Andrzej Trzciński

In 2019 after removing an abundance of weeds from the Jewish cemetery in Chełm (Poland, Lublin voivodeship), an inventory of tombstones was carried out. A tombstone (matsevah) with medieval characteristics and an incomplete date (only the row of tens and ones being preserved: 'ד'ע…) was discovered. The author of the article examined the artifact thoroughly, taking into consideration the historical and archeological context, the features of the epigraph as a whole, as well as its philological and paleographic aspects. The features of the Chełm matsevah were compared with Jewish tombstones from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century of the Ashkenazi territory, especially from the historical lands of the Polish Commonwealth. The author estimated its origin to the year ד''רע (274, i.e. 1513/1514 according to the Gregorian calendar), although the date ד''קע (174, i.e. 1413/1414) is not excluded. Such a large time range is plausible beause of the long duration of a number of features of medieval tombstones. The matsevah from Chełm is an important historical and epigraphic landmark. In the framework of the historical borders of the Kingdom of Poland (excluding Silesia from the Piast period) it is the oldest preserved Jewish tombstone and confirms the existence and location of the cemetery in the town since at least the early sixteenth century. Indirectly this also confirms a typical placement of Jewish cemeteries in royal cities and towns at a significant distance from the center. As an epigraphic artifact, the finding is a rare example of the medieval matsevah as a whole and regarding such aspects as its content, configuration of inscription, technology of production and features of script.

The article focuses on the seventeenth-century Jewish tombstones made of a decorative limestone (the so-called Chęciny marble) in stonecutters’ workshops operating from the early seventeenth century in Chęciny. It discusses matzevot produced in this town both for clients from other localities (including Lublin and Kraków) and for local population (matzevot preserved at the local Jewish cemetery). It analyzes their artistic and technical values as well as the situation of producers and clients in a broader historical context (such as wars and epidemics in the mid-century). It also explores the tombstones preserved in Chęciny itself as historical sources for the study of the local Jewish community and the cemetery as such. The last part of the article includes a catalogue of eleven best preserved matzevot from the Jewish cemetery at Chęciny.

The research material in the article covers the period from the earliest gravestones from the fourteenth century to contemporary ones of the twenty-first century. Among iconic motifs taken into account are those which are specific for women’s gravestones, and from texts in inscriptions—those corresponding to artistic motifs.

The aims of this study are the following: to distinguish thematic groups, determine the range of iconic motifs used and the chronology and frequency of their occurrence, as well as to juxtapose them with normative content from religious writings of Judaism and with rites and customs.

The following conclusions emerge from the research: In the early period (until the fourth quarter of the eighteenth century), there was no differentiation on tombstones between separate motifs ascribed to men (except for the Kohanim and Levites) and separate motifs ascribed to women. Among the common motifs, the bird motif dominated on women’s gravestones, while the crown motif acquired its specific character. In the fourth quarter of the eighteenth century, the  motif of a candlestick appeared on women’s gravestones; it spread very quickly and became a visual identification feature. In the nineteenth century, with the introduction of vanitas motifs on gravestones, they began to be used on women’s gravestones. The connection of motifs with the names of the deceased is also noticeable (e.g. Feigl–bird, Rachel–fairy, Royza–rose, or scenes related to biblical namesakes). The contents of women’s epitaphs presented as praise or description of virtues largely concern traditional female duties toward the home, husband, and children. Women’s gravestones contain no attributes or references to the study of Torah and scholarship, or else to activities in the public sphere—to professions, both religious and later secular—which obviously results from the position and role of women in the patriarchal community. Such information does not appear until the interwar period on the tombstones of women from families assimilated into the surrounding culture which is also evidenced by non-traditional tombstone forms and inscriptions in non-Jewish languages.