Polska prowincja paulinów od XVII wieku do 1864 roku : dzieje gospodarcze: klasztor na Jasnej Górze w Częstochowie

Abstract

The Pauline Monastery in Jasna Góra was founded by Prince Władysław Opolczyk in 1382. Within a short time, Jasna Góra became a popular place of pilgrimage for the faithful who came to worship the Blessed Mother depicted in the painting in the monastery chapel. Because of the development of the pilgrimage phenomenon, the sanctuary and the monastery quickly rose to fame, which brought about numerous religious and economic privileges. In order to undertake economic activity, the monastery and sanctuary had to have economic foundations. The most significant role in maintaining the institution was performed by the agricultural estates received by the Paulines from the founders and donors. However, the monks themselves also bought land estates or were involved in settlement activities. The agricultural estates owned by the Jasna Góra monastery were divided into formations called klucz. The Paulines of Jasna Góra were also engaged in farming activities in the estates that were in their possession temporarily — given to them as a pledge, i.e. guarantee of financial loans. The Paulines of Jasna Góra also received two items of klucz formations from the endowment by the Sejm of the Republic of Poland. These were the Kłobuck and Brzeźnica starostship (district of starostwo), which constituted the financial base for the maintaining of the Jasna Góra fortress. In total, the monks were in possession of 4 cities and 83 villages and other settlement units. It must be remembered, however, that not all the properties were owned by the Pauline monks at the same time. The largest amount of properties was under the ownership of the Paulines in the 18th century. As a result of the Second Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the areas comprising the properties of the monastery became in the possession of Prussia. In 1796—1798, the Prussian administration took over all of the monastic properties. However, owing to the great importance of the sanctuary to the society, the Prussian king Frederick William III allowed the Paulines to hold some of the existing properties on a long-term lease. The confiscation carried out by the Prussians brought on a huge loss to the Jasna Góra monastery. The number of villages fell from 92 in 1796 to 7 after the confiscation. The monastery farming was held in a manor, that is, a farm maintained by the administration, serfs and wage hired workers. The monastery was run by the prior, who was in charge of dealing with any issues related to the economic activity of the monastery. However, the prior’s decisions were controlled by the provincial and religious authorities through systematic visits and reports during the electoral chapter. In economic matters, the prior was supported by the sub-prior and the sacristan. Due to the fact that the Jasna Góra monastery had numerous estates, many of them located far away from the monastery, after the year of 1643, the prior was also supported by the collaborators, such as a provisor, dispensator (prosecutor) and depositary. However, from 1683, all of the land estates were run by the general administrator of the properties, who was subject to the prior. This position was abolished quite quickly, however the position of general administrator of the Jasna Góra estates was reappointed again by the decision of the monastic chapter of 1719. The individual items of klucz formations were managed by officials usually appointed from among the monks, and only on two occasions they were run by lay persons. Such an organisation of the economic management of the monastery lasted until 1795. However, after the confiscation carried out by the Prussian authorities in the 1890s, the monastery properties remained under the direct administration of the prior, supported by the sub-prior, sacristan, prosecutor and depositary. Among the most outstanding priors in the 17th and 18th centuries were Tobiasz Czechowicz, Eusebius Najman, Konstanty Moszyński, Augustyn Kordecki, Aleksy Obrycki, Patrycjusz Mniński, Mateusz Łękawski, and in the 19th century — Aleksy Zięba and Mateusz Knefliński. In the 17th and 18th centuries, some of the estates of the Jasna Góra monastery were leased to lay people. The lease period ranged from 1 to 3 years. Sometimes the lease contracts with the same persons were renewed several times in a row. As a rule, the lease was hold on single villages or some of the klucz formations. Only on one occasion, in the years 1754—1757, the entire starostship of Brzeźnica was leased to Marianna and Józef Wiener. In the 19th century, the priors leased small allotments, e.g. gardens, to peasants. The organisation of work in the Jasna Góra estates did not diverge from the prevailing rules of the then Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Paulines employed retainers and wage workers, and their number was depended on the demand for work in a given year. In the monastery’s estates, vicecapitaneuses (podstarościowie), economs, writers, dispensers (szafarze), stewards (włodarze), tallymen (karbowi), husbandmen (gospodarze), housekeepers (gospodynie), servants, cooks and other staff were taken on, while in the monastery and in the church, an organist, conductor and musicians were employed. Additional employees were employed in the printing house and pharmacy. The salary was paid in kind, i.e. corn, beer, booze, clothing, shoes and money. Gradually, in the 18th and 19th centuries, the importance of remuneration in money was increasing, and became dominant in the second half of the 19th century. Nevertheless, the most important role in the Jasna Góra properties was played by the forced labour of serfs, who were peasants living in the individual land estates. The serfdom appeared in the form of a yoke (sprzężaj), i.e. work carried out on foot with a team of oxen or horses, usually with a sickle, scythe or other field tools. The amount of the serf labour was dependent on the size of the allotment of the given peasant, but the peasants who owed the same chunk of area were not always obliged to the same yoke. It depended on the economic conditions in a given year and on the specific economic situation of a given farmer. In addition to the duties of serfdom, the subjects paid levy in poultry and performed various services and labor, among others transport services, szarawarki (12 days of labour concerning maintaining roads and dykes), shearing sheep, threshing grain, scything meadows, cleaning chimneys, feeding cattle and pigs, or keeping guard (watchman). The social structure of the subjects of the monastery was characteristic of the period of feudalism. The villages were inhabited by peasants (kmiecie), sub-peasants (półkmiecie), farmers (zagrodnicy), cottagers (chałupnicy), innkeepers, millers, village craftsmen, recruits (wybrańcy), forest service and ground rent farmers. In the years 1622—1798, the area of farms ranged between 70.66 and 1027.40 morgens (morga / jutrzyna), whereas the average chunk per 1 farm was 78.46 morgens, that is 2.62 chełmiński łan. It appears that the farm grounds belonging to the Jasna Góra monastery were relatively small. However, in the years 1798—1864, the only farm that remained in hand of the Jasna Góra convent comprised 1360.80 morgens, i.e. 5.36 of chełmiński łan, of cultivated area. Up to 1798, the total area of farms comprised about 6000 morgens, i.e. about 200 chełmiński łan. Larger estates belonged to Cistercian monasteries in Henryków, Trzebnica, and Krzeszów in Silesia. At the time when the Prussian state annexed the monastery property in 1798, the Paulines of Jasna Góra were in the possession of merely 1360.80 morgens, i.e. 5.36 of chełmiński łan. The numbers illustrate enormous material losses, which amounted to 3866.30 morgens. The crops grown in the Jasna Góra farms were rye, oats, buckwheat, barley, millet, potatoes, peas, flax, rape, hemp, clover, vetch and potatoes, whereas in the gardens they grow carrots, beetroots and other plants. The most of the produced yield was used for growing, consumption, ordynaria (renumeration for workers paid in kind), for alcohol production and fodder for farm animals. The economy of the Jasna Góra monastery was greatly influenced by political events, military activities and natural conditions. It went through periods of crisis in the years of 1655, 1659—1664, 1706, 1754, 1760, 1783, 1793, 1817, 1830—1831, 1848—1851, 1854—1856 and 1863—1864. They resulted from military actions taking place in the region, from the general crisis in European agriculture, repression by the annexationist governments, and the crop failure. However, the biggest crisis in the amount of produced yield can be observed in the years . The yield was very poor during the analysed period (17th century—1864). The agriculture economy in the Jasna Gora estates was conducted in accordance with the current customs and level of knowledge. At the same time, it should be emphasised that the economy was rather extensive, especially in the 18th century. It was not until the mid-19th century that the harbingers of modernity (melioration, modern agricultural machinery) appeared. Until 1798, animal husbandry was carried out in the same way as in other estates, i.e. in the period from spring to late autumn animals were driven to pastures, whereas in the winter period, the animals were fed with grain of inferior quality. Supplementally feeding with provender was intensified in the 19th century, but it was only in the years 1855—1864 that the way of farming was changed, when apart from feeding animals with hay and grazing on pastures, feeding them with grain was increasing in importance. In the Jasna Góra estates, horses, oxen, dairy cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry were kept. The most important role on the farm was played by oxen, which served as tractive force, dairy cattle and sheep. In the 17th and the first half of the 18th century, livestock farming was carried out primarily to meet the own needs of the monastery. It was not until the second half of the 18th century that some number of the animals were sold on the market. The needs of the estates were fulfilled by the so-called manorial industry, i.e.: breweries, distilleries, malthouses, mills, brickyards and lime kiln works. In the period up to 1798, the largest number of these works operated in the starostships of the towns of Kołobuck (45) and Brzeźnica (41). In the years 1798—1864 the number of works decreased significantly, from 113 in 1796 to 6.5 in the following period. The Jasna Góra monastery earned income from many sources. These were: economic activity in land estates, financial bequests and donations, repayment of loans and bank interest, from the activity of the printing house and pharmacy, from the sale of devotional items and candles, from the believers’ offerings handed over to the sacristy, from the offerings put to the church offering- boxes, from the offerings from the vicars who wanted to express their gratitude towards the Pauline Fathers for their pastoral help, form religious brotherhoods, and form competentia for the confiscated land properties. On average, the annual revenues earned by the Jasna Góra monastery amounted to approx. złp (PLN) 172 699.10. However, the actual revenues were diverse. The highest ones were generated by Jasna Góra monastery in the years 1759—1762, i.e. złp 893 103.08, in 1765—1768 — złp 673 652.22, in 1750—1753 — złp 606 612.11, and in 1742—1745 — złp 558 629.22. The largest amounts were spent on the feudal economy (purchase of grain, livestock and agricultural tools). What was a heavy financial burden to the Jasna Góra monastery were taxes and other fees paid to the state. The highest taxes were collected during the Prussian rule in the years 1793—1807 (złp 7682) and during the Duchy of Warsaw (złp 3893.01). The taxes in the time of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (złp 1651) and the Kingdom of Poland (złp 1372) were relatively law. A significant amount of money from the Jasna Góra budget was spent on the maintenance of the fortress’s crew and repairs of the defence infrastructure. Another serious burden upon the monastic bank was the expenditure for the needs of the Polish army. A large part of the monastic budget was used for artistic, renovation and construction works in the Chapel of the Blessed Mother, the church, the monastery and in individual klucz formations. A considerable amount was also allocated for the purchase of the rights to estates, and for the purchase of land. Large sums were spent on the maintenance of the temple and monastery, that is, on the mass scholarships, the purchase of the mass wine, flour for communion wafers, candles to lamps, vestments, albs, belts to albs, etc. The largest amounts were spent in the years 1759—1762, i.e. złp 899 681, 1765—1768: złp 674 595.12, 1750—1753: złp 550 065.29, 1742—1745: złp 512 622.23, 1702—1705: złp 451 270.71. The Jasna Góra monastery was in a much better financial condition than the other monasteries of the Polish province of the Paulines and other religious congregations. The monastery obtained considerable financial resources that may be compared with the funds obtained by great magnate families. However, it should be remembered that the expenditures were also high. It was necessary to provide for the monks, staff and guests. In addition, it was necessary to take care of the monastery and church buildings as well as the defensive infrastructure, and provide for the crew of the fortress. The Jasna Góra Paulines maintained commercial contacts with other regions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and with Silesia. The transactions were conducted by buyers in such centres as: Wrocław, Racibórz, Opawa, Gliwice, Kraków, Janów, Żarki-Miasto or Pilica. Until 1655, i.e. the Deluge (Swedish invasion and occupation), in the Jasna Góra estates economic progress was observed, however the war damage brought on a subsequent period of regress. The following years (1661—1700) were a stage of economic development, which was hindered by another war, i.e. the Great Northern War. The following several decades in the economic history of the Jasna Góra monastery were a period of gradual restoration, which reached its peak of development in the years 1742—1768. The last years of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1768—1795) were the period of growing economic problems of the monastery. They resulted partly from the unfavourable policy of the king towards the order, but first of all from the aftermath of the military operations during the Bar Confederation and the Partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The occupation of the areas where the monastery was located and of its estates resulted in a deep economic crisis that lasted until 1831. The situation improved only in the mid- 19th century, when modern methods in agricultural and livestock production were employed. The period of moderate economic progress lasted until 1864, when the Tsarist authorities introduced the so-called religious reform and confiscated all monastic properties in the Kingdom of Poland. The fate of the Jasna Góra monastery was inseparable from the history of the state and the Polish nation. What the religious order most suffered form were the Partitions and the policies of the Prussian and Russian states, whose attitude towards the Catholic Church were not positive. Both Prussian and Russian officials treated the religious communities as enemies and the refugium of Polishness, which was to be destroyed. This would have made it possible to terminate the historic Polish nation. Nevertheless, all these attempts did not succeed, because the Paulines of Jasna Góra made an effort to combine evangelical teaching with patriotic attitude. However, in order to conduct this activities, it was necessary to create and maintain the economic bases for them. And despite many problems and obstacles, the Paulines of Jasna Góra managed to continue doing so until 1864.