Source catalogue

The mayor and councilors of Gródek issue an official confirmation of the receipt of a royal mandate regarding a donation imposed on the city, delivered by a messenger of the Lwów councilors. The document was authenticated with a seal and the signature of the city notary.

Moldavian Hospodar Peter confirms the ancient trade freedoms for Lviv merchants and establishes detailed customs duties on routes leading through Moldavia towards Hungary, Wallachia, and the Tatar lands. He further permits the establishment of a merchant house in Suceava and forbids officials from unlawfully confiscating transported goods.

The Voivode and Starosta of Ruthenia, Andrzej Odrowąż of Sprowa, pledges the village of Laszki in the Lviv land to the city councilors of Lviv for the sum of one hundred marks of current coin. The issuer commits to the legal and material defense of the councilors against all claims and ensures their entry into possession of the estate in case of non-fulfillment of the contract terms.

King Casimir IV Jagiellon dismisses the renewed claims of Piotr Bączek and his son Jan against the Lviv councilors, ordering the plaintiffs to perpetual silence and releasing the councilors from the obligation to appear in this matter. The monarch simultaneously annuls any potential default judgments and forbids the harassment of the councilors or the seizure of their property.

Moldavian Voivode Stephen the Great confirms the ancient trade liberties for merchants from Lviv and the Ruthenian and Podolian lands, and establishes detailed customs tariffs at customs houses within Moldavia. The document also grants them the right to maintain a merchant house in Suceava and guarantees the protection of their goods against confiscation.

Ruthenian Voivode Andrzej Odrowąż limits the number of craftsmen allowed to settle under the Lwów castle, prohibits local markets there, and subjects suburban Armenians and foreign merchants to municipal jurisdiction. Furthermore, he confirms the magistrate's right to appoint translators and regulates the rules for grain milling and the use of royal forests.

The councilors respond to the envoys' letter dated in Warsaw on January 4. They request the finalization of the matter with Mr. Paczek, send documents and 70 zlotys via the city clerk's servant, Marcin. They urge the envoys to remain and prevent damage to the city's interests.

The nobility of the Lviv land and the Zhydachiv district enter into an alliance with the council and burghers of Lviv for the defense of rights, order, and the common public good. The document obliges both parties to counteract lawlessness, looting, and grievances, and guarantees the participation of Lviv councilors in noble assemblies.

The municipal authorities of Rohatyn confirm to the Lviv councilors the receipt of a royal universal concerning a donation for the monarch. In response, they send an official certification bearing the municipal seal.

Marcin Anczewski justifies his absence from Lwów due to the necessity of remaining with the King during the Ukrainian campaign. He provides the councilors with instructions regarding municipal financial settlements, the payment of chancery fees, and his replacement in the office of mayor.

Marcin Anczewski reproaches the Lviv councilors for their lack of gratitude and failure to pay the sums due to him for the efforts and expenses incurred for the good of the city. He informs them that he has filed a lawsuit against the magistrate and the commoners in the royal court and urges them to settle the debt amicably before the hearing date.

Jerzy Bałaban reports to the Lviv authorities on his efforts with the Hetman and Voivode of Kraków, Stanisław Rewera Potocki, to successfully resolve municipal matters and secure the signing of rescripts. He informs them of overcoming the Hetman's resistance, the departure of the city clerk with the documents, and declares his continued assistance to the city.

King John I Albert leases the Lviv customs duties to the city councilors of Lviv for a period of one year for the sum of three hundred and forty marks. The document also grants them the right to confiscate smuggled goods and orders royal officials to provide the councilors with all necessary assistance.

King John I Albert leases the customs duties in Lviv to the Lviv councilors for a period of one year for the sum of 350 marks of Polish currency. The document also grants them full authority to confiscate smuggled goods and retain half of their value.

Provost of the Holy Spirit Hospital Jan Myszkowski and the mayor and councilors of Lviv submit the dispute over the management of the hospital and its assets to the Lviv canons as arbitrators. The parties undertake in good faith to submit to the amicable settlement under penalty of 200 florins.

Mikołaj Bieganowski informs the Lviv councilors about his successful intervention with the Castellan of Kraków regarding the intrigues of Doctor Jakub, who had attacked the good name of the Lviv authorities. The author assures the city of the magnate's favor and advocates for honoring the contract concluded with Mr. Żydkiewicz.

Mikołaj Bieganowski thanks the authorities of Lwów for respecting the agreement with Żydkiewicz so far and renews his request to keep it in force. He also informs them that the claims of the doctor citing the Voivode of Kraków are groundless, and that the matter is to be justly settled by the Podkomorzy (Sub-chamberlain) of Lwów.

King Alexander Jagiellon grants the mayor, council, and the city of Lviv the right to collect a perpetual bridge toll of one Polish groschen from every loaded wagon entering the city. The townspeople are obliged to spend the entire income obtained on the repair of surrounding public roads and city fortifications.

King Sigismund I settles a dispute between the city council of Lwów and the Starosta Stanisław of Chodecz, prohibiting the operation of taverns in the suburbs and limiting the permitted number of craftsmen in the Kraków Suburb to two tailors, two shoemakers, two blacksmiths, and tanners.

King Sigismund I settles a dispute between the heir of Zboiska, Piotr Hodnowski, and the authorities of Lviv, permitting the collection of the 'grobelne' toll exclusively from merchants, provided that the causeway and road are properly maintained. At the same time, he exempts empty wagons and peasants transporting agricultural produce and raw materials for their own household use from the fee.

King Sigismund I the Old confirms the settlement ruling of a royal commission regulating the rates and collection principles for customs, bridge tolls, causeway tolls, and market fees on the route from Lviv to Wallachia. The privilege protects Lviv burghers and merchants from arbitrary and burdensome charges by defining tariffs for specific localities in Ruthenia and Podolia.

King Sigismund I grants the Lviv city councilors, guardians of the Holy Spirit Hospital, permission to sell the village of Malechów, which is prone to disputes, and to transfer it under land law. The proceeds from the sale are to be used for the purchase of other properties or rents for the poor, covered by ecclesiastical immunity.

King Sigismund I the Old approves and grants the city of Lviv its existing coat of arms depicting a gate with three towers and a standing lion. Furthermore, the monarch grants the municipal authorities the honorable privilege of sealing all documents and letters with red wax.

The mayor invites the councilors to the town hall at two in the afternoon to reconcile before Easter confession, according to custom. He apologizes for any potential grievances and forwards a letter from the Crown Cup-bearer.

F. Venino summons the Lviv councilors to a morning meeting at the town hall, presenting an extensive agenda including, among other things, the issue of abolished customs duties, upcoming elections, the lawsuit regarding Zamarstynów, as well as housing and tax matters. He also reminds the magistrate of their courteous duties toward dignitaries staying in the city.

The invitation to the deliberation covers Corpus Christi, a commission and the Warsaw Sejm, municipal finances, the contract for Skniłówek, the shooting of servants by a non-commissioned officer, pending court cases, and matters concerning the Jesuits and a tenement house.

King Sigismund I the Old, at the request of the Lviv burghers, approves the 1506 verdict of King Alexander Jagiellon. He confirms the exemption of the Lviv citizens from the Lublin customs duty and prohibits Lublin customs officers from collecting it.

Archbishop of Lviv Bernard Wilczek authorizes the construction of a new pulpit in the nave of the cathedral for the Polish preacher during the vacancy of the German preacher, due to the large influx of the faithful following a fire in the church. The document stipulates a return to the original order of preaching in the choir and chapel once a German preacher is appointed by the city council.

King Sigismund I resolves a jurisdictional dispute between the Lviv city council and the starosta Stanisław Odrowąż, confirming the jurisdiction of Magdeburg law over all visitors and merchants staying in the city, in the suburbs, and under the High Castle. The judicial powers of the starosta were limited exclusively to cases of homicide and housebreaking committed within the castle jurisdiction.

King Sigismund I confirms to the city of Lviv the privilege granted by Duke Władysław of Opole in 1378 concerning the transfer of the Magdeburg law wójtostwo (advocacy), including judicial fines and the rules for the election of the wójt by the city council.

King Sigismund I resolves a dispute between the Starosta of Lwów, Mikołaj Sieniawski, and the authorities of Lwów, confirming the ancient custom and order of electing councilors and other municipal officials. He decrees that vacancies in the city council may be filled exclusively from among the jurors without the interference of the Starosta, while maintaining the monarch's right to appoint one of the six acting councilors.

King Sigismund I the Old confirms to the mayor and councilors of the city of Lviv the exclusive right to elect and appoint city intermediaries and interpreters (known as 'mejlerze' and interpreters) in accordance with ancient custom. The monarch forbids royal officials from interfering with this municipal prerogative under any pretext.

King Sigismund I the Old approves the resignation of the Lublin authorities from a lawsuit against Lwów concerning the detention of merchants traveling to Lublin fairs. The monarch releases the burghers of Lwów from all claims and confirms the Lwów staple right and other commercial privileges.

Golski demands the arrest of Wallachian merchants and the seizure of their goods until Łącki is compensated. He accuses them of attacking his inn and the city councilors of complicity.

Stanisław Golski commends Mr. Łącki to the care of the Lwów authorities; despite his service to the King and the Commonwealth in Wallachia, he suffered severe grievances there and has yet to receive justice. He asks the mayor and councilors for their favor toward the aggrieved party, who will personally present his case and planned actions to them.

Stanisław Golski reproaches the Lwów City Councilors for their unlawful and overly harsh treatment of the case of Łancki, who robbed the merchants of the Hospodar of Moldavia. He assures the recipients of his continued favor and reports that he has personally and honorably dismissed the aggrieved merchants.

Lviv Archbishop Piotr Starzechowski confirms and approves, by ordinary authority, the privilege of King Sigismund I, transferring to the city councilors of Lviv the perpetual and irrevocable right of patronage and presentation of the provostry of the Holy Spirit hospital church in Lviv. The act was issued after a prior edictal summons of potential opponents and the finding of their unjustified failure to appear.

King Sigismund I approves a resolution of the Lviv city council imposing rent on local and visiting merchants and craftsmen setting up stalls and booths in the market square during fairs. The funds collected in this way are to supply the city treasury and serve the needs of the city.

Grodzicki directs the councillors to the Commonwealth treasury for a receipt for the 6,000 złotys lent. He promises to admonish subordinates complained of by the city and settle the account for iron taken.

Grochowski invites the councillors of Lviv to an episcopal ceremony on 27 September 1625. He stresses friendship, his Ruthenian origin and Lviv’s significance as a metropolitan centre.

King Sigismund I the Old permits the mayor and councilors of Lviv to redeem the royal village of Sknyliv from the hands of the noble Jan Wiszniowski for the legally recorded sum. The authorities of Lviv are to hold and use this village along with all its appurtenances until the full repayment of the amount laid out for the redemption.

Guttinius thanks the councillors for congratulations on his secretaryship and promises assistance to the city. A postscript thanks them for fifteen thalers.

King Sigismund II Augustus confirms the privilege of his father, Sigismund I the Old, from 1545, granting the mayor and councilors of Lviv a one-time right of patronage and presentation of a candidate for the mansionary at the Church of St. Catherine at the Lower Castle. The document obliges the Archbishop of Lviv to immediately appoint the clergyman indicated by the city authorities.

Crown Treasurer Jan Mikołaj Daniłowicz admonishes the Lviv City Councilors for unlawfully summoning the supervisors of the Sandomierz customs chamber to the Tribunal, bypassing his jurisdiction. He orders the cessation of such lawsuits and instructs that all claims and privileges concerning customs duties be directed to him personally.

Jan Dzieduszycki, Castellan of Kyiv, declares to the Lviv councilors his willingness to continue renting the tenement house formerly belonging to the late Mr. Józefowicz and to pay the current rent. However, he points out the dire technical condition of the building and calls for urgent repairs to prevent its collapse.

The document establishes the detailed course of boundaries and the construction of boundary mounds between the Franciscan-owned village of Kozielniki and the municipal lands of Lwów, as well as the villages of Sichów and Zubrza, putting an end to previous disputes and injuries. Furthermore, it confirms the right granted to the convent by the municipal authorities for limited logging for firewood and cattle grazing on municipal lands, provided that good relations with the city are maintained.

King Sigismund II Augustus approves an entry from the Piotrków municipal council books of 1538 concerning the sale of a house with a plot and garden behind the Kraków Gate in Piotrków by the altarist Jan Kraska to the councilors and mayor of the city of Lwów. The buyers were obliged to pay an annual rent of 15 groszy to the aforementioned altar on the feast of St. Matthew.

The Lwów councilors, acting as administrators of the Holy Spirit Hospital, grant the miller Maciej Malski and his wife Katarzyna a sum of 30 grzywnas on the third part of a newly built mill on the Pełtew River in the village of Malechów, and grant them possession and use of this part. The document reserves the life rights of Wawrzyniec Morawiński and his wife Anna to the remaining two parts of the mill and imposes on Maciej Malski the obligation to maintain the entire facility in the future.

[Polish; translation pending] Król Stefan Batory zatwierdza akt komisarski ustalający taksę dochodów i realizujący wykup trzeciej miarki młyna Zimnowodzkiego na przedmieściu lwowskim przez kasztelana sieradzkiego Andrzeja Dembowskiego od spadkobierców Kazimierza Hynka za kwotę 4684 florenów. Nadaje Dembowskiemu prawo spokojnego dzierżenia młyna aż do czasu ewentualnego odkupienia go przez króla za tę samą sumę.

Military judge Mikołaj Karmeński requests the Lviv city councilors to lend the municipal executioner for a short period to carry out death sentences on soldiers in the camp near Świrz. He assures them of the immediate return of the executioner after the sentences are carried out and promises appropriate compensation.