MATERIAL CULTURE IN TESTAMENTS FROM ELBLAG FROM THE 15TH - EARLY 16TH CENTURY (Kultura materialna w testamentach elblaskich z XV - poczatku XVI w.)

Studying the material culture of burghers in the late Middle Ages on the basis of testaments allows for certain generalizations due to the relatively homogenous format of the documents. The article is based on the analysis of 145 last wills of the inhabitants of Elblag from the years 1409-1515. Best represented among the testators are merchants, members of the ruling elite (town councillors, mayors and their relatives), ship-owners and skippers. There are fewer surviving testaments of the much larger groups of city dwellers, such as tradesmen and stallholders; artisans, however, are quite well represented. In many cases the testator's social position could not be identified; many of those, judging from the possessions described in their last wills, were merchants, tradesmen or artisans. The records preserved usually concern the richest burghers, who owned the greatest share of valuable objects; therefore, it is the material culture of the urban elite that can be most fully reconstructed. Among the objects that manifested the prestige and the social status of the owner we should mention golden and silver ornaments and pearls. Last wills clearly indicate a correlation between the global value of the property and the proportions between its parts allocated to consumption, accumulation and deposits. As to movables, a special status was assigned to the dispositions concerning the right to inherit the armour, weapons and fighting gear. Other status indicators were clothes, often mentioned in testaments (coats, caftans, doublets). Most testaments included dispositions concerning domestic appliances, which were covered by the general formula of 'other movables' or listed in detail. Items listed as domestic appliances were usually covers, carpets, beds and bedlinen, pieces of furniture, especially benches and tables. Affluent burghers used silverware (goblets, bowls, spoons). Another element of the material culture which sheds light on the life of burghers in that period was the arrangement of their workshops. As a separate entry last wills included charitable bequests concerning the purchase of shoes and clothes for the poor. Testaments are mainly helpful in establishing the evaluation and disposition of material possessions, while precise data on the objects themselves can be gained from archaeological excavations.