The Oldest Bells of the Lubliniec Region

Abstract

The collection of oldest bells in the Lubliniec region is too modest in terms of quantity to draw general conclusions. Their value is revealed against the background of certain more common features of their proper resource context. It is believed that the context for them is formed primarily by Silesian bell foundry monuments with centers in Nysa and Wroclaw, and the production of Czech bell foundry workshops in the second place. Unfortunately, this statement should also remain research intuition in the face of still poor state of research on Upper Silesian epigraphy, heavy losses in the Upper Silesian campanological resources, and, finally, the persistent existence of components of the resource outside the places of their historical existance (Germany). The analyzed monuments, located in a small area bordering Silesia, carry content relevant to bell epigraphy in Central Europe. In terms of inscription writing, they confirm a certain inertia of the duration of Gothic minuscule and the attractiveness of Proto-Renaissance capital in Silesian foundry workshops.