Garments, People and Social Networks in the 1525 Regester, or Census of the Lord’s Things of the Crown Treasurer Mikołaj Szydłowiecki

Abstract

This article is based on an archival inventory of property (clothing, fabrics, accessories, gold and silver products) of Mikołaj Szydłowiecki, Grand Treasurer of the Crown (1515–1515), castellan of Sandomierz (1515), Starosta of Radom (1507–1532), Olsztyn (1523). It is not a list of what the treasurer has, but also a register of what he had and is no longer in his possession due to alterations to clothing and the transfer of movable property to other people. This register is a current and practically used list, not just a documentation one. The amount of information included in the register is therefore significantly wider than is usually the case in movable property, especially in the context of the history of individual objects, referred to in sociological literature as the “life of things”. Giving them a “second life” is clearly visible, i.e. transforming ready-made clothes by tearing them and reusing individual parts to repair, finish or decorate other parts of the wardrobe. The second aspect is the use of clothes and fabrics in interpersonal relations, creating and maintaining social networks, building customer relationships, and finally using them to promote one’s position and prestige. A total of 160 ready-made clothes and textile accessories were listed in Mikołaj Szydłowiecki’s inventory. Of all the clothes included in this register, 109, i.e. 68%, were in the possession of the treasurer. Of the 51 pieces of clothing (32%) that no longer belonged to Szydłowiecki, 49 were given as gifts and two were loaned to other people. Of the 160 included in the register, 17 (10.5%) came from gifts to the treasurer.