Nieznane groby średniowiecznych duchownych z kolegiaty pw. św. św. Piotra i Pawła w Kruszwicy
Unknown Tombs of Mediaeval Clergymen from the Collegiate Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Kruszwica

Summary/Abstract: In 1960–1961 excavations were conducted in the interior of the collegiate church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Kruszwica as part of studies conducted by the Management for Research on the Beginnings of the Polish State. The research was supervised by Ewa Springer, M.A. Among 326 tombs explored in the interior of the building two, containing coffins, were opened but, unfortunately, had been previously tampered with and partly raided. One of the tombs (no. 24/II) contained a silver chalice with a paten and fragments of silk tape with an embroidered inscription, while the other (no. 70/VII) – an embroidered stole. The form of the chalice and the paten, the shape of the letters of the embroidered inscription, and the embroidery on the stole showing clergymen carrying two-horned mitres make it possible to date the Kruszwica monuments as twelfth-century. Their presence in tombs located in the Kruszwica collegiate church would indicate the high status within the Church hierarchy of the men buried there. Regrettably, both tombs were robbed of part of their outfitting and thus it is impossible to exclude that originally they also contained pastorals and rings.In view of the scarcity of the preserved sources with diverse and enigmatic contents it is difficult to recreate the history of the church of St. Peter in Kruszwica as well as that of the Kruszwica bishopric. Undoubtedly, in the first half of the twelfth century Kruszwica was the seat of bishops and the church of St. Peter was the burial site of the local prelates.

• Details
• Contents