata consuetudine ac prescripta. alios autem ex donacione nostrorum progenitorum et precipue ducis.  L(estconis). clare memorie patris nostri aliquos eciam ex nostra eidem ecclesie competentes. super quibus apud nos et nostros barones dubitatio uertebatur. presenti scripto duximus declarandos. ut omnis dubietatis scrupulus in posterum circa eosdem articulos amputetur. ac in hiis eidem episcopo et ecclesie memorate libertas per nos et nostros successores plenarie conseruetur.  Et primo annuimus ut nullus clericus cuiuscunque gradus uel ordinis coram aliquo iudice seculari citetur uel citatus compareat aut eciam cogatur in colloquio respondere pro quacunque re. contractu maleficio ue pulsatus. excepta duntaxat hereditaria questione.  Similiter de ecclesie asscripticiis obseruetur qui uidelicet citatj non debent coram judicibus secularibus comparere. nec eciam coram duce.  De quibus asscripticiis si aliquis occidatur. solucionem capitis ecclesia recipiet.  Et si homo ecclesie aliquem occiderit alienum seculari judicj caput soluet. ita tamen quod tantum homo ecclesie tres uidelicet marcas soluat argentij. pro uerberato uero marcam unam quas et ecclesia ab alio recipit in hoc casu.  Omnes autem asscripticii episcopi et ecclesie katedralis et aliarum ecclesiarum ad ipsos pertinencium pro se et suis prediis liberi sunt ab omni solucione et seruicio terre siue sit ordinarium siue casuale. et tantummodo dominorum suorum utilitatibus deputantur. nullum hospitem. uel aliquod genus uenatorum principis procurantes.  Item canonici ecclesie kathedralis hoc gaudent priuilegio. ut quilibet eorum ab omni seruicio et solucione terre ordinaria aut extraordinaria sex seruientes persone autem duodecim qualescunque uoluerint liberandj habeant potestatem.  Aliarum quoque ecclesiarum visliciensis scilicet Kilciensis ac Scarbimiriensis (personae) sex homines. et tres simplices canonicj liberabunt.  Item omnes uille ecclesie Cracouiensis sunt libere a solucione omnium expensarum ducis et uenatorum ipsius. videlicet a naraz et a pouoz et a custodibus villarum de solucione uero que strosa uulgariter nuncupatur antiqua consuetudo obseruetur quo ad liberos. preter illas que de nouo in proprietatem Episcopi et ecclesie transferentur.  Tales enim cum suis oneribus siue libertatibus possidebit.  Hoc tamen saluo si forte aliqua persona ecclesiastica uel uilla aliquod ius uel libertatem promeruerit specialem.  In castris autem Episcopi in quibus habet omne ius ducale et militare hoc obseruatur. ut si ducem per aliquam castellaniam eorum contingerit pertransire ab hominibus Episcopi semel in anno debet educj et in sumptibus procurari. in signum dominij et juris patronatus.  Sed si plurjes infra eiusdem annj circulum pertransiret. tunc homines episcopales militare preuod ducere tenebuntur et duos homines cum duobus canibus qui dicuntur Slednicj pascent dum ipse dux in siluis uenari uoluerit transeundo.  Sed in hijsdem non morabitur in uenando nec mittet ad uenandum.  Firmiter autem promittimus quod de causis et negociis ecclesiasticis nos uel alij iudices seculares nullomodo cognoscemus nec de ipsis nos intromittemus.  Sed Episcopus. Prepositi. Archidiaconi. et alij iudices ecclesiasticj de eis libere iudicent et disponant.  Sicut et Episcopus pro se et supradictis ecclesiasticis iudicibus nobis promisit quod de causis secularibus se nullatenus intromittent quod ad nostrum spectat examen.  Et ut hec omnia in posterum robur optineant firmitatis et a nostris posteris inuiolabiliter obseruentur presentem paginam nostro et nostrorum Baronum sigillis de quorum hec fecimus consilio duximus roborandam.   Acta sunt hec in Ogledou [Ogledów] in colloquio Anno domini. M. CC. quinquagesimo. secundo.  In die sancti. Rufi.  Presentibus quorum nomina sunt hec.  Venerabilis pater Fulco. Gneznensis Archiepiscopus. Michael. Castellanus Cracouiensis. Clemens palatinus cracouiensis.  Sando. palatinus sudomiriensis. Adam castellanus Visliciensis. Predpelk cancellarius ipsius ducis.  Signeus  castellanus de lublin.  Sulislaus. Castellanus de Zauichost. Johannes. Castellanus de chechou. Florianus pincerna. Bogufalus dapifer. Falislaus subcamerarius. Sbislaus. subdapifer Sudomirienses. Domaratus. Kilianus subjudices et alii multj milites curie.  Et hec omnia per nos et nostros Barones confirmata sunt in colloquio in chrober [Chroberz] celebrato.  Anno domini. M. CC. quinquagesimo quarto.  XIIII.  kalendas Julij.  Item si aliquis ascripticius uerberauerit aliquem qui ad iudicium principis pertinet et examen coram episcopo respondeat penam tamen dux ab eo percipiat. et econuerso si homo ducis ascripticium ecclesie uerberauerit dux cognoscet de causa et penam episcopus percipiet.  Item si quis clericus uel ascripticius delinquat testificando coram iudice seculari per eundem iudicem puniatur in cuius iurisdictione delinquit et econuerso si coram ecclesistico judice qualiscunque laicus deliquerit dum peribet testimonium per ipsum iudicem ecclesiasticum pena percipietur.

Historical context:

Gremislava and Bolesław renew and extend privileges to Kraków  Cathedral, including aspects of “Gregorian” reform such as the right for clergy to be tried in separate ecclesiastical courts.  The man price is what is paid by the killer (solucionem capitis), that is “wergild.”  For a discussion of the intricacies of jurisdiction between church and state, see Piotr Górecki, Economy, Society, and Lordship in Medieval Poland, 1100-1250 (New York¨ Holmes and Meier, 1992), chapter three “Ecclesiastical Immunity and Access to Peasants:  Hunting, Transport, Defense.”  I am grateful to Natalia Zajac for alerting me to this text and its context.

Printed source:

Kodeks dyplomatyczny katedry św. Wacława,  1.55-57 #41.  

Date: