The Henrician Articles – so named after Henri de Valois (known as Henryk Walezy in Poland), the first ruler of Poland-Lithuania to have been chosen through free election – were drawn up in 1573 during the deliberations of the election Sejm (Parliament) held during the interregnum that followed the death of King Zygmunt II August… Continue reading Henrician articles
The declaration of the Warsaw Confederation was approved on January 28, 1573, at the Convocation Sejm held in Warsaw after the heirless death of King Zygmunt II August (Sigismund II Augustus) and prior to the first free election of a monarch. The Sejm was convoked in order to lay down the principles for electing the… Continue reading The Warsaw Confederation
From 1385 onwards, Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania functioned as two separate states ruled by a single monarch. Initially, only Poland favoured the idea to deepen the union. In time, however, the Lithuanian szlachta (gentry/nobility), seeking to acquire political rights similar to those of the Polish szlachta, came to support the concept. Lest… Continue reading Union of Lublin
By means of this statement, submitted at the sitting of the Sejm in 1564, King Zygmunt II August (Sigismund II Augustus) ceded to the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland the hereditary right of the Jagiellons to govern the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Since Zygmunt had no male successor to the throne, this move was… Continue reading Declaration of King Zygmunt August (Sigismund Augustus) regarding Polish-Lithuanian union
The Nihil novi Constitution was adopted by the General Sejm (parliament) convened in the city of Radom in 1505. Its passage entailed one of the stages in the conflict between the magnates of the royal council and the representation of the szlachta (gentry) gathered in the Chamber of Deputies – i.e., the lower house of… Continue reading Nihil novi constitution
This document on Polish-Lithuanian union was drawn up in the city of Piotrków on October 3, 1501, and was then confirmed on October 30, 1501, in the eastern city of Mielnik, by Aleksander Jagiellończyk (Alexander Jagiellon), Grand Duke of Lithuania, in connection with his election to the throne of Poland. Aleksander sought the Polish crown… Continue reading Union of Mielnik (the Privilege of Aleksander, Grand Duke of Lithuania)
