Mateusz Król

It can be assumed that the first guild organizations in the medieval Cracow were established by settlers from southern Germany and from Silesian towns who started to settle in the city in the second half of the 13th century. The oldest known and preserved law of craft guild dates back to 1377 and it belongs to the guild of furriers of Cracow. There is no doubt that the statutes of the guild are the primary source of knowledge about the functioning of the craft guild as they depict the most important aspects of life of the craft guild community. Their informative value is limited however due to their normative nature. On the other hand, it may be presumed that the modern versions of the guild laws contain provisions equivalent to those that were in force in the Middle Ages. The statute of the guild of painters from 1490 and its modern version of 1581 are a perfect example. Nevertheless, confronting the provisions provided in the statutes with the official reports of court sessions, we can easily come to the conclusion that the life of the community does not always correspond to the model expressed in the guild law.

The aim of this article is to present the Krakow series of record books for the acceptance of town rights against a background of other similar sources stored in Polish towns and selected European countries.

The record books for the acceptance of town rights represent a distinct type of clerical production, created in town boroughs over a wide area from the British Isles to the eastern tips of Central Europe. Their genesis reaches back to the middle of the 13th century, however, the main period of their development lasted until at least the middle of the 16th century. The creation of this type of register is connected with the obligation to swear an oath when obtaining town rights in the above-mentioned territories. This activity was registered by the record books.

Comparison of the materials for other settlements reveals that Krakow’s record books were part of a wide-ranging appearance. Begun at the turn of the 14th century and continued with small gaps until the end of the 18th century, Krakow’s libri iuris civilis represent, however, a significant relic not only within Poland, but also Central Europe. In this area, there are no other series which are as complete and as rich in material.

The institution of town rights is also discussed. Its picture appearing in Polish literary activity to a significant degree became obsolete, and did not take into consideration foreign research. Analysis of more recent literature concerning this subject has allowed town rights to be presented in a different light.

Based on the literature and previous source-based studies, the research opportunities offered by the Krakow record books of the acceptance of town rights are also presented. These issues, part of the wide current of social history, have not yet been the subject of an in-depth work. This work may represent a stimulus and basis for this type of research.