To the history of Magdeburg law

Do 2020 year turned out 397 years since the granting of the Magdeburg right to Chernihiv. It originated in the XII century. in the Saxon city of Magdeburg and was of exceptional importance for the development of urban self-government.

For a long time in Europe, Magdeburg law was distributed in the form of Latin manuscripts and printed publications. (from the XV century.). In Poland, the first books on law and comments on it translated into the native language are published in the second half of the XVI century.. Bartholomew Groitsky, a Cracow burgher and lawyer, was one of the first to translate and supplement the Magdeburg law with explanations. (1519/34–1605). His works were popular among city officials and lawyers, and therefore repeatedly republished.

Our hometown received the Magdeburg right 27 March 1623 year, according to the universal of the King of the Commonwealth Sigismund III Vaz. A new flag was set in the Magdeburg Privilege, the coat of arms of the city and the seal of the magistrate - St. Vladislav in armor with a red banner. This saint was the patron saint of Polish King Wladyslaw, the administrator of the Chernihiv Voivodeship.

Among the valuable items in the collection of our museum is a legal collection of city law of the XVI century. entitled "Register to the order and to the points of Magdeburg law and imperial" translated into Polish by B. Groitsky, printed in Gothic font in Krakow 1567 year. This book is a kind of guide for magistrate officials. It contains the basic provisions on the organization of municipal government, litigation, crime classification and punishment system.

This guide comes from the book collection of the founder of our museum, the patron, a descendant of the Cossack sergeant Vasyl Tarnovsky Jr..

Researcher,

Candidate of Historical Sciences Valentin Rebenok