On the Synodal Statutes (1420?) of Andrew, the Bishop of Poznan

Andrew (of the clan “Godziemba”) of Gosławice (pol, Andrzej Łaskarz z Gosławic herbu Godziemba) was the Bishop of Poznan (between 1414 and 1426) and a well-regarded and quite an accomplished man.

We know this, in the first instance, because he appears in the literature under names suggesting importance, relevance and being an altogether heavy-hitter.  Thus, for example, he is written up as Andreas Lyaskarius de Goslawicze, nobiles (but, of course!) de domo Godziamba.  He was born in 1362 as the son of Laskarz and Dorota from Goslawice (and that should also tell you that he was important since  were he of peasant stock, his contemporaries may not have even known his parents’ names or dates of birth and we certainly, six centuries later, would not even dream of knowing them).  His father was a castellan of Konin and his mother was, likely, related to the the later Poznan Bishop Piotr Wysz.  Andrew studied in Brodnica and then, at 17, moved on to Prague where he received his bachelors degree in 1392/1393.  He then moved on to the University of Padua where he received a doctorate in 1405.

However, putting all of this “silver spoon” stuff aside, he used his privileged upbringing quite well and to the service of his country (even while juggling his studies it seems).  He was an emissary to the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights Konrad von Wallenrode (who was followed by the Jungingen brothers, the second of whom ended up going to see his lord at Grunwald/Tannenberg).  In 1397, Andrew became a secretary to queen Jadwiga.  He participated in various church councils, he traveled to the Holy Land, he represented Poland against the Teutonic Knights at various diplomatic meetings (along with the more famous Paul Wlodkowic) and, of course, was a bishop of Poznan.  He is likely to have known Lucas of Great Kozmin.

In 1415 he was at the Council of Constance as a member of the Polish delegation.  That council concluded in 1418 (and is best known in history for putting the Czech church reformer Jan Hus to the torch).  Upon returning from Constance, the Primate of Poland, Mikolaj Traba called for a provincial meeting of the clergy first at Wielun and then the clergymen continued their deliberations at Kalisz.  The purpose presumably was to educate the locals on the new church findings/doctrines/laws and start the implementation phase (maybe gossip about Hus).  We may assume that other European Constance attendees had similar “country” meetings after returning home.  Those provincial Wielun/Kalisz meetings concluded on the 25th of September 1420 (as per Jan Dlugosz).  Their result was a series of statutes that applied country wide to all of Poland.

After the provincial synod, the local clergy, in turn, returned to their own dioceses and called for meetings there.  In the case of Andrew, he returned to Poznan and it was then at that point that he called for a meeting of the local Poznan clergy that produced the below discussed Statuta Synodalia Andreae Episcopi Posnaniensis, i.e., the statutes (or laws) for the Poznan diocese (diocese being a part of the Polish province).  Presumably, they were a reflection both of what was discussed at Constance and later at Wielun/Kalisz.  Again, we may assume that similar meetings were taking place at all the local church levels all over Poland (and Europe) in a kind of a trickle-down evangelism.  Note for example that we already briefly (breviter) mentioned here the Statuta Breviter of Gniezno.  When did the meeting in Poznan take place?  Presumably after the national Wielun/Kalisz meeting so September 26th 1420 would be the earliest date – but before Andrew died in 1426.

These Poznan statutes (but also the Statuta Brevier which deal with similar issues in places) are of great interest as they deal with all kinds of deviations from church policy/docrine and with other excesses.  While some are trivial (in their nature, if not in effect) and read a bit like a list of sins of the political class of any respectable middle or southern European country (or of a banana republica latina), others are point to folk practices, beliefs, superstitions and customs that co-existed with and in full view of Christianity – in fact, many local priests participated in these “excesses”.  It is a selection of these latter ones that we present here for our readers.  We note, upfront, that some of these may be or “proto-Slavic” nature (indeed some of them are also subject to scorn in Bohemia), others may have developed in Poland alongside of Christianity and others yet may have come from other countries (e.g., dyngus from Germany?).  Some of these customs we would likely see today as joyful and fun, others as great if kept in moderation, others yet as clearly “excessive” and yet others as, likely, troublesome.

Statuta Synodalia Andreae Episcopi Posnaniensis

(selected items)

 VII.  De fonte baptismali  (Of the baptismal font)

 

Item statuimus et sub poena trium marcarum mandamus, ut quilibet curatus fontem baptismalem, crisma et oleum sacrum, ac sacratissimum corpus domini nostri Jesu Christi sub seris et clausuris semper habeant, ut nulli alteri quam ipsis pateat accessus propter sortilegia et maleficas mulieres, et conservent in mundis et decentibus locis; caldareque aereum vel plumbeum in fonte baptismali infra hinc et festum Paschae proximum habeant comparatum propter stillicidium, quod fit fontibus ligneis.

(Furthermore, we order and command, under the penalty of [three (?) marks], that in each parish the baptismal fount, chrism/myrrh and sacred oil, the most sacred body of our Lord Jesus Christ be kept under lock and that no one have access to these except [the priests] because of sorcerers and witch women and to keep such [relics] in a clean and decent/well thought-out place; Caldar [?] [bronze/steel/lead vase for, e.g., sprinkling Holy Water] to be placed below the font [at the time/close to?] Easter… in cases of fonts made of wood [?]) (you get the gist)

XXIX. De columbationibus (On caroling/kolenda/kolyadam)*  

Item prohibeatis columbationes nocturnas in festo sancti Stephani, cum illa nocte furta, homicidia et plura mala committantur.

(Also, let there be forbidden carolers (kolednicy/calenda – see too here for a Croatian version of yule-tiding mariner carolers) going about at night on the second day of Christmas (Saint Stephen’s Night) for on that night there occur therefore murders, thievery and other bad excesses)

Note this was also the Latin sterna, i.e., auguries, e.g., for the new year.

XXX. De ludis festorum (On festive games)

Item in vigilia Nativitatis Christi prohibeantur ludi et superstitiosae opiniones, quae – proh dolor! – in hac vigent patria.

(Likewise, let there be forbidden on Christmas Eve games and superstitious beliefs/doctrines which – alas! – blossom in this country)

XXXI. De incantationibus mendosis et benedictionibus (On mistaken incantations and blessings)

Item superstitiosae benedictiones et mendosae, quae non habent in sacris scripturis fundamentum, prohibeatis.

(Also, let there be prohibited superstitious and mistaken blessings that do not have foundations in the sacred scriptures)

Item omnes incantationes, quae consueverunt fieri de nocte sanctorum Philippi et Jacobi Apostolorum prohibeantur.

(Likewise, let there be prohibited the enchantments that have become commonplace during the nights/Feats of Saints Phillip and James (this was May 1st – now, since the reform of the Roman calendar in mid-20th century, May 3rd)).

XXXIII.  De incantationibus et abusionibus carnis privii (Regarding incantations and other Lent [i.e., carnival] abuses)*

Item, quia multe incantationes et superstitiones consueverunt fieri in carnis privio, arceatis [articulate?] populum, verum ut a talibus desisteret, et a dissolutionibus effrenatae consuetudinis, ut viri mulierum vestibus, et mulieres virorum vestibus utantur.

(Also, because it is customary to name many enchantments and superstitions during the Lent time, tell the people to desist from such and to terminate/dissolve the carrying on of such customs, such as the dressing of men in women’s clothes and women putting on men’s clothes).

* Whether these carnival abuses then then also led to carnal ones is another matter (not for this blog; let us just say that winters are cold in Europe).  Note that the etymology of carnival is that of “letting go of meat”, i.e., giving up meat on Lent before Easter (as to Easter, note the connection to Yassa/Yasse via Yasterbog/Jasterbog of the Kaszubians – see, e.g., Jastarnia – we will return with stories of the Venerable Bede & Einhard & others, later)

XXXIV. De pactatione ovorum (On trading eggs)

Item prohibeatis, ne feria secunda et tertia post festum Paschae masculi foeminas, et foeminae masculos praesumant pro ovis et aliis muneribus depactare, vulgariter dyngowacz, nec ad aquam trahere, cum tales insolentiae et strangulationes non sunt sine gravi peccato et sine divini nominis offensa, cum in die Pasche vel circa hoc tempus sunt eucharistiae sacramento procurati; igitur sint solliciti qualiter in omni devotione et disciplina morum se custodiant et observent.

(Also prohibit, on the second and third day after Easter (e.g., Lany Poniedzialek and thereafter) that men ask women and women ask men for eggs and other presents, which in the common tongue is called dyngowacz, and to run to water because such lawlessness and insolence do not take place without also them being grave sins and offenses against the divine name, when this happens around the time of Eucharist/Easter; therefore, be careful and observe whether they they will keep themselves in every lesson in moral conduct and in devotion)*

* The feast of Smigus-Dyngus (whether this comes from Germany (Schmackostern (from, yes, smacking), Stiepern – stypy?) is a topic for another post though we will note here that the only places in Germany where this was a practice seem to be only the former Slavic ones so whether this is originally of a Slavic or of a Germanic beginning is to us unclear although the dyngowacz seems to be of German origin – Dingen = things you give so as not to get smacked) was originally a kind of “trick or treat” event.  Specifically, you might get whacked/smacked with a branch from a “palm” tree (remember Palm Sunday?) unless you treated your interlocutors with presents.

Alternatively, the branch was replaced with water and the presents with eggs – and, voila! here is your Easter (or, rather, the fun parts!);

Item prohibeatis comessationes et ebrictates, cum secundum apostolum tales regnum Dei non possidebunt, et praesertim in festivatibus Pentecostes Navitatis Dominin et aliis festis, sed ut divinis officiis sint intenti.

(Also prohibit eating and drunken debauchery [whoa!?] [especially during the Pentecost, Christmas and at other Holy Days, for as the Apostles tell us such persons [acting this way] shall not inherit the Kingdom of God)

XXXV.  De imagine straminis in jejunio (Of [the carrying of] straw imagines during fasting [Lent])

Item prohibeatis, ne in dominica “Laetare”, alias “Biala niedziela”, superstitiosam consuetudinem observent, efferentes quamdam imaginem, quam mortem vocant, et in lutum postea projiciunt, quia non carent hujus modi facta scrupulo superstitionis.

(Also prohibit on the Laetare Sunday* (alias White Sunday), the superstitious custom of carrying around a kind of a puppet that they call “death” (i.e., Marzanna), which they then throw into the mud as they are not free from these kinds of superstitions)

Same practices were also subject to prohibitions in the Prague diocese in 1366 and again in 1384 during a local synod.

* Fourth Sunday of Lent

XL. De abusionibus circa funera (Of abuses at the time of funerals)

Item superstitiosas, consuetudines, quae consueverunt fieri circa funera, prohibeatis.

(Prohibit also the superstitious rituals that are customary at funerals)

LVIII. De choreis nocturnis festorum (Of night dances and feasts)

Item inhibeatis nocturnas choreas in diebus sabbativis et in vigiliis sanctorum Joannis Baptistae, Petri et Pauli, cum plures fornicationes, adulteria et incestus illis temporibus committuntur.

(Prohibit too the nightly dances that take place during days of the sabbath (sobotki or kupalnocki in the summer) and on the days of the Saints John the Baptist and Saints Peter and Paul, for there are fornications and adultery and incest committed in those times)

Copyright ©2015 jassa.org, All Rights Reserved