Bacząc się być podległą śmierci jako i inszy sąsiedzi… – tożsamość religijna mieszkańców Nowego Sącza (w świetle testamentów z I ćwierćwiecza XVII wieku)

For years have historians pointed out the enormous research opportunities posed by the analysis of old-Polish wills. Not only can they be a source of knowledge regarding the law of succession, but also testators’ family life and neighborly relations, so important in small towns or villages. There is also a religious aspect of wills, resulting from the desire to satisfy for the sins committed, visible in the records of pious legacies, submitted to churches and religious brotherhoods. The basis of the source of the paper are the 63 wills preserved in the books of the town of Nowy Sącz, derived from the years 1617-1625. Among them are also those written during the plague prevailing in the city and which were referred to as ‘exceptional’ in the law of succession. The pious legacies left in Nowy Sącz wills mainly refer to local churches and religious brotherhoods. Some testators left cash bequests for church institutions. Others, perhaps less well-off, chose legacies in natural form. People who wrote their wills defined very precisely the purpose for which their money or material gifts were to be given. Most of them wanted to repair or adorn selected places of worship, or purchase liturgical equipment and vestments. The legacies for the poor from the local hospital, present in Nowy Sącz wills seem to be important for the functioning of the small community as well. The pious legacies contained in the wills not only show various aspects of old-Polish piety. They generally indicate the attachment of the faithful to the local church and local religious brotherhoods. This bond seemed to be stronger especially in small towns where the possibility of donating a larger number of ecclesiastical institutions was limited, and where testators’ financial resources were more limited as well.