The „Kapicjana” Collection of Ignacy Kapica-Milewski

Abstract

Ignacy Kapica Milewski (1763–1817) was a heraldic expert and archivist active in Brańsk, a minor township in north-eastern Poland. During the seventeen-eighties he started copying selected documents from the archival record-books of the noble courts pertaining to the regions of Podlachia (Podlasie) and north-eastern Mazovia (Mazowsze). In the face of the possibility of destruction or removal of the original acts, Kapica wanted to preserve as much heraldic material as possible. These fears were shared by Franciszek Piotr Potocki (1754–1829), a wealthy landowner and dignitary, who financed Kapica’s works. Over the following years they created a vast collection of extracts, known as the ‘Kapicjana Collection’ or simply the ‘Kapicjana’. Following the deaths of both Kapica and Potocki, the collection was partially owned by the famous ethnologist Zygmunt Gloger. After a complicated history, this collection is now divided between the Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw, and the State Archive in Cracow. Today, the ‘Kapicjana’ encompass circa 20 000 extracts, which are organized in accordance with their territorial origin. In spite of the fact that the collection is divided, it should be treated as a unity. In most cases the extracts are related to the petty nobles residing in the north-eastern part of Masovia and in Podlachia, their legal status and their possessions. The collection is therefore of inestimable value to all kinds of regional studies, but, its completeness renders it exceptional for model case studies, the results of which can be of important comparative value for the whole of early-modern Poland.