| Abstrakt: |
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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
