From the early days, the reign of Jan Kazimierz was plagued by wars that beset the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, starting with a Cossack revolt supported by Tatar forces in 1648, through wars with Muscovy (1654-1667), Sweden (1655-1660), Brandenburg (1656-1657) and Transylvania (1657), to fighting the Cossacks and Tatars in 1667. The Swedish invasion of 1655 proved… Continue reading Lwów vows of Jan Kazimierz
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
The 16th century was a time of dynamic changes to the political system of the Polish-Lithuanian state. The restoration of the royal domain, which – according to ideas of that time – was supposed to be the main source of income for the Republic, became a major problem for the rule of Sigismund I. He… Continue reading Appeal to the Polish noblemen (excerpts)
In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth there was no equality before the law. Though that was actually nothing unusual in a class society, some manifestations of that injustice were striking. The issue of the penal judiciary and the attempts to make punishment for homicide (homicidium) more severe were discussed throughout the 16th century. The Old Polish law… Continue reading On improving the Commonwealth (excerpts)
Best known for his work On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres in which he presented the heliocentric theory of the universe, the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) from Toruń was a real Renaissance man. He practised medicine and, apart from astronomy, was also engaged in mathematics – he was the author of several works on… Continue reading Copernicus’ Writings about Money
The treatise by Jan Ostroróg (ca. 1430-1501), castellan and voivode of Poznań, is a collection of reform ideas and postulates concerning the recovery of the state and ecclesiastical relations in Poland. It might have been created in connection with one particular Sejm that took place in the times of king Casimir Jagiellon (1447-1492), as a… Continue reading Jan Ostroróg, Memorial on organising Rzeczpospolita
This act of union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was concluded on October 2, 1413 in the eastern city of Horodło, as a result of the compromise achieved between the incorporative strivings of the Polish side and the separatist policies of Lithuania. The act defined the… Continue reading Union of Horodło
This document, known as the Union of Krewo (also, the Act of Kreva), was issued on August 14, 1385 by Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila), Grand Duke of Lithuania, as the outcome of the negotiations he had conducted with the Polish lords acting on behalf of the child queen Jadwiga (Hedwig), and Jadwiga’s mother Elżbieta Bośniaczka… Continue reading Union of Krewo (Act of Kreva)
