Research on Goldsmithery from the Turn of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Era in the Lublin Archdeaconry

Abstract

This article focuses on sacred goldwork, known only from written sources, originating from the formerly rich inventories of churches in Lublin and from four churches located in the Łuków deanery, part of the Lublin archdeaconry.

In the 16^th and 17^th centuries, the Lublin archdeaconry encompassed a significant portion of the Lublin region, known as Lubelszczyzna. It included five deaneries: Łuków, Parczew, Chodel, Kazimierz, and Solec. The Łuków deanery was the first to undergo an episcopal visitation, in 1603. The administrative centre of the archdeaconry was located in Lublin.

Only a small number of goldsmithing objects from churches in the Lublin region have survived. So far, researchers have identified just seven chalices and one pax. Their craftsmanship can be compared with works from the leading goldsmithing centres in Poland, such as Kraków and Poznań. Several reasons account for the scarcity of preserved goldsmithing works. Many objects from the churches of Lublin and other towns within the archdeaconry were lost during the Swedish wars; others were destroyed by Arians and Calvinists. Old silverware was often melted down so that the money from the recovered metal could be used to meet the church’s most urgent needs. During times of war, contributions imposed on churches depleted their possessions. There were also instances when priests, motivated by patriotism, donated silver for national causes.

This fragmentary overview of sacred goldsmithery in the Lublin archdeaconry demonstrates that liturgical objects from this region – such as monstrances, chalices, crosses, paxes, and other – were in no way inferior to those created in renowned Polish centres with long-established goldsmithing traditions.