The traditional name of the Polish nobility is “szlachta” ( szlachta ). One of the first attempts folk etymology, especially popular in the 17th century, derived this concept from a group of German lexemes: schlagen “beat, break (enemy)”, schlachten “beat, cut (cattle), kill” and Schlacht "battle, battle." This interpretation was based on the idea that the gentry were warriors, warriors defending their Fatherland. However, linguists associate the concept of “gentry” with Old High German slahte "kind, breed, origin" (German) Geschlecht “clan, generation”), which emphasizes the importance of clan membership in a given social group.
Initially, the gentry were small feudal lords - knights (lat. milites), dependent on the supreme power (prince, king) and different from large magnates - possible owners. During the formation of the gentry class, its strengthening political role and receiving a number of privileges, it included largest landowners. In the XVI - XVIII centuries. in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth a unique political system- gentry “republic”, in which the royal power was completely dependent on the gentry (especially on large feudal lords). The gentry received whole line“golden liberties” that determined its privileged position in the country. For a long time, the most worthy occupations of the nobility were considered: military and public service, participation in church administration, hunting.
An essential feature of the Polish gentry, like the Spanish nobility, was its large number, explained by the entire course of development of Polish history and the role that the gentry played in the socio-political life of the state. In the sixteenth century. for 7.5 million living in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, there were 500 thousand nobles or 25 thousand noble families, that is, 6.6% of the total population, and in Mazovia, literally overflowing with gentry, this figure was even more impressive - 23.4%. By the time of the divisions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Polish nobility already accounted for 8-10% of the population.
Obviously, such a significant number of nobility could not be completely homogeneous. In its environment, processes of differentiation and stratification were constantly going on, most clearly manifested in the 17th-18th centuries. The very large number of the Polish nobility was associated with the virtual absence of a closed class. Its composition included both representatives of the nobility of the lands newly annexed to Poland, as well as members of other classes. The theme of the “bourgeois among the nobility” is constant in late medieval Polish literature (cf. the famous work of Valerian Niekanda Trepka “The Book of Boors” of 1624-1640). In addition, in addition to the Poles themselves, the gentry included Polonized representatives of the Baltic, Belarusian and Ukrainian nobility, as well as a number of German (in Prussia), Tatar (in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) and Jewish (throughout the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) families.
Sometimes significant differences in the property status of the gentry manifested themselves in different territories of their residence. Thus, the poorest and most numerous was
the gentry of Mazovia, the Carpathian region, Podlasie and princely Prussia, and the richest latifundists owned lands in Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine. Polish researchers conventionally identify the gentry of the 16th-18th centuries. several groups.
The following groups belonged to the landowning gentry:
Magnateria - the richest and most influential families, the largest latifundists; they played key roles V public administration, their representatives constantly sat in the Sejms. Although officially none of the magnates had any special rights or privileges, in reality this group of gentry had power incomparable to the number of its members.
The szlachta zamożna - wealthy gentry who owned both land and peasants; its representatives were completely independent in their socio-political and economic activities ( Sobie Pan).
Folk gentry(szlachta fołwarczna) - owned one or more farms and peasants on them; She could either manage her farm herself or hire housekeepers.
"Share" gentry(szlachta cząstkowa) - owners of not entire estates, but parts of them (often large estates were split into small shares for sale or rental); usually representatives of this gentry, together with their neighbors, used the labor of peasants and material resources estates.
Closed or outlying gentry(szlachta zaściankowa, szlachta okoliczna, szlachta zagrodowa)- small-scale gentry, whose representatives owned household plots, but did not have peasants and therefore worked on their own land; often they formed entire gentry settlements - the so-called “dungeons”(zaścianki) or “outskirts” (okolice) , isolated from the rest of the plebeian world. The name “outlying gentry” was characteristic of the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
To the landless gentry(szlachta bezrolna albo szaraczkowa) included:
Chinszowa gentry (szlachta czynszowa) - did not have land and was forced to rent it on chinshe terms and work on it, although such work was considered shameful for a well-born person, since it likened him to a peasant. In the last two centuries of the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Chinshe gentry became the most numerous group of the Polish nobility.
Serving gentry (szlachta służebna) - served in the rich estates of magnates, church hierarchs or wealthy gentry as managers, housekeepers, etc.
Holota - “golytba”, a poor gentry who had neither land nor peasants; usually hired as workers, servants, or became soldiers.
"Street" gentry(szlachta brukowa) - the smallest group of gentry, leading a very poor life in the cities.
Sometimes the last four groups of gentry, as well as the surrounding gentry, were called “working gentry”, since they earned their livelihood with their own labor.
Despite the large differences in property, among the Polish nobility there were also unifying tendencies associated with class solidarity. In many ways, the feeling of gentry unity was facilitated by the special ideology of “Sarmatism,” which derived all Polish gentry from the ancient Sarmatians, who in ancient times conquered Slavic tribes who lived on the lands of future Poland. “Sarmatism” was inextricably linked with such mythologies as the complete equality of all Polish nobles (szlachcic na zagrodzie równy wojewodzie), the exceptional virtue of the gentry, the vital importance of Polish bread and the Polish gentry farm for existence Western Europe, special historical vocation Poles to defend Europe from the Turkish danger and a number of others.
The dominant privileged position of the gentry was combined with a traditional ban on resorting to “mean” occupations (trade, craft, performing city, that is, petty-bourgeois positions, and others). However, judging by the position of representatives of the lower gentry groups, this ban actually ceased to apply in the second half of the 17th century, and was formally abolished in 1775.
After the divisions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Napoleonic wars Polish nobles found themselves subjects of three absolutist regimes, sharply different from the political system of the gentry “republic”. Intensified Germanization and Russification of the occupied Polish lands began. The gentry lost a number of old privileges: the monopoly of land ownership, freedom from taxes, separate (only for the gentry) legal proceedings, the exclusive right to hold positions virtually independently of the supreme power, the right to choose participants in the Sejms and the right to choose the king. Many richest families(Potocki, Radziwill, Krasiński, Czartoryski, Zamoyski, Wielopolski and others) lost their latifundia and political influence, some of them emigrated abroad.
The monarchs of Prussia, Austria and Russia sought to completely subjugate the representatives of the Polish nobility and force them to abandon the idea of restoring their former influence on political life. One of most important tasks These monarchs began to reduce the number of Polish nobility due to the refusal to recognize the noble morals of a number of land-poor and landless noble families. In all three zones of occupation, laws were issued on the registration of the Polish gentry, which were to be included in the Prussian, Austrian and Russian nobility. At the same time, all sorts of bureaucratic barriers were created that prevented the poorest nobles from confirming their noble origin. Thousands of ancient noble but impoverished families were unable to confirm their nobility.
At the same time, the authorities of Prussia, Austria and Russia, trying to tame representatives of the richest and most influential noble families, began to widely distribute the highest noble titles (margraves, counts, viscounts, barons and others). In addition, absolute monarchs encouraged those who had special merit in military or civil service to become nobility. This opened a wide way for replenishing the nobility with representatives of the lower classes, which was almost impossible to do officially during the time of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, due to the principle of equality of noble brothers, titles of nobility were prohibited. Only the descendants of the Russian prince Rurik, the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas and some other ancient princely families could bear the title of prince. An exception (and even then quite late) is the granting of princely titles to the Poniatowskis (1764), Sapiehas (1768) and Poninskis (1773) at the Sejm. Another characteristic exception is the granting of the title of count by King Sigismund on August 11th to the Chodkiewnch family (1568). other titled nobles received their titles from foreign sovereigns (for example, the Roman emperor or the pope), which earned them hatred from their untitled brothers.
In the Austrian zone of occupation (“Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria”) the Polish gentry were divided into two categories: titled families (princely, ducal, count and baronial) and knightly (untitled). Representatives of the second category were divided into Uradel (ancient nobility) and Briefadel (anoblized or naturalized nobility). To successfully complete the registration, it was necessary to find evidence that the ancestors had government positions, were members of the Senate or participated in the Sejms. This criterion immediately deprived representatives of many noble families of the right to nobility. In the Prussian zone of occupation, registration of the gentry began in 1777. The requirements for those proving their nobility were the same as in Galicia, but one more criterion was added - possession of land.
A similar state of affairs has developed in Russia. The lands of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth formed two parts here:
1) Kingdom of Poland (Poland itself);
2) Western region, which included nine western provinces from former Polish possessions in Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine. In turn, these lands were divided into six northwestern provinces: Vilna (existed in 1795-1796, from 1802), Vitebsk (from 1801/1802), Grodno (from 1801), Kovno (from 1842/1843), Minsk (in 1793-1795, from 1796), Mogilev (in 1773-1778, from 1802) and three southwestern provinces: Volyn (from 1796). ), Kiev (8 1708-1781, from 1796), Podolsk (from 1796).
Immediately after the first partition in 1772, by decree of the Governor-General of Belarus Z.G. Chernyshev, the registration of the gentry in the zemstvo povet courts began. For registration, the following was required: detailed genealogy, description of the coat of arms, extracts from parish registers and other related documents.
On April 21, 1785, Catherine 11 issued the famous “Charter of Grant to the Nobility”, according to which, for the registration of noble rights, instead of the old genealogical books, the noble genealogical books of each province, divided into six parts, were introduced. The first part included clans granted nobility by the monarch, the second - clans that received nobility for achieving a rank in military service, the third - clans that received nobility for achieving a rank in civil service or through the award of an order, the fourth - foreign nobles who left from other states and were recognized in noble dignity by Russian sovereigns (for which preliminary acceptance of Russian citizenship was mandatory), fifthly, titled nobility and sixthly, ancient families who could prove their belonging to the noble class within a hundred years before the publication of “ Letter of Complaint."
The legal difference between these six categories manifested itself in only one thing: privileged educational establishments- The Corps of Pages, the Alexander Lyceum and the School of Law - only children of persons included in the fifth and sixth parts of the genealogy book could be admitted (regardless of the status of the parents). These rules also applied to the Polish gentry. Judging by the registration lists of the provinces of the Northwestern Territory (without the Vilna province) and the Smolensk region, which for some time was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the majority of the local nobility were assigned to the first and sixth parts of the genealogical books of their provinces. In these lands, out of 6,888 noble families, about 39% (2,681 families) are classified as the sixth part and about 28.6% (1,969 families) are classified as the first.
In 1795, after the third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the V audit was carried out on the lands newly annexed to Russia, which became, in fact, the first census of the population, since in the Polish state it was not individuals who were counted, but “smokes” (farms). By Russian standards, the number of Polish gentry was enormous. For example, in the Vilna province there were 44,626 gentry, that is, 8.8% of the population, and in the Grodno province - 19,736 gentry, or 6.2%, moreover, in the Shavelsky district the gentry made up 11.6%, in Rossiensky - 12.6 %, and in Lida - 12.7%. However highest concentration The gentry were located in the Drogichinsky district of the Bialystok region and, according to the VII revision of 1816, accounted for 31.1% of the population, which is a record value not only for Poland, but also for the whole of Europe.
(The Bialystok region is part of the territory that was transferred in 1795 as a result of the third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to Prussia, and according to the Peace of Tilsit in 1807 it was transferred to Russia. In 1808 it received the name of the Bialystok region with the center in Bialystok and was divided into 4 counties: Bialystok, Belsky, Sokol and Drogichinsky. The Bialystok region is part of the territory that was transferred in 1795 as a result of the third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to Prussia, and was transferred to Russia according to the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807. In 1808 it received the name of the Bialystok region with its center in Bialystok and is divided into 4 counties: Bialystok, Bielsk, Sokol and Drogiczyn.)
Seeing such a large number of gentry and the poverty of many of its representatives, the Russian authorities began to pursue a policy of reducing the Polish nobility (primarily in the northwestern provinces). Participating in the “pacification” of Poland V.A. Zubov, put forward a project for the resettlement of part of the small (Chinshevo) gentry from Belarus and Lithuania to state lands in the south of Ukraine and Crimea. The resettlement law was finally ready in 1796, but Catherine II died before she could sign it. The new Emperor Paul I was categorically against this law.
It is characteristic that initially in the Russian Empire the requirements for registering the nobility were more liberal than in Prussia or Austria. However, already under Alexander I they were significantly tightened. Thus, according to the VII revision (1816), the landowning and landless gentry were counted separately (although both belonged to the privileged class). In addition, the Department of Heraldry in St. Petersburg, and not local courts, now began to deal with approval of the nobility. A strong blow to the land-poor gentry was the decree of May 24, 1818, according to which, in order to register as a nobility, it was necessary to find relevant evidence in metric books or other documents, as well as confirm the family’s ownership not only of land, but also of peasants. By the law of 1824, nobles who did not have peasants, but were engaged in trade, were required to register as merchants and take certificates of trading bourgeois. In 1825, the small landed gentry were subject to duties in kind on a par with state peasants. Finally, by decree of June 18, 1826, only those who were assigned to this class before 1795 were recognized as gentry.
The situation was aggravated by the special territorial policy of the Russian government, which, considering the “taken lands” of the Western Territory to be traditionally Russian, separated them from Poland and began to intensively pursue a policy of Russification and “Orthodoxization” in them. In 1839 in Western region The Uniate Church was destroyed, and the Uniates were forcibly converted to Orthodoxy. Until 1850, there was a customs border between the Kingdom of Poland and the western provinces, which further contributed to the artificial isolation of the two parts historical speech Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the eyes of the Polish nobility, all this was regarded as acts of violence, because regardless of where the gentry lived, they considered Poland their homeland, and Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine as its provinces. Moreover, the Russian authorities pointedly referred issues of inclusion in the nobility in the western provinces to the competence of the Department of Heraldry in St. Petersburg, and in the Kingdom of Poland they established their own Heraldry (1836), which examined the affairs of only local applicants for nobility. At the same time, the nobility of the Kingdom of Poland, unlike the nobility of other parts of the empire, enjoyed class privileges only personally (with certain reservations) and did not have a corporate organization, that is, noble assemblies with elected noble positions.
As a result of all this, the gentry, especially the smaller ones, took an active part in the November Uprising (November 29, 1830 - October 1831). Russian authorities were not slow to respond with repressive measures. The so-called “analysis” began ( rozbior ) gentry - transfer of part of the small Polish nobility to the tax-paying class. To a certain extent, these measures fit into the general policy of tsarism in relation to the small landed nobility, but against the backdrop of the Polish uprising they were directly aimed against the most radically minded representatives of the gentry, who, as the law stated, “due to lack of residence and property and the way of life of many of them, the most prone to rebellion and criminal actions against legitimate authority.”
) One of the arguments in favor of this hypothesis is the presence of runes in the coats of arms of the Polish gentry.
Story
- The gentry had immunity: they owned property, were exempt from certain duties, had judiciary over the peasants. According to the Kosice privilege, the gentry were freed from all state duties, with the exception of payment of land taxes in the amount of 2 groschen per fief, and received the exclusive right to occupy the positions of governor, castellan, judges, sub-comories, etc. Knighthood could be ordinary (miles medius, scartabellus); In addition, there were knights who came from peasants and Soltys (miles e sculteto vel cmetone). The price for killing a nobleman was set at 60 hryvnia, for a private knight 30 hryvnia and for a knight of the last category - 15 hryvnia.
- The gentry possessed coats of arms.
- The gentry was an exponent of the national consciousness of the Poles.
- The gentry was imbued with a strong corporate spirit, feelings of class solidarity and energetically defended their class interests, which were often in conflict with the interests of other classes.
Ukrainian gentry
Ukrainians very often fraternized with Poles, which led to the Polonization of magnate families. At the same time, the small gentry, which dominated the entire Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, was always quite close to the peasants.
Ruthenian nobles were often oppressed on religious grounds, which resulted in a gradual cultural and then military confrontation with the Catholic (Polish) nobility. A significant part of the Ukrainian gentry joined the ranks of the Zaporozhian Army: some went to the registered Cossacks, and others to the Sich. At different times, the leaders of the Sich Cossacks were the gentry Bogdan Zinovy Khmelnitsky, Kryshtof Kosinsky, Nedashkovsky, Dmytro Baida Vishnevetsky, Yuras Khmelnichenko, Timush Khmelnitsky, Ivan Vygovsky, Petro Konashevich Sagaidachny, Ivan Mazepa. Lesser-known gentry from the Ruthenian nobility, but playing a certain role in history Zaporozhye Sich There were, for example, Korobki, Loboda and Volevachi. Such a gentry was often called “show-off”, but later they began to call it “Cossack foreman” to distinguish it from ordinary Cossacks who merged with the authorities.
It should be noted that the Ukrainian nobility did not play a significant role in the popular consciousness of Ukrainians, but the Cossack authorities, who were mostly of the gentry family, were the core of the national elite.
Noble self-government
The form of organization of the gentry was the sejmik, a meeting of the entire Sh., which belonged to the same local community (communitas), as one social whole. Neshava legislation put Sh. on the same level as possible owners: in order to publish new law, establish a new tax or convene a zemstvo militia, the king was obliged to turn to the gentry sejmiks for permission. At the same time, Sh. acquired important privileges even earlier that guaranteed the property and personal integrity of the nobleman (see Tserekvitsky Privilege). This political growth of the class depended on economic reasons. Poland was an agricultural country, therefore, Poland, as a landowning class, was an important factor in the state life of the country.
Nobility and peasantry
In the XIV and XV centuries. The acquisition of Chervonnaya Rus and the annexation, at least partial and temporary, of Podolia and Volyn, opened up vast spaces for Polish colonization, since these lands were sparsely populated. Huge latifundia of Polish magnates were formed here, who, feeling a shortage of workers, tried to attract peasants to their estates with various benefits. The emigration of the peasant population from Poland had a detrimental effect on the economy of the gentry class. It was in his interests to detain the peasants on the spot. In addition, the general economic development of Europe by the end of the Middle Ages expanded markets for the sale of Polish agricultural products, which encouraged the Polish landowner to intensify the exploitation of the land, but this could be achieved, of course, only through changes in farming and by increasing the exploitation of peasant labor. Having political force in her hands, Sh. first limited the self-government of peasant communities, subordinating them to her control, which she achieved
acquisition of the position of Soltys, who stood at the head peasant community. The Warta Statute of 1423 contains a resolution on the basis of which the landowner could deprive the Soltys of his position for disobedience and take this position himself. Having severely constrained peasant self-government, Sh. then limited the freedom of peasant migrations, established corvée and, finally, reduced the peasant to a state of serfdom. According to the Petrokovsky Statute of 1496, only one peasant had the right to leave the landowner’s village, and a peasant family had the right to send only one son to education; The law allowed the landowner to pursue, seize and return a fleeing peasant. The diets of Bydgoszcz (1520) and Torun (1521) established corvée at the rate of one day per week, and the Warsaw Confederation of 1573 gave the landowner power over even the lives of serfs. Economic interests prompted Sh. to also issue restrictive laws in relation to the urban class. The above-mentioned Petrokovsky Statute prohibited the bourgeoisie from acquiring land estates under the pretext that the bourgeoisie did not take part in military campaigns and tried in every possible way to evade military service, and yet it was on land property that military service gravitated. The philistinism tried to fight Sh., but was unsuccessful. In the second half XVI century city representation had already been excluded from participation in the country's legislation, although representatives from some cities sometimes appeared at diets back in the 17th century. Moreover, Sh. subordinated industry and trade to the power of governors and elders, which completely killed the city’s well-being. From the beginning of the 16th century. Sh. was already the all-powerful master in the state and remained such a master until the end of the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. She legislated, judged, elected kings, protected the state from enemies, waged wars, concluded peace agreements and treaties, etc. Not only was the political and social organization of Poland gentry, but the gentry worldview reigned supreme in the mental life of the country. See Chinsheva S., Polish Sejm, Poland, Four-Year Sejm.
Noble culture
Literature
- M. Bobrzyński, "Geneza społeczeństwa polskiego na podstawie kroniki Galla i dyplomatów XII w.";
- Fr. Piekosiński, "O powstaniu społeczeństwa polskiego w wiekach średnich i jego pierwotnym ustroju";
- St. Smolka, “Uwagi o pierwotnym ustroju społecznym Polski Piastowskiej” (these three works are included in “Rozprawy i sprawozd. wydz. histor. filozof. Akad. Um.”, vol. XIV);
- A. Małecki, "Studja heraldynne" (Lviv, 1890, 2 vols.);
- A. Balzer, "Rewizja teorji o pierwotnem osadnictwie w Polsce" ("Kwart. Hist.", 1898, vol. XII);
- Fr. Piekosiński, "Rycerstwo polskie wieków średnich" (vol. I-III);
- A. Prochaska, "Geneza i rozwój parlamentaryzmu za pierwszych Jagiellonów" ("Rozpr. Akad. Um. wydz. hist. filozof.", vol. XXXVIII);
- Fr. Piekosiński, "Wiece, sejmiki, sejmy i przywileje ziemskie w Polsce wieków średnich" (ib., vol. XXXIX);
- A. Pawiński, "Sejmiki ziemskie" (Warsaw, 1895);
- Wł. Smoleński, "Szlachta w świetle w łasnych opinji" ("Pisma historyczne", Krakow 1901, vol. I);
- R. Hube, "Prawo polskie w w. XIII" (Warsaw, 1874);
- his, "Sądy, ich praktyka i stosunki prawne w Polsce etc." (Warsaw, 1886).
See also
- Familiarity
Links
- Official website of the international noble club "SZLACHTA"
- Official website of the noble club "Szlachta" version 2009
- Official website of the noble club "Szlachta" version 2006
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Nobility(from other Upper German slahta - genus) - nobility V
Poland. The question of the origin of the gentry is in connection with the question of
the emergence of the Polish state. In Polish historiography there are
two theories to solve last question: theory of the conquest of Poland
foreign tribe and the theory of natural evolution of socio-political
relations in the life of Polish tribes, denying the fact of conquest from the outside.
Pekosinsky, a professor at the University of Krakow, tries to prove that
the Polish state arose as a result of the conquest of Poland by the Polabians
Slavs who moved to Poland at the end of the 8th or beginning of the 9th century. Living with
mouths of the Laba (Elbe), they had to wage a fierce struggle with
Germanic tribes, Saxons, Normans and Franks, as a result of which in
the life of the Polabian Lechites, as the historian calls them, developed
militancy; in addition, being in relations with German world, They
submitted to German influence. By the way, they borrowed from
Danes Scandinavian runes, which they used in the form of military signs
on their banners. With the conquest of Poland by aliens, its population
fell into three classes: 1) the leaders of the conquerors, who belonged to one
and to the same family or the same princely dynasty that ruled
Polabian Lechites, formed the upper class, from which it came
Polish Sh.; 2) ordinary warriors formed the class of ordinary knighthood or so
called rulers and, finally, 3) the local rural population was converted to
slave state. The fact of the resettlement of the Polabian Slavs to the east, to
banks of the Warta and Vistula, is not noted in any historical source, so
that the conquest of Poland by these settlers is only a hypothesis
researcher. In the basis of the coats of arms of the Polish gentry, Pekosinsky finds
Scandinavian runes; they are the most powerful
evidence given by a historian in favor of his hypothesis. But this
the main position of Pekosinski's research in the field of Polish
heraldry is rejected by other Polish scholars. In general, this theory
although it is distinguished by remarkable harmony, it rests on very shaky
grounds. Researchers who accept the second theory differ between
ourselves in our views on sociopolitical factors, under the influence
which the Polish state was created, but agree among themselves that
that it arose as a result of the struggle of Polish tribes among themselves.
The evolution of national-political relations in primitive Poland was
most likely this is the case. State organization was preceded by
and among all primitive peoples, the clan, whereby the clan was also
economic union on the basis of collectivity. Further form
social integration was a group of births corresponding
South Slavic brotherhood and laid the foundation for the territorial union,
later called "opole". The affairs of the village were managed by the council
elders who headed the individual clans that made up the opole.
From the connection of opoles, tribes arose, ruled by princes. War
strengthened the princely power and contributed to the separation from the general mass
free people of a special permanent class of warriors who formed the core,
from which the gentry class gradually developed. Tense struggle
which the Poles had to fight with their enemies, especially with
by the German Empire, imposed on the entire state organization of Poland
a strong imprint of military life. The whole country dotted with "cities"
(fortresses) in which detachments of knights were located, represented the view as
would be a vast camp. A particularly large number of troops during the reign
King Boleslaw the Brave was concentrated, according to the first Polish
chronicler Gall, in Poznan (1300 knights in armor and 7000 with shields), in
Gniezna (1500 men-at-arms and 5000 shield-bearers), in Wladislav (800 men-at-arms and
2000 shield-bearers) and in Geche (300 men-at-arms and 2000 shield-bearers). Glory and
the generosity of kings such as Bolesław the Brave, Bolesław the Bold and Bolesław
Wrymouth, attracted foreign knights to Poland who were thirsty
acquire wealth. In the ranks of the Polish knighthood there were often
knights who bore names such as Rudolf, Arnulf, William, Odon and
etc. Relations with Germany and other Western countries led the Poles to
because they borrowed customs and institutions from there. So, already in the 11th century.
The custom of knighting was known to Poland, and the kings granted
knighthood for some merit or service to people of ignoble
origin and even slaves. The noble class was also called
"lords". Elders of knightly families, former princes of tribes that lost
their political independence, and the descendants of these princes constituted
this class is an aristocratic element, which over time
developed and grew into a special class of wealthy landowning nobility, so
called "Mozhnovladstva". Pekosinski argues that Polish knighthood before
end of the 11th table. was dependent on the sovereigns and did not own their lands
had, and that only at the beginning of the 12th century. under Prince Boleslav Krivoust it
was endowed with land holdings and then only turned into
landowning class. But this statement is not justified
historical data. Chivalry as a class that stands out from the masses
population, owned lands in prehistoric times. Wherein,
Of course, there were also knights who did not have land; they belonged to the princely
or royal squad and received support from the sovereign. But, in general,
chivalry was a landowning class. A knight could own an estate
received by him either by inheritance or by virtue of a grant. First view
land ownership constituted patrimonial property, the second -
personal. Collective patrimonial property was found in Poland among the gentry
back in the 15th and even 16th centuries. But its decomposition began early and the process
individualization developed more and more. However, relatively
individual property for a long time in Poland operated
legal norms, indicating that this property
separated from the family line. To alienate such property into the wrong hands
the consent of relatives was necessary; in addition, the latter had the right
demand the return to their possession of lands that were alienated, and
return them by paying the sale price to the person who acquired these lands.
Already in the first centuries of historical Poland, a class began to separate from the knights
large land owners or possible owners. In a specific era they
represented the force on which the fate of the country depended. To Poland
penetrated Western European culture and, although it did not settle in
feudal system, nevertheless, relations developed that brought closer
to a significant extent, Polish orders with Western European ones. Higher
the clergy, and after them the rulers, acquired immunity from the princes,
giving them the rights of supreme power over the population of their estates. Under
the influence of immunity developed and so called. chivalric law (jus
militiae). The one who owned this right could dispose of his
property according to the existing law of inheritance (jus hereditarium),
was exempted from some duties, acquired some judicial
power over the peasants and could demand from them in his favor the fulfillment
duties that they previously bore in relation to the sovereign. That's how it is
was considered noble (nobilis), a nobleman. Sh. differed from knighthood
back in the 14th century, according to the legislation of Casimir the Great, ordinary knighthood
(miles medius, scartabellus); in addition, there were knights
came from peasants and Soltys (miles e sculteto vel cmetone).
The fee for the murder of a nobleman was set at 60 hryvnia for a knight
private 30 gr. and knight of the last category - 15 gr. More than that
knighthood was simple, ignoble, and had no coats of arms. Subsequently this
the class merged partly with the peasantry and partly with the Sh. In the XIII and XIV centuries. Sh.
haven't had one yet political significance; she obeyed the will of the prelates and
barons, as spiritual and secular nobles were called. But as a fighting force
state, it already at that time played a very important role in the country.
Mainly with the support of the Lyakhta, King Vladislav Lokotko succeeded
restore the Polish monarchy, create political unity,
as a result of which the national consciousness of the Poles became even stronger.
The bearer and exponent of this consciousness was mainly Sh. K.
this was accompanied by other factors, under the influence of which it became
to develop in the nobility the desire to take a place in the state that is appropriate to it
strength. As a class isolated from others, it was strongly imbued with
corporate spirit, feelings of class solidarity and energetic
defended her class interests, which were often in conflict
contradictions with the interests of other classes. I fought especially hard
already in the Middle Ages with the clergy, whose privileges, charging
tithes, church jurisdiction, exemption from military service and taxes,
sometimes became completely unbearable for her. Free yourself from different things
kind of burdens imposed by the state or caused by
privileged position of the clergy and secular aristocracy, one can
was, of course, only by influencing the legislative branch of the country.
Already the privileges of the 13th century (1229 and 1291) prohibited princes from increasing
duties lying on Sh., in addition existing norm. In the XIV century. influence
the gentry class is further strengthened. Already in the first half of this
centuries, gentry are present at national congresses of prelates and
barons or as simple spectators and listeners without voting rights,
or even sometimes, probably, taking an active part in the meetings of these
congresses (such as, for example, the congresses of 1320 and 1333). Further growth of the gentry in
this century was due to the general rise of social forces in Poland, in
reign of Casimir the Great. Events after the death of this king
accelerated the political evolution of the class. The throne of Poland passed to
Casimir's nephew Louis, King of Hungary, who had no
sons, but only three daughters. Meanwhile, Polish customary law and
treaties concluded between Poland and Hungary eliminated women from
succession to the Polish throne, as a result of which with the death of Louis
Poland could not remain in the possession of his dynasty. It was frustrating
dynastic plans of the king and he, bestowing various benefits
government officials of Poland, obtained from them recognition as one of his
daughters heir to the Polish crown. But I privileged Kosice in 1374 gentry
freed from all government duties, with the exception of payment
land tax in the amount of 2 groschen per lan, received an exceptional
the right to occupy the positions of governor, castellan, judges, subcomorichs, etc. C
from this moment the political evolution of the class will take place very
fast. During the period of kinglessness (1382 - 84), after the death of Louis, she
already represented a force on which the fate of the state depended. Boiled
the struggle of parties, whose leaders had to rely on Sh. as a fighting force
strength. And Sh. begins to play a very important political role in this era.
In order to discuss the state of affairs, local and
general congresses consisting of prelates, barons and nobles. At that time
of a strong political movement, even the beginnings of a gentry appeared
representative offices. According to the modern Polish chronicler Janka from
Czarnkova, the Wiślica Diet of 1382 brought together the Krakowians, Sandomierians and
ambassadors of all Polish lands. But most importantly, at this time
reveals already strong activity of the institution in which
the socio-political life of the gentry communities was concentrated on
which was divided by the Sh. of all Poland: it was a sejmik, a meeting of the entire Sh.,
belonging to the same local community (communitas), as one
to the social whole. This is how the political
system in which Sh. was destined to dominate. However, until half XV
centuries, she is still in an official position in relation to
spiritual and temporal nobles. Although its representatives, together with
representatives from spiritual chapters, universities and cities and accept
participation in the diets, but the state at this time is controlled by the aristocracy.
Relations change from Neshava legislation, which placed the gentry on
the same level as the owners: to issue a new law, establish
a new tax or convene the zemstvo militia, the king was obliged to
permission to address the noble sejmiks. At the same time, Sh. acquired
even earlier, important privileges that guaranteed property and personal
immunity of the nobleman. This political growth of the class was in
depending on economic reasons. Poland was a country
agricultural, therefore, the gentry, as a landowning class,
was an important factor in the state life of the country. In X.IV and XV
centuries the economic conditions in which Poland was located were greatly
have changed. With the acquisition of Chervonnaya Rus' and the annexation, at least
partial and temporary, Podolia and Volyn, vast spaces opened
for Polish colonization, since these lands were sparsely populated. Here
huge latifundia of Polish magnates were formed who, feeling
lack of labor, they tried to attract peasants to their estates
various benefits. The emigration of the peasant population from Poland is harmful
responded to the economy of the gentry class. It was in his interests
hold the peasants in place. Moreover, overall economic development
Europe by the end of the Middle Ages expanded markets for the sale of agricultural products.
products of Poland, which encouraged the Polish landowner to strengthen
exploitation of the land, but this could be achieved, of course, only through
changes in farming and through increased exploitation
peasant labor. Having political power in their hands, the gentry limited
first self-government of peasant communities, subordinating them to your control,
what she achieved by acquiring the position of Soltys, who stood at the head
peasant community. The Warta Statute of 1423 concludes
decree on the basis of which the landowner could deprive the saltys
positions for disobedience and take this position himself. Very constrained
peasant self-government, Sh. then limited the freedom of peasants
resettlement, established corvée and finally converted the peasant into
serfdom. According to the Petrokovsky Statute of 1496, leave
only one peasant had the right to a landowner's village, only one son
the peasant family had the right to donate to education; escaped
the law allowed the landowner to pursue, seize and return the peasant
back. The diets in Bydgoszcz (1520) and in Thorn (1521) established corvée in
the amount of one day during the week, and the Warsaw Confederation of 1573.
gave the landowner power even over the lives of the serfs. Economic
interests prompted the gentry to also issue restrictive laws and
relation to the urban class. The above-mentioned Petrokovsky Statute
prohibited the townspeople from acquiring land estates under the pretext that
the townspeople do not take part in military campaigns and in every possible way
trying to evade military service, and yet it is precisely for
land ownership was subject to military service. Philistinism
tried to fight the gentry, but was unsuccessful. In the second half of the 16th century.
city representation had already been excluded from participation in
legislation of the country, although representatives from some cities and
appeared sometimes at diets back in the 17th century. Moreover, Sh. subdued
industry and trade power of governors and elders, than finally
killed the city's prosperity. From the beginning of the 15th century. Sh. was already omnipotent
master in the state, and remained such a master until the end of its existence
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. She legislated, judged, elected kings,
protected the state from enemies, waged wars, concluded peaces and treaties and
etc. Not only the political and social organization of Poland was
gentry,
The gentry worldview dominated undividedly in
mental life of the country.
Literature. M. Bobrzynski, "Geneza spoleczenstwa polskiego na
podstawie kroniki Galla i dyplomatow XII w."; Fr. Piekosinski, "O
powstaniu spoleczenstwa polskiego w wiekach srednich i jego pierwotnym
ustroju"; St. Smolka, "Uwagi o pierwotnym ustroju spolecznym Polski
Piastowskiej" (these three works are included in "Rozprawy i sprawozd. wydz.
histor. filozof. Akad. Urn.", t . XIV); A. Malecki, "Studja heraldynne"
(Lvov, 1890, 2 vols. .); A. Balzer, "Rewizja teorji about pierwotnem osadnictwie
w Polsce" ("Kwart. Hist.", 1898, T . XII); Fr. Piekosinski, "Rycerstwo
polskie wiekow srednich" (t . 1 - III); A. Prochaska, "Geneza i rozwoj
parlamentaryzmu za pierwszych Jagiellonow" ("Rozpr. Akad. Um. wydz.
hist. filozof.", vol. XXX VIII) Fr. Piekosinski, "Wiece, sejmiki, sejmy i
przywileje ziemskie w Polsce wiekow srednich" (ib., t. XXXIX); A.
Pawinski, "Sejmiki ziemskie" (Warsaw , 1895); Wl. Smolenski, "Szlachta w
swietle wlasnych opinji" ("Pisma historyczne", Krakow 1901, vol. 1); R.
Hube, "Prawo polskie w w. XIII" (Warsaw, 1874); also, "Sady, ich
praktyka i stosunki prawne w Polsce etc."(Warsaw, 1886). IN.
The gentry is the Polish nobility, which included all the nobility and aristocracy, both magnates and family princes, as well as small estates.
This class originates from the times of knighthood, which, by the award of “ius militare” and by the right of inheritance “ius hereditarium”, was considered noble (nobilis).
The origins of the nobility can be found in the privileges granted between 1333 and 1370. in the Kingdom of Poland by King Casimir the Great. This topic remains open and leaves rich possibilities for speculation and various theories.
After all, historians, as we know, have two shortcomings: they use small examples to make large-scale generalizations and are shamelessly unconvincing in their assumptions. If engineers had worked with their material on the same principles, then humanity would never have been able to build even a bridge across a river.
Over time, the expansion and increase in the number of privileges and freedoms of the gentry reached such proportions that the country became ungovernable and this led to the infamous divisions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Map of the three sections of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with dates:
First partition 1772 Russia returns territories previously lost as a result of wars and civil strife - Mstislavl (near Smolensk), Polotsk, Vitebsk, Mogilev, Gomel.
Second section - 1793. Annexation to the Russian Empire of Minsk, Bobruisk, as well as a significant part of the Ukrainian Right Bank - Podolia, Polesie and the Dnieper region with the cities of Zhitomir, Cherkassy, etc.
Third partition - 1795. As a result of the suppression of the Polish uprising by Russian troops, they came under the control of the empire western Belarus and Volyn: Brest, Grodno, Vladimir-Volynsky, Lutsk. And also Vilna and Courland.
And when did Warsaw itself and a number of other, truly native Polish lands become part of the Russian Empire?
In 1806/07 Napoleon Bonaparte defeated Prussia and scattered the ashes of its statehood, creating the puppet Duchy of Warsaw from part of the Prussian lands. It existed for an extremely short time, but managed to Austro-Hungarian Empire fight (and even recapture from her the old capital of her kingdom - Krakow). And in 1812, the Duchy, in coalition with Napoleonic Armada, attacked Russia. After final defeat Napoleon in 1815 at the Congress of Vienna, the victorious powers (including two empires - Russian and Austro-Hungarian) ruled the share of Europe after the Napoleonic era. In France, the Bourbon restoration took place and there were three more kings (Louis XVIII, Charles X and Louis Philippe), and the Duchy of Warsaw ceased its short existence, becoming part of Russia, under special conditions.
Before the partitions, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was a densely populated and large European power with a population of 11 million inhabitants and a territory of 733 thousand square meters. km. As a result of the three sections, 62% of the area and 45% of the population went to the Russian Empire; to Austria-Hungary - 18% of the land and 32% of the people; and to Prussia - 20 and 23%, respectively.
Golden Liberty(Polish Złota Wolność) is a unique phenomenon in political system The Kingdom of Poland and a later formation - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (after the Union of Lublin in 1569), given the fact that such equality coexisted with the absolute monarchy inherent in almost all of Europe at that time. We are talking about the so-called. gentry democracy, when all gentry had equal and extensive rights and privileges. This small-scale nobility sat in the Polish Sejm (parliament) and elected the king. Each nobleman in the Sejm had the right of veto and could block any decision, which he used at every opportunity.
"Free veto" (lat. Liberum veto) - the principle of the parliamentary structure in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which allowed any Sejm deputy to stop discussing the issue and, if desired, block the work of the Sejm altogether by speaking out against it.
To do this, it was enough to stand up and say: “I won’t allow it!” The country became impossible to govern, royal power fell into complete decline, which allowed powerful neighbors (Russia, Austria-Hungary and Prussia) to gradually, in three steps, divide its territory and population among themselves.
The gentry was very different in composition. For example, Stanisław Lubomirski (1719-1783) owned a latifundia of 1,071 estates. In Polish, the estate is called “maetok” and these estates stretched across nine southern voivodeships: from the Vesnich family nest near Krakow to Tetiev near Kiev. And up to 1 million serfs cultivated the master's land. Probably at that time Lyubomirsky was the largest European landowner.
Moreover, it was not uncommon for small impoverished gentry to lease out their lands to rich representatives of their own class, while they themselves served the magnates or, which happened much less frequently, even cultivated the land, along with the peasants. However, no extreme degree of need and economic inequality could deprive them of their ambition - noble blood, family coat of arms, legal status of a nobleman and the right of inheritance. All the gentry addressed their equals as “pan” or “pani,” and addressed the peasants with a deliberately contemptuous “you” and called them “clap.” Even the poor nobleman considered the entire Polish aristocracy equal to himself, and the rest - the lower class. The expression “psia krew” (dog blood or who knows whose, half-breed) is still one of the most terrible insults in Poland.
The term tycoon comes from the Latin. " magnus", which means great, great. In the Kingdom of Poland these were very wealthy people from large and famous families, whose history can be traced back hundreds of years.
Many noble families, although they did not have a princely title, had such large landholdings that they were comparable in political influence with princely families (Czartoryski, Poniatowski, Zamoyski, Koniecpolski, Potocki, Mniszeki, Sobieski, Leszczynski, Chodkiewicz, etc.). Both groups - princely families by birthright and magnates - connected by family ties, constituted a single aristocratic elite of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, basing their power on the possession of almost sovereign magnate pans and on occupying the most honorable positions. Famous dynastic associations had own armies, huge estates (mayettes) and profits from their possessions, which often exceeded the royal one, they were served by dozens and hundreds of impoverished nobles, forming clans.
Polish small nobility ( drobna szlachta) was extremely disunited and absolutely incomparable with each other. Quantitatively, it was the most numerous in Europe. For example, in Mazovia the gentry made up about a quarter of the total population. Despite extreme poverty, every nobleman strived to get to military service or manage the estates of a wealthier and more successful member of his class. The nobleman rode into the city on horseback, even on an old nag, and always had a weapon with him, even a rusty, crooked saber.
The gentry did not recognize foreign titles and ranks: there were no Polish barons and marquises.
After the divisions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 80-85% of the gentry lost their noble status and replenished the declassed reservoir of “former” and unreliable, accumulating anti-government sentiments and displeasure in their new homelands.
Only in 1921, after the restoration of the Polish Republic, did the newly democratically elected Polish Sejm abolish aristocratic privileges. Peculiar Polish gentry awareness of the peculiarities of one’s social identity has survived all disasters and the test of time: even in the 50s, sociologists found in Mazovia among villagers and collective farmers, groups and families who shunned their neighbors, dressed and behaved differently, and avoided mixed marriages. Already in the 90s, after the fall " iron curtain"and the collapse of communism, there were still young Poles who wore signet rings with a relief image of the family coat of arms (in order to show who they were).
In the history of Europe, only one nation behaved in a similar way. The Spanish aristocracy was also equal, although wealthy grandees and hidalgos from the glorious families of La Mancha, Asturias, Castile or Andalusia often paid the bills for the small and poor bohemia of the east - Aragon and Catalonia.