The religiousness of residents of polish towns in the light of selected religious literature of the 17th and 18th century

The text presents the most common rites of the above mentioned period. The article is divided into four essential parts, namely: 1) a town in the face of threats, 2) Marian piety in a town, 3) Religious festivals in a town, 4) Pious foundations and confraternities in the town. Excerpts from texts of varied composition, subjects and literary value are an illustration of particular problems. The literary images the author refers to show church events which were important for the Old Polish society. They are indirect evidence that the Old Polish religious ritual with its whole diversity of common piety forms had a clear positive aspect, uniting the whole society in terms of a practiced and cultivated system of values