Szlachta
Szlachta () was the
noble class in
Poland and the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the two countries that leter jointly formed the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The
szlachta arose in the late
Middle Ages and existed through the 18th century and into the 19th. Traditionally, its members were owners of
landed property, often in the form of
folwarks. The szlachta enjoyed substantial and almost unrivalled political
privileges until the
Partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the late 18th century. Distinctions of nobility were officially abolished by Poland's
1921 March Constitution, though
szlachta membership remains widely claimed in various strata of Polish society at home and abroad.
The Polish term
"szlachta" designated the "gentle" or "noble class." It encompassed the idea of gentility or nobility of blood, and was roughly coterminous with the English "gentry" and "nobility." A specific nobleman was called a
"szlachcic," a noblewoman was a
"szlachcianka."
Early Polish historians thought the term may have derived from the name of the legendary proto-Polish chief,
Lech, mentioned in Polish and Czech writings.
"Szlachta" is thought by some simply to mean "Lechitians," or "Lech's people" (in modern Polish,
"z Lecha"), probably denoting the ruling warrior class in Lech's tribe. Even to this day, some Ukrainians refer to Poles as
"Lakhy" (Lechitians), while the Turks use the term "Lekh."
Another theory suggests that
"szlachta" derives from the old
German word
"slahta" (now
"(Adels)Geschlecht," "(noble)family"), much as many other Polish words pertaining to the nobility derive from German words 鈥" e.g., the Polish
"rycerz" ("knight," from the German
"ritter") and the Polish
"herb" ("coat of arms," from the German
"erbe," "heritage"). Poles of the
17th century assumed that
"szlachta" was from the German
"schlachten" ("to slaughter" or "to butcher"); also suggestive is the German
"Schlacht" ("battle").
Kindred terms that might be applied to an early Polish nobleman were
"rycerz" ("
knight"), the
Latin "nobilis" ("
noble"; plural:
"nobiles") and
"mo偶ny" ("magnate," "oligarch"; plural:
"mo偶ni"). Some powerful Polish nobles were referred to as "
magnates" (Polish singular:
"magnat").
Origins
See also: History of Poland (966-1385)The Polish nobility probably derived from a
Slavic warrior class, forming a distinct element within the ancient Polonic tribal groupings. This is uncertain, however, as there is little documentation on the early history of Poland, or of the movements of the Slavonic people into what became the territory so designated.
Around 14th century there was little difference between those called knights and those referred to as szlachta in Poland. Members of the szlachta had the personal obligation to defend the country (
pospolite ruszenie), and thereby became the kingdom's privileged social class.
Szlachta rise to power
See also Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth#State organisation and politicsNobles were born into a
noble family, adopted by a noble family (this was abolished in 1633) or
ennobled by a king or
Sejm for various reasons (bravery in combat, service to the state, etc. - yet this was the rarest means of gaining noble status). Many nobles were, in actuality, really usurpers, being peasants or merchants, who moved into another part of the country and falsely pretended to noble status. Hundreds of such false nobles were denounced by
Walerian Nekanda Trepka in his
Liber generationis plebeanorium (or
Liber chamorum) in the first half of 16th century. Many sejms issued decrees over the centuries in an attempt to resolve this issue, but with little success. It is unknown what percentage of the Polish nobility came from the 'lower' orders of society, but most historians agree that nobles of such base origins formed a 'significant' element of the szlachta.
The Polish nobility enjoyed many rights that were not available to the noble classes of other countries and, typically, each new
monarch conceded them further privileges. Those privileges became the basis of the
Golden Liberty in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Despite having a king, Poland was called a noble "republic" (
Rzeczpospolita) because
the king was elected by all interested members of the nobility and Poland was considered to be the property of this class, not of the king or the ruling
dynasty. This state of affairs grew up in part because of the extinction of the male-line descendants of the old royal dynasty (first the
Piasts, then the
Jagiellons), and the selection by the nobility of the Polish king from among the dynasty's female-line descendants.
Poland's successive kings granted privileges to the nobility at the time of their election to the throne (the privileges being specified in the king-elect's
Pacta conventa) and at other times in exchange for
ad hoc permission to raise an extraordinary tax or a
pospolite ruszenie.
Poland's nobility thus accumulated a growing array of privileges and immunities:
In
1355 in
Buda King
Casimir III issued the first country-wide privilege for the nobility, in exchange for their agreement that in the lack of Kazimierz male heirs, the throne would pass to his relative,
King Louis the Hungarian. He decreed that the nobility would no longer be required to pay 'extraordinary'
taxes, or pay with their own funds for military expeditions outside Poland. He also promised that during travels of the royal court, the king and the court would pay for all expenses, instead of using facilities of local nobility.
In
1374 King Louis the Hungarian approved the
Privilege of Koszyce (Polish: "przywilej koszycki" or "ugoda koszycka") in
Koszyce in order to guarantee the Polish throne for his daughter
Jadwiga. He broadened the definition of who was a member of the nobility and exempted the entire class from all but one tax (
艂anowy, which was limited to 2
grosze from
艂an (
a measure of land size)). In addition, the King's right to raise taxes was abolished; no new taxes could be raised without the agreement of the nobility. Henceforth, also,
district offices (Polish: "urz臋dy ziemskie") were reserved exclusively for local nobility, as the Privilege of Koszyce forbade the king to grant official posts and major Polish castles to foreign knights. Finally, this privilege obliged the King to pay
indemnities to nobles injured or taken captive during a war outside Polish borders.
In
1422 King W艂adys艂aw II Jagie艂艂o by the
Privilege of Czerwi艅sk (Polish: "przywilej czerwi艅ski") established the inviolability of nobles' property (their estates could not be confiscated except upon a court verdict) and ceded some jurisdiction over
fiscal policy to the
Royal Council (later, the
Senat), including the right to
mint coinage.
In
1430 with the
Privileges of Jedlnia, confirmed at
Krak贸w in
1433 (Polish: "przywileje jedlne艅sko-krakowskie"), based partially on his earlier
Brze艣膰 Kujawski privilege (
April 25,
1425), King
W艂adys艂aw II Jagie艂艂o granted the nobility a guarantee against arbitrary arrest, similar to the English
Magna Carta's
Habeas corpus, known from its own Latin name as "
neminem captivabimus (nisi jure victim)." Henceforth no member of the nobility could be imprisoned without a warrant from a competent court of justice: the king could neither punish nor imprison any noble at his whim. King W艂adys艂aw's
quid pro quo for this boon was the nobles' guarantee that his throne would be inherited by one of his sons (who would be bound to honour the privileges theretofore granted to the nobility). On
May 2,
1447 the same king issued the
Wilno Privilege which gave the
Lithuanian boyars the same rights as those possessed by the Polish
szlachta.
In
1454 King Kazimierz IV Jagiellon granted the
Nieszawa Statutes (Polish: "statuty cerkwicko-nieszawskie"), clarifying the legal basis of
voivodship sejmiks (local parliaments). The king could
promulgate new laws, raise taxes, or call for a
lev茅e en masse (
pospolite ruszenie) only with the consent of the sejmiks, and the nobility were protected from judicial abuses. The Nieszawa Statutes also curbed the power of the
magnates, as the
Sejm (national parliament) received the right to elect many officials, including
judges,
voivods and
castellans. These privileges were demanded by the
szlachta as a compensation for their participation in the
Thirteen Years' War.
The first "
free election" (Polish: "wolna elekcja") of a king took place in
1492. (To be sure, some earlier Polish kings had been elected with help from bodies such as that which put
Casimir II on the throne, thereby setting a precedent for free elections.) Only
senators voted in the 1492 free election, which was won by
Jan I Olbracht. For the duration of the
Jagiellonian Dynasty, only members of that royal family were considered for election; later, there would be no restrictions on the choice of candidates.
In
1493 the national parliament, the
Sejm, began meeting every two years at
Piotrk贸w. It comprised two chambers:
* a
Senate of 81
bishops and
other dignitaries; and
* a
Sejm of 54
deputies (in Polish, "deputy" is "pose艂") representing their respective
sejmiks.The numbers of senators and deputies later increased.
On
April 26 1496 King
Jan I Olbracht granted the
Privilege of Piotrk贸w (Polish: "przywilej piotrkowski", "konstytucja piotrkowska" or "statuty piotrkowskie"), increasing the nobility's
feudal power over
serfs. It bound the peasant to the land, as only one son (not the eldest) was permitted to leave the village; townsfolk (Polish: "mieszcza艅stwo") were prohibited from owning land; and positions in the
Church hierarchy could be given only to nobles.
On
23 October 1501, at
Mielnik Polish-Lithuanian Union was reformed as the
Union of Mielnik (Polish:
unia mielnicka,
unia piotrkowsko-mielnicka). It was there that the tradition of the
coronation Sejm (Polish: "Sejm koronacyjny") was founded. Once again the nobility attempted to reduce the power of the magnates with a law that made them
impeachable before the Senate for
malfeasance. However the
Act of Mielno (Polish:
Przywilej mielnicki) of
25 October did more to strengthen the magnate dominated
Senate of Poland then the lesser nobility. The nobles were conceded the right to refuse to obey the King or his representativesand to form
confederations, an armed rebellion against the king or state officers if the nobles thought that the law or their legitimate privileges were being infringed.
On
3rd May 1505 King
Aleksander I Jagiellon granted the Act of "
Nihil novi nisi commune consensu" (Latin: "nothing new without our consensus"). This forbade the king to pass any new law without the consent of the representatives of the nobility, in Sejm and
Senat assembled, and thus greatly strengthened the nobility's political position. Basically, this act transferred legislative power from the king to the Sejm. This date commonly marks the beginning of the First
Rzeczpospolita, the period of a
szlachta-run "republic".
In
1520 the
Act of Bydgoszcz granted the Sejm the right to convene every four years, with or without the king's permission.
About that time the "
executionist movement" (Polish: "egzekucja praw"--"execution of the laws") began to take form. Its members would seek to curb the power of the magnates at the Sejm and to strengthen the power of king and country. In
1562 at the Sejm in Piotrk贸w they would force the magnates to return many leased
crown lands to the king, and the king to create a standing army (
wojsko kwarciane). One of the most famous members of this movement was
Jan Zamoyski. After his death in
1605, the movement lost its political force.
Until the death of
Zygmunt II August, the last king of the
Jagiellonian dynasty, monarchs could only be elected from within the royal family. However, starting from
1573, practically any Polish noble or foreigner of royal blood could become a
Polish-Lithuanian monarch. Every newly elected king was supposed to sign two documents - the
Pacta conventa ("agreed pacts") - a confirmation of the king's pre-election promises, and
Henrican articles (
artyku艂y henrykowskie, named after the first freely elected king,
Henry of Valois). The latter document served as a virtual Polish constitution and contained the basic laws of the Commonwealth:
*free election of kings;
*
religious tolerance;
*the
Diet to be gathered every two years;
*foreign policy controlled by the Diet;
*a royal advisory council chosen by the Diet;
*official posts restricted to Polish and Lithuanian nobles;
*taxes and monopolies set up by the Diet only;
*nobles' right to disobey the king should he break any of these laws.
In
1578 king
Stefan Batory created the
Crown Tribunal in order to reduce the enormous pressure on the
Royal Court. This placed much of the monarchs juridical power in the hands of the elected szlachta deputies, further strengthening the nobility class. In
1581 the Crown Tribunal was joined by a counterpart in Lithuania, the
Lithuanian Tribunal.
Transformation into aristocracy
For many centuries, wealthy and powerful members of the szlachta sought to gain legal privileges over their "equals." Few szlachta were wealthy enough to be known as
magnates (
karmazyni 鈥" the "
crimson ones," from the crimson colour of their boots). A proper magnate should be able to trace noble ancestors back for many generations and own at least 20 villages or
estates. He should also hold a major
office in the Commonwealth.
Some historians estimate the number of
magnates as 4% of szlachta number. Out of 1 million of szlachta, tens of thousands of families, perhaps only 200-300 persons could be classed as great magnates with country-wide possessions and influence, and 30-40 of them could be viewed as those with significant impact on country's politics.
Magnates often received gifts from monarchs, which significantly increased their wealth. Often, those gifts were only temporary
leases, which the magnates never returned (in 16th century, the anti-magnate opposition among szlachta were known as the
ruch egzekucji praw - movement for execution of the laws - which demanded that all such possessions are returned to their proper owner, the king). One of the most important victories of the
magnates was the late 16th century right to create
ordynacja's (similar to
majorats), which ensured that a family which gained wealth and power could more easily preserve this. Ordynacje's of families of
Radziwi艂艂s,
Zamoyski's,
Poniatowski's or
Lubomirski's often rivalled the estates of the king and were important power bases for the magnates.
With the
partitions of Poland, the magnates finally got the recognition in law they craved. The equality among szlachta was no more, as the law systems of the partitioning powers recognized only the privileged
aristocracy and treated the poorer szlachta as normal citizens, or extreme cases, peasants.
All szlachta privileges were finally abolished after the
Second World War under the
communist regime of the
People's Republic of Poland.
The Polish nobility differed in many respects from the nobility of other countries. The most important difference was that, while in most European countries the nobility lost power as the ruler strove for
absolute monarchy, in Poland the reverse process occurred: the nobility actually gained power at the expense of the
king, and the
political system evolved toward a partial
democracy.
 |
Polish noblewomen, early 17th century. |
Poland's nobility were also more numerous than those of all other European countries, forming some 10%-12% of the total population and almost 25% among ethnic Poles[
1], while in some poorer regions (e.g.
Mazowsze, the area centred on
Warsaw) nearly 30%. By contrast, the nobilities of other European countries, except for Spain, amounted to a mere 1-3%.
There were a number of ways to upward social mobility and the achievement of nobility. Poland's nobility, unlike
France's
aristocracy, was not a rigidly exclusive, closed class. Many low-born individuals, including
townsfolk,
peasants and
Jews, could and did rise in Polish society. Thus Poland's noble class was more stable than those of other countries, and so was spared the societal tensions and eventual disintegration that characterised the
French revolution. Each szlachcic had enormous influence over the country's politics, in some form even greater that what is enjoyed by the citizens of modern
democratic countries. Between
1652 and
1791 any nobleman could nullify all the proceedings of a given
sejm (Commonwealth parliament) or
sejmik (Commonwealth local parliament) by exercising his individual right of
liberum veto (
Latin: I don't allow), except in the case of a
confederated sejm or confederated sejmik.
All children of the Polish nobility inherited their noble status from a noble mother and father. Any individual could attain
ennoblement (Polish: "nobilitacja") for special services to the state. A foreign noble might be naturalised as a Polish noble (Polish: "indygenat") by the Polish
king (later, from
1641, only by a
general sejm).
 |
Polish noblemen, early 17th century. |
In theory at least, all Polish noblemen were social equals. The poorest enjoyed the same rights as the wealthiest
magnate. The exceptions were a few privileged families such as the
Radziwi艂艂,
Lubomirski and
Czartoryski, who sported aristocratic titles received from foreign courts, such as "
Prince" or "
Count." (see also
The Princely Houses of Poland). All other szlachta simply addressed each other by their given name or as "Sir Brother" (
Panie bracie) or the feminine equivalent.
 |
Hetman Stefan Czarniecki in crimson bekiesza. Holds bu艂awa in right hand. Note crimson boots (buty karmazynowe), a sign of wealth and high status. The crimson color worn by wealthy szlachta prompted the magnates' nickname, "karmazyni" 鈥" "the crimson ones." |
According to their financial standing, the nobility could be divided into:
*
magnates: the wealthiest class;
*
middle nobility;
*
lesser nobility (often referred to by a variety of colourful Polish terms such as
*
szaraczkowa - 'grey ones', from their grey,
woollen, uncoloured
zupans
*
za艣ciankowa - from
za艣cianek, a name for szlachta village, full of
zagrody, the impoverished
*
okoliczna - 'nearby', similar to
za艣ciankowa*
zagrodowa - from
zagroda, a poor szlachta house, often little different from a peasant's dwelling
*
zagonowa - from
zagon, a small unit of land measure
*
cz膮stkowa - 'partial', owners of only part of a single village
*
dr膮偶kowa - when gathered, had no comfortable chairs, so they had to sit on fences and the like
*
go艂ota - 'naked ones', i.e. the landless
*
panki - little 'pan' (i.e. lordling), term used in
Kaszuby, the Kashubian region
*
brukowa - '
cobbled ones', for those living in towns like townsfolk
*
hreczkosiej - 'those who sow
buckwheat' and have to work their fields themselves.
Heraldry
Coats of arms were very important to the Polish nobility. It is notable, that the Polish heraldic system evolved separately from its western counterparts and differed in many ways from the heraldry of other European countries.
The most notable difference is that, contrary to other European heraldic systems, the coat of arms did not "belong" to a family or a clan, but the other way around, the
szlachta family pertained to a coat of arms. As a consequence, it was common that many distinct, unrelated families (sometimes as many as 600) share the same coat of arms. Because of that, the symbols were barely ever parted. Logically, the number of coats of arms in this system was rather low and did not exceed 200 in late
Middle Ages.
Also, the tradition of differentiating between the coat of arms proper and a
lozenge granted to women did not develop in Poland. Usually men inherited the coat of arms from their fathers (or the member of the clan who "adopted them") while women inherited it after their mothers or were adopted to the family of the husband. Also, the
brisure was rarely used.
Sarmatism
The
szlachta's prevalent mentality and
ideology were manifested in "
Sarmatism," a name derived from supposed ancestors of the
szlachta, the
Sarmatians. This belief system became an important part of
szlachta culture and affected all aspects of their lives. It enshrined traditional village life, peace and pacifism; popularised oriental-style apparel (the
偶upan,
kontusz,
sukmana,
pas kontuszowy,
delia); and made the
scimitar-like
szabla, too, a near-obligatory item of everyday
szlachta apparel. Sarmatism served to integrate the multi-ethnic nobility as it created an almost
nationalistic sense of unity and pride in the szlachta's "
Golden Liberty" (
z艂ota wolno艣膰). Knowledge of
Latin was widespread, and most
szlachta freely mixed Polish and Latin vocabulary (the latter, "
macaronisms" — from "macaroni") in everyday conversation.
In its early, idealistic form, Sarmatism seemed like a salutary cultural movement: it fostered religious faith, honesty, national pride, courage, equality and freedom. As with any doctrine, however, that puts one
social class above others, it eventually became perverted. Late Sarmatism turned belief into bigotry, honesty into political naivet茅, pride into arrogance, courage into stubbornness, equality and freedom within the szlachta class into
dissension and
anarchy.
Religious beliefs
Prior to the
Reformation, the Polish nobility were mostly
Catholic or
Orthodox. Many families, however, soon adopted the
Reformed faiths. After the
Counter-Reformation, when the
Roman Catholic Church regained power in
Poland, the nobility became almost exclusively Catholic, despite the fact that Roman Catholicism was not the majority religion in Poland (the Catholic and Orthodox churches each accounted for some 40% of the population, with the remaining 20% being
Jews or members of Protestant denominations). Szlachta, as the Commonwealth itself, was extremely tolerant of other religions. There were almost no conflicts based on faith, and szlachta members are known to have intervened several times to pacify religious conflicts in cities and towns. In the 18th century, many followers of
Jacob Frank joined the ranks of Jewish-descended Polish gentry.
*
History of Poland*
List of szlachta*
Legitimization of szlachta in
Congress Poland (
legitymacja szlachectwa)
*
Warsaw Confederation*
Aleksander Br眉ckner,
S艂ownik etymologiczny j臋zyka polskiego (Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language), first edition, Krak贸w, Krakowska Sp贸艂ka Wydawnicza, 1927 (9th edition, Warsaw, Wiedza Powszechna, 2000).
*
Confederation of the Polish Nobility*
Polish Nobility Association Foundation*
Association of the Belarusian Nobility*
Association of Lithuanian Nobility*
The Polish Aristocracy - History of Polish titled families, heraldry, Orders*
The Inexorable Political Rise of the szlachta*
Short article on The Polish Nobility*
Digital Library of Wielkpolska
