[Heraldry of the Medieval Spiš Provosts, Primarily in the Light of Sphragistic Material (14th – 16th Century)]

Abstract: Heraldry was an important part of the culture of the medieval European society. This identifying system was originally connected primarily with the military. Later, however, the use of the coats of arms extended to the sphere of the church. In the 14th century, the coats of arms began to be actively used by high-ranking representatives of chapters. This study focuses on the coats of arms used by the medieval provosts of the Spiš collegiate chapter of St. Martin. The study of the church heraldry depends, first of all, on the amount of available sources. In the case of the Spiš provosts, the preserved items are primarily seals and also some artistic items from the architectural context. Until now, the evidence of the use of the coat of arms or the preserved heraldic elements by ten medieval provosts has been found. In most cases, these belong to the hereditary coat of arms of nobility which, by the end of the medieval period, displayed also insignia to indicate rank in a church. Although we are far from complete mapping of all coats of arms which were in use in Spiš, thanks to the preserved sources we can reconstruct their history and development rather well. Several items discussed in this paper have not been published, neither used in history research so far.

Authors: Glejtek, Miroslav

DOI: 10.17846/CL.2021.14.1.65-87

Publication order reference: doc. PhDr. Ing. Miroslav Glejtek, PhD.; University of Hradec Králové, Philosophical Faculty, Department of Auxiliary Sciences of History and Archival Studies, Rokitanského 62, CZ-500 03 Hradec Králové, Czech Republic; email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Faculty of Arts, Department of History, Hodžova 1, 949 74 Nitra, Slovakia; email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; ORCID ID: 0000-0001-5267-593X, OS Researcher ID: AAP-6140-2020, SCOPUS Author ID: 57191337638

Source: Konštatínove listy, 2021, vol.: 14, issue: 1, pages: 65-87 (PDF file)

Keywords: COAT OF ARMS, HERALDRY, SEAL, PROVOST, SPIŠ, THE MIDDLE AGES

Language: SLOVAK