Privilege of King Sigismund III Vasa granting the city of Lwów the perpetual right to collect the 'sztukowe' and 'węzłowe' duties

[Plica:] Privilege for the city of Lwów regarding the tax, 'sztukowe' and 'węzłowe'. [Invocation and intitulation:] [Sigismund] III, by the grace of God, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia, Prussia, Masovia, Samogitia, Livonia, and also hereditary King of the Swedes, Goths, and Vandals. [Main text:] We hereby announce to all and everyone concerned that We hold Our City of Lwów in such benevolence that whatever may come from Us to uplift its affairs, impaired and diminished by the unkindness of times, as well as to adorn and fortify the said City, We willingly desire that the proofs of Our favor be shown to it. For when in the year of our Lord 1621 We arrived at that city of Ours, Lwów, against the Turk with a general expedition of the entire knightly estate, and saw the devastation of the burghers and other goods belonging to the city council, destroyed by fire and sword both by Tatar raids and by soldiers' looting, as well as the new fortification around the said City, begun at no small cost, presented to Us by Our councilors and burghers, therefore, by Our document, We graciously permitted the collection from all kinds and types of goods of [a duty] per piece, commonly called 'sztukowe' or 'węzłowe', for the above and other reasons specified therein, justly and rightly moving Our mind, only for a period of twenty years, so that the state of the City and the burghers could in some way find relief and maintain its existence. Considering, therefore, the favor of the said City towards Us and the Commonwealth, which, although in many duties and its merits, and especially in the submission of a significant sum of money for the payment of wages to the Prussian army, which was already intending to raise a confederation, it amply testified to the commissioners appointed to Lwów last year by Us, to Us and the Commonwealth of our Kingdom; and in these its highly lamentable affairs, it undertook nothing foreign or contrary to the public cause, and after frequent Tatar raids has not yet returned to strength, We deemed it necessary to ensure that the begun fortifications be continued, so that at the request made by certain of Our advisors, out of special generosity, for an eternal memory of the matter, by this declaratory diploma [...] We might come to the aid of both the City itself and Our burghers. Therefore We, taking into account how much our city of Lwów suffers due to its [border] location and, with exhausted goods, remains in poverty, yet always desires to serve Us and our Commonwealth, give and for eternal times permit to the same mayor, councilors, reeve, jurors, and the entire community of our city of Lwów, that from all merchants, both foreign and of the Crown, of any kind and of any estate, rite, and condition of people (except for the knightly estate), or rather from their goods of all kinds and types, according to pieces commonly called 'sztukowe' or 'węzłowe', which are usually brought to and taken from the City of Lwów, namely from a bale, pack, chest, barrel, bundle, knot, piece, mass, sack, or however they are or will be called by name, as well as from all grain of the measure commonly called 'kłoda', taken out of the City by any sellers [...] six groschen each; then from Lwów beer, from each vessel commonly called 'barcha', one shilling each, and from mead, one groschen each, they shall collect and levy. Furthermore, foreign merchants shall pay and settle one groschen for individual bolts of cloth, or for a half-piece or bolt of cloth due to the measures, commonly 'strycholne', according to the custom of other cities, by the power of this Our diploma forever. The burghers and our inhabitants of Lwów shall be obliged and compelled to such a tribute from pieces only for the actual and final settlement of public debts [...]. Which income, specified and defined in the manner described above, two parts for the use and needs of the City, and the third part for the support and remuneration of the efforts of the city council, which is accustomed to undertake and endure daily and nightly labors for the good management of the City to the detriment of its own property and home, as stated above, shall for eternal times accrue and be applied. In witness whereof, We have ordered this document signed by Our hand to be strengthened with the seal of the Kingdom. Given in Warsaw at the General Sejm of the Kingdom, on the 28th day of March, in the year of our Lord 1632, of our reign in Poland the 45th, and in Sweden the 39th year. [Royal signature:] Sigismund King. [Under the plica:] Jakub Maksymilian Fredro, Secretary of His Royal Majesty, by his own hand. [Verso:] [Registry/Chancellery note:] Registered [Signature:] Jakub Maksymilian Fredro, Secretary of HRM. [Archival descriptions:] Privilege of Sigismund III. Regarding city income from 'sztukowe' donated forever, A.D. 1632. S No: Ser 10. ard. N. 33. 43. No 10. 1632.

[Plica:] Przywiley Miastu Lwowu na Taxę, Sztukowe tudzież węzłowe. [Invocatio i intibulatio:] [Sigismundus] III DEI GRA[TIA] REX POLONIAE, MAGNUS DVX LITHVA[NIAE], RVS[SIAE], PRVS[SIAE], MASOVIAE, SAMOGI[TIAE], LIVON[IAE]QVE, NECN[ON] SVEC[ORVM], GOTO[RVM], VANDALLO[RVM]QVE HAEREDITARIVS REX. [Tekst główny:] Significamus praesentibus literis nostris quorum intereft universis & singulis. Ea nos prosequi benignitate, Civitatem Nostram Leopolien[sem], ut quicquid a nobis proficisci potest, ad sublevandas illius rationes temporum iniuria attritas, & attenuatas, tum pro eadem Civitate ornanda, muniendaque libenter, & eo beneficentiae n[ost]rae argumenta ipsi declarari velimus. Cum autem in Anno D[omi]ni MDCXX primo, in eam Civitatem n[ost]ram Leopolien[sem] adversus Turcam, cum Generali totius Equestris Ordinis expeditione, venissemus, & desolationem Civium, aliorumque ad residentiam Officii Consularis spectantium bonorum, tam per incursiones Tartarorum, igne ferroque quam etiam per militum devastatiōem depopulator[um], necnon novam munitionem, circa eandem Civitatem, non sine mediocri sumptu inchoatā per Consiliarios & Cives n[ost]ros expositam, habuissemus, ac proinde diploma n[ost]rūm super exactionem, ab omnis generis & speciei mercibus, Frussia, vulgo Sztukowe, seu Wezlowe nuncupati, ex praemissis alijsque rationibus ibidem specificatis, animum n[ost]rum iure meritoq[ue] movētibus, ad decursum viginti annorum tantum, ut status Civitatis & Civium quoquo modo sublevari, & in statu suo permanere possit, benigne concessissemus. Considerata itaq[ue] eius Civitatis erga Nos & Rempublicam propensione, quam etsi in multis Officiis beneq[ue] meritis suis, potissimum autem in cōferenda insigni pecunia Summa, ad solutionem stipendior[um] militi Prussico iam ipsa confoederōm molienti praestandam, Commissariis n[ost]ris Leopoliem anno p[ro]x[im]e praeterito per Nos designatis, Nobis & Reipublicae Regni n[ost]ri, abunde testata est, atq[ue] alienū nec publico contrariū rebuss, suis sane calamitosissimis, necdum post frequentes Tartaror[um] incursiones sibi cōsuluit, munitioneq[ue] cœpta cōtinuari faciendū Nobis esse duximus, ut ad supplicōem per certos Consiliarios n[ost]ros, tam ipsius Civitatis quam Civium n[ost]rorum singulari liberalitate ad perpetuam rei memoriam per Diploma p[rae]sens antecessoris n[ost]ri declaratoriu[m], subveniremus. Proinde Nos maximam Civitatis n[ost]rae Leopolien[sis] pati finitimam & exhaustis bonis suis destituta atq[ue] de Nobis ac Republica n[ost]ra semper mereri affecta ration[em] habēn[tes], eisdem Proconsuli, Cōsulibus, Advocato, Scabinis, totiq[ue] communitati Civitatis n[ost]rae Leopolien[sis], damus & temporibus perpetuis cocedimus, ut ab ovibus Mercatoribus tam externis, quàm Regnicolis, quibususis & cuiuscunq[ue] status, ritus, & cōditionis hominibus (exceptis Equestris Ordinis) seu potius ab eor[um] mercibus, omnis generis & speciei per Frusta vulgò Sztukowe, seu Węzłowe dicta, quæcunq[ue] ipse in Civitatem Leopolien[sem] advehi, & euahi solitis videlicet od Belli, Fassy, skrzynie, Beczkę, kity, Węzła, Sztuki, Massy, Wantucha, aut quecunq[ue] nōe & vocabulo nuncupat[ur] & nūcupādis tum & a cuiusuis frumenti tunna, vulgo Kłoda dicta, per quosuis venditores Christiani induūtes extra Civitatem evahi solita per grossos Sex, Deinde vero a Cervisia Leopoliense, a quolibet vase vulgo Barcha dict[o] per unum solidum, à muls[o] vero seu Medone, per unum grofsum percipiant & exigant. Porro Mercatores externi a singulis panni staminibus, als od Pulssuczka, siue Postawa Sukna respectu mensurarum vulgo Strycholne, iuxta meram aliar[um] Civitatum, per vnum grofsum exigere p[rae]ntis Diplomatici nri in perpetuum pendeat, ac persoluent. Caeterū Ciues & incolae nri Leopolien[ses] ab eiusmodi frustor[um] cōtributione tantum ad debetor[um] publico nec contra clen[?] realem & finalem exolutione tenebuntur eruntq[ue] adstricti. Quos quidem prouētus modo suprascripto recensitor[um], & specificatorum dua quidem partes pro usu & necessitate Civitatis, tertia vero pars pro consolatione & conuentione labor[um] Magistratus Officii Consularis, qui labores diurnos & nocturnos circa bonum regimen Civitatis cūndispendio rei suae familiaris ac domestica suscipere ac tollerare solet, ipa vt praetactū est in perpetuu cedent et conferentur. In cuius rei fidem p[rae]sentes manu n[ost]ra subscriptas sigillo Regni communiri iussimus. Datum Varsauiae in Conventu Regni Gn[e]ali die XXVIIIa Mensis Martij Anno D[omi]ni MDCXXXII Regnor[um] n[ost]ror[um] Poloniae XXXXVto, Sueciae XXXIXo Anno. [Podpis królewski:] Sigismundus Rex. [Pod plicą:] Iacobus Maximilianus Fredro Secret[arius] Regiae M[ajes]tis m[anu] p[ropria] [Verso:] [Nota registratury/kancelarii:] R[egistrata] [Podpis:] Iac. Max. Fredro S.R.M. [Opisy archiwalne:] Privil[egi]um Sigismundi 3tij. Ex parte Proventuum Civilis Sztukowe in perpetuum donati A.D. 1632. S Nro: Ser 10. ard. N. 33. 43. № 10. 1632