Source catalogue

King Louis of Hungary orders officials and customs officers in Poland and Hungary to allow merchants and inhabitants of Ruthenia free passage upon payment of due customs duties. He forbids any unlawful obstacles or harm to be inflicted upon them.

Duke Władysław Opolczyk thanks the inhabitants and officials of the Ruthenian lands for their past loyalty and releases them from the homage and oath sworn to him. At the same time, he returns them to the direct rule of King Louis of Hungary.

Duke Władysław Opolczyk promises the inhabitants and cities of Ruthenia compensation for any losses in the event of an armed invasion by Queen Jadwiga and guarantees that he will not appoint a Hungarian as governor of these lands. He also establishes a procedure for the amicable settlement of the Polish Queen's rights to Ruthenia by selected dukes and lords of the Empire.

King Sigismund III Vasa informs the authorities of Lviv that the date of his wedding with Archduchess Constance of Austria has been set for October 30, 1605. The monarch calls upon the proconsul and councilors to send a municipal delegation to the wedding ceremonies in Kraków.

King Władysław Jagiełło grants the Lwów burgher and hearth tax collector Janszko Tołmacz and his successors a cloth chamber in Lwów with the right to trade and shear cloth. The stall is exempted from paying the annual rent to the royal treasury.

Jan of Oleśnica, Marshal of the Kingdom of Poland, resolves a dispute over customs revenues in the village of Werbiż, confirming the rights of the Lviv customs officer Wolczek and restoring him to their possession. He also orders Teodoryk Buczacki, his relatives, and the local peasants to cease further obstacles in the collection of tolls.

Sultan Mustafa instructs the Polish authorities to assist the envoy of the court merchant Mahmud in recovering payments for goods and to guarantee his safe return. The document includes 19th-century archival notes regarding the creation of a German translation of a photograph of the text in Vienna and a planned new translation.

King Władysław III of Varna permits the councilors and commonalty of the city of Lwów to present their city laws, immunities, and privileges exclusively before his royal presence. He thereby exempts the city from the obligation to present these documents to voivodes, castellans, starosts, or other officials of the Kingdom of Poland until his personal arrival in Lwów.

The authorities of Gdańsk inform the magistrate of Lwów about the introduction of a requirement for health certificates for all arriving persons and goods in connection with the spreading plague. They request that these regulations be announced among the citizens of Lwów and that joint steps be taken to prevent the epidemic.

Pope Nicholas V, acceding to the request of King Casimir Jagiellon, issues instructions to the Archbishop of Lviv and other Polish hierarchs in the face of the threat from the Tatars. The document concerns the granting of indulgences and ecclesiastical ordinances in connection with the struggle against the invaders.

King Casimir IV Jagiellon confirms that the tribute (cyza) enacted by the authorities and inhabitants of Lwów for the urgent needs of the state and the Prussian war is voluntary and limited to one year. The monarch pledges on his royal word that this levy will not become a permanent obligation nor infringe in any way upon the city's privileges and liberties.

Pope Julius II informs King Alexander Jagiellon of the appointment of Bernard Wilczek as Archbishop of Lviv, replacing Archbishop Andrzej, who was transferred to Gniezno. He urges the monarch to extend royal protection and benevolent support to the new pastor and his archdiocese.

Pope Leo X issues decrees regarding the discipline of the clergy, the reform of morals, and the combating of errors and heresies in the Kingdom of Poland, Bohemia, and Hungary. He entrusts the execution and jurisdictional powers to the Archbishop of Gniezno, Jan Łaski.

King Sigismund I the Old, at the General Sejm in Piotrków, settles a dispute between the burghers of Lviv and the Jews, introducing an ordinance limiting the commercial activities of Lviv and suburban Jews. The document prohibits them, among other things, from home-based and itinerant trade, forbids the sale of spices and silk, and strictly regulates the trade in cloth, wax, hides, and oxen.

Aleksander Wronowski intercedes with the Mayor of Lviv on behalf of his comrade Borwacki regarding the release of purchased armor. The matter is urgent, as the banner is expected to report to the military camp near Złoczów within a few days.

The author assures the addressee, whom he calls his patron and friend, of his attachment and readiness to serve his interests, and mentions a letter to the addressee’s father. He refers to “Baron Baschia” and an imminent departure for the Persian court (“partir dans quelques jours pour la Cour de Perse”); he also discusses a letter of recommendation and a cleric, though some context is unclear. The date line on p. 4 appears to read Erzerum?, 1 February 1690. The signature gives “Comte Philippe de…”, with the surname uncertain.

The surviving fragment addresses a Most Honorable Lord Benefactor and refers to a matter connected with a Sejm decision and people identified by official titles. Damage prevents a reliable reconstruction of the substance, sender, or date. The inventory card gives 30 August 1634, but this is not treated as a confirmed letter date.

The writer asks the recipient for goodwill and assistance in a matter connected with judicial or official proceedings. The writer mentions difficulty obtaining justice and seeks support; further details, including the people involved and the subject of the case, are uncertain. The dateline in the text gives 15 January 1575; the place is uncertain.

King Henry Valois, at the coronation sejm, confirms all rights, privileges, immunities, and customs granted to the Lviv Armenian community by his predecessors. He orders royal officials and the municipal authorities of Lviv to strictly observe and protect the Lviv Armenians.

The writer sends the authorities of Lviv a lengthy, formal letter concerning a matter requiring consideration. References to Warsaw, officials, and a request that the matter be taken up are legible, but the substance cannot be confidently reconstructed. There is no reliable dateline in the text.

The writer addresses Forbes concerning an obligation or settlement. The text mentions the Crown Tribunal in Lublin and includes a request about further proceedings. The details and precise course of the matter cannot be confidently reconstructed.

The Vogt and jurors of Kraków, at the request of the Lwów scribe Paweł Szczerbic, certify the custom of electing the college of forty men practiced in Kraków, to which a royal decree for Lwów referred. According to the Kraków practice, twenty members are elected by the guild masters from among the merchants, and another twenty are designated by the merchants from among the guild masters, with the participation of eleven jurors.

A multi-page original letter, mainly in Polish, with a Latin salutation and legal terminology. The writer discusses a matter involving debts or dues, a response to claims, and legal or administrative jurisdiction; the details cannot be fully reconstructed. The inventory card attributes the letter to M. Kozłowski and describes it as addressed to an Austrian minister, but this identification requires verification. The closing gives Świdnica, 27 January 1745.

King Sigismund III Vasa incorporates the provostry in Busk into the office of the archdeacon, renewed at the Lviv cathedral, in order to provide it with proper endowment. At the same time, the monarch renounces the royal right of patronage over this provostry in favor of the Archbishop and the Lviv Chapter.

King Sigismund III Vasa approves the guild articles submitted to him by the brotherhood of coppersmiths from the Halych Suburb in Lviv, regulating the organization of the guild, religious duties, the admission of apprentices and journeymen, the rights of widows, craft standards, and disciplinary penalties. Notes on the reverse indicate the registration (oblatio) of the document in the Lviv castle court records, and its subsequent annulment due to it being obtained without the knowledge of the magistrate, contrary to a royal decree.

King Władysław IV, at the coronation Sejm in Kraków, solemnly confirms all rights, privileges, and estates of the city of Lwów granted by his predecessors, including Duke Władysław of Opole and King Casimir the Great. The monarch places the burghers and their subordinate goods under royal protection and guarantees the inviolability of city boundaries and jurisdiction.

Pope Innocent X informs King Władysław IV of the translation of Mikołaj, Bishop of Wenden, to the Archbishopric of Lwów, left vacant after the death of Archbishop Stanisław. He urges the monarch to extend royal favor and protection to the new metropolitan and the Church of Lwów entrusted to him.

King John II Casimir confirms the general rights, liberties, immunities, and grants of the city of Lwów, transuming the general privilege of King Władysław IV from 1633. The issuer of the document thus rewards the loyalty and dedication shown by the townspeople during the recent Cossack uprising and the Tatar invasion under the city walls.

The Prior of the Krakow Carmelites intervenes with the authorities of Lviv, requesting them to cease hostile actions and the imprisonment of friars seeking to settle in the city. He explains the Provincial's delay due to visitation duties, invokes the former benevolence of the councilors' ancestors, and warns against ecclesiastical penalties for obstructing monastic foundations.

Pope Clement XII commissions the Provost of Kraków and canons Walerian Sutkowski and Jan Humański to examine and definitively resolve a property dispute between Fr. Stanisław Dochkiewicz and the advocate Wojciech Borysławski. The case concerns an appeal against a judgment of the Apostolic Nunciature regarding an unpaid loan and the return of pledged silver and jewels.

Merchant Carl Lorenz Wewer from Baborów certifies that Johann Nikolaus Bosewitz has completed his five-year apprenticeship in the spice trade and releases him from his years of service. The issuer attests to the diligence, loyalty, and discretion of the trained apprentice.

Pope Pius XI, acceding to the request of Archbishop Józef Bilczewski, grants the prelates and canons of the Metropolitan Chapter of Lviv of the Latin Rite the right to wear prelatial attire with ruby-colored distinctions, a violet mantelletta, and a ring outside the celebration of Holy Mass.

Władysław Przyjemski explains to the Voivode of Volhynia that due to the turbulent and difficult course of the sejmik in Środa, he was unable to raise his matter. He declares his unwavering goodwill and advises sending a letter to the entire upcoming commission to successfully resolve the issue there.

John Ritchie informs Arthur Forbes about a conversation with Mr. Gordon, who stated that he would settle the debt only at the Sokal fair. The sender conveys greetings and announces an upcoming trip to Greater Poland.