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94-541: Bytów ( Polish: [ˈbɨtuf] ; Kashubian : Bëtowò ; German : Bütow [ˈbyːtoː] ) is a town in the Gdańsk Pomerania region of northern Poland with 16,730 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Bytów County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship . The origins of Bytów can be traced back to the early Middle Ages when a fortified stronghold once stood near

188-437: A bugle call is played during important events which taking place in the area. Bytów is a popular tourist destination in the region of Pomerania and is famous for its medieval Teutonic Castle built in the late 14th century. According to the city's official webpage the name Bytów comes from the founder of the settlement named "Byt". A settlement was first mentioned by the name of Butow in 1321. The territory became part of

282-568: A liege Lord . Unlike absolute monarchs who eventually took reign in most other European countries, the Polish king was not an autocrat and not the szlachta's overlord. The relatively few hereditary noble titles in the Kingdom of Poland were bestowed by foreign monarchs, while in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, princely titles were mostly inherited by descendants of old dynasties. During

376-656: A center of Polish resistance against Germanisation and was a Polish-Kashubian printing center. From 1846 to 1945, Bütow was the seat of the Landkreis Bütow district in Prussia. The town became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the Prussian-led unification of Germany . Polish minority remained active in the city, and in 1910 a Polish Bank Ludowy was founded here. After the end of World War I and

470-497: A class differed significantly from the feudal nobility of Western Europe . The estate was officially abolished in 1921 by the March Constitution . The origins of the szlachta are obscure and the subject of several theories. Traditionally, its members owned land (allods) , often folwarks . The szlachta secured substantial and increasing political power and rights throughout its history, beginning with

564-688: A divergent dialect of Polish . Dialectal diversity is so great within Kashubian that a speaker of southern dialects has considerable difficulty in understanding a speaker of northern dialects. The spelling and the grammar of Polish words written in Kashubian, which is most of its vocabulary, are highly unusual, making it difficult for native Polish speakers to comprehend written text in Kashubian. Like Polish, Kashubian includes about 5% loanwords from German (such as kùńszt "art"). Unlike Polish, these are mostly from Low German and only occasionally from High German . Other sources of loanwords include

658-404: A farm, often little different from a peasant's dwelling, sometimes referred to as drobna szlachta , "petty nobles" or yet, szlachta okoliczna , meaning "local". Particularly impoverished szlachta families were often forced to become tenants of their wealthier peers. They were described as szlachta czynszowa , or "tenant nobles" who paid rent. See " Szlachta categories " for more. The origins of

752-471: A few decades earlier. ..." Escutcheons and hereditary coats of arms with eminent privileges attached is an honor derived from the ancient Germans. Where Germans did not inhabit, and where German customs were unknown, no such thing existed. The usage of heraldry in Poland was brought in by knights arriving from Silesia , Lusatia , Meissen , and Bohemia . Migrations from here were the most frequent, and

846-405: A highly developed sense of solidarity. (See gens .) The starosta (or starszyna ) had judicial and military power over the ród/clan, although this power was often exercised with an assembly of elders. Strongholds called grόd were built where the religious cult was powerful, where trials were conducted, and where clans gathered in the face of danger. The opole was the territory occupied by

940-472: A king, exercised supreme political power over that republic and elected kings as servants of a republic the szlachta regarded as the embodiment of their rights. Over time, numerically most lesser szlachta became poorer, or were poorer than, their few rich peers with the same political status and status in law, and many lesser szlachta were worse off than commoners with land. They were called szlachta zagrodowa , that is, "farm nobility", from zagroda ,

1034-406: A lower species. Quoting Bishop of Poznań, Wawrzyniec Goślicki, herbu Grzymała (between 1530 and 1540–1607): "The kingdome of Polonia doth also consist of the said three sortes, that is, the king, nobility and people. But it is to be noted, that this word people includeth only knights and gentlemen. ... The gentlemen of Polonia doe represent the popular state, for in them consisteth a great part of

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1128-457: A member of the family would simply use his Christian name (e.g., Jakub, Jan, Mikołaj, etc.), and the name of the coat of arms common to all members of his clan. A member of the family would be identified as, for example, "Jakub z Dąbrówki", herbu Radwan, (Jacob to/at Dąbrówki of the knights' clan Radwan coat of arms ), or "Jakub z Dąbrówki, Żądło ( cognomen ) (later a przydomek/nickname/ agnomen ), herbu Radwan" (Jacob to/at [owning] Dąbrówki with

1222-400: A new term for Lithuanian nobility appearing in the 16th century — šlėkta , a direct loanword from Polish szlachta . Recently, Lithuanian linguists advocated dropping the usage of this Polish loanword. The process of Polonization took place over a lengthy period. At first only the leading members of the nobility were involved. Gradually the wider population became affected. Major effects on

1316-463: A non- Slavic warrior class, forming a distinct element known as the Lechici /Lekhi ( Lechitów ) within the ancient Polonic tribal groupings ( Indo-European caste systems ). Similar to Nazi racial ideology, which dictated the Polish elite were largely Nordic (the szlachta Boreyko coat of arms heralds a swastika ), this hypothesis states this upper class was not of Slavonic extraction and

1410-522: A person's place of residence, birth or family origin). In antiquity, the szlachta used topographic surnames to identify themselves. The expression " z " (meaning "from" sometimes "at") plus the name of one's patrimony or estate (dominion) carried the same prestige as "de" in French names such as "de Châtellerault", and " von " or " zu " in German names such as "von Weizsäcker" or "zu Rhein" . For example,

1504-468: A policy that was greatly eased in 1596 by the Union of Brest . See, for example, the careers of Senator Adam Kisiel and Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki . The Proto-Slavic suffix "-ьskъ" means "characteristic of", "typical of". This suffix exists in Polish as "-ski" (feminine: "-ska"). It's attached to surnames derived from a person's occupation, characteristics, patronymic surnames, or toponymic surnames (from

1598-467: A retinue, as well. Another group of knights were granted land in allodium , not feudal tenure , by the prince, allowing them the economic ability to serve the prince militarily. A Polish warrior belonging to the military caste living at the time prior to the 15th century was referred to as a "rycerz", very roughly equivalent to the English "knight," the critical difference being the status of "rycerz"

1692-606: A series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland , the existing Lithuanian and Ruthenian nobilities formally joined the szlachta . As the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795) evolved and expanded territorially after the Union of Lublin , its membership grew to include the leaders of Ducal Prussia and Livonia . Over time, membership in

1786-478: A single tribe. ( Manteuffel 1982 , p. 44) The family unit of a tribe is called the rodzina , while a collection of tribes is a plemię . Mieszko I of Poland (c. 935 – 25 May 992) established an elite knightly retinue from within his army, which he depended upon for success in uniting the Lekhitic tribes and preserving the unity of his state. Documented proof exists of Mieszko I's successors utilizing such

1880-399: A unifying religious cult, governed by the wiec , an assembly of free tribesmen. Later, when safety required power to be consolidated, an elected prince was chosen to govern. The election privilege was usually limited to elites. The tribes were ruled by clans ( ród ) consisting of people related by blood or marriage and theoretically descending from a common ancestor, giving the ród/clan

1974-474: Is the exchange of high school students between Bytów and Winona. Sołectwos in the urban-rural commune ( gmina ) of Bytów include: Dąbie, Gostkowo, Grzmiąca, Mądrzechowo, Mokrzyn, Niezabyszewo, Płotowo, Pomysk Mały Pomysk Wielki, Rekowo, Rzepnica, Sierżno, Świątkowo, Udorpie, Ząbinowice. Kashubian language In Poland , it has been an officially recognized ethnic-minority language since 2005. Approximately 87,600 people use mainly Kashubian at home. It

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2068-692: Is the only language in Poland with that status, which was granted by the Act of 6 January 2005 on National and Ethnic Minorities and on the Regional Language of the Polish Parliament . The act provides for its use in official contexts in ten communes in which speakers are at least 20% of the population. The recognition means that heavily populated Kashubian localities have been able to have road signs and other amenities with Polish and Kashubian translations on them. Friedrich Lorentz wrote in

2162-515: Is the only remnant of the Pomeranian language . It is close to standard Polish with influence from Low German and the extinct Polabian (West Slavic) and Old Prussian (West Baltic) languages. The Kashubian language exists in two different forms: vernacular dialects used in rural areas, and literary variants used in education. Kashubian is assumed to have evolved from the language spoken by some tribes of Pomeranians called Kashubians , in

2256-400: Is used for expressive purposes or is the result of syllable stress. All traces of vowel length can now be seen in vowel alterations. Kashubian features free placement of stress , and in some cases, mobile stress, and in northern dialects, unstressed syllables can result in vowel reduction . An archaic word final stress is preserved in some two-syllable adjectives, adverbs, and regularly in

2350-427: Is widely spoken to this day, despite the use of more formal Polish by parish priests. In Winona, Minnesota , which Ramułt termed the "Kashubian Capital of America", Kashubian was regarded as "poor Polish," as opposed to the "good Polish" of the parish priests and teaching sisters. Consequently, Kashubian failed to survive Polonization and died out shortly after the mid-20th century. Important for Kashubian literature

2444-476: The Baltic languages . The number of speakers of Kashubian varies widely from source to source. In the 2021 census, approximately 87,600 people in Poland declared that they used Kashubian at home, a decrease from over 108,000 in the 2011 census. Of these, only 1,700 reported speaking exclusively in Kashubian within their homes, down from 3,800 in 2011. However, experts caution that changes in census methodology and

2538-745: The King of Lithuania . Because of Lithuanian expansion into the lands of Ruthenia in the middle of the 14th century, a new term for nobility appeared — bajorai , from Ruthenian бояре . This word is used to this day in Lithuania to refer to nobility in general, including those from abroad. After the Union of Horodło , the Lithuanian nobility acquired equal status with its Polish counterparts. Over time they became increasingly Polonized , although they did preserve their national consciousness, and in most cases recognition of their Lithuanian family roots. In

2632-540: The Kingdom of Prussia and later also Germany, within which it remained until the end of World War II . At the final stages of the war, Bytów was the center of heavy artillery shelling initiated by the Red Army , resulting in more than 55% of the buildings destroyed. Throughout its whole history, Bytów was known to be a multicultural town inhabited by Kashubians , Poles , Slovincians , Germans , and Jews . Since 2000

2726-637: The Kingdom of Prussia . Brandenburg imposed higher taxes to pay off its debts after the Thirty Years' War . During the 18th century, the town suffered from fires and plague. In 1773 in the First Partition of Poland the town was wholly incorporated in the Prussian Province of Pomerania . In the 18th century attempts began at Germanisation of the indigenous Polish-Kashubian population by introducing German into schools. It remained

2820-713: The Middle East . The second theory involved a presumed szlachta descent from Japheth , one of Noah 's sons. By contrast, the peasantry were said to be the offspring of another son of Noah, Ham — and hence subject to bondage under the Curse of Ham . The Jews were considered the offspring of Shem . Other fanciful theories included its foundation by Julius Caesar , Alexander the Great , or regional leaders who had not mixed their bloodlines with those of 'slaves, prisoners, or aliens'. Another theory describes its derivation from

2914-482: The Pomeranian Voivodeship . Most respondents say that Kashubian is used in informal speech among family members and friends. This is most likely because Polish is the official language and spoken in formal settings. During the Kashubian diaspora of 1855–1900, 115,700 Kashubians emigrated to North America , with around 15,000 emigrating to Brazil . Among the Polish community of Renfrew County, Ontario , Kashubian

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3008-699: The Proto-Germanic * slagiz , "blow", "strike", and shares the Anglo-Saxon root for "slaughter", or the verb "to slug" – means "breeding" or "gender". Like many other Polish words pertaining to nobility, it derives from Germanic words: the Polish word for "knight" is rycerz , from the German Ritter , meaning "rider". The Polish word for "coat of arms" is herb from the German Erbe ("heritage"). 17th-century Poles assumed szlachta came from

3102-784: The Prussian Confederation 's revolt against the Teutonic Knights. The town alternated between Poland and the monastic state during the Polish-Teutonic Wars , and returned to Polish control after the Second Peace of Thorn (1466) . Poland gave Bytów as lien to the Dukes of Pomerania . Since 1526 the Pomerania dukes held it as an inheritable lien. In 1627 during the Thirty Years' War , the town

3196-465: The Sejm (parliament) , submitting palatines , or Voivodes of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , receive the title of prince . Sons of a prince were to receive titles of counts and barons . Castellans of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were to receive the title of count. This attempt to introduce the hierarchy of noble titles common for European feudal systems for szlachta was rejected. The fact

3290-629: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English: Szlachta The szlachta ( Polish: [ˈʂlaxta] ; Lithuanian : šlėkta ) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland , the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and, as a social class , dominated those states by exercising political rights and power . Szlachta as

3384-528: The comparative degree of adverbs, in some infinitives and present and past tense forms, some nouns ending in -ô , in diminutives . ending in -ik / -yk , nouns formed with -c and -k , and some prepositional phrases with pronouns. Stress mobility can be observed in nouns, where in the singular the stress is initial, but in the plural it's on the final syllable of the stem, i.e. k'òlano but kòl'anami , and in some verb forms, i.e. k'ùpi vs kùp'ita . Some dialects have merged ë with e , making

3478-657: The szlachta grew to encompass around 8% to 15% of Polish-Lithuanian society, which made the membership an electorate that was several times larger than most noble classes in other countries; by contrast, nobles in Italy and France encompassed 1% during the early modern period . Despite often enormous differences in wealth and political influence, few distinctions in law existed between the great magnates and lesser szlachta . The juridic principle of szlachta equality existed because szlachta land titles were allodial , not feudal , involving no requirement of feudal service to

3572-477: The szlachta in Poland. Members of the szlachta had the personal obligation to defend the country ( pospolite ruszenie ), thereby becoming within the kingdom a military caste and aristocracy with political power and extensive rights secured. Inclusion in the warrior caste was almost exclusively based on inheritance. Concerning the early Polish tribes, geography contributed to long-standing traditions. The Polish tribes were internalized and organized around

3666-500: The 15th century and include a book of spiritual psalms that were used to introduce Kashubian to the Lutheran church: Throughout the communist period in Poland (1948-1989), Kashubian greatly suffered in education and social status. Kashubian was represented as folklore and prevented from being taught in schools. Following the collapse of communism, attitudes on the status of Kashubian have been gradually changing. It has been included in

3760-511: The 16th century, some of the Lithuanian nobility claimed that they were descended from the Romans, and that the Lithuanian language was derived from Latin. This led to a conundrum: Polish nobility claimed its own ancestry from Sarmatian tribes, but Sarmatians were considered enemies of the Romans. Thus, a new Roman-Sarmatian theory was created. Strong cultural ties with Polish nobility led to

3854-445: The German schlachten , "to slaughter" or "to butcher", and was therefore related to the German word for battle, Schlacht . Some early Polish historians thought the term might have derived from the name of the legendary proto-Polish chief, Lech , mentioned in Polish and Czech writings. The szlachta traced their descent from Lech, who allegedly founded the Polish kingdom in about the fifth century. The Polish term szlachta designated

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3948-402: The Grand Duchy, Ruthenia 's nobility gradually rendered loyalty to the multilingual and cultural melting pot that was the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Many noble Ruthenian families intermarried with Lithuanians. The rights of Orthodox nobles were nominally equal to those enjoyed by the Polish and Lithuanian nobility, but they were put under cultural pressure to convert to Catholicism. It was

4042-532: The Middle Ages and in the early modern period. The Polish clan name and cry ritualized the ius militare, i.e., the power to command an army; and they had been used sometime before 1244 to define knightly status. ( Górecki 1992 , pp. 183–185). "In Poland, the Radwanice were noted relatively early (1274) as the descendants of Radwan , a knight [more properly a "rycerz" from the German " ritter "] active

4136-542: The Mississippi River to Pine Creek, Wisconsin in the early 1860s. Many found jobs in the lumber mills during the lumber boom of the late 1800s occurring in the region. Up to the end of World War II most inhabitants of the town were Protestants. The above table is based on primary, possibly biased, sources. Polish football club Bytovia Bytów is based in Bytów. Bytów is twinned with: One regular activity

4230-600: The Piasts attempted to deprive them of their independence. These możni (Magnates) constantly sought to undermine princely authority . In Gall Anonym's chronicle, there is noted the nobility's alarm when the Palatine Sieciech "elevated those of a lower class over those who were noble born" entrusting them with state offices. ( Manteuffel 1982 , p. 149) In Lithuania Propria and in Samogitia , prior to

4324-610: The Ruthenian and Lithuanian nobility from before the old Commonwealth. In the past, a misconception sometimes led to the mistranslation of " szlachta " as "gentry" rather than "nobility". This mistaken practice began due to the inferior economic status of many szlachta members compared to that of the nobility in other European countries (see also Estates of the Realm regarding wealth and nobility ). The szlachta included those rich and powerful enough to be great magnates down to

4418-813: The Soviet Union and from the rest of Kashubia . Bytów became the seat of a powiat (1946–1975, 1999-) within Poland. From 1975 to 1998 it was administratively part of the Słupsk Voivodeship . Many families from Bytów such as the Brezas and the Pehlers emigrated to the area of Winona, Minnesota in the United States , beginning in 1859. The Prussian policy was to force the Kashubians out to make room for German settlers. Some Kashubians moved across

4512-445: The belief only rycerstwo (those combining military prowess with high/aristocratic birth) could serve as officials in state administration. Select rycerstwo were distinguished above the other rycerstwo, because they descended from past tribal dynasties, or because early Piasts' endowments made them select beneficiaries. These rycerstwo of great wealth were called możni (Magnates) . They had the same political status and status in law as

4606-478: The creation of the Kingdom of Lithuania by Mindaugas , nobles were called die beste leuten in German sources. In Lithuanian, nobles were named ponai . The higher nobility were named kunigai or kunigaikščiai (dukes) — a loanword from Scandinavian konung . They were the established local leaders and warlords. During the development of the state, they gradually became subordinated to higher dukes, and later to

4700-459: The cry [ vocitatio ], [that is], the godło, [by the name of] Nagody, and I established them in the said land of mine, Masovia , [on the military tenure described elsewhere in the charter]." The documentation regarding Raciborz and Albert's tenure is the earliest surviving of the use of the clan name and cry defining the honorable status of Polish knights. The names of knightly genealogiae only came to be associated with heraldic devices later in

4794-504: The distinction contrastive. Most of this mobility is limited to morphology and stress has largely stabilized in Kashubian. Northern and central dialects show a much more limited mobility, as northern dialects show stabilization on initial stress, and central shows constant distance between the stressed syllable and the initial syllable of the word. Proclitics such as prepositions, pronouns, and grammatical particles such as nié may take initial stress. Eastern groups place accents on

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4888-595: The distinguishing name Żądło of the knights' clan Radwan coat of arms ), or "Jakub Żądło, herbu Radwan". The Polish state paralleled the Roman Empire in that full rights of citizenship were limited to the szlachta. The szlachta in Poland , where Latin was written and spoken far and wide, used the Roman naming convention of the tria nomina (praenomen, nomen, and cognomen) to distinguish Polish citizens/szlachta from

4982-866: The early 20th century that there were three main Kashubian dialects. These include the Other researches would argue that each tiny region of the Kaszuby has its own dialect, as in Dialects and Slang of Poland : The phonological system of the Kashubian language is similar in many ways to those of other Slavic languages . It is famous for Kaszëbienié (Kashubization) and has a large vowel inventory, with 9 oral vowels and 2 nasal vowels. Friedrich Lorentz argued that northern dialects had contrastive vowel length, but later studies showed that any phonemic length distinctions had disappeared by 1900. Any other vowel length

5076-567: The emerging Polish state under its first historic ruler Mieszko I in the 10th century. Bytów passed to the Teutonic Knights in 1329. From 1335 comes the oldest mention of a Catholic parish, which, however, could have existed since the 12th or 13th century. In 1346 it was granted town rights . The castle seen today was built by the Knights between 1399 and 1405 at the site of the older castle, to protect their western border. It has been

5170-480: The end of the 16th century. The modern orthography was first proposed in 1879. Many scholars and linguists debate whether Kashubian should be recognized as a Polish dialect or separate language. In terms of historical development Lechitic West Slavic language , but in terms of modern influence Polish is a prestige language. Kashubian is closely related to Slovincian , and both of them are dialects of Pomeranian . Many linguists , in Poland and elsewhere, consider it

5264-539: The end of the war by the Potsdam Conference and the Polish name Bytów was restored. Those German inhabitants, which had remained in the town or had returned to it short after the war, were later on forcibly expelled and their property seized in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement . The indigenous Polish-Kashubian population was joined by Poles displaced from former eastern Poland annexed by

5358-554: The establishment of Kashubian language, customs, and traditions. He felt strongly that Poles were born brothers and that Kashubia was a separate nation. The Young Kashubian movement followed in 1912, led by author and doctor Aleksander Majkowski , who wrote for the paper Zrzësz Kaszëbskô as part of the Zrzëszincë group. The group contributed significantly to the development of the Kashubian literary language. The earliest printed documents in Polish with Kashubian elements date from

5452-551: The family name of counts Litwiccy (Litwicki ) was formed with the patronymic suffix -ic from the ethnic name Litwa, i.e. Lithuania, 'nation of Lithuanians'. It refers to the early modern empire of Central Europe, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1648). In Polish "z Dąbrówki" and "Dąbrowski" mean the same thing: "of, from Dąbrówka." More precisely, "z Dąbrówki" means owning the patrimony or estate Dąbrówka, not necessarily originating from. Almost all

5546-436: The fifth century. Lechia was the name of Poland in antiquity, and the szlachta's own name for themselves was Lechici /Lekhi. Richard Holt Hutton argued an exact counterpart of szlachta society was the system of tenure of southern India—an aristocracy of equality—settled as conquerors among a separate race. Some elements of the Polish state paralleled the Roman Empire in that full rights of citizenship were limited to

5640-483: The formalized, hereditary aristocracy of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which constituted the nation itself, and ruled without competition. In official Latin documents of the old Commonwealth , the hereditary szlachta were referred to as " nobilitas " from the Latin term, and could be compared in legal status to English or British peers of the realm , or to the ancient Roman idea of cives , "citizen". Until

5734-588: The government of the Commonwealth via the lower legislative chamber of the Sejm (bicameral national parliament) , composed of representatives elected at local sejmiks (local szlachta assemblies). Sejmiks performed various governmental functions at local levels, such as appointing officials and overseeing judicial and financial governance, including tax-raising. The szlachta assumed various governing positions, including voivode , marshal of voivodeship , castellan , and starosta . In 1413, following

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5828-545: The government, and they are as a Seminarie from whence Councellors and Kinges are taken." The szlachta were a caste , a military caste, as in Hindu society. In the year 1244, Bolesław, Duke of Masovia , identified members of the knights ' clan as members of a genealogia: "I received my good servitors [Raciborz and Albert] from the land of [Great] Poland , and from the clan [ genealogia ] called Jelito , with my well-disposed knowledge [i.e., consent and encouragement] and

5922-462: The impoverished with an aristocratic lineage, but with no land, no castle, no money, no village, and no subject peasants. Historian M.Ross wrote in 1835: "At least 60,000 families belong to this class, of which, however, only about 100 are wealthy; all the rest are poor." A few exceptionally wealthy and powerful szlachta members constituted the magnateria and were known as magnates ( magnates of Poland and Lithuania ). Adam Zamoyski argues that

6016-457: The land and plow," that even an educated peasant would always remain a peasant, because "it is impossible to transform a dog into a lynx ." The szlachta were noble in the Aryan (see Alans ) sense -- "noble" in contrast to the people over whom they ruled after coming into contact with them. The szlachta traced their descent from Lech/Lekh , who allegedly founded the Polish kingdom in about

6110-698: The lesser Lithuanian nobility occurred after various sanctions were imposed by the Russian Empire , such as removing Lithuania from the names of the Gubernyas shortly after the November Uprising . After the January Uprising the sanctions went further, and Russian officials began to intensify Russification , and banned the printing of books in Lithuanian . After the principalities of Halych and Volhynia became integrated with

6204-647: The local Polish population was a local Polish teacher, Jan Bauer, who was arrested by the Germans in 1929. Months before World War II , in 1939, the Germans carried out arrests of notable local Poles, incl. activists and the head of the local Polish bank. During World War II the Polish population was subject to deportations and executions, two of its leaders, Jan Rekowski-Styp  [ pl ] and Józef Rekowski  [ pl ] were imprisoned in Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps , however,

6298-538: The most commonly translated Kashubian authors of the 20th century. A considerable body of Christian literature has been translated into Kashubian, including the New Testament , much of it by Adam Ryszard Sikora ( OFM ). Franciszek Grucza graduated from a Catholic seminary in Pelplin . He was the first priest to introduce Catholic liturgy in Kashubian. The earliest recorded artifacts of Kashubian date back to

6392-588: The peasantry and foreigners, hence why multiple surnames are associated with many Polish coat of arms. Example – Jakub: Radwan Żądło-Dąbrowski (sometimes Jakub: Radwan Dąbrowski-Żądło) Praenomen Jakub Nomen (nomen gentile—name of the gens / ród or knights' clan): Radwan Cognomen (name of the family branch/ sept within the Radwan gens): For example—Braniecki, Dąbrowski, Czcikowski, Dostojewski, Górski, Nicki, Zebrzydowski , etc. Agnomen (nickname, Polish przydomek ): Żądło (prior to

6486-477: The penultimate syllable. The difference between southern and northern dialects dates as far back as the 14th—15th century and is the result of changes to the Proto-Slavic vowel length system . Kashubian has simple consonants with a secondary articulation along with complex ones with secondary articulation. Kashubian features the same system of voicing assimilation as standard Polish . German has been

6580-561: The program of school education in Kashubia although not as a language of teaching or as a required subject for every child, but as a foreign language taught 3 hours per week at parents' explicit request. Since 1991, it is estimated that there have been around 17,000 students in over 400 schools who have learned Kashubian. Kashubian has some limited usage on public radio and had on public television. Since 2005, Kashubian has enjoyed legal protection in Poland as an official regional language . It

6674-400: The re-establishment of independent Poland, the Treaty of Versailles kept the town in the Weimar Republic in 1919. There was an economic decline, many Germans emigrated to western Germany, and the population was slowly decreasing. In the interbellum numerous Polish organizations, including the Union of Poles in Germany , operated in the town. Poles were subjected to repressions. The hero of

6768-698: The region of Pomerania , on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea between the Vistula and Oder rivers. It first began to evolve separately in the period from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century as the Polish-Pomeranian linguistic area began to divide based around important linguistic developments centred in the western (Kashubian) part of the area. In the 19th century Florian Ceynowa became Kashubian's first known activist. He undertook tremendous efforts to awaken Kashubian self-identity through

6862-508: The reign of King Casimir III the Great between 1333 and 1370 in the Kingdom of Poland until the decline and end of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the late 18th century. Apart from providing officers for the army, its chief civic obligations included electing the monarch and filling honorary and advisory roles at court that would later evolve into the upper legislative chamber, the Senate . The szlachta electorate also took part in

6956-459: The rycerstwo from which they all originated and to which they would return were their wealth lost. ( Manteuffel 1982 , pp. 148–149) The Period of Division from, A.D., 1138 – A.D., 1314 , which included nearly 200 years of fragmentation and which stemmed from Bolesław III 's division of Poland among his sons, was the genesis of the political structure where the great landowning szlachta ( możni/Magnates, both ecclesiastical and lay ), whose land

7050-586: The seat of an administrator of the State of the Teutonic Knights . This castle was captured by Poland after the Battle of Grunwald (1410), and king Władysław II Jagiełło of Poland gave it to Bogislaw VIII, Duke of Pomerania , for all of his lifetime as payment for support obtained from him against the Teutonic Knights. In the Peace of Thorn (1411) Bogislaw had to return the castle to the Knights. The town did not join

7144-634: The second half of the 19th century, the Polish term obywatel (which now means "citizen") could be used as a synonym for szlachta landlords. Today the word szlachta simply translates as "nobility". In its broadest sense, it can also denote some non-hereditary honorary knighthoods and baronial titles granted by other European monarchs, including the Holy See . Occasionally, 19th-century landowners of commoner descent were referred to as szlachta by courtesy or error, when they owned manorial estates, but were not in fact noble by birth. Szlachta also denotes

7238-504: The socio-political climate may have influenced these results. The number of people who can speak at least some Kashubian is higher, around 366,000. All Kashubian speakers are also fluent in Polish. A number of schools in Poland use Kashubian as a teaching language. It is an official alternative language for local administration purposes in Gmina Sierakowice , Gmina Linia , Gmina Parchowo , Gmina Luzino and Gmina Żukowo in

7332-576: The source for most loanwords in Kashubian, with an estimated 5% of the vocabulary, as opposed to 3% in Polish. Kashubian, like other Slavic languages, has a rich system of derivational morphology, with prefixes, suffixes, deverbals, compounds, among others. [œ], [ø] (northern dialects) The following digraphs and trigraphs are used: Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Kashubian: Article 1 of

7426-443: The surnames of genuine Polish szlachta can be traced back to a patrimony or locality, despite time scattering most families far from their original home. John of Zamość called himself John Zamoyski , Stephen of Potok called himself Potocki . At least since the 17th century the surnames/ cognomens of szlachta families became fixed and were inherited by following generations, remaining in that form until today. Prior to that time,

7520-554: The szlachta were equal before the king and deliberately opposed becoming a feudal nobility became a matter of law embedded as a constitutional principle of equality. The republicanism of ancient Rome was the szlachta's ideal. Poland was known as the Most Serene Republic of Poland, Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae. The szlachta, not as a feudal nobility or gentry, but as an electorate, and an aristocracy and warrior caste , with no feudal dependence on

7614-475: The szlachta were not exactly the same as the European nobility nor a gentry , as the szlachta fundamentally differed in law, rights, political power, origin, and composition from the feudal nobility of Western Europe. The szlachta did not rank below the king, as the szlachta's relationship to the Polish king was not feudal. The szlachta stood as equals before the king. The king was not an autocrat , nor

7708-409: The szlachta's overlord, as szlachta land was in allodium , not feudal tenure . Feudal dependence upon a Polish king did not exist for the szlachta and earlier in history some high-ranking szlachta ( magnates ) descending from past tribal dynasties regarded themselves as co-proprietors of Piast realms and constantly sought to undermine Piast authority. In 1459 Ostroróg presented a memorandum to

7802-497: The szlachta, while ancient, have always been considered obscure. As a result, its members often referred to it as odwieczna (perennial). Two popular historical theories about its origins have been put forward by its members and early historians and chroniclers. The first theory involved a presumed descent from the ancient Iranian tribe known as Sarmatians , who in the 2nd century AD, occupied lands in Eastern Europe , and

7896-507: The szlachta. According to British historian Alexander Bruce Boswell  [ pl ] , the 16th-century szlachta ideal was a Greek polis —a body of citizens, a small merchant class, and a multitude of laborers. The laborers consisted of peasants in serfdom . The szlachta had the exclusive right to enter the clergy until the time of the three partitions of Poland–Lithuania , and the szlachta and clergy believed they were genetically superior to peasants. The szlachta regarded peasants as

7990-516: The three successive Partitions of Poland between 1772 and 1795, most of the szlachta began to lose legal privileges and social status, while szlachta elites became part of the nobilities of the three partitioning powers. In Polish, a nobleman is called a " szlachcic " and a noblewoman a " szlachcianka ". The Polish term szlachta derived from the Old High German word slahta . In modern German Geschlecht – which originally came from

8084-412: The time period was the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. However, unlike other European chivalry , coats of arms were associated with Polish knights' clans' ( genealogiae ) names and war cries ( godło ), where heraldic devices came to be held in common by entire clans, fighting in regiments. ( Górecki 1992 , pp. 183–185). Around the 14th century, there was little difference between knights and

8178-648: The town remained a local center of the Polish resistance movement ( Kashubian Griffin ). In January 1945, a German-perpetrated death march of Allied prisoners-of-war from the Stalag XX-B POW camp passed through the town. It was captured by the Soviet Red Army on 8 March 1945. Some inhabitants had fled before the Soviet advance. In April 1945, it was put under Polish administration, confirmed after

8272-587: The town. In 1346 as Bütow it obtained Kulm law rights from the Teutonic Order , which controlled it since 1329. During the Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466), the town was the site of heavy fighting and changed hands over time. Eventually, King Casimir IV Jagiellon granted the town to Eric II, Duke of Pomerania , as a perpetual fiefdom . After the Partitions of Poland , Bytów became part of

8366-615: Was Xążeczka dlo Kaszebov by Florian Ceynowa (1817–1881). Hieronim Derdowski (1852–1902 in Winona, Minnesota ) was another significant author who wrote in Kashubian, as was Aleksander Majkowski (1876–1938) from Kościerzyna , who wrote the Kashubian national epic The Life and Adventures of Remus . Jan Trepczyk was a poet who wrote in Kashubian, as was Stanisław Pestka . Kashubian literature has been translated into Czech , Polish , English , German , Belarusian , Slovene and Finnish . Aleksander Majkowski and Alojzy Nagel belong to

8460-608: Was a dispute between the city authorities and the starost Jakub Wejher , regarding overdue taxes. To gain an ally against Sweden during the Deluge , in 1657 King John II Casimir of Poland gave the Lauenburg and Bütow Land to Margrave Frederick William of Brandenburg-Prussia as a hereditary fief in the Treaty of Bydgoszcz . Although Poland still retained sovereignty, the town was administered by Brandenburg and, after 1701, by

8554-598: Was almost strictly hereditary; the group of all such warriors was known as the "rycerstwo". Representing the wealthier families of Poland and itinerant knights from abroad seeking their fortunes, this other group of rycerstwo, which became the szlachta ("szlachta" becomes the proper term for Polish aristocracy beginning about the 15th century), gradually formed apart from Mieszko I's and his successors' elite retinues. This rycerstwo/ aristocracy secured more rights granting them favored status. They were absolved from particular burdens and obligations under ducal law, resulting in

8648-470: Was in allodium , not feudal tenure , were economically elevated above the rycerstwo they originated from. The prior political structure was one of Polish tribes united into the historic Polish nation under a state ruled by the Piast dynasty , this dynasty appearing circa 850 A.D. Some możni (Magnates) descending from past tribal dynasties regarded themselves as co-proprietors of Piast realms, even though

8742-560: Was of a different origin than the Slavonic peasants ( kmiecie ; Latin: cmethones ) over which they ruled. In old Poland, there were two nations – szlachta and peasants. The szlachta were differentiated from the rural population. In harshly stratified and elitist Polish society, the szlachta's sense of distinction led to practices that in later periods would be characterized as racism. Wacław Potocki , herbu Śreniawa (1621–1696), proclaimed peasants "by nature" are "chained to

8836-499: Was rebuilt after being destroyed by a fire. When the Pomeranian dukes died out in 1637 Bytów ceased to be a Polish fief and became directly ruled by Poland, administratively part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship . Then the local nobility obtained equal rights with the nobility of the entire Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . Bytów was overshadowed by Lębork , which developed faster and became the seat of local starosts . In 1651 there

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