The county of Spiš, consisting of enclaves within the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary, ethnically and religiously diverse, frequently administered by eminent personalities and situated on an important trade route, has played an important political and economic role over the centuries. The pawned towns of Spiš, which were never bought back, were the subject of claims by the southern neighbours of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until they were cut off from it in 1769 by a sanitary cordon imposed by the Imperial army. The return of the thirteen Spiš towns and the dominion of the Lubelsko-Podolinieckie province to the Kingdom of Hungary is a well-known occurrence, but tracing the detailed course of this process requires further research, in particular archival research.
Bearing testament to this turbulent period are the documents preserved in Vienna’s Österreichisches Staatsarchiv related to żupan Jan Csáky de Keresztseg. The article discusses a letter from Jan Nepomucen Kirschner, parish priest in Żakowce, which describes the church decorations in major towns in the former starosty on the occasion of its incorporation into Hungary in November 1772. According to the brief account of Father Kirschner, the altars in the churches were adorned with Hungarian crowns and inscriptions citing biblical verses. Also mentioned is other archival material from the collection, which may enrich our knowledge of the course of these celebrations, such as the texts of the żupan’s speech and the townspeople’s oaths, as well as of those pieces composed in honour of Csáky, Maria Theresa and Joseph II.
The discussed documents are a rare example of Spiš archival material containing descriptions of the decorations for a state ceremony in this area. According to the narrative of the ceremonial programme, the moment of incorporation of the thirteen towns and Lubowelski dominion into the Hungarian county is a triumph of justice – the lost parts of Spiš return to their rightful rulers, whose good governance will ensure peace and stability for the inhabitants of the region. The form and ideological message of the various elements of the ceremonial setting (both visual and literary) was relatively simple, probably in order to adapt it to the needs of the mass audience taking the oath of allegiance to the new authorities.

One of the most important functions of 18th-century occasional decorations was to communicate current political issues. The artistic setting of ceremonies related to political events can of course be analyzed as an independent entity but may also be studied as a fragment of a larger message that encompasses prints, literature and political ceremony.
The present article will adopt the latter approach, and analyze the political message of the 1750s on the subject of the division of the Entail of Ostrog, resulting from the so-called “Transaction of Kolbuszowa” in 1753. This event, which had a huge impact on political relations of the time, was also of key importance to the chief players of the period as well as their artistic initiatives (for example J. K. Branicki, who became the Great Crown Hetman after Józef Potocki’s death). The theme of the Entail of Ostrog can be seen in the artistic settings of ceremonies related to the activities of the Senatorial Commission, as well as in those related to two terms of the Crown Tribunal, which in 1754 and 1755 was overshadowed by the consequences of the Kolbuszowa transaction. The above-mentioned bodies acted on behalf of the entire Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; therefore, ideas of political unity and total consensus were emphasized in the decorations. In this way, specific decisions were legitimized. Occasional decorations made reference to the Gigantomachy, understood as an internal conflict, and stressed the importance of overcoming internal enemies for the sake of state unity. Banquets were also of great importance in conveying this message, not only because participation alone was seen as a manifestation of belonging to a certain community, but also because the ideological content of the table decorations presented the political values of the guests and served as a commentary on current political issues.

Benedykt Roszkowski, a reformed friar from the Order of Reformed Friars Minor (Reformati) in the Greater Poland province ( Wielkopolska), became famous as a religious preacher (sermoniser). He held this position for twenty-one years, in various centres of the province, and held the ministry of guardian a number of times. He was also a member of provincial government in the form of secretary and definitor (1779–1782) as well as fulfilling the role of custodian or provincial deputy (1785–1788). The friar also helped create settings for church ceremonies.
This article discusses Roszkowski’s hitherto unknown manuscript containing a description of the artistic settings of six funeral ceremonies that took place in the Reformati Churches during the years 1758–1762. The descriptions were illustrated with the friar’s own watercolours depicting the theatrum created during funeral ceremonies. The document, written in Latin, was made between 1762 and 1764 as Roszkowski’s gift to the Provincial Superior of Greater Poland, Father Dionizy Sydry. His descriptions include the funeral of the Crown Oboźnina (wife of the Crown Great Camp Leader) Teresa Teofila Lipska née Dąbska, and the funeral rites in memory of the Oboźny (Crown Great Camp Leader) Prokop Lipski in the Reformati Church in Poznań (1758); the funeral of the Master of the Hunt’s wife from Wschowa, Zofia Gorzyńska, in the Reformati Church in Miejska Górka (1761); the exequies of Zofia Puklatecka in the Reformati Church in Poznań (1762); the funeral of Brygida Czapska née Działyńska, the wife of the Malbork voivode, in the Reformed Church in Pakość, and the funeral rites in the parish church in Konarzewo (1762). For all these funerals, the friar designed both the interior of the church and the castrum doloris placed in the centre. The baldachin-type castrum doloris dominated: on a multi-step platform (sometimes taking the shape of a fortress with bastions) with a raised coffin were figures of Virtues or personifications, and on its sides were obelisks in the form of rocaille or decorative columns crowned with busts of Virtues. The whole structure was topped with a hanging fabric baldachin. In such artistic settings, the friar combined heraldic content with references to both the Bible and mythology. With the informal character of its descriptions, this manuscript differs from the occasional prints published by Roszkowski. Not only does the friar specify the material from which individual elements were made, but he also demonstrates the real context of their presentation. It is the first time we find in one document the descriptions of so many elements of the pompa funebris, along with their visual representations, made by a man who was artist, designer and preacher in one. These various aspects make Roszkowski’s work a special source for research on the funeral culture of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, one which finds no equal.