Source catalogue

Ferdinand Engelhardt informs about sending a shipment of cloth to Jarosław via carters Jan Oslik and Tomasz Kiełbika. He also requests the collection of an outstanding debt of 210 thalers from Andreas Boyd before releasing his bond.

Ferdinand Engelhardt confirms receipt of a letter with a debt note for 500 thalers and asks Arthur Forbes to forward correspondence and pay 50 thalers to Ensign Georg Albrecht von Deuendiger, stationed in Yampil. He advises a meticulous verification of the soldier's identity based on four attached questions before making the payment to avoid fraud.

King Sigismund II Augustus confirms and transumes four privileges granted by kings Casimir Jagiellon and Sigismund I to the shoemakers' guild of the city of Lwów. These concern the limitation of the number of shoemakers in the castle suburb to two masters, the prohibition of practicing the shoemaking craft in noble manors outside the city walls, the rules for the sale of hides by tanners, and the prohibition of purchasing hides before the city gates.

Father Rajmund Jezierski apologizes to the Lviv Magistrate for his inability to arrive in person due to his duties regarding the chapter and the Jews. He asks the councilors to kindly accept the bearer of the letter, Father Kotowski, for the position left by the recently deceased Father Bogacki.

King Sigismund II Augustus, at the general sejm in Kraków, approves a document from the Lwów assessors dated 1554, certifying the sale of a hide of arable land with meadows and thickets in the village of Kleparów to the peasant Grzegorz Sołtys by Stanisław Kmitowicz and Barbara and Katarzyna Kmitówna. The issued diploma ensures the buyer and his heirs perpetual and inviolable ownership rights to the acquired land.

Hieronim Maciej Jełowicki addresses the Lviv Magistrate with a humble request to be granted the cathedral rectory in the event of a vacancy in this benefice. He declares lifelong gratitude and readiness to fulfill all instructions of the municipal authorities.

King Sigismund II Augustus confirms to Jan Krowicki and the inhabitants of the jurisdiction of the Church of St. John the Baptist in the suburbs of Lwów the ancient privileges of kings and officials regarding Armenian law and exemptions from castle burdens. Furthermore, the monarch permits the local Armenian craftsmen to freely practice all crafts according to ancient custom.

King Sigismund Augustus adjudicates the ownership of the Brzuchowice estate, including the mill, to the city of Lwów and confirms municipal jurisdiction over the villages of Brzuchowice and Hołosko. He ensures the successors of Marcin Hanel the right to collect income from the Hołosko estate, while maintaining traditional labor services (szarwarki) owed to the city.

King Sigismund Augustus resolves a dispute between the city authorities of Lviv and the butchers' guild, confirming a 1550 agreement regulating meat trade rules on free market days. At the same time, the monarch reserves the exclusive right of Lviv butchers to sell meat outside designated market days and cancels mutual court costs for both parties.

Wacław Rzewuski expresses regret over the harm suffered by the President of Lviv and assures his support for the city's rights. At the same time, he strongly advises the magistrate to reach a settlement to prevent burdensome and costly tribunal proceedings.

Field Hetman of the Crown Wacław Rzewuski thanks the authorities of Lviv for securing a criminal sent to the city by the Chełm bailiff. He requests his final extradition in accordance with the latest order of the Crown Treasurer.

Stanisław Jabłonowski informs the President of Lwów that the letter concerning city land near the ramparts arrived after the general sejmik, which prevents him from officially engaging in the dispute with the Discalced Carmelites. He only authorizes the commandant to defend the ramparts and declares his readiness to assist the city on other occasions.

Podolian Voivode Michał Rzewuski asks the President of Lwów for assistance in leasing the suburban village of Biłohorszcze based on a royal rescript. In return, he promises strict adherence to the contract terms and constant goodwill and gratitude toward the municipal authorities.

The Voivode of Podolia, Michał Rzewuski, renews his request to the Mayor and Councilors of Lviv to grant the vacant Lviv parish to his son, the Abbot. In return for their favor, he declares his gratitude and readiness to provide any services for the benefit of the city.

King Sigismund Augustus grants to the Voivode of Sandomierz, Spytek Jordan of Zakliczyn, and his successors, a house in Przemyśl that had fallen to the Crown by right of escheat. The grant is a perpetual donation with full rights to freely dispose of the property.

King Sigismund Augustus grants the inhabitants of the village of Krotoszyn, belonging to the Dominican convent in Lviv, the perpetual right to collect dry and fallen wood for fuel in the royal forest of Derewacz. He simultaneously orders the Starosta of Lviv, Piotr Barzy, and his successors not to infringe upon this right.

King Sigismund II Augustus orders all Armenians residing in Lviv to unconditionally submit to Armenian law and jurisdiction and to bear municipal burdens equally. The document invalidates all existing and future letters exempting them from this jurisdiction.

King Sigismund II Augustus confirms in the form of a transsumpt the privilege of Sigismund I the Old issued in 1535 for Lviv. According to its content, files of appeal cases are to be delivered to the royal court exclusively by a special municipal messenger paid by the appealing party.

Ignacy Rzeszowski SJ informs the authorities of Lwów about the delivery of the letters entrusted to him and his personal intercession with the recipients regarding the city's affairs. He attaches the obtained informative response to the letter and declares his continued readiness to serve.

King Sigismund II Augustus resolves a dispute between Lublin councilor Maciej Kasprowicz and the municipal authorities of Lwów, upholding the privileges of the citizens of Lwów to be judged exclusively within the borders of the Crown. The monarch rules that in cases subject to Magdeburg law, a summons 'by one edict for three' does not constitute a peremptory term, but merely a first ordinary summons to court.

Andrzej Żydowski informs the Voivode of Ruthenia about the disruption of the sejmik by the party unable to maintain the previous parliamentary resolutions. The author anticipates the convocation of another assembly and requests further, more detailed instructions.

King Sigismund Augustus clarifies and confirms the privilege of his father, stipulating that appeal cases from the municipal courts of Lwów, sent in sealed scrolls by a designated messenger, are to be heard by the royal court regardless of general adjournments (limitations). This principle was extended to persons of all estates and jurisdictions litigating before the Lwów courts.

Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski approves the arrest by the Lwów magistrate of a Jew suspected of espionage for Turkey and orders his continued detention. He also recommends finding a translator to read the correspondence seized from the arrested man, which was being sent to Constantinople.

Stanisław Żółkiewski orders the authorities of Lwów to keep a Jew suspected of spying for Turkey in custody until a decision from the King arrives. He assures them that upon receiving the monarch's instructions, he will notify the councilors and, if necessary, send for the prisoner.

Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski commends the arrest in Lviv of a Jewish messenger suspected of espionage for Constantinople and announces he will present the matter to the King. He orders the councilors to find translators to read the detainee's intercepted correspondence.

Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski warns the Lwów councilors about a Jew suspected of passing information to Constantinople under the pretext of trading in jewels. He orders him to be kept under guard in the city until royal instructions regarding his case arrive.

The document resolves a jurisdictional dispute between the authorities of Lviv and the Armenian community, defining the scope of competence of the municipal court and the Armenian court in criminal and property cases. The King confirms the right of the Armenians to elect twelve seniors to adjudicate in rotation with the wójt (advocatus) and regulates issues of municipal order and the taking of oaths.

King Sigismund II Augustus confirms the submitted articles and legal order of the Lwów soap-makers' guild, previously approved by the councillors of the city of Lwów in 1561.

King Sigismund II Augustus confirms the right of the Lviv Metropolitan Chapter to collect bridge and causeway tolls in the village of Wierzbiż, originally granted by Władysław Jagiełło, and establishes a detailed tariff of fees intended for necessary repairs of roads, causeways, and bridges.

Lieutenant M. Zabiełło, acting on behalf of the absent burgrave, requests the President of Lwów to stay the execution of a decree concerning Mr. Gniewczyński and a Jewish haberdasher until his superior returns. He explains that the money deposited in this matter is held at the burgrave's office and he does not have personal access to it.

King Sigismund II Augustus approves an entry from the Piotrków municipal council books of 1538 concerning the sale of a house with a plot and garden behind the Kraków Gate in Piotrków by the altarist Jan Kraska to the councilors and mayor of the city of Lwów. The buyers were obliged to pay an annual rent of 15 groszy to the aforementioned altar on the feast of St. Matthew.

Kajetan Zabielski presents a calculation for the distribution of rent from sums invested with the Jews of Przemyśl and requests the transfer of funds needed for ongoing construction work. Due to his duties at the factory, he declines to travel to Przemyśl, recommending that legal action be taken against the Jews in the consistory.

King Sigismund II Augustus pledges on his royal word that for a period of twelve years he will neither redeem nor reclaim from the metropolitan chapter in Lviv the villages of Honiatycze and Czerkasy in the Szczerzec district. He confirms the inviolability of the peaceful possession of these estates along with all benefits until the expiration of this term.

Zawadzki informs the Voivode about the transfer of the assignment to the saltworks administration and the alarm among the subjects in the starosty, who are paying rents and grain taxes with resistance. He appeals for orders to be issued to the banner command to show consideration for the poor population and mentions current castle and financial matters.

The author explains his absence by the necessity of performing service and awaiting the monarch's actions. He also reports on the activities of subordinates, the observation of the company, and the inability to disclose the intentions of the Lviv Master of the Hunt.

Zawadzki informs the Voivode about the completion of orders in Mościska, the preparation of provisions, and the sending back of a horse. He also reports that the Sasiecki lease matters have been settled by Mr. Winiawski, sends a copy of the marriage contract/agreement, and announces his prompt return to Lwów.

The Lwów councilors, acting as administrators of the Holy Spirit Hospital, grant the miller Maciej Malski and his wife Katarzyna a sum of 30 grzywnas on the third part of a newly built mill on the Pełtew River in the village of Malechów, and grant them possession and use of this part. The document reserves the life rights of Wawrzyniec Morawiński and his wife Anna to the remaining two parts of the mill and imposes on Maciej Malski the obligation to maintain the entire facility in the future.

Apostolic Nuncio Gian Francesco Commendone restores the dignity of Dean in the Metropolitan Chapter of Lviv, ordering the election of a Dean from among the local canons. Furthermore, he incorporates the Church of St. John outside the walls of Lviv, along with all its goods and revenues, into the capitular table to serve as an endowment for the dignity.

King Sigismund II Augustus re-incorporates the villages of Zubrza and Sichów into the Magdeburg law of the city of Lwów, confirming their status following verification at the execution sejm. The document exempts these estates from land jurisdiction, land taxes, and military obligations, obliging them only to pay the 'szos' tax along with the city.

Chancellor Jakub Zadzik informs the authorities of Lviv about the conclusion of a trade agreement with the Jews of Lviv by the city's delegates in Warsaw, which took place at the King's request and with the Chancellor's intercession. He simultaneously assures the councilors that the concluded agreement in no way violates the city's rights or privileges.

Crown Chancellor Jakub Zadzik renews his intercession with the Lviv magistrate, supporting a second royal mandate ordering the conclusion of a trade agreement with the Jews. He draws attention to the burdens borne by the Jews and the losses suffered by the city due to the lack of an official contract regulating their activities.

King Sigismund II Augustus exempts the burghers of Lwów from the general duty of providing transport for royal messengers, transferring this burden to the castle villages. At the same time, he orders the payment of 400 florins from the 'szos' tax to the Crown Treasury, leaving the remainder for the city's needs.

Grzegorz Zalykiewicz complains to the President of Lviv about the unlawful harassment of his servants and the seizure of meat purchased in Zamarstynów for household needs. The author asks for justice and an order to return the confiscated food.

Grzegorz Zadykiewicz explains to the President of Lwów that he purchased meat solely for his own and his brother's needs, to which the butchers' guild should have no claim. He requests the municipal authorities to release him from further trouble and proceedings in this matter.

King Sigismund II Augustus exempts the Lviv burghers affected by a recent city fire from all fees, taxes, and contributions for a period of eight years, to facilitate the rebuilding of their homes and the restoration of Lviv's former splendor. At the same time, he orders the tax collectors of the Ruthenian lands to strictly observe this relief under penalty of royal disfavor.

King Sigismund II Augustus confirms the right of the Lviv Chapter to collect the third measure from the mill at the Halych Gate in Lviv for a period of thirty years. After this time has elapsed and the pledge sum has been repaid, the mill is to fully return to royal administration.

King Sigismund II Augustus exempts the Lviv town hall building from the obligation of hosting land courts, noble assemblies, and commission courts, reserving it exclusively for the office and judiciary of municipal law. The decision is justified by the cramped conditions of the town hall premises and the necessity for the councilors to exercise authority without interference in a multicultural city burdened with numerous duties.

Bishop Andrzej Stanisław Załuski sends a letter to the Lviv magistrate addressed to the Crown Cup-bearer, calling for the cessation of violent actions and urging that claims against the provost be directed through legal channels. He instructs the city authorities to resolve the case in a summary proceeding, in accordance with law and justice, once it is brought before the court.

Chancellor Andrzej Stanisław Załuski sends expressions of sympathy to the Lviv magistrate regarding the adversities they are facing and assures them of the King's renewed protection. He also informs them that he has written to the Hetman with instructions to ensure the full security of the city.

Bishop and Chancellor Andrzej Stanisław Załuski informs the authorities of Lwów about his interventions against unlawful jurisdictions created by the managers of noble palaces and his order to stop improper summons in the castle court. He also addresses the issue of the Radom Tribunal's decree on 'condescensio', advising to seek legal counsel and to win over the commissioners.