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Rzeczpospolita Wazów. 3, Sławne Państwo, Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie
Subtitle:Commonwealth of the Vasas. v. 3 ; The State of the Vasas ; Sławne Państwo, Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie
Creator: Contributor:Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Publisher:Wydawnictwo Neriton ; Instytut Historii PAN
Place of publishing: Date issued/created: Description:329, [1] p. ; 24 cm ; Index ; Summary in English.
Subject and Keywords:Poland - 1587-1632 (Sigismund III) ; Poland - 1632-1648 (Vladislaus IV Sigismund) ; Lithuania (Grand Duchy) - politics and government - 1386-1795 ; Lithuania (Grand Duchy) - 1569-1795
Abstract:
A collection of studies devoted to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the period from the election of Sigismund III Vasa (1587) to the death of Ladislaus IV Vasa (1632). The Republic of the Two Nations in the Light of the Union Act and its Riders discusses the provisions of the act of the Union of Lublin (1569). The components of the federation retained significant autonomy. They had a single king, joint Sejm, or Diet, and one noble nation. Poland, however, had greater representation in the bicameral Sejm, which influenced the method of making resolutions. The right of the nobles granted them in the act of the Union to acquire land properties and offices in both states was abolished by the modified legal code of the Grand Duchy and approved by King Sigismund III Vasa in 1587, so-called Third Lithuanian Statute. Its provision are described in the essay entitled The Law. The name of the Commonwealth is analysed in a separate article. The official one was formed with the name of both states, i.e. of the Polish Crown and Grand Duchy of Lithuania. At the same time in Lithuania there was registered a popular name, being the Lithuanian Commonwealtho or the Commonvealth of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the 17th century the name of Poland became equal to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (or Republic of the Two Nations), and “Polish” to denote the whole nobility or even only the Lithuanian one. An essay Frontiers and Territory presents the administrative division of the Commonwealth and the division of the Churches. The Polish-Lithuanian frontier was maintained, the freedom of crossing it was retained (but except for the army), and the duties were collected. The article Sejmiki describes the nobles assemblies that elected the representatives to the Sejm and candidates for local offices, and could impose local taxes and enlist soldiers. The dietines could transfer the powers to the occasional assembles of the nobility, for instance on the court session, or even those could decide of their own volition on matters reserved for dietines. Next essay is mainly devoted to the Principal Assemblies of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania summoned by king who also endorsed their resolutions. Their peculiarity was that they were against the Act of the Union and were not referred to in the Statute. The interrogation mark in the title Senators – the Senate of the Grand Duchy? results from the fact that it analyses the problem whether the autonomy of the Lithuanian State implied also the existence of the Senate separated from the Polish Crown. Two next articles are devoted to the questions of courts – common for the whole Commonwealth and only for the Grand Duchy (The Courts) and tax system (The Taxes). The first one pays special attention to the problems of effectiveness of the law of the Grand Duchy, of its violations and the absence of reaction when it was violated by king. The two essays refer to the nation of the Grand Duchy, its structure (Estate or the Noble Nation), and Lithuanian awareness and question of language (Consciousness – Language – Book). It shows haw the term “homeland” was used in Lithuania to denote the Grand Duchy of Lithuania within its borders at the time, and to denote the Commonwealth as a whole. Mistrust of the Crown, and the autonomy in the state and national spheres against the Crown and its nation were not accompanied by any action against the very existence of the Commonwealth. An article of Two Tumults: 1611–1639 presents, on the basis of the dietiny’s reaction to the riot in Vilnius against the Evangelical temple, the change in the nobility attitude, from the condemnation of perpetrators to defence of the Roman Catholic Church. Author describes also the famous battle of Kircholm (now Salaspilis; 1605) against the Swedes and the events in Lithuania after the death of King Sigismund III Vasa (1632). The collection is concluded by a study The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Republic of the Two Nations.
IH PAN, call no. II.10608/3 ; IH PAN, call no. II.10608/3 Podr. ; click here to follow the link
Language: Language of abstract: Rights:Creative Commons Attribution BY-ND 4.0 license
Terms of use:Copyright-protected material. [CC BY-ND 4.0] May be used within the scope specified in Creative Commons Attribution BY-ND 4.0 license, full text available at: ; -
Digitizing institution:Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Original in:Library of the Institute of History PAS
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