Two Unprinted 14th‑Century Documents from Byszewo (Koronowo)

Abstract

The subject of this study are two hitherto unprinted 14th‑century documents from the collection of the National Archive in Bydgoszcz, from the original parchment documents of the Cistercian monastery in Byszewo (Koronowo). The first one is the document issued on November 25, 1358, possibly in Bydgoszcz, by the Burgrave of  ydgoszcz, Mściwoj from Strońsko, in which he attested that the abbot of the Cistercian monastery in Byszewo (Koronowo), Jan II, and the sołtys of the monastery village Włóki, Stefan, came into an agreement regarding the dispute over the sołectwo in Włóki with Wojciecha, widow of the late Mikołaj, sołtys of the mentioned village, and her children Jan and Anna, who for 7 grzywnas gave up any claims for the sołectwo.
The second document was issued in Bydgoszcz on February 8, 1368, by the Chamberlain of Cracow and Starost of Bydgszcz, Mściwoj from Kwilina, who attested that on behalf of king Casimir the Great he established a boundary line between the village of Knieja, belonging to the abbot of the Cistercian monastery in Byszewo  Koronowo), Jan III, and his convent, and the village of Żołędowo, belonging to the brothers from Służewo: Jan, Wojciech, Jarosław, and Przedpełk. Both documents have been widely commented upon; it was substantiated, e.g., that the issuer of the first document, Mściwoj from Strońsko, was not holding the office of the castellan of Bydgoszcz (that is, a land office), but was the deputy of the Starost – the Burgrave of Bydgszcz.