Published: 2024-11-10

Binding waste in the binding of the Register of births from the parish at Piotrowic near Oświęcim (1687-1750)

Sylwia Konarska-Zimnicka
Saeculum Christianum. Historical Writings
Section: Rozprawy i Artykuły
https://doi.org/10.21697/sc.2024.31.1.9

Abstract

The Diocese Archive in Kielce owns a vast stock of archival documents, including numerous church registers. One of the latest acquisitions is Księga urodzonych [Register of births] from the parish in Piotrowice near Oświęcim (1687-1750). This register of births is typical for the late 17th and the first half of the 18th century, in the form of dudka, in which notes were entered each year from 1685 to 1732. Then, the entries of baptisms end. Later entries are not related to the main purpose of the book. The so-called bookbinding waste paper, which was used to harden the book, also constitutes interesting resource material. For this purpose, three copies of an astrological calendar for the year 1678 were used. Its author was a Krakow scholar named Stanisław Słowakowic. The preserved parts of the pages (some fragments are missing) make it possible to read the symbols used in the calendar. The general condition of the calendars is bad, so that they cannot be read as a whole. However, considering the fact that the calendars used for bookbinding are a very interesting source of knowledge about the daily life of the contemporary society, this discovery is as valuable as the register of births itself. 

Keywords:

the Diocese Archive in Kielce, church registers, astrological calendars, bookbinding waste paper

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Citation rules

Konarska-Zimnicka, S. (2024). Binding waste in the binding of the Register of births from the parish at Piotrowic near Oświęcim (1687-1750). Saeculum Christianum. Historical Writings, 31(1), 125–135. https://doi.org/10.21697/sc.2024.31.1.9

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