W sprawie średniowiecznych siedzib rycerskich na Pomorzu Gdańskim oraz pograniczu środkowopomorskim

• Authors: Kuczkowski Andrzej

Title variants

EN

On medieval knights' residences in Gdańsk Pomerania and the central Pomeranian borderland

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

One of the characteristic elements of the medieval cultural landscape of Pomerania are defensive manors in the type of the so-called ‘motte’, i.e. an earthen mound on which a defensive and residential structure was originally located. However, in the course of identifying the objects, it turned out that this form of construction did not occur between Słupsk in the west, Gdańsk in the east, and Człuchów in the south. The researchers who have dealt with this issue date - Leszek Kajzer and Dariusz Piasecki - indicated the natural values of this region as the main reason for this state of affairs. The numerous moraine hills and headlands rivers rivers or waterbodies were supposed to make it unnecessary to build artificial mounds here in order to place manors on them. As a result of tracing the social and political changes, a completely different interpretation of this phenomenon was proposed. Even before the Sobiesławowic dynasty died out, the process of emancipation of knights began. By the time the Teutonic Order occupied Gdańsk Pomerania, no private knight residence had probably been established here, and the process of emancipation of this class had been completely halted. Due to the corporate nature of power in the monastic state, the local knights were completely removed from holding offices, i.e. from any real influence on politics. As a result, they also lost an important source of income, and consequently a significant economic basis. Also, the later policy of the Order towards this social class, mainly in granting land estates based on principles unfavourable from the point of view of inheritance, was not favourable to settlement stability or creation of economic foundations for larger land properties. It seems that these factors were the reason why the Gdańsk knights were unable to build defensive settlements on mounds. Interestingly, this was a kind of rarity not only in this part of Europe, but even in the monastic state itself. In other regions of the Teutonic Order state, such structures were built and operated throughout the Middle Ages.

Keywords

PL

dwory rycerskie; grodziska stożkowate; Pomorze Gdańskie; Pomorze Środkowe

EN

knights' manors; motte; Gdańsk Pomerania; Central Pomerania

• Publisher: Muzeum Archeologiczne w Gdańsku
• Journal: Pomorania Antiqua
• Year: 2024
• Volume: Tom XXXIII
• Pages: 87–114

Contributors

author

Kuczkowski Andrzej