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88-561: This political system, unique in Europe, stemmed from the consolidation of power by the szlachta ( noble class ) over other social classes and over the monarchical political system . In time, the szlachta accumulated enough privileges (established by the Nihil novi Act (1505), King Henry's Articles (1573), and various Pacta conventa ) that no monarch could hope to break the szlachta ' s grip on power. The political doctrine of

176-568: 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

264-601: A social class , dominated those states by exercising 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 . 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

352-420: A "totalitarian state" coalesced where "liberty has been suppressed in the name of liberty." Social anarchists see negative and positive liberty as complementary concepts of freedom. Such a view of rights may require utilitarian trade-offs, such as sacrificing the right to the product of one's labor or freedom of association for less racial discrimination or more subsidies for housing. Social anarchists describe

440-479: A conflict between the will and the self. Similarly, the idea of freedom as freedom from politics is a notion that developed in modern times. This is opposed to the idea of freedom as the capacity to "begin anew", which Arendt sees as a corollary to the innate human condition of natality, or our nature as "new beginnings and hence beginners". In Arendt's view, political action is an interruption of automatic process, either natural or historical. The freedom to begin anew

528-430: A country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities." Gerald C. MacCallum Jr. spoke of a compromise between positive and negative freedoms, saying that an agent must have full autonomy over themselves. In this view, freedom is a triadic relationship because it is about three things, namely the agent, the constraints they need to be free from and the goal they are aspiring to. Hannah Arendt traces

616-404: 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

704-471: 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

792-405: 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

880-472: 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 ,

968-406: 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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1056-457: 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

1144-400: 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

1232-463: 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

1320-522: 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,

1408-468: 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

1496-522: A result (e.g. housing, education, medical services and so on) produced by people is in effect a purported right to enslave others. Political philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre theorized freedom in terms of our social interdependence with other people. Economist Milton Friedman argues in his book Capitalism and Freedom that there are two types of freedom, namely political freedom and economic freedom , and that without economic freedom there cannot be political freedom. A study on 123 nations shows that

1584-467: 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"

1672-606: 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

1760-478: 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

1848-512: A time that most European countries were headed toward centralization , absolute monarchy and religious and dynastic warfare, the Commonwealth experimented with decentralization , confederation and federation , democracy, religious tolerance and even pacifism . Since the Sejm usually vetoed a monarch's plans for war, it was a notable argument for the democratic peace theory . The system

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1936-399: 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

2024-399: Is closely connected with the concepts of civil liberties and human rights , which in democratic societies are usually afforded legal protection from the state . Various groups along the political spectrum hold different views about what they believe constitutes political freedom. Left-wing political philosophy generally couples the notion of freedom with that of positive liberty or

2112-442: Is difficult to fit into a simple category, but it can be tentatively described as a mixture of these: The "Golden Liberty" was a unique and controversial feature of Poland's political system. It was an exception, characterized by a strong aristocracy and a feeble king, in an age when absolutism was developing in the stronger countries of Europe, but the exception was characterized by a striking similarity to certain modern values. At

2200-575: Is no such thing, for instance, as freedom to pollute or freedom to deforest given that such activities create negative externalities , which violates other groups' liberty to not be exposed to pollution. The popularity of SUVs , golf and urban sprawl has been used as evidence that some ideas of freedom and ecological conservation can clash. This leads at times to serious confrontations and clashes of values reflected in advertising campaigns, e.g. that of PETA regarding fur . John Dalberg-Acton stated: "The most certain test by which we judge whether

2288-539: Is the province governor's equal." To this day, in Poland, this means that a free man (a better sense, today, for szlachcic ) regards no man as his superior. 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

2376-533: The House of Savoy , hitherto king of Sardinia . Notably, neither the Republic of Venice nor Italy had a liberum veto among their institutions. The szlachta ' s rights and privileges became proverbial : Szlachcic na zagrodzie równy wojewodzie —literally, "The noble on his estate is equal to the voivode " or, preserving the Polish original's rhyme scheme: "The noble behind his garden wall

2464-745: 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

2552-713: 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

2640-699: 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

2728-552: The Republic of Venice . (Both states were styled the " Most Serene Republic ".) A similar fate was averted by Italy; first due to a secular inability of the kings of France and Spain, and the Papacy, to come to terms on how to divide the country, then through the reaction against Habsburg domination which, as late as 1861, finally aligned most of the country's states in support of a national monarchy under King Victor Emmanuel II of

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2816-465: 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

2904-657: 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

2992-477: 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

3080-511: 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

3168-408: The 17th century, was a cognomen ) Freedom (political) Political freedom (also known as political autonomy or political agency ) is a central concept in history and political thought and one of the most important features of democratic societies. Political freedom has been described as freedom from oppression or coercion, the absence of disabling conditions for an individual and

3256-473: The 19th and 20th centuries, the Polish noblemen were concerned about the power of the state. The Polish noblemen were strongly opposed to the very concept of the authoritarian state. Perhaps the closest parallels to Poland's 'Noble Democracy' can be found outside Europe altogether, in America, among the slave -owning aristocracy of Southern United States , where slave-owning democrats and founding fathers of

3344-633: The Commonwealth of the Two Nations was "our state is a republic under the presidency of the King". Chancellor Jan Zamoyski summed up this doctrine when he said that " Rex regnat sed non gubernat " ("The King reigns and does not govern"). The Commonwealth had a parliament, the Sejm, as well as a Senat and an elected king. The king was obliged to respect citizens' rights specified in King Henry's Articles as well as in pacta conventa negotiated at

3432-503: The Commonwealth political system, the Commonwealth was unable to keep up with its increasingly militarized and efficient (through bureaucratization ) neighbors, becoming a tempting target for foreign aggression. It was eventually partitioned and annexed by stronger absolutist neighboring countries in the late-18th-century partitions of Poland . The Golden Liberty created a state that was unusual for its time, but somewhat similar political systems existed in other contemporary states, like

3520-550: The Commonwealth suffered a gradual decline down to the brink of anarchy because of liberum veto and other abuses of the system . With the majority of the szlachta believing that they lived in the perfect state, too few questioned the Golden Liberty and the Sarmatism philosophy until it was too late. With the szlachta refusing to pay taxes for a larger and modern army and magnates bribed by foreign powers paralyzing

3608-445: 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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3696-402: 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

3784-708: The Hayek–Friedman hypothesis of the necessity of economic freedom for political freedom holds well. Only in few cases, there was relatively high political freedom without high economic freedom, and even those cases diminished over time. A later study found just one clear counter-example, Belarus after 1991, and its freedom was lost over time. In his article "Why the Market Subverts Democracy", Robin Hahnel takes issue with Friedman's concept of economic freedom, asserting that there will be infringements on

3872-532: 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

3960-600: 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

4048-610: 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

4136-447: The US, such as Thomas Jefferson or George Washington , had many values in common with the reformist noblemen of the Commonwealth. However, the comparison is very weak, as the so-called Southern aristocracy was not limited to a hereditary caste; the social structure, based simply on the acquisition (or loss) of wealth and property, was fluid; and there was of course no monarchy or nobility in

4224-484: The United States. Others however criticize the Golden Liberty, pointing out it was limited only to the nobility, excluding peasants or townsfolk and gave no legal system to grant freedom and liberty to the majority of the population, failing them by failing to protect them from the excesses of the nobility, resulting in the slow development of cities and the second serfdom among the peasants. The Commonwealth

4312-407: The aim of "securing individual freedom", because it permitted a possible "identification of freedom with power." The subsequent "collective power over circumstances" misappropriated "the physical 'ability to do what I want', the power to satisfy our wishes, or the extent of the choice of alternatives open to us." Hayek maintained that once any possible "identification of freedom with power is admitted,"

4400-445: 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

4488-484: The conceptual origins of freedom to ancient Greek politics. According to her study, the concept of freedom was historically inseparable from political action. Politics could only be practiced by those who had freed themselves from the necessities of life so that they could participate in the realm of political affairs. According to Arendt, the concept of freedom became associated with the Christian notion of freedom of

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4576-478: 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

4664-459: 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

4752-595: 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

4840-494: The enabling of a group or individual to determine their own life or realize their own potential. In this sense, freedom may include freedom from poverty, starvation, treatable disease, and oppression as well as freedom from force and coercion, from whomever they may issue. According to neoliberal philosopher and economist Friedrich Hayek , the "socialist argument" defined "individual liberty" as " 'freedom from' obstacles". He argued that this definition only "confused" and obscured

4928-517: The fact of the age. A number of Russian peasants fled from their far more brutal lords to settle in liberal Poland, which might stand out as example of counterevidence to the "Hell for the Peasants" claim. In its extreme, the Golden Liberty has been criticized as being responsible for "civil wars and invasions, national weakness, irresolution, and poverty of spirit". Failing to evolve into the " modern " system of an absolutist and national monarchy ,

5016-551: 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

5104-436: 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

5192-483: 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

5280-422: The freedom of others whenever anyone exercises their own economic freedom. He argues that such infringements produce conflicts that are resolved through property rights systems, and therefore it is essential to decide what is a better or a worse property rights system, yet Friedman simply takes for granted the existing property rights and does not question them. Political philosopher Nikolas Kompridis posits that

5368-594: The fulfillment of enabling conditions, or the absence of life conditions of compulsion, e.g. economic compulsion, in a society. Although political freedom is often interpreted negatively as the freedom from unreasonable external constraints on action, it can also refer to the positive exercise of rights, capacities and possibilities for action and the exercise of social or group rights. The concept can also include freedom from internal constraints on political action or speech (e.g. social conformity , consistency, or inauthentic behaviour). The concept of political freedom

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5456-527: 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

5544-545: 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

5632-462: 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

5720-450: The king was effectively a partner with the noble class and was always supervised by a group of senators . The doctrine had ancient republican thought at its roots, which was then reapplied with varying success to an elective monarchy's political reality. The foundation of the Commonwealth's political system, the "Golden Liberty" ( Polish : Złota Wolność , a term used from 1573), included the following: The Commonwealth's political system

5808-457: 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

5896-698: 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

5984-501: The negative liberty-centric view endorsed by capitalism as "selfish freedom". Anarcho-capitalists see negative rights as a consistent system. Ayn Rand described it as "a moral principle defining and sanctioning a man's freedom of action in a social context". To such libertarians, positive liberty is contradictory since so-called rights must be traded off against each other, debasing legitimate rights which by definition trump other moral considerations. Any alleged right which calls for

6072-588: 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

6160-699: The pursuit of freedom in the modern era can be broadly divided into two motivating ideals, namely freedom as autonomy or independence and freedom as the ability to cooperatively initiate a new beginning. Political freedom has also been theorized in its opposition to and a condition of power relations, or the power of action upon actions, by Michel Foucault . It has also been closely identified with certain kinds of artistic and cultural practice by Cornelius Castoriadis , Antonio Gramsci , Herbert Marcuse , Jacques Rancière and Theodor Adorno . Environmentalists often argue that political freedoms should include some constraint on use of ecosystems . They maintain there

6248-508: 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

6336-459: 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

6424-634: 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

6512-443: 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,

6600-554: 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

6688-475: 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

6776-409: 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

6864-497: 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

6952-507: 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

7040-516: 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

7128-406: The time of his election. The monarch's power was limited, in favour of the sizable noble class. Each new king had to subscribe to King Henry's Articles, which were the basis of Poland's political system and included almost unprecedented guarantees of religious tolerance . Over time, King Henry's Articles were merged with the pacta conventa, specific pledges agreed to by the king-elect. From then on,

7216-412: 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

7304-399: The will , or inner freedom, around the 5th century CE and since then freedom as a form of political action has been neglected even though, as she says, freedom is "the raison d'être of politics". Arendt says that political freedom is historically opposed to sovereignty or will-power since in ancient Greece and Rome the concept of freedom was inseparable from performance and did not arise as

7392-410: Was a precursor of the modern concepts of broader democracy and constitutional monarchy as well as federation . The szlachta citizens of the Commonwealth praised the right of resistance, the social contract, the liberty of the individual, the principle of government by consent, the value of self-reliance, all widespread concepts found in the modern, liberal democracies. Just like liberal democrats of

7480-598: 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

7568-580: Was called Noble's Paradise , sometimes— the Jewish Paradise , but also Purgatory for the Townsfolk (Burghers) and Hell for the Peasants . And even among the nobility ( szlachta ), the Golden Liberty became abused and twisted by the most powerful of them ( magnates ). However, this " the Jewish Paradise, but also Purgatory for the Townsfolk and Hell for the Peasants " was a statement of social satire, and it should be evaluated whether it reflected

7656-470: 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

7744-560: 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

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