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- Title
TWO LIDS FOR 16<sup>TH</sup> CENTURY CEREAL GRAINS (KORNKAULEN) IN THE HERITAGE OF THE SIGHIȘOARA HISTORY MUSEUM.
- Authors
TEȘCULĂ, Nicolae
- Abstract
In the Middle Ages, besides the walls and defence towers, the fortress of Sighișoara was protected from sieges by the existence of 9 public fountains and numerous pits for grain supplies, the so-called kornkaulen. They were placed in the town square and on the streets. In peacetime they were filled with grain and covered. Most were owned by the city, some were owned by the guilds, and some individuals could own such "shops." They were covered with round stone lids on which they carved the name of the guild, the symbol and the year the deposit was made. Some of the pits could be large and could hold up to 100 grain cables. The largest, about 100 were in the town square, belonged to the guilds, which had the obligation to fill and control them periodically. The secret of the location of these pits was kept by the so-called "pit master", Kaulenmeister, who, with the help of a specific tool - a string with knots and sticks - could indicate the exact location of each pit in the community. Disclosure of the location of the pits was punishable by death. For the 16th century, in the patrimony of the Sighișoara Museum of History, there are two stones to cover grain pits, one of the guild of gloves dated in 1567 and one of the guild of beltmen from 1656. From the analysis of the two stone caps for the medieval grain pits, in the patrimony of the History Museum from Sighișoara, we get an image on how the defence of Sighișoara was made by involving the guilds including in the field of food safety by maintaining and supervising some grain pits. The two stone covers show the importance of the guild of gloves and the guild of belts, respectively, in the economic, political and military life of the city on Târnava Mare in the 19th century, completing the information we have about the activity of these two guilds. Last but not least, we are dealing with objects made, most likely by craftsmen from the masons' guild, being an additional proof of the evolution of the techniques they have. The way the text is made and engraved shows the high level of artistic mastery reached by the masons from Sighișoara.
- Subjects
FOUNTAINS; HOLES
- Publication
Acta Musei Brukenthal, 2022, Vol 17, Issue 1, p65
- ISSN
1842-2691
- Publication type
Article