History of Silesia

The polychromes of the wooden church of St. Michael the Archangel in Żernica, built in 1661, probably created in two stages in the second half of the 17th century, constitute one of the most interesting sets of post-Tridentine paintings in Upper Silesia. The iconographic programme was determined by two main factors: the imperative of religious demarcation accompanying the process of confessionalisation, and the links with the Cistercian order, on whose lands the parish of Żernica was located. The paintings presenting the Catholic teaching on the sacraments and the sacrificial nature of the Holy Mass, as well as the tradition of image worship, were particularly highlighted in the church interior. In the first case, the practice of administering the sacraments, characteristic of reformed, post-Tridentine Catholicism, was shown. The second depicts a group of figures adoring a painting of Mary with the Child, in the Hodegetria style, which has not survived to this day, applied to the beams. The other walls feature, among others, images of saints particularly venerated in the Cistercian order – Benedict of Nursia and Bernard of Clairvaux. The paintings also contain clear references to the mystical model of piety promoted by the congregation in Silesia. Thanks to the polychrome decoration, the church in Żernica became a space for catechising the faithful in the spirit of Tridentinum.

Johann Georg von Oppersdorff, proprietor of the Głogówek dominion and the Frydek state, was a prominent figure within the pro-Habsburg Catholic faction in Upper Silesia during the Thirty Years War. Following his studies in Olomouc and Graz, where he encountered the future emperor Ferdinand von Habsburg and his brother Charles, who would subsequently become bishop of Breslau, in 1609 he embarked on his grand tour through Styria, Tirol, Bavaria and Italy. Six years later, he undertook a pilgrimage to Loreto once again, and in 1622 he revisited Bavaria. The artist's travels had a significant impact on his artistic oeuvre, notably the expansion of the Głogówek castle, the Loreto Chapel and St. Anthony's Chapel in Głogówek, as well as the Annunciation Chapel in Frydek.

In 1926, the parish of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, encompassing the city centre of Katowice, was under the administration of Fr Emil Szramek, a prominent figure in the intellectual milieu of the capital of the autonomous province of Silesia. The parish priest, who presented his vision of the Upper Silesian community, its place in Poland and Europe, in his essay "Silesia as a sociological problem", was also the initiator of the new painting decoration of the Katowice church. The Marian cycle of canvases, commissioned from Józef Unierzyski, in conjunction with the polychromies and stained-glass window designs crafted by Adam Bunsch, serve to convey the concepts articulated within the text by Father Szramek. The medium of painting was utilised by the parish priest to address a community that was both nationally diverse and, to a significant extent, distanced from being defined in national categories. The painting was employed to legitimise the region's association with Poland and the emergent hierarchies, particularly the standing of the group of Pro-Polish priests to which the commissioner himself belonged. The subjects were depicted as the successors of the patron saint Jack, the patron saint of the Katowice Diocese, and as being close to the people, thus authentic and faithful to the "true self" of the nation. A significant place in the painted vision of the community was also given to the young Polish-Upper Silesian intelligentsia, symbolically reconciled with the intelligentsia of Małopolska. The painted decor of the Katowice church suggests that the Upper Silesian people were a community that, due to its dynamism and religious fervour, was believed to possess the ability to "sanctify the statehood", thereby becoming the vanguard of the Polish nation, to which providence had assigned the role of a bulwark of Christianity. The Catholic Church evolved into a space for the nationalisation of the faithful in the Polish spirit, a transformation that was facilitated by the artistic initiatives of the priests.

Problematyka żydowska zawsze zajmowała szczególne miejsce w polskiej historiografii, co wynikało z wielowiekowej obecności Żydów w Polsce. Nie można opisać dziejów Polski, nie pisząc o polskich Żydach, i tym bardziej nie można podejmować charakterystyki Dolnego Śląska, nie określając wkładu, jaki Żydzi wnieśli w jego rozwój po II wojnie światowej. Właśnie ta ludność w znacznie większym stopniu niż w innych regionach Polski wpłynęła na rozwój życia społecznego, gospodarczego, kulturalnego i po części także politycznego tych ziem.

Marriages enabled the House of Vasa to enter into the network of courts throughout Europe and opened a way to participate in the processes of assimilation, reception or rejection of respective cultural, religious, and political paradigms. The bonds of kinship became one of the most effective instruments to raise the prestige and the standing of dynasty, which sought to occupy an ever higher position in the hierarchy of European rulers. The aim of this paper is to show how the House of Vasa functioned within he contemporaneous dynastic networks in Europe on the examples of several selected issues of strictly familial nature: inheritance of names, christenings, family reunions and financial security.

Artykuł analizuje formę architektoniczną korpusu nawowego kościoła Dominikanów w Krakowie, wzniesionego na przełomie XIII i XIV w., w kontekście architektury Małopolski i sąsiednich regionów. Korpus można rekonstruować jako pięcioprzęsłową pseudobazylikę o trzech nawach, z szerszą nawą główną. Artykulację wnętrza tworzyły zapewne pojedyncze cylindryczne służki, a profilowania negatywowe mogły występować w filarkach wtórnie użytych w portalu zachodnim. Świątynia mieściła się w typowym dla mendykantów nurcie, podczas gdy w równolegle powstającym korpusie mariackim wprowadzono już bardziej nowoczesne formy – gruszkowe profile, geometryzowane kapitele kielichowe i złożone żebra – adaptowane w Krakowie równocześnie z ośrodkami Austrii, Czech i Śląska. Świadczy to o wyższym poziomie lokalnej architektury ok. 1300 r., niż dotąd sądzono. Podobne nowoczesne cechy mógł wykazywać także kościół Franciszkanów, choć zachowały się jedynie fragmenty maswerku i kapitel. Z kolei chór św. Marka, z poligonalnym zamknięciem, uchodzi za najwcześniejszy tego typu w regionie. Poza Krakowem większe budowle powstawały m.in. w Sandomierzu, Olkuszu i Nowym Sączu, gdzie jednak znane są tylko proste chóry o zamknięciu prostym, zapewne pod wpływem wzorców dominikańskich. Analiza najważniejszych realizacji, w tym dominikańskiego korpusu, potwierdza aktywny udział Małopolski w przemianach języka architektury Europy Środkowej na przełomie XIII i XIV w.

W rubrycelach diecezji chełmskiej z okresu staropolskiego zamieszczano na pierwszej stronie stemmat, co było charakterystyczne dla większości tego typu druków. Składał się on z herbu urzędującego hierarchy kościelnego oraz panegirycznego wiersza odnoszącego się do przedstawionego heraldycznego godła. Rubrycela na rok 1734 został wydana w okresie sediswakancji, gdy funkcję administratora diecezji chełmskiej sprawował prałat prepozyt chełmskiej kapituły katedralnej Walenty Chlebowski. Zamieszczony w rubryceli herb był wyjątkowy w stosunku do wszystkich innych znanych przypadków z rubrycel chełmskich. Herb był bowiem dwudzielny: prawą stronę heraldyczną zajmowało godło rodowe Chlebowskich-Poraj, lewą stronę znak kapituły chełmskiej-grono Apostołów. Herb Poraj prezentował kwiat róży, który został w wierszu zinterpretowany jako szczególnie pociągający, a zarazem wyróżniający się ponad inne rośliny, co miało oznaczać wyjątkowe zasługi osobiste prepozyta Chlebowskiego. Grono Apostołów przedstawione zostało jako obraz diecezji chełmskiej cieszącej się z cnotliwej posługi prałata. Oprócz szczegółowej analizy epigramatu w artykule znalazło się także jego polskie tłumaczenie.

Zmiany organizacyjne w opactwie cysterek trzebnickich w XVII w. zostały wymuszone reformą soboru trydenckiego podjętą przez władze generalne zakonu. Celem odnowy zaproponowanej przez opata Edmunda od Krzyża w 1601 r. było ściślejsze związanie gałęzi żeńskiej z zakonem, poddanie mniszek kontroli władz męskich i odbudowa klauzury biernej i czynnej. Klasztory śląskie włączyły się w to dzieło w drugiej dekadzie tego stulecia, a w sposób pełny dopiero po wojnie trzydziestoletniej. Prawodawstwo powstałej w 1651 r. prowincji śląskiej, w której strukturach znalazło się również opactwo św. Bartłomieja, podlegało pewnej ewolucji. W myśl pierwotnych zarządzeń, przełożony prowincji, wikariusz generalny i delegowani przez niego wizytatorzy ponosili pełną odpowiedzialność za stan obserwancji we wspólnocie cysterek. Zgodnie z prawem, opat lubiąski, Arnold Freiberger, jako wikariusz generalny i jednocześnie „Pater immediatus” mniszek zobowiązał je do wprowadzenia szeregu zmian dyscyplinarnych i org...

Since the 1540s, the Lordship of Sovinec (Eulenburg) had been owned by Lutheran lords. Lorenz Eder von Sstiawnicz (d. 1594) bought the lordship from the lords of Boskovice in 1575. Eder, a Hungarian mining entrepreneur, tried to develop his estates economically. Rules by which
he wanted to organise the spiritual administration and pastoral ministry in the domain have been preserved in five points as part of a Lutheran manuscript. According to his decree of 1594, only Lutheran priests were allowed to be installed in parishes. Eder’s support of Lutherans in the lordship was continued by his son-in-law, Jan the Elder Kobylka of Kobylí (d. about 1630). In 1616, Kobylka issued a privilege for Lutheran clergy, in which he again confirmed the privileged position of Lutheranism on his estates. He further emphasised this status by building or rebuilding seven churches on the territory of the lordship. After the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt, Kobylka had to sell the Lordship of Sovinec to the Teutonic Order and the confessional supremacy of Lutheranism in the domain was replaced by that of the Roman Catholic Church.

Wydawca (publisher) i Dystrybucja (distribution): 

Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego
ul. F. Joliot-Curie 12, 50-383 Wrocław
tel. +48 71 375 76 84, e-mail: [email protected]

This book is a scientific study of the most numerous Silesian kwartniks: CLIPEVS BAVWARIE type. The main purpose of the research was to establish the chronology and place of issue of these coins. For the purposes of this study, author conduced registration of CLIPEVS BAVWARIE type kwartniks, found in Polish and foreign (public and private) resources. The studies presented in the book also included a typological analysis of the coins. Based on the collected material, the author developed a method for classifying variaties and variants of dies, then attempted to analyze the mintmarks observed on coins. An extremely important discovery is the coin overstrikes presented in the work, because on their basis it was possible to establish the relative chronology of the other types of Silesian kwartniks: the GALEA DVCIS BOLKONIS and IVVENVM BOLKONVM. The next step was to analyze the mutual connections of the dies and to show when and where the production of the CLIPEVS BAVWARIЄ type was undertaken. The development of the classification of varieties and die variants was aimed at recognizing the structure of the issue. Such an attempt had never been made before. Thanks to the inventory of museums and private collections, and the research conducted on the antiquarian market, the author managed to collect and develop extensive material: 207 CLIPEVS BAVWARIE type coins. This collection, being fully representative material, is a testimony to how important and effective the inventory of numismatic material from various sources can be. The author hopes that the newly developed methodology will allow in the future to begin a series of studies on the organization of mint production in the Kwartnik period, and the development of other registered types will clarify the picture of the history of Silesian money at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries.

The beginning of trade in post-war Wrocław took place in very specific conditions. Due
to the numerous problems a barter trade initially dominated the city. At that time, the city’s
streets and squares became the main marketplaces where trade took place. In the first period,
the subject of the exchange was mainly the property left by the German population. The first
stabilization of the trade issue took place at the turn of 1945/1946. Shop trade began to develop
and the city authorities’ control over the commerce increased. The phenomenon of looting,
which was very popular in the first months, also gradually disappeared. As the communist
authorities started the „battle for trade”, the share of private owners of commercial premises
diminished, replaced by state owned trading system.

In this work, it is offered an overview of medieval historiography in the Czech lands from origins to the fifteenth century, both in Latin and in the vernacular languages, as well as the factors that contributed to their development and dissemination.

The aim of this article is to present the main phases of transformation of the Franciscan church in Zagan. This church is one of the best-preserved mendicant order churches in Central Europe and Silesia. Until now, it has not been the subject of detailed research. Based on the findings, it was possible to identify the oldest church as a model example of the principles described in the Narbonne Constitutions. The late Gothic vault- ing introduced during the reconstruction represents avant-garde solutions from the late 15th century. The evolution of the church interior’s forms in Zagan is presented against the backdrop of other churches in Central Europe and Poland. Special attention is given to the uniqueness of the church, which stands out among other conventual churches with its use of diamond and net vaults in the chancel and nave.

The article presents the history of the creation and trans- formation of the medieval architecture of the parish church in Świebodzin from the fifteenth to the end of the nineteenth century. At the beginning, the sources, literature and archival iconography are discussed. Based on pioneering research, the oldest phase of the church, from the beginning of the fifteenth century, and the range of its transformations during the fifteenth centu- ry, are distinguished. The works carried out in the years 1541–1555, including the introduction of vaults, and the works carried out in the years 1855–1857 under the direction of A. Langer, when the neo-style decoration of the gables of the western facade were introduced, are discussed. In the summary, attention is paid to the char- acteristic plan, the net decoration of the vaults and the very successful Gothic Revival restoration.

This paper presents the results of an interdisciplinary research that was carried out at the Friars Minor church in Brzeg. Firstly, the monastery and church architecture are discussed and reference sources are analysed. The authors' considerations are based on architectural and archaeological research, on the analysis of technology, construction material and architectural detail as well as on iconographic studies the authors have carried out. They form the grounds for the presentation of the medieval church that consisted of a three-span chancel and a twoaisle four-span nave, which was built at the end of the 13 th century. The church was subjected to transformations in two phases. During the first phase, in the 2 nd half of the 14 th century, an altar bay was added and the south aisle was enlarged. During the second phase, at the turn of the 15 th and 16 th centuries, the church was reconstructed after a fire. In the summary, the authors set the stylistic transformations of church architecture in the context of the trends that developed in Silesia in the Middles Ages.

The chapter delves into a probe of the religious history of the Duchy of Opava. The 17th century brought extensive confessional changes in the Bohemian lands. The contribution highlights archival sources that can help to better understand these changes in the Opava region and provide insights into why such changes occurred more slowly there than in Bohemia and Moravia. The study focuses primarily on information drawn from parish registers, various lists categorized by faith, records of converts or non-Catholics, and personal sources. Many of these sources, which have so far been underutilized in historiography, offer valuable information on the confessional situation in 17th-century Opava.

The study focuses on cooperation between Silesian and Upper Hungarian Lutherans in the 17th and 18th centuries. Although repression of Protestants followed patterns from Austria and Bohemia – eliminating both elites and public worship – Silesia also served as a model for Hungarian Lutheran leaders. From the 1630s, Silesian rulers used legal distortions, collective guilt, and royal commissioners to suppress Protestantism. A similar strategy was applied in Upper Hungary from the late 17th century. Silesian towns with Friedenskirchen became havens for exiled Hungarian clergy and teachers, whose plight was publicized in Europe to gain political attention. Despite more favorable conditions in Hungary due to the system of “articular” towns, Hungarian observers closely monitored anti-pietist actions in Silesia. Notable figures like the Calisius family maintained close ties with Těšín-based clergy such as Johann Muthmann and Traugott Barthelmus. The long-term interaction between Silesian and Hungarian Lutherans offered both inspiration and caution, shaped by shared experiences of re-Catholicization..

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Kontakty hornouhorských a sliezskych evanjelikov-luteránov boli dlhodobé, intenzívne a v mnohom prinášali inšpiratívne podnety i varovania, ktoré sa zväčša ukázali ako opodstatnené. Obe strany prepájali spoločne zdieľané skúsenosti s rekatolizáciou či katolíckou konfesionalizáciou, a obe tak boli nútené neustále prispôsobovať formy svojej existencie daným podmienkam. Pri bližšej analýze sa ukazuje, ako silno a všestranne bol región strednej Európy poprepájaný a ako úspešne dokázala perzekvovaná menšina vzdorovať nepriaznivým podmienkam pre svoju existenciu – k tomu jej bezpochyby pomáhala aj vzájomná spolupráca, vrcholiaca ku koncu 18. storočia.

Recatholization, Catholic confessionalization, and non-Catholic estates in the principalities of Troppau, Jägerndorf and Teschen from the 1620s to the mid-18th century. In: David Radek – Igor Zmeták (edd.), 500 let slezské reformace, K výročí konverze (1523) Fridricha II. Lehnického, Opavská historická sympozia IV. slezské reformace K výročí konverze (1523) Fridricha II. Lehnického [500 years of the Silesian Reformation, Anniversary of the conversion (1523) of Frederick II of Liegnitz], Opava: Slezská univerzita v Opavě, Filozoficko-přírodovědecká fakulta v Opavě, Ústav historických věd, Výzkumné centrum pro kulturní dějiny Slezska a střední Evropy (1000–1800), s. 111-136. ISBN 978-80-7510-609-4.

W twórczości muzyków jazzowych występuje zjawisko polegające na interpretacji utworów pochodzących z kanonu muzyki klasycznej. Solfeggietto Carla Philippa Emanuela Bacha jest jednym z przykładów po które sięgali jazzmani. Najstarszą dotychczas znaną wersją Solfeggietto jest propozycja Buda Powella Bud on Bach pochodząca z 1957 roku. Po drugiej stronie osi czasu znajduje się wersja Luki Sestaka z 2024 roku. Oba dzieła czerpią bezpośrednio z kompozycji Carla Philippa Emanuela Bacha. Sposób interpretacji Powella i Sestaka jest znacząco inny. Dokładne nawiązania, podobieństwa i różnice zostały poddane analizie porównawczej, a następnie omówione w rozprawie. Twórczość muzyków jazzowych nawiązującą do muzyki klasycznej sklasyfikował Bogdan Chmura, poddając kryterium wykorzystania materiału muzycznego jako kluczowe.

Na łamach "Czasopisma Prawno-Historycznego" miałem przyjemność podzielić się z Czytelnikami doświadczeniami z interdyscyplinarnej konferencji "Crime in Law and Literature" na University of Chicago Law School, USA ("CPH", tom LXVII, 2015, z. 2). Po części z inspiracji tamtym wydarzeniem 13 października 2017 roku odbyła się na Wydziale Prawa i Administracji Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego międzynarodowa konferencja "The Rule of Law and the Humanities". Było to pierwsze wydarzenie o takim charakterze na Uniwersytecie Warszawskim. Współorganizowały je WPiA UW wraz z Uniwersytetem Kopenhaskim. Amerykańskie inspiracje nie powinny przesłonić innych powodów do zorganizowania warszawskiego wydarzenia. Warto tu zwrócić uwagę, po pierwsze, na fakt nawiązania naukowej współpracy polsko-duńskiej w ramach projektu badawczego "Legal Culture under Stalinism in Poland", który uzyskał finansowanie "Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship"*. Po drugie, niemniej istotne jest również ukazanie się kolejnego tomu "Prawo i literatura. Szkice drugie" (red. J. Kuisz, M. Wąsowicz, Wyd. Scholar, Warszawa 2017). W pierwszym tomie, który ukazał się w 2015 roku, przedmiotem analizy były wybrane dzieła literatury polskiej XIX stulecia. Tym razem stały się nimi wybrane utwory literackie okresu dwudziestolecia międzywojennego. 1 Właśnie dlatego "uwerturą" do części głównej konferencji był panel studencko-doktorancki, podczas którego międzynarodowej publiczności zaprezentowane zostały w języku angielskim ustalenia najmłodszego pokolenia autorów. Joanna Derlikiewicz przedstawiła obraz prawa w powieści Tadeusza Dołęgi-Mostowicza "Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy" (1932). Kacper Oleksy na podstawie dramatu "Adwokat i róże" Jerzego Szaniawskiego (1929) zaprezentował obronę jako akt moralnej próby. Wreszcie Bartosz Soloch przedstawił rozważania o związkach prawa i rewolucji w opowiadaniach Tadeusza Rittnera z lat 1920-1921. Wyzwaniu, jakim było nie tylko przedstawienie nieznanych poza Polską * "Legal Culture under Stalinism in Poland -Legal Culture" -this project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 659148.

„Rozprawa powstała jako efekt ambitnego projektu dokumentacji miejsc upamiętnienia z czasów I wojny światowej znajdujących się na terenie powiatu namysłowskiego. Autor, korzystając z szerokiego wachlarza źródeł archiwalnych oraz opierając się na wizji lokalnej, zidentyfikował i zrekonstruował większość, również współcześnie nieistniejących, miejsc i artefaktów stanowiących ważne dla regionu, choć częściowo zapomniane, dziedzictwo kulturowe. Wykorzystana w pracy do opisu dziedzictwa regionalnego metafora palimpsestu podkreśla nieoczywistą ciągłość historyczną wsi polskiej”.


Uzasadnienie przyznania wyróżnienia w IV edycji konkursu „Korzenie i Skrzydła” (2024) na najlepszą pracę magisterską na temat kultury i dziedzictwa obszarów wiejskich w Polsce, organizowanego przez Narodowy Instytut Kultury i Dziedzictwa Wsi.

Artykuł jest poświęcony dziejom rodziny Kośmiderskich, żyjącej w okolicach Wąwolnicy przynajmniej od XVII w., a dzisiaj zamieszkującej poza nią okoliczne miejscowości i miasta Lubelszczyzny, jak np. Urzędów. Na podstawie zachowanych źródeł pisanych, przede wszystkim ksiąg metrykalnych oraz zapisek miejskich, zostały zaprezentowane sylwetki przedstawicieli poszczególnych linii rodziny, w szczególności tej zamieszkującej Wąwolnicę, z której wywodzili się wójtowie, burmistrzowie, radni tego miasta oraz proboszcz żółkiewski. Przy charakterystyce danej osoby zwrócono uwagę na takie elementy jak: pochodzenie, zawód i kariera urzędnicza, rodzina, wydarzenia z życia oraz zgromadzony majątek.

Wenceslaus IV. is traditionally considered as a not very capable monarch, in contrast to his successful father, Emperor Charles IV. Not even modern historiography works are without a flattened negative view on this ruler. The aim of this work is to relativize Wenceslaus' alleged ruling inability in an example of his policy in Lands of the Bohemian Crown, namely in Lower Lusatia between years 1364-1419. The issue of the crown countries in this period has been so far in the background of Bohemian researchers' interest. Emphasis is placed on the socio- cultural background of Lusatian Margrave at the end of the 14th century and it is possible to also evaluate the position of Lower Lusatia throughout the whole Bohemian Crown. The focus of the thesis is an analysis of specific Wenceslaus' political steps, mainly based on charters research. The work is also focused on exploring the relationship between the sovereign and the Lower Lusatian nobility, cities and churches. The s...

The article explores the reign of Duke Henry of Jawor (1312-1346), focusing on the interplay between ducal authority and urban centers in his duchy. By analyzing Henry's itinerary and relationships with townspeople, it reveals Lwówek as his primary residence and favored city, challenging the traditional view of Jawor as his main seat. The study also highlights how proximity to the duke's court facilitated social mobility for burghers.

Předkládaná diplomová práce si klade za cíl provést prostřednictvím komparativní metody analýzu vybraných typů vrchnostenských písemností, vydávaných úředníky panských kanceláří na sklonku 16. a v 1. polovině 17. století za účelem zjištění podoby formálního styku vrchnosti s poddanými, stylu úřadování a způsobu komunikace vrchnosti s úředníky.

Using the fate of the Polish city of Wrocław as an example, I present the role of architectural reconstruction/renovation in building the identity of a city with broken structures of long duration. The emergence of Wrocław after the Second World from the ruins of the German city of Breslau was one of the most prominent urban social experiments in European history. However, due to the purely political context of the city's birth, Wrocław residents still cope with the issue of having no ties to the city's foreign architectural fabric. In this study, I analyse the elite's narrative practices, whose aim is to create a sense of identification of people with the city. I discuss the above issue in detail using the example of the renovation of Wrocław Market Square (1995-1997). As viewed by the elite, the renovation of the Market Square gave the city a high position among European cities. However, as I show on the basis of the collected empirical materialthirty in-depth interviews, ordinary city residents regard the Market Square simply as a tourist-attractive spacemostly in its consumer dimension: a pleasing background for dining. The story told by the elites about the Market Square, which was supposed to "start new thinking about the whole city" and "create perspectives", completely misses the narratives of residents about this part of the city.

At the beginning of his great 1927 poem Women at Point Sur, Robinson Jeffers offers a harsh judgment of the American mind as a producer of a culture of avoidance or evasion. In Jeffers’ words, ‘You chose to ignore consciousness, incredible how quickly / The American mind short-circuits by ignoring its object. / Something in the gelded air of the country’ (Jeffers, 1927: 26). It is a commentary on the conversation that Reverend Barclay has just had with a boy working at a hotel, and whose opinion as to a possible existence of God he is asking. Since there comes no answer to the interrogation, ‘Do you think there’s a God?(...

In his publication, Der gantz Jüdisch glaub, the Jewish convert Antonius Margaritha highlighted Ashkenazi Jewry in the Early Modern Period. This book is justly regarded as the first significant opus in a continuum of Jewish ethnographies inspired by Margaritha's seminal work. Margaritha was strongly influenced by the earlier pamphlets authored by Johannes Pfefferkorn, a former Jew himself. Pfefferkorn's writings on Jewish traditions,

The purpose of the article is to reconstruct the narrative of the Polish United Workers’ Party in 1956–1980 on the example of Kętrzyn - the small city in Mazury. The basis of the analysis is the concept of narrative formulated by Sheila Fitzpatrick, understood as an important topos
in society related to ideology. The analysis was based on documents produced by local instances of the PZPR and supplemented by the provincial and central levels. The article is divided into four parts, the boundaries of which are determined by significant events in the history
of the People’s Republic of Poland, i.e. 1956, 1957–1970, 1970–1979, 1980. Ultimately, several fundamental narrative appearing in the documents of the People’s Republic of Poland were identified: modernization of the city, care for the internal affairs of the PZPR, striving for equality and increasing participation in power of workers, bureaucratization, paternalism, targeting youth, construction of secular rituals, social advancement.

Kościół przygotowuje do święceń kapłańskich ochrzczonych mężczyzn, którzy po wyświęceniu pełnią funkcje duchowe i administracyjne we wspólnocie. Po II wojnie światowej reżim komunistyczny instrumentalnie traktował obecność kapłanów na Ziemiach Zachodnich i Północnych, licząc na pomoc z ich strony w osiedlaniu się nowych, polskich mieszkańców. W związku ze zmianą narodowościową i religijną społeczeństwa na tych terenach brak było kapłanów, którzy podjełiby się pracy duszpasterskiej. W celu przygotowania kandydatów do święceń Administrator Apostolski Dolnego Śląska ks. Karol Milik powołał we Wrocławiu seminarium duchowne, które rozpoczęło swoją działalność 8 października 1947 r. Ks. Milik i, narzucony przez komunistyczne władze, jego następca ks. Kazimierz Lagosz jako Wikariusz Kapitulny, nie posiadali sakry biskupiej dającej prawo wyświecania nowych kapłanów. Dlatego też święceń dla kandydatów inkardynowanych do Kościoła wrocławskiego udzielali biskupi z innych diecezji na swoim terenie lub we Wrocławiu. Artykuł ukazuje zawiłości tegoż procesu.

The Chronica fratrum Minorum de Observantia provinciae Bohemiae secularibus non communicanda is the second Bohemian Observant Franciscan chronicle published in this series. The initial section, spanning the years 1440–1553, provides a comprehensive overview of the history of the Franciscan Observant Order during this period. It is an invaluable narrative source for the Bohemian province, and furthermore a critical source for the history of the Cismontane family of the Observant friars. The text has not been edited thus far and consequently evaded the attention of historians; the Chronica constitutes a fundamental addition to the known narrative sources. In this respect the present text serves to complement the other crucial Franciscan Observant chronicles by John of Komorowo and Nicholas Glassberger. This newly accessible chronicle enhances the source pool of the self-presentation through history-writing of mendicant Orders in general.

Karnöffel is the oldest card game in Europe with a continuous tradition of play down to the present day. The paper recounts the discovery of a unique booklet by a 19th century Silesian Karnöffel club which not only describes the variant of this game as then played in Landeshut, but gives the only known description of the signals used by players to communicate their cards to their partners.

The study deals with a Mannerist pulpit (before 1616) which, until 1715, was part of the furnishings of the Church of St. Michael the Archangel (originally the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord) in Branná (German: Goldenstein) in northern Moravia (Czech Republic). It is a uniquely preserved, originally Lutheran pulpit with rich sculptural decoration, which has been preserved in the filial church of St. Wolfgang in Vikantice.

The article describes the evidentiary method in murder trials known as the Bahrprobe,
or trial by cruentation. Although classified as a type of ordeal and primarily associated with
the Middle Ages, it was successfully employed during the early modern period as well. The
article reconstructs the procedure of the trial by bier in the early modern era based on court
records and chronicle entries. Early modern practitioners largely regarded the Bahrprobe as
a legal relic, however, despite frequent criticism of the practice, it persisted in tradition and
was still employed as late as the 18th century. It occurred in cases where the perpetrator of the
crime was unknown or when there were multiple suspects accused of committing the crime

On the basis of the preserved archival materials, a hoard is reconstructed that had been found in 1896 or 1897 in Gorzów Śląski near the railway station and was not preserved to this day. Official letters and documents make it possible to establish (in general terms) the contents of the hoard and the clay vessel in which it was found, to examine in detail seven gold coins, as well as to determine the time of their hiding after 1431. The coins from the hoard are then placed in the context of the issue and circulation of silver and gold money in Europe as well as in the context of Gorzów Śląski’s history.

Researchers of the Polish past often discuss Silesia in the tenth century but the entity later referred to by this name did not exist at that time while its individual parts had different runs of history. The first evidence of establishing contacts between the middle Oder basin and the Mediterranean world after the Migration Period are three Arabic coins from 770-776, bereft of notches, graffiti or other traces of circulation, found on Trzebnica Ridge (Figures 1-3). Unlike the wave of Arabic silver coinage a quarter of a century later, these coins arrived not via the 'Northern Arch' but from the south, via Venice. They probably mark the attempts of slavers to penetrate the Oder basin. After 950, the route from Bohemia to the mouth of the Oder river was established, leading alongside the Neisse and the Oder but it was soon disrupted by the expansion of the Milceni to the east. Behind the Milceni, however, was the power of the East Frankish Kingdom, so the Přemyslids expanded to the northeast to bypass the Neisse. The Přemyslid expansion consisted in collecting tributes from the tribes occupying the left bank of the Oder River: Zlasane, Trebouane, Pobarane and Dedosize-and in establishing permanent military outposts in Niemcza and Wrocław. The result of including the local dwellers in the trade and tributary network was the concentration of power in the tribes and the spread of silver hoarding. After the alliance between the Boleslavs of Prague and Mieszko I of Gniezno was established in c. 964, both states met on the middle Oder line and cooperated within the great trade corridor connecting Central Asia, Scandinavia and Western Europe. Political destabilization in Germany after 983 enabled Mieszko to break off the alliance, cross the Oder to the west and spread his influence along the Kaczawa to Milceni and Meissen lands, and then in 990 to drive the Czechs out of the area between Wrocław and the Sudetes. In this way, a route from Mayence to Kyïv was created, bypassing Prague, cut off the city from contacts with the mouth of the Oder River, which led to the crisis of the Czech state.

Tomasz Kamusella. 2008. An Assessment of the Viability of Upgrading the Silesian-language Wikipedia Project to the Status of a Full-Fledged Wikipedia. St Petersburg FL: Wikimedia Foundation.

This opinion was crucial for the release of Silesian Wikipedia as a fully accpeted Wikipedia.

II wojna światowa i okres powojenny przyniosły wiele dowodów na bestialstwo i zezwierzęcenie natury ludzkiej. Jednocześnie jednak był to czas, w którym znaleźli się również Ci, którzy w sposób szczególny dali świadectwo swojego człowieczeństwa i tym samym przynależności do Jezusa Chrystusa. Nie inaczej stało się również na obszarze aktualnej diecezji gliwickiej.