FORMULA 'IN COMISSO' IN THE FOURTEENTH-CENTURY CHANCERY OD THE DUKES OF SWIDNICA

• Authors: Jurek T.
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

A presentation of one of the end formulas in documents mentioning a member of the chancery staff who participated in the preparation of a document. As a rule, this formula was composed of: 'qui praesentia habuit in commisso' (or: 'cui praesentia in commisso dedimus') and in German: 'der diesen brief gehabt hat in befehlunge' (or: 'dem dieser brief befohlen wart'). It has been impossible to find the formula's original version outside Silesia, and it was probably devised by Gunter von Biberstein, a scribe in the chancery of the dukes of Wroclaw, who used it for the first time in 1311. Subsequently, it became rapidly disseminated among the ducal chanceries and those of many other signers, both in Silesia and in Poland. Up to now, the significance of this particular formula has been the topic of contradictory views. The author verified it upon the basis of diverse material from the chancery of the rulers of Swidnica: Duke Bolko II (1326-1368) and Duchess Agnieszka (1368-1392), as well as Bohemian royal starostas (since 1392). The formula indicated the person who at the time of the legal action was entrusted with editing a suitable document; consequently, he took upon himself responsibility for the formal correctness of the document and its concurrence with the actual state of things. The 'commisso' formula thus replaced the earlier 'datum per manus' formula, applied with a similar meaning. From the end of the fourteenth century, the 'in commisso' formula mentioned only the head of the chancery, i. e. the chancellor. This fact seems to indicate that it became a mere ornament, which no longer signified practical participation in preparing documents. The conclusions drawn from an examination of the chancery of the dukes of Swidnica can be generalised so as to encompass also various Silesian chanceries. Other end formulas encountered in documents from Swidnica, especially the 'per dominum N' formula, were also analysed. Originally, this formula appeared sporadically, and listed the person who requested that the chancery issue the document; it became more universal at the beginning of the fifteenth century (due to Bohemian impact), when it designated the signer himself.

Keywords

EN

'IN COMISSO' FORMULA; CHANCELLOR; CHANCERY OF THE DUKES OF SWIDNICA; END FORMULAS; SILESIA

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Historii im. Tadeusza Manteuffla PAN w Warszawie
• Journal: Studia Źródłoznawcze. Commentationes
• Year: 2005
• Volume: 43
• Pages: 1-18
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Jurek T.

• T. Jurek, Instytut Historii PAN, ul. Zwierzyniecka 20, 60-814 Poznan, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

06PLAAAA01753776