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132/1/47 · 47-02

Inheritance of a locksmith for the completion of the town hall tower

Sigismund III Vasa Mayor and councilors of Lwów
April 9, 1622 · Warsaw

The King allocates the estate of a locksmith who died without issue to the completion of the town hall tower. He requires the funds to be used for the public good and accounted for before commissioners.

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Translation / modern text

Sigismund III, by the grace of God, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia, Prussia, Masovia, Samogitia, and Livonia, and hereditary King of the Swedes, Goths, and Vandals. Honorable and illustrious, our faithful and dear ones! We support all just means serving the defense and embellishment of our city of Lwów. We have received news from you regarding the death without issue of a certain Mathiasz Majowski, a locksmith in the Halicz Suburb. We therefore permit you to take over the management of the movable and immovable property left by him, which, by virtue of the privilege granted to the city and our decree, has come under our disposal. All money obtained from it, as well as the cash left behind, shall be allocated to the completion of the construction of the town hall tower. When selling or otherwise disposing of this property, left to your discretion, ensure that it serves the public good. Do not be guided by considerations for private individuals, nor grant them any benefits from this property. In due time, you will be obliged to render an account of this before our commissioners, just as with other public revenues. We wish you good health. Given in Warsaw on April 9, 1622, in the thirty-fifth year of our reign in Poland and the twenty-ninth in Sweden. Sigismund, King. Address: To the honorable and illustrious mayor and councilors of our city of Lwów, our faithful and dear ones.

Original wording — transcription

Sigismundus III Dei gratia Rex Poloniae Magnus Dux Lithuaniae Russiae Prussiae Masoviae Samogitiae Livoniaeque nec non Suecorum Gottorum Vandalorum haereditarius Rex. Spectabiles et famati, fideles nobis dilecti. Nie jesteśmy od wszelakich sposobów słusznych, które by do obrony i ozdoby miasta naszego Lwowa należały. Przeto za wzięciem wiadomości od Wierności Waszych o zejściu z tego świata steriliter niejakiego Mathiasza Maiowskiego, ślusarza na Przedmieściu Halickim, pozwalamy, aby dobra po nim pozostałe, tak ruchome jako i nieruchome, do dispositii naszej przypadłe wedle przywileju miastu tamtemu nadanego i decretu naszego, wzięli Wierności Wasze w dispositią swoję. A wszystko to, co za nie przyjdzie, i osobno też co gotowizny było, obrócicie Wierności Wasze na dokonanie fabryki wieże ratusznej, przestrzegając tego bądź w przedaniu, bądź w jakimkolwiek szafunku tych dóbr, co będzie in arbitrio Wierności Waszych, aby wyszły na dobro pospolite, nie mając respektu ani czyniąc nimi dogody żadnej prywatnym osobom. Z czego czasu swego, jako i z inszych publicznych dochodów, przed kommisarzami naszemi uczynić Wierności Wasze rachunek będą powinni. Życzymy przy tym Wiernościom Waszym dobrego zdrowia. Dan w Warszawie dnia IX miesiąca kwietnia Roku Pańskiego MDCXXII, panowania królestw naszych polskiego XXXV a szwedzkiego XXIX roku. Sigismundus Rex. [Adres:] Spectabilibus et famatis Proconsuli et Consulibus civitatis nostrae Leopoliensis, fidelibus nobis dilectis.

Reading notes

Steriliter means without issue; it does not prove the absence of all relatives. 'Fabryka' here means construction, not an industrial plant. The name is left as Mathiasz, as the inventory lists Mateusz, and identification requires verification; the surname in the source is Maiowski. No sum or value of the estate is provided. Modernized transcription, abbreviations expanded; the copy on p. 4 does not constitute a separate letter. Independent verification of the entire original, address, and copy: the sense of the translation confirmed; date IX April MDCXXII and years XXXV/XXIX. Mathiasz is a form of the name corresponding to Maciej, not necessarily Mateusz from the inventory description; the source spelling has been retained.

Location in scan: 132/1/47, PDF p. 2: letter; p. 3: address; p. 4: later copy

Scope of the edition: translation of the entire content; original compared with a later copy

ekstrakcja: 2026-10-13

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