A new town of weavers? Some preliminaries to the socio-economic history of Kazimierz near Cracow

Abstract

This article, inspired by Marek Słoń’s monograph Miasta podwójne i wielokrotne w średniowiecznej Europie [Double and multiple towns in mediaeval Europe], explores some aspects of the development of Kazimierz near Cracow, the fi rst urban commune established by King Casimir (Kazimierz) the Great, which was undoubtedly exceptional among his foundations, since it was named after the King himself (Kazimiria) and it was granted the privilege of using royal symbols (the crowned head and the crowned monogram K) as its emblems. On the basis of available sources the authors claim that the intention of the founder was to create a strong centre of the weaving trade, perhaps modelled on Silesian towns. They argue that plans for establishing a new centre of textile production are evident not only from the town charter but also from the very layout of the new town, which refl ects the leading role assigned to weaving in the early years of the commune. Further arguments for this thesis come from the mediaeval municipal books of Kazimierz and Cracow, which mention weaving and tools needed for this craft. A comparison of those two towns shows that in the fi rst half of the 14th c. there were few weavers in Cracow, in contrast to the second half of this century, when both Cracow and Kazimierz had many of them, with Kazimierz still prevailing. The latter town, unlike Cracow, had a wide production base. The authors also highlight the topography of Kazimierz as an argument for their hypothesis, since its location on an island was very favourable for weaving. Another signifi cant fact is that the Cracow colony of weavers was situated outside the city walls, near St Nicholas’ church, and in the vicinity of the Kazimierz island. The authors’ findings confi rm the leading role of Kazimierz in the development of the weaving trade in the Cracow conurbation, which was intended by the founders of the new commune and fully realized in later years. Thus, although Kazimierz was not a town of weavers in the sense proposed by Marek Słoń, its function in the economic development of the conurbation was similar to that of the towns of weavers in Lower Silesia.