The author of the article discusses the issue of manufacturing and production of sweets in Poland at the end of the 14th century. This little-known matter was presented against the background of the changes that occurred in confectionery consumption in Western Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries. The article discusses the ingredients of confectionery products in Poland at the end of the 14th century with a special emphasis on types of sugar and various spices as well as kinds of sweets, divided into the confectes (hard products such as drops and filled candy) and the electuaria (soft products that resembled present-day preserves). The issues of the ways of supplying sugar and transferring the confection manufacturing knowledge in the late medieval Poland were considered separately. The author also focused his attention on confectioners (including Andrzej, the royal apothecary master, on top of the list) and the methods they used for sweets production. The article also tries to answer the questions of who the sweets consumers in Poland were, and on what occasions the sweets were consumed.

The first cookbooks left the printing presses in the 15th century, and very soon they became popular amongst the readers of the Old Continent. They helped to spread the knowledge not only about products used in various parts of Europe but also about methods of preparing meals. Their authors gave advice on what kind of virtues a chef should have and with what utensils he should equip his kitchen. This paper considers the Koocboec oft familieren keukenboec in a wider European context. A Dutch cookbook, written under a pseudonym of Antonius Magirus, was published in 1612 in Leuven and until 1668 it was the only cookbook printed in the Low Countries at that time. Although it was published in the South Netherlands, it succeeded also in the North. It is easy to find similarities between the Koocboec and Opera dell’arte del cucinare, the major work of Bartolomeo Scappi, but Magirus adapted his recipes to the local skills and tastes.

The aim of this article was to establish if Le cuisinier françois, the famous cookbook published in the 17th century by de la Varenne, contributed to changing the culinary tastes of representatives of the Polish elite. For this purpose, selected collections of the inventories of libraries of Polish magnates and nobility were examined and, as a result, some few copies of the book by de la Varenne were found, in many cases connected with the personal tastes or cultural preferences of their owners. It seems, however, that in the process of transferring culinary patterns from France to Poland more essential than the presence of this book in the libraries was a permanent need to employ cooks from France in many courts of Polish magnates. They were responsible for changing the culinary tastes of their masters and strengthened the appetite for French dishes in the Polish cuisine in the early-modern era.

The First World War was an extremely difficult challenge for services and offices responsible for supplying the soldiers fighting on the front as well as all the citizens working at the rear of the front line. The decline in food production during the war forced the belligerent States to use top-down mechanisms to reduce the demand for food. The most commonly used method of adjusting the demands became food rationing during the war, as well as the promotion of food substitutes instead of deficit products like meat, sugar and fats. In the course of war, the inhabitants of European countries became aware of a new, previously practically unknown, role of the States – as a controlling factor of their daily eating habits. Changing these habits during the war opened up new prospects for the implementation of dietary programmes in society as a whole. Food storage experiences of urban population and the use of extended durability products in everyday life were building a survival strategy for future economic crises.

In the 11th century a fundamental problem arose from the independence of national councils: rulers exerted a serious influence on the convocation and course of the councils, on the promulgation of their decrees, as well as on their legal consequences in the society. Moreover, a number of councils – especially when the ruler was present at the sessions – adopted measures even in matters that belonged to the state. Good examples of such a situation in Hungary were the Council of Szabolcs (1092) and the First Council of Esztergom (1100). In the domestic practice, during the reign of King Coloman, the Second Council of Esztergom (1112) already showed us the ecclesiastical legislation as it gradually obtained independence, and also showed the acceptance of those reforms that were made under the increasing influence of the Holy See. Later on, legate Manfred actively contributed to the Third Council of Esztergom in 1169. The provisions of this council radically excluded the influence of secular power, thanks to the personal attendance of the Roman legate. The frequent presence of the papal legates – particularly in the 13th century – had a fundamental impact upon the Hungarian conciliar legislation and the ecclesiastical judicial practice, and also strengthened the papal privileges of the ecclesiastical institutions, to which many of the contemporary written documents bear witness.
 

The study analyzes the dedications of the parish, filial and monastery churches as well as of the  solitary public chapels in the southern part of medieval Moravia. The text focuses mainly on the following problems: frequency of dedications, foreign influence in the choice of dedications, specific features of the dedications of city parish churches and changes of dedications. There were 499 dedications found, the number of appearing patron saints was 51. The most frequent patron saints were Virgin Mary (12.8%), John the Baptist (7.6%), Peter/Peter and Paul (7.2%), Wenceslaus (6.8%) and James the Great (6.4%). The most important indigenous patron saint was Wenceslaus, while foreign influence was related mainly to patron saints from France (e.g. Giles, Leonard) and German lands (e.g. Cunigunde, Gotthard, Ulrich). Patron saints coming from other European countries were rather uncommon (e.g. Francis of Assisi, Gall, Stanislaus).
 

The article is devoted to the relations between the monastery in Henryków and the burghers of Münsterberg (Ziębice) in the light of the Book of Henryków. On the one hand, the burghers of Ziębice were portrayed on the pages of the Book as competitors of the abbey on lands which were the object of the attention of the monastery, and also as a factor disturbing the land transactions with local knights. On the other hand, during the minority years of the sons of Prince Bolko I of Świdnica and Jawor, the city became a guarantee of law and order for the monks, which was manifested in their use of advice and help from the burghers of Münsterberg in complicated financial transactions. In the early 14th century the monks of Henryków and the burghers of Ziębice maintained very close relations, which was actually in the interest of the municipal upper class, with the cloister as a suitable place for children of the burghers, and also as a spiritual center which should be supported financially.

“The Memorial of Grievances” is the most important document on Indian rights after the famous “Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies” by Bartolomé de Las Casas. But contrary to the Dominican friar’s relation, “The Memorial,” which was created a few decades later, is relatively little known and, at the same time, is written not by a Spaniard, but by a mestizo from the New Kingdom of Granada, the present-day Colombia. The life and adventures of the author of “The Memorial” – Diego de Torres – which I present in my article, could serve as a plot of a historical novel. This son of a conquistador and an Indian woman was a cacique and leader of an indigenous group of Muisca, in a small village not far from the city of Tunja; meanwhile, paradoxically, the encomendero of the same settlement was his brother, a native Spaniard. In my article I present a conflict between the two brothers, the mestizo’s imprisonment by the royal officials, his escape from prison and his meeting with King Philip II, who stood up for his mestizo subject. In order to render my portrayal of Diego de Torres realistic I referred to ancient chronicles and old documents from Colombian archives.

The basic source for the study of the pattern of a diplomat were old diplomacy guides from the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century, written by authors such as Krzysztof Warszewicki, Wawrzyniec Piaseczyński and Stanisław Miński. They were all practitioners in the diplomatic service, and each of them had left their own ideas concerning this issue. Despite some differences in the emphasis on individual values, ​they remained consistent in the basic standards. That convergence concerns not only the axiological aspect, but above all the similarity of approach. As a result, we are dealing with depersonalized though personified patterns. This allows us to distinguish those patterns from personal ones, associated with real characters. This observation prompted the formulation of a new definition of a pattern and personal model, written from a historian’s point of view. Both: the above mentioned differentiation and the distinguishing of values conditioning the existence of patterns and models – hence moral authorities, distinguishing between the objective (external), subjective (internal), professional and socio-religious, constitute the essence of the paper. From this perspective, a model diplomat appears as a noble (usually) wealthy man (prefe-rably), a professional of the highest quality, while at the same time a good husband, son, father, neighbour, statesman, patriot and Christian. Analysing other patterns favoured at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century, it can be seen that in general they represent a sum of clearly positive characteristics. The model of a diplomat ordering a double morality might be an exception to this rule. On the one hand, bearing in mind the tasks that the diplomat had to complete, this double morality was obvious, but on the other hand, such a requirement could evoke, and it really did, ethical discomfort and confusion of values. In no case did those confusions concern the authors of the guides. For them, the sovereignty of the fatherland and the Christian faith always remained the highest values. In the name of such values, even unethical conduct was ethical in every respect, because it served the supreme goals.

The article describes in detail four examples of pieces of art and artefacts which are a comparative material for a medal. The author of the article claims that a papal officer purposefully ordered (by a medalist) a medal engraving to properly celebrate the Treaty of Grzymułtowski, the abiding of which by both Poland and Moscow allowed Muscovy to actively participate in the Holy League, but also to symbolically express gratitude and recognition of the Polish king’s diplomacy. The medal bore a prearranged message. It should be noted that the obverse of the medal shows a likeness of Jan III Sobieski dressed in clothes reminiscent of his royal prerogatives (a “corona clausa” on his head, an ermine coat clasped on the shoulders with a horizontal brooch) and also of his readiness to fight for Christian ideas (the scale armour, the traditional equipment of a “Sarmatian”). A commemorative inscription, although not reflecting the facts faithfully, can be considered evidence of the supremacy of the king over the Vlachs, Turks and Tartars, whose territories would soon be under the rule of Sobieski. Such a decision is not surprising, considering that Innocent XI was one of the founders and biggest supporters of the Holy League and at the same time consistently sought to make Muscovy join a new military alliance against Turkey. The signing of the Treaty of Grzymułtowski should therefore also be seen as an important success of the papacy.

In historiography, there is an ongoing discussion about the actual range of power of three emperors of the Empire of Japan: Meiji, Taishō and Shōwa (known as Hirohito). The 1889–1945 Constitution formally granted them huge prerogatives. While some historians regard that as fiction, others are ready to treat the three monarchs – and especially Emperor Shōwa – as true dictators. The fragmentary sources suggest that Emperor Meiji had a genuine share in ruling. He served as an arbitrator between the government, the army and the genrō – an unofficial council of “honorable statesmen,” who had the last word. It was possible thanks to the huge personal respect he enjoyed. As a result of his son Emperor Taishō’s illness and dying out of the genrō, the military prerogatives were taken over by the general staffs of the army and navy, formally dependent solely on the ruler. They were counterbalanced by the last living genrō, Prince Saionji, who died in 1940.

The Malta Naval Cemetery is situated in Kalkara (opposite Valletta across the Grand Harbour). The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is currently responsible for the care of this site. More than 1,000 soldiers (who died during the First and Second World Wars) were buried there including the Polish soldiers who fell in fight for Malta between 1942 and 1943. Six Polish airmen and two sailors were buried in Kalkara cemetery. The airmen were killed during a service flight in a plane crash, on 17th December 1942. The two sailors served on a Polish submarine, ORP “Sokół”.