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SHORT NOTES

of the knights’estate in the second half of the 12th century; in the 14th century representatives of this social group were endowed with smali castles. The spread of fire-arms led to the construction of strong fortifications. The first noblemen’s Renaissance manor houses were built between 1530 and 1560. A catalogue of the structures discussed in the book is on pp. 229-575; it describes 44 ducal residences and 229 residences of knights, it shows what they looked like, presents their owners (and also the clerks in the case of ducal residences), and supplies information on sources, literaturę and archaeological work. (JA)

Jan Szymczak, Pojedynki i harce, turnieje i gonitwy. Walki o cześć, sławę i pieniądze w Polsce Piastów i Jagiellonów [Duels and Combats, Tournaments and Races: Fights for Honour, Famę and Money in Poland under the Piasts and the Jagiellons], Warszawa 2008, DiG, 288 pp., 21 ills., sum. in German

The author discusses various kinds of fighting in which knights took part individually or in smali groups. He divides them into three categories. The first category consisted of duels, which originated from trials by ordeal, but after some time their aim was to defend a person’s honour. The second category, combats, preceded battles and were fought in front of the troops. Originally, they served to display the skill of heavily armed knights, and from the 16th century they were the domain of light horse and a means used to ascertain the strength of the adversary. It was believed that they predicted who will win the battle. The third category consisted of tournaments which originated from knights’ exercises and assumed a popular charactcr in the lale Middle Ages. After analyzing the opinions on duels and tournaments expressed in sources, the author comes to the conclusion that they became morę and morę ambivalent, for on the one hand, they were regarded as a senseless and sinful bloodshed, while on the other, preparation for participation in them was thought to be an indispensable element of the education of noble knights and courtiers. (JA)

EARLY MODERN TIMES

Grażyna Jurkowlaniec, Epoka nowożytna wobec średniowiecza. Pamiątki przeszłości, cudowne wizerunki, dzieła sztuki [The Early Modern Period and the Middle Ages; Tokens of the Past, Miraculous Images, Works of Art], Wrocław 2008, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego, 589 pp., 133 ills., indexes, bibl., sum. in English, series: Monografie Fundacji na rzecz Nauki Polskiej

The author discusses the reception and use of medieval works of art in the early modern epoch. This extensive and richly illustrated book consists of three parts. The first part deals with the reception of medieval works of sacral art, liturgical instruments and elements of interior decorations in churches. The second part