The Late Medieval Court Registers from the Holdings of the Central Archives of Historical Records as the Sources for Genealogical Research

The continuous increase of the number of source material in the following centuries of the Polish Middle Ages is expressed by a major qualitative change in the 14th century, that created for genealogical research previously unattainable possibilities. New types of sources were created then. Among them, the most important role played books and registers of courts and institutions i.e., local tribunals for nobles (Acta terrestria et castrensia), bench court (Schoppenstuhl; municipal court), municipal council, consistory (diocesan court) and, finally, chapters. This article deals with books of the courts for nobility (terrestria et castrensia). This kind of records allow researchers to capture the entire course of life of people mentioned in them, due to their continuous appearance before the courts in both litigation and non–litigious procedures. Items from the Central Archives of Historical Records include medieval books from the historical Mazovia, Kujawy and lands of Łęczyca (lat. Terra Lanciciensis), Sieradz (lat. Terra Siradiensis) and Wielun (lat. Terra Wyelunensis). Due to the war damages, especially World War II no such accounts are to be found for the certain lands, i.e. Sandomierz (lat. Terra Sandomiriensis), Dobrzyn (lat. Terra Dobrinensis), Podlasie, and some other districts. This lack might be compensated to some extent by relevant information from the books of the neighboring lands. The oldest court records preserved at The Central Archives of Historical Records are registers of local tribunals for nobles of Łęczyca region with entries from 1385. The oldest registers of local tribunals for nobles of Sieradz land and Kujawy region include entries from the late 14th century too. The main obstacles in the use of court records from The Central Archives of Historical Records are wrong binding and cards in non–sequential order. These are results of some old, unsuccessful attempts to arrange these records. Thus, there is a chance of committing numerous primarily chronological errors. Therefore, actual sequential arrangement of cards in the extant books is a research necessity. Relevant publications are a way for preparing future print edition of the courts’ records. Author presents his personal experience from arranging the oldest records from Kujawy region and Łęczyca land. The article ends with an example of the use of records from neighboring lands to determine the lineage of the Słoński Family, coat of arms Doliwa. Their main residential property was located in Dobrzyn land (Sadłowo)