Herby w oratorium zamkowym w Lidzbarku Warmińskim

Abstract

In the castle oratory of the former residence of Warmia bishops in Lidzbark there are, aside to the coat of arms of bishopric, four coals of arms of Warmia bishops: Łukasz Watzenrode (1489-1512), Mikołaj Tungen (1467-1489), Pawel Legcndorf (1458-1467), and Jan Abezier (1415-1424). The latter deserves our special attention since in Polish literature concerning this subject-matter he is most often omitted or misidentified, which made a proper interpretation of that painting impossible. Out of many bishops who held an office in the period between J. Abezier and Ł. Watzenrode the coats of arms of bp. F. Kuhschmaltz (1427-1457) and Card. E. S. Piccolomini (1457-1458) have not been taken into account here, which can mean that the founder of that painting, Ł. Watzenrode, did not think them to be legitimate administrators of the Warmia diocese. The coats of arms from the oratory are a perfect presentation of the episcopal coats of arms in the 15th century, when the coat of arms came into common use on the Church ground. They also show close relationships between the Church and knight's heraldry in the 15th century, which is documented by the shape of heraldic shields.