The Nieszawa Statutes (Polish : statuty nieszawskie) were a set of laws enacted in the Kingdom of Poland in 1454, in the town of Nieszawa located in north-central Poland. The King Casimir IV Jagiellon made a number of concessions to the Polish nobility and the gentry (szlachta) in exchange for their support in the Thirteen Years' War. Among other things, the Statutes required the King to seek the lords' approval when issuing new laws, when levying the mobilisation of armed forces (pospolite ruszenie), or when imposing new taxes. The Statutes strengthened the position of some of the nobility at the expense of less agreeable estates. [1]
With the Statute of Nieszawa, King Casimir (1427–1492) – who was a brother of Władysław III of Poland (1424–1444), the new King of Hungary – also managed to take further advantage of the political split between the richest and most influential Polish families, and the much broader class of szlachta. The statute substantially limited the power of the former in exchange for the new privileges bestowed upon the latter. From then on, szlachta consent was required in the passing of new laws, as well as, for the declaration of war. Equally important, was the significant reduction in the autonomy of the Church controlled by Cardinal Zbigniew Oleśnicki (one of the most powerful magnates). It allowed the king to appoint Catholic bishops himself. [1]
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The szlachta were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the state, exercising extensive political rights and power. Szlachta as a class differed significantly from the feudal nobility of Western Europe. The estate was officially abolished in 1921 by the March Constitution.
Casimir IV was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers, under whom Poland, by defeating the Teutonic Knights in the Thirteen Years' War recovered Pomerania, and the Jagiellonian dynasty became one of the leading royal houses in Europe.
The Lithuanian nobility was historically a legally privileged hereditary elite class in the Kingdom of Lithuania and Grand Duchy of Lithuania consisting of Lithuanians from Lithuania Proper; Samogitians from Duchy of Samogitia; following Lithuania's eastward expansion into what is now Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, many ethnically Ruthenian noble families (boyars); and, later on, predominantly Baltic German families from the Duchy of Livonia and Inflanty Voivodeship. It traced its origins via Palemonids to Polemon II of Pontus.
Golden Liberty, sometimes referred to as Golden Freedoms, Nobles' Democracy or Nobles' Commonwealth was a political system in the Kingdom of Poland and, after the Union of Lublin (1569), in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Under that system, all nobles (szlachta), regardless of rank, economic status or their ethnic background were considered to have equal legal status and enjoyed extensive legal rights and privileges. The nobility controlled the legislature and the Commonwealth's elected king.
Pospolite ruszenie is a name for the mobilisation of armed forces during the period of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The tradition of wartime mobilisation of part of the population existed from before the 13th century to the 19th century. In the later era, pospolite ruszenie units were formed from the szlachta. The pospolite ruszenie was eventually outclassed by professional forces.
Royal elections in Poland were the elections of individual kings, rather than dynasties, to the Polish throne. Based on traditions dating to the very beginning of the Polish statehood, strengthened during the Piast and Jagiellon dynasties, they reached their final form in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth period between 1572 and 1791. The "free election" was abolished by the Constitution of 3 May 1791, which established a constitutional-parliamentary monarchy.
The current Constitution of Poland was founded on 2 April 1997. Formally known as the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, it replaced the Small Constitution of 1992, the last amended version of the Constitution of the Polish People's Republic, known from December 1989 as the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. It was adopted by the National Assembly of Poland on 2 April 1997, approved by a national referendum on 25 May 1997, promulgated by the President of the Republic on 16 July 1997, and came into effect on 17 October 1997.
This article presents the timeline of selected events concerning the history of the Jews in Poland beginning with the formation of the Polish state under its first ruler, Mieszko I of Poland.
The history of the Jews in Poland before the 18th century covers the period of Jewish-Polish history from its origins, roughly until the political and socio-economic circumstances leading to the dismemberment of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the second half of the 18th century by the neighbouring empires.
The Piotrków Statutes were a set of laws enacted in the Kingdom of Poland in 1496. King John I Albert made a number of concessions to the nobility, whose support he required in war. Among other things, the nobles were relieved of certain taxes and were granted exclusive rights to high Church offices.
Chicken War or Hen War is the colloquial name for a 1537 anti-royalist and anti-absolutist rokosz (rebellion) by the Polish nobility. The derisive name was coined by the magnates, who for the most part supported the King and claimed that the conflict's only effect was the near-extinction of the local chickens, eaten by the nobles gathered for the rokosz at Lwów, in Ruthenian Voivodeship. The magnates' choice of "kokosz"—meaning "an egg laying hen"—may have been inspired by a play on words between "kokosz" and the similar-sounding "rokosz". The Chicken War was the first rokosz of the Szlachta in Polish history.
The Privilege of Koszyce or Privilege of Kassa was a set of concessions made by Louis I of Hungary to the Polish szlachta (nobility) in 1374. The privileges were granted in Kassa, Kingdom of Hungary. In exchange, one of Louis' daughters was to ascend the throne of Poland after his death.
The Privilege of Mielnik was an act promulgated on October 25, 1501, at Mielnik by Poland's King Alexander Jagiellon. It substantially expanded the powers of the Senate and the magnates, at the expense of the king. Furthermore, it de facto introduced a republican form of government. However, the privilege was not confirmed by the king after his election, and in 1504 was rejected by the Sejm.
The Lithuanian Council of Lords was the main permanent institution of central government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania active in its capital city of Vilnius.
The Thirteen Years' War, also called the War of the Cities, was a conflict fought in 1454–1466 between the Prussian Confederation, allied with the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, and the State of the Teutonic Order.
The rule of the Jagiellonian dynasty in Poland between 1386 and 1572 spans the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period in European history. The Lithuanian Grand Duke Jogaila founded the dynasty; his marriage to Queen Jadwiga of Poland in 1386 strengthened an ongoing Polish–Lithuanian union. The partnership brought vast territories controlled by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into Poland's sphere of influence and proved beneficial for both the Polish and Lithuanian people, who coexisted and cooperated in one of the largest political entities in Europe for the next four centuries.
The Jagiellonian dynasty, otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty, the House of Jagiellon, or simply the Jagiellons, was the name assumed by a cadet branch of the Lithuanian ducal dynasty of Gediminids upon reception by Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, of baptism as Władysław in 1386, which paved the way to his ensuing marriage to the Queen Regnant Jadwiga of Poland, resulting in his ascension to the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland as Władysław II Jagiełło, and the effective promotion of his branch to a royal dynasty. The Jagiellons reigned in several Central European countries between the 14th and 16th centuries. Members of the dynasty were Kings of Poland (1386–1572), Grand Dukes of Lithuania, Kings of Hungary, and Kings of Bohemia and imperial electors (1471–1526).
The privileges of the szlachta formed a cornerstone of "Golden Liberty" in the Kingdom of Poland and, later, in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569-1795). Most szlachta privileges were obtained between the late-14th and early-16th centuries. By the end of that period, the szlachta had succeeded in garnering numerous rights, empowering themselves and limiting the powers of the elective Polish monarchy to an extent unprecedented elsewhere in Europe at the time.
The Privilege of Buda was a set of promises and concessions made to ensure that Louis I of Hungary would succeed to his uncle Casimir III's Polish throne, thus enabling the union of Hungary and Poland.
Personal union between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Kingdom of Poland was achieved twice: under Louis I of Hungary, in 1370–1382, and under Władysław III of Poland in 1440–1444. An earlier union was also accomplished by Wenceslaus III of Bohemia for a few months in 1305, although he was heavily resisted by local nobles in both kingdoms, and gave up the Hungarian crown soon after.