XVI century, active development of trade and handicrafts all over the world. At that time in Lviv there where a lot handicraft shops, which had their own Statute. Statute regulated the price for the goods, resulted in the quality of goods, workshop size, the
number of submasters, the sum of buy-in and other contributions to a handicraft shop money box, punishment for disclosure of professional secrets etc. Yuriy and Ivan Rohatyntsi were one of the most famous Lviv crafters. Later they were also prominent Lviv educators, the members of Assumption Brotherhood. But their story started from a saddle…
In the early 80's of the XVI century brothers arrived to Lviv from a town of Rohatyn, which is situated in Ivano-Frankivsk region. They bought a stone house on Ruska street. In order to be successful, brothers decided to become crafters. They tried to join the saddle handicraft shop. But, as they were orthodox,
and saddle shop was under the rule of catholic, brothers were refused joining the shop on religious ground. Then outraged brothers Rohatyntsi appealed to the city government with an official complaint. But they needed to prove themself as true masters. We have a record in old Lviv documents, that in 1586 Yuriy and Ivan Rohatyntsi presented a saddle invented by themself. As we may read in the record, the saddle was a real masterpiece.
City deputies and other saddle makers were impressed. Saddle was double, known as "cossack": "Two saddles in one, constructed from five pieces of wood, glued strewn with fibrils, decorated with gold, donkey leather, on which Turkish flowers were painted". Despite their craftmanship brother Rohatyntsi had very limited rules. They were forbidden to teach neworthodox masters, to do saddles of another set of samples like Arabic, German, Italian and Turkish. But all that limitation helped brothers to improve in their craft. They
became crafters. They actively developed Ukrainian community of Lviv. In 1588 brothers Rohatyntsi became the elders of Assumption Brotherhood. But their story started from a saddle...
