Między swoistością a typowością: kult św. Piotra Apostoła w monarchii wczesnopiastowskiej na tle środkowoeuropejskim (do końca XI w.)
Between specificity and typicality: The cult of St Peter the Apostle in the early-Piast monarchy in Central European context (to the end of the 11th century)

Author(s): Maksymilian Sas
Subject(s): Middle Ages, 6th to 12th Centuries, 13th to 14th Centuries, 15th Century
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: medieval history; church history; Christianity in the Middle Ages; religious culture; Poland during the Piast dynasty
Summary/Abstract: In the article an analysis has been conducted of the cult of St Peter the Apostle in the early-Piast state and of the relation of the Piast monarchy to the Holy See. The discussed analysis was carried out against the background of other selected early medieval political organisms located in Central Europe. These include, above all, Bohemia and Great Moravia, as well as other Slavic states of the second half of the 9th century, such as Croatia, Serbia or Bulgaria. Among the discussed-in-detail source materials, which indicate the importance of the cult of the Prince of the Apostles for the Piasts, particular significance has been ascribed to Dagome iudex. The author claims that subordinating the Piast state to St Peter by Mieszko I and his family constitutes an analogy for seeking the protection of St Peter for oneself and for one’s peoples by rulers in power in the second half of the 9th century in Slavic lands. This is why, according to the author, it should be recognized that the donation described in Dagome iudex mainly served the purposes of the Church, that is, obtaining Holy See’s support in stabilizing and developing Church structures in the territory of the Piast state. In the author’s opinion, the joint interpretation of the discussed manifestations of St Peter’s cult allows to prove the thesis that the cult of the Prince of the Apostles was important for the Piasts, as it determined the specific features of the politico-religious ideology of the Polish monarchy in Central European context.

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