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Nasza Przeszłość

Vol. 60 (1983): Our Past

Articles

The foundation of the Carmelite monastery in Piasek in Krakow

  • Tadeusz M. Trajdos
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52204/np.1983.60.91-127  [Google Scholar]
Published: 1983-12-30

Abstract

The Carmelite abbey and church, dedicated to the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was founded and built in Krakow in 1395. The brothers arrived from the Czech monastery in Prague two years later, in 1397. It was the earliest abbey of this order within the borders of the Kingdom of Poland. The initiator and guardian of the foundation was Queen Jadwiga, but the entire plan was implemented by her husband, King Władysław II Jagiełło, together with the Krakow bishop Piotr Wysz. The foundation was supported by Pope Boniface IX. The abbey was located in the suburbs of Krakow, called Gairbary (i.e. Tailor's Place), in the parish of the church of St. Stephen. At that time, tailors, German settlers, constituted the majority of the inhabitants of the Garbary suburb. However, the influence of the abbey - both in terms of priestly duties and religious cult - reached far beyond the local Garbary community. The royal gift to the monastery, initially quite modest, was enriched with small landholdings (royal privilege from 1401) within the city limits, as well as annual subsidies from royal institutions (privileges from 1413 and 1430). The Carmelites received these grants on the basis of papal privileges (licenses); they also had the rights to administer sacraments, teach, and take full leave (these privileges were granted to them by popes during the 14th century). By the time of Jagiełło's death (1434), the Carmelites had completed the construction of the sacristy, presbytery and part of the Gothic structure of the nave and aisles; a large monastery building was also built. Until 1434 there were no permanent private donations, apart from a few church building grants and some testamentary provisions. The monastery, brought from Prague to Krakow in 1397, consisted of Saxon Germans and Czechs. Until 1411, it belonged to the Upper German province, and then to the Czech province. After initial education in a monastery, the brothers were sent to England to study philosophy and theology, some also studied at the Krakow Academy. By the end of Jagiełło's reign, most of the convent was Polish. From the very beginning, the monastery had a rich library and scriptorium of liturgical codes. The monastery, in accordance with the rule and spiritual formation, promoted the cult of the Mother of God through the cult of the scapular and Mariological preaching. The Brotherhood of the Scapular was probably founded there in 1411, with the participation of city councilors. The titular feast of the Visitation, enhanced by papal indulgences, has always been celebrated with great solemnity. In addition, the Carmelites had a set of papal privileges regarding the feasts of Our Lady, Theophoria and the Passion of Christ. Jagiełło strongly supported the Carmelite cult of Our Lady. At the same time, he appointed one of the Carmelite monks, Świętosław, as bishop in Lutsk, in Volhynia, in order to strengthen the Polish church organization in the area subordinated to the Archdiocese of Lviv.

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