Wa cław Unuszczek

Thc 1505 4eneQal Sevm In Rabom ano rrs nihil novi statutes

[Istablishing in 138S it s personal uni on with th e Grand Lithuanian Duchy, Kingd om of Poland undertook the gre­at effort o] rapprochement and unifica­tion of na tions of che Kin gdom and Duchy in th e spirit o] mutual und er­

standing and respect for one another/; identity. The effort reached its cro wn ing moment wich che real union that IB ot h N a tions l executed in IS69 in Lublin, which resu lte d in a federation of Poland and Lithuan ia . lt

tors and deputi es of the Kingdom /s voivodships but .'1. [50 representatives o] th e G rand Duchy and West Pruas ia in attend ance. lt was not by accident that Ra­dom was chosen as th e place of meeti ng. lts central location wa s expected to facilita te arri val of sena tors and depu tie s from th e two pr incip a l provinces of th e Kingdorn, namelYI C reat and Lesser Poland, and au ­thorised repr esentati ves o] other invited sraces . The diet, set to begin on Februa ry 91 ISOSI was intended to

execute provis ions o] the un ion of Poland and the

v es which are th e guid ing prin ciple of th e Euro­pean uni fication nowo These are safety an d we ll-being of societ ies through common effort towards th eir s treng ­th ening and development. lt is s ign ificant that th e Po­lish and Lithuanian Union was named a Republic/ res publieal a public thing . The new name emphas ised that the unif ied s tare was essent ia llv to become a cornm on good o] all its inhabitan ts .

The I s69 union of Poland and the G rand Lithuanian Duchy, that iS I a un ion of Centra l and Eas t Europe an peopl es, wa s a result of a Iong-lasting historical pro­cess which cons isted in even clos er ti es between th e rwo sra tes, both polit ical and lega lI a imed at a [ull unif ication . U pon the firs t s tep, taken with the sratu­t e o] Krewa in J38S1 [ollowed others, producing a s ui ge neris harmonisation o] polit ica l insti t utions and laws as a necessary condi tion of polit ical un ity. The gener al seym (d iet) of Polandl IsoSI and it s statuces, including the most famous N ihil novi actl played an imp ortant part in th is two-century-Iong process of unifica t ion .

l)he general diet was convened to Radom

• by the king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuaniaj Aleksander Jagiell011czy kl

in circulars and letters dispatched im­media tely before C hristmas of IS04 '5.

According to the kingIs anno uncements l of which we know fro m t he kingIs letter to the ci ty co unc il of G dańs k dated 28 ovember JS041 he intended to ca ll a lldiet II ur do ,i'o s /l DacCd unit'crsisdomi­

:. "'1 '1"" - - -: "- 3 e er.1 .',5 - " ros o,

Grand Lithuanian Duchy s igned at Mielnik inun ified not only Poles and Lithuanians but .'1.150 Belo russi an sj U krainians, C ermans, l.atvians, ISO!. Articles o] th e M ielnik u.i ion st ipulated: Estonians, Va flach ians, Arme nia ns , Tarrars, f(ingdom of Poland and th e Grand Lithuanis n

Duchy s hall unify and merge into one indivi­[ews, and man y other national ities th a t settled w it hin its borders, such as polit ical em i gr ć s or s ible, uniform body to form one natron) one pe­

ople/ one broth erły an ion. as well as commonset tl ers seeking a better, sa jer, and happier life in it s lands . The union of Poland and the G rand councils, wbich body s hall in perpetuity bave Lithuanian Duchy was driven by th e very moti ­ one head. one k ing and one lord elected at

a place and time assigned by ali present and ap pearing at such elect ion. wh ere absence of dn y others shall not be s n impe dłme n c. and che eleet ion decree in th e Kingdom s hall [or ever be issued s c­cording to el/storn of long standing in the ma tter '7. I:J>27

l) he genera l diet in Radom opened only • as lat e as 30 M arch IS0S. The delay wa s

~ ~ caused by th e late arrival o] the king hirnsel ], wh o came from Lit hua n ia to Radom in late M arch'8. The seym ses- 0 28

s ions continued [rorn 30 M arch to 31 M ay IS0Sj an d th e d iet its elf was not formall y concluded unti l 4 June IS0S' 9. The participants ha d to wai t for Lithuanian no- 0 29 bil itv an d Pruss ian dep uties, therejore, che event was pro longed for 8 weeks>. 0 30

The IS0S Radom seym did not become a unifi ca tion event, as it was to occur onl y at th e Lublin diet o] Is69.

In ea rly 16th centuryj uni fication of Poland and Lithu ­ania was virtually imp ossible in th e face of many ob­stacles and d ifficultiesl in particul arl ins ufficient readi­ness of both th e s ta tes for a union on conditions of ful! equa lity and partnership . O nly pro-union members of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy Council arr ived in Ra­dom in May of I S0S. T hey did not hold any authorisa ­t ionj howeverl and did no t bring copies of th e Isor M iel­nik union documents cOLlT1 tersigne d by the Lithuanian party. The iss ue of the union could noc chus be officia l-Iy placed on che agenda. e\ 'cTthelcss - \': hich is s i­gnifi ;:ant - se at TS f e G Ta .d L ;[!-) an ia 1

,....... . -- \: M [

ces passcc j --: n n3 L....I~ L 5~~. • Th~, i T' T)~1..n ,~ 5 w ere rnen ­

31 -a t ioned in the w itne ss lis rs of these starurcs ". The re­presenta tion of th e Prussian s ta re who appeared a t t he Radom sessi ons was not a ut hori sed to deb ate the

J2 {:1 matters of the who le Kingdom either",

IIhe Radom diet passed perpetual and

• temporary s ta tu tes. The former consi­

JJ G sted o] 26 a rt iclesv, headed by th e Ni­~ hil novi statute reading as [ollows:

Quomam iurs commania et constitu­tiones publicae non unum. se d comsn unem populum afficiunv icaque in hsc Radomiensi conventione cum universi Regni nostriprsels tis. consilisriis. bsronibus et nuntiis terrerum. aequum et rationabile censuimus ac ecis m s cs tuimus. ut deinceps futuris temporibus per­petais. nihil novi constitui debest per nos et successo­res nostras sine commani consilisriorum et nuntiorurn terrestrium eonsensu. quod fieret in prseiadicicm g ra­vamenque Reipublicse. et damnum atque incom­modum cuiaslibecprivatum. adinnovstionemque

34 G iaris commanis et publicse [ibercstis 34.

The English translation reads : Since com monly-applied Lawand Crawn sts­tutes sre not binding on one individual. but on th e common people. therefore. while sss embled with ali our Kingdom'S Prelsces. members of our C ouncil, Lords and ziemskie depoties. and while dri­ven byarreasonsble underscsnding. we enacc th.u:[rom now on. nothing new which migln cause bsrm andop­pression to th e Repub/ic or which mig/n be harmful and detrimental to an y maI?; and which might te nd towardchanging the commonly-applied lawand com­mon libert>~ sha/fbe enactedby us andour descenda nts without a joint consent being s"-ven to it by our C ouncJ!

JS <{1 andZiemskie de{JUties J5.

łlI assing of the Nihil novi statu te was preceded l on the R ec overy of th e Chrises Cross Day IJ May ISOS)! by th e issue of a privilege to confirm th e king's oath to abide by .1[[ rights gran­

ted to the Kingdon/s lands and their inh abitants irre­spective of estate! gender or condition ICeneralis con­

J6 <{1 fimlatio omnium iurium )J6 . Creators of Nihil noviwere certain to intend the statute as a safegu ard agains t gratui tous roya l [egis[ation as it affected pub[ic [iber­ty and common law. At the same timel Nihil novire­fleet ed a breakthrough in the history of government in ord Poland. The s ta te ehanged from an o[iga rchic mo­narchy of first )agel[onians into a modern padiamen­tary monarchy. Thereforel it was an act of eonstitu­ti ona! division of power. Enactment of genera l laws ceased to be the exclusive competenee of kings and re­quired a monareh to eooperate with a representation of the body politic. Pass ing or Nihil novi concluded the formative process of the padiamentary system of the Polish state. From then onI the key role in the sys­

~ _ ,..

C T~ , ~·e~ ~ t~ ~

5•.U ;\C pcwc - \,-hi ~ ~ ha.:! ~0"1pL t e .:! .1ga i,-.s : 1 0-~ a

a n d provincial se yms in the 15th century.

The genera[ diet r C on ventus genera/is ) consisted o]: king, royal council or Senate, and province deputies Inuntii cerrsrami. These three parts of the general diet began to be known as 'eonvening es ta tes/ in m id-r ćth

century. The seym/s [uncticn dep ended on their coope­ra t ion, or th e ability to reaeh an agreement (consen­s us)! i.e. a compromise. Parliamentary status of [age] ­lcni an kings w as no doubt dominant, like in the En­g [ish government structure of the king in the partia­

ment" . The king could on his own, and in practiee at C "' 37 the seriators/ advice, convene a sevm, open an as sem­bry and monitor their progress, conjirmed, that is, in faet instituted resolutions with legat power. Parliamen­tary scatures, called cons t it u t ions iconscicuciones] were signed wi th his name. He .1[50 arranged for their publ icari on.

Senate doubled as a royal council and [egis[ative body. Royal advisers were oblig atcd to form the kingdom/s policies and s upport the monarch in their execution. The senate plaved an acri ve part in th e legislative process by preparing bills of laws together w ith the other chamber. Senators divi­ded into clergy - Catholic endowment bishops ­and [ayrnen, including vo ivod es and castellans. Moreoverl senators comprised s uch highest roy­

a l ojjicia ls, call ed rninisters, as the grand chancellor, under-chancellor, grand rnarshai, court marshal, tr easu ­rer. Royal sec re taries and titular court officia ls could a[so participate in seyrn sessi ons.

The third 'conve ning es ta te l mention ed in Nihilnovi indudes provincia[ deputies inun t ii terrarum! of nob[e estate. [n princip le! repr esentatives of townspeople did not take part in genera[ diets! except for deputies of certain cities [ike Craeow or Po znań! by virtu e of royal privi[eges or except iona l invitations. Lack of burgh er representation in parliament derived main[y from the genera [ weakness of that es ta te in fonner Po[andl as wel[ as from th e cities l reservations about invo[vement in s eym discussions whieh cou[d be dom inated by no­bre deputies .

Dlihil novi statute required con sent !con­sens usi of diet members: kingI roya[ co­unci [lor senatel and provincia[ depll­t ies! or th e chamber of deputies! a s a condition necessary for their reso[u­

t ions to becom e effec tive. [t did not mean that .1[[ par­ticipants in as semb[ies we re unanimousl however. 1n )age[[onian times! the rule of consensu s was treated f[exib[ yJ8. Ziem ias lterrae - lands ) of the Kingdom wer e D J8 repr esented through their deputies dispatch ed to seym. Opposi tion of one or another deputYI especially where representations were numerousl was not legarty signi­ficant and cou[d be ignored . [n the event! reso[utions became effect ive with a majoricy of votesl which does

not mean t he rule of vot ing majot iry preva iled . lf repre­sentations o] one or several ziemiss disagreed, the king convened post-sevrn provincia l diets in s uch voivods hips to gain nobles ' acceptan ce o] res olur ions approved by the other provinces. T he fiction of a representation's ag reement happened to be used when in fact on ly one of its members a pproved and th e ot hers remained sil ent. The princ iple o] consent forced th e pa rtici pants in di­scuss ions to ad a pt attitudes of comp romise an d open ­ness to oppos ing arguments. Consensus as th e basis o] validity of s eym reso lutions was at th e sa me t ime a guar antee o] the ir enjorceability. O n ly a statute a p­proved by a ll convening es ta tes s tood achance o] bece ­min g accepted and executed by th e noble so ciety. The rule o] agreement demanded maturi ty, mora l develop­ment and high polit ica l cult ure of the elites . These qu­a lities were not lacking a t the time o] Jagel lonian and even t he la ter Waza dvn as t ies, which was a per iod of grea tes t su ccesses of che Pol ish -Lithuanian-R uthenian R epu blic and its parliame ntary system .

111h e pr inc i p le of con s ens us as

• expressed in N illl! novi ex erted con si derab le inf luence on cont i­nu ing growth of th e Pclish and Lithuanian poli tical sys te m . In

th e izth cen tury, the orig inal ru le of cons ent shi­[red in to che noti on o] una nimity w hich in tum produced liberum veto. A deputv' s right o] free opposi t ion was then con s idered as a necessary instrument of defend ing the Rep ublic agai ns t th e th re­at of power ab usesl par t icularly agains t abso[ute mo­na rchy (abso/utu m dominium ). Liberum veto/ as a [e­ga [-po lit ica l institlltion of form er Po landl certa inly does not deserve praisel nonet heless l its motives are un der ­s tanda ble. A bso [ute pOWelj th a t iS I an uncon tro lled exe cut ive which is not s ubject to [awI a lwa ys brings more harm than ben efit. T his w as cru elly proved by experiences of 20th century tot ali t arian states.

TI1e v iew tha t the NiIJl! Ilovi s tatu tes were an act of s ignifica nt weakening of the royal power and) as s uch) th e orig ina[ source of th e s ubseq uent polit ical decom ­pos it ion of the Rep ub[ic cannot be s upported. In ear ly 16t h centwYI legisl ati on of thi s kind s t rengthe ned the sta te . lt ex pressed th e idea of coo peration between a D eiSTatia king wi th a representatio n of body po[it ic for the commo n goo d in t he a rena of s eym - parlia­men t. It was wel[ understood by king Zygmunt II who convened genera [ diet s on an annua t basi s) thus hel ­ping to reinforce t he parli amentary sys tem in the s ta ­te . Z ygmunt A ugus t in his tum coop era ted w ith th e seyml and on ly in thi s manner was he a ble to s treng­th en the Republi c through reforms of th e law execu­tio n movemen t. lt was due t0 th e pa rliamentary sys ­te m th a t form er Po [and cou[d be described as a civi l societYI an d it s cu lture as t he civ il participatory cult u­re. Participation in po[it ica[ life was as a matter of fact [imite d to one es tate) yet t he n um bers of the so -caIl ed body polit ic in Polan d we re gr ea tly in exc ess of the numbers en ,1n.: is ed - jt i=e s l an Euro ean : 0'.Jr ~ = .1..S " ~ oC : ~ g- o{..:: :0 t l-t ~ : r\ .

L1V

ass ing of th e Nihil novi s ta tu tes at the 1505 R adom assem bly was ccrta in lv in a ca use and effect rel at ionship wi th thc or ig ina l pu rpose of t he diet, th at iSI

• a uni on of the Jagellon ian states. The princ ip le of conse ns us of all the assem bled cs ta ces, ex pressed in N ihi/ novi. as the foundation o] each new s ra tut e interfering wi th t he status quo of publi c righ ts and liberti es, provided a gua ra ntee of equa l righ ts for a l] members o] the common body of the R epubl ic. In t his [ashion, N illl! novi dispelled [ears of Lithuanian s and R ut he nians [rom th e G rand Duchy ar Wes t Prus­s ians that a rea l uni on with the Kingdom was in ten­ded to s ubject th em to Po lis h domination. The sta tute [acili tatcd a fina l unio n in futu re.

Pe rpetua l con s t itu t ions [sta t ur es ] othe r rha n N iIJl! llovi which were ac cepted a t the R adom seym had [irsr o] a llorde ring o] legisl ation in v iew. A mong oth ers, Aniele 2 o] the 'perpe[LIa l' sratutcs s ripula ted the prin ­ciple cha t each s ta tu te became effective on ly upon its

puhlicar .ionv. Esse ntia lly th e s ame legal princi - I::}> 39 ple was em bodie d on ly in th e Po lish Constitu ­t ion of 1997. In t urni Aniele 3 confirme d the righ t of no bles ' persona! inviolability !nemin em capt i­vabimas nisi iure victum r" , instit ute d in Wład y- I::}> 40

s ław J ag i ełło's privil ege is su ed a t [edl nia near R ad om in 1430) an d reconfirmed in th e C racow priv ilege of 1433 . The 1505 statu tes clear ly defi­ned it s limi ts) deela ring th a t t he right of persona l

invi olabili ty cou[d not be ex ercised by persons of i ll re­pute or en tered in t he reg ister of malfeasants . To fur­th er t he cau se of public [aw and orderl the penal ty of infa my was instituted for ref usa [ to purs ue thieves a nd other offenders· '. Severa [ artieles tri ed to s tream [ine I::}> 41

coun jurisdict ion as exercise d by royal starostds by de­lineat ing scope of t heir competence l defini ng th e form of cou rt s ummons l and mod ifyin g cenain ru[es of pro­cedure42

• T he R ad om s tatutes comprised an ex te ns i- I::}> 42 ve provisio n concern ing grant ing of high elerical hono-urs virtLI a l[y only to persons of nobi[i ary descent4J• This I::}> 43 was jus ti fied w ith th e [art er 's deserts in defenc e of t he land . A t the same t imel legal ru[es of belonging to t he nobiliary es tate were esta blished . TI1at art iele reflec­ted the growing soc ia l role of nob ility) which was to lead to th eir decis ive prevalenc e over townspeople.

IIIhe R adom diet a lso passed w ide-ra n ­

~fi: . ging te mporary statu tes (collst iw t io­~ nes tempora/es) aim ed at im prove ment

of domes t ic and in tern a t ional safety of th e Kingdo m. The most momentoLIS le­

gis la t ive effort cOlls is te d in th e ca m pa ign to cod ify Polish ' como n[y-applied law ') w h ich bore (ru it in the form of t he famo us Łaski S ta t utel a gr ea t colle cti on of o ld Po!i s h [aws by t he gra nd ro ya [ chan ce l[oT Jan Ł a ski ". After its approva l by kin ~) Ą leksander Jagiel- I::}> 44 loń czykl it was regarded as th e officia l so urce of know­[edge a bout leg is lat ion va lid in Pola nd. C hanceIlor Łas ' i ~ 1piled the -t a te t build a law-govem ed Re bł ..: \\ . ere T ~"' ~1...l b e !..~ ..' ~ 5 oc e :.... - C·'- .....l 0 += ..:'r-T"I

l .s SU~ 5- anc ' rl .J.'ł;" ~ \..l ..ll . r, es ':C'toJ l...:l w- n ~ r tJ.s t e: t ne ne ­

ighbours ",r,d peTs:.nde the,-. to ioin o. un ion•. The poli ­t ica l programm e of un ifica rion w as illu s t ra ced wi ch

a w ood cu t t ing s how ing a n image of che seyrn, incl u­ded in the Łaski S ra t ute. lt s ho ws a genera [ assem blv not o] the Kin gdoml or Poland, bu t as ISeyrn of the R ep ub lic o] Both N a t ions /. Coats o] arms of th e Po ­

lish Kingdom and Cra:ld l.ichuan ian Duchy arc pla­ced a t che top of rhe throne occu pied by A leks ande r [ag i ello ń czvk . The sha pe of a wrea th com posed o] co­ats of ar ms, wh ich s urro unds m embers o] the diet, is al so meaningful. Emblems of Polish vo ivodsh ips are placcd a longsi de Lithuanian and Prus si an coats o] anns. Part icipation o] rep resentatives of a ll members of th e common body of the R epublicl or t he common par liame nt, on an equa l [ooting, was s uppos ed to po­

45 <{'1 int th e way to th e uniorr" .

111he po litical syste m o] the róth century

• Poland was the s o-cal lcd 'm ixed repu­blic' rrespublice m/xta) wh ich com pri­sed ins t itu t ion s repres en ting 'p llre' [orms, t ha t iSI the king [monarchy], se­

46 <{'1 nate [ar istocracv l, cham ber of depu ti es [democracy ]" . The politi cal system res ted on : sovereign ty of [.lW I [re­edo m of bod y politi c or nobili ty, a nd consensus of a l]

po[iti cal forces in the country. ln th e s ta te known as ' repub[icl Irespub/ica!t or ' pub[ic th ing'l si nce late 15th century and ea rly 16th centuryl as defini te[y secured by Nihil novi s ta t utesl the s eyrn became t he principal debating and legislaling body. lt was faci lit ated by growing po litical activity of gen try w ho saw provin­

are .,.,. P .:'1· ~· ': ..11 .ve c ... :~ ,.e 5t..i:e,. ~eH' l'~ rt· e.s

were guar.mreed ;1'1 parr i c ułar h v che pr incip le of ru le

f [a \\ / whi ch was de rived from IV lh il novi, among other legisl a tion. ' The wisdom prevs lent: in the R epublic of Poland is refleeted in the faet ; wrote a róth cen tury Polish politi cal wr iter Jan Kras i ńs ki, ' that tbe rule of law /5 ins tituced .1I710n8" Po!es. Regimes ofotber kins ­doms. to be certain/ sre d/ffere nt. What plesses a king there bss che force oflaw: whe ress here d kin/! does not set laws wichout consent of t he senate coancil and no­bilit» and is subjecc to 1.7W S /47 • The Polish rule of law 0' 47 in the i óch and 17th centuries was bes t expressed in thc brie] saying in Polon ia lex est rex - l in Poland, law is king48• 0' 48

(IIth ough t he 1505 Radom seym d id not pa ss a uni on o] the Jagellonian states, th e Nihil novi s ta tu tes became it s la ­s ting heritage paving the way for cre ­ati on of t he future federa ti on of the

Kin gdom o] Poland and t he C rand Duchy th rough a parli amen tary un ion . T he t heory of socia l contract, s tati ng t ha t law s pass ed by a legislature re presen ting th e nation s pring [rom th e gene ra ł wi ll o] body pe licie, is the founda tio n of m odern cc nstitutiona l theory and democracy. A s imi !ar concep t w as expressed in t he Radom Nihilnovi act of 1505. [t put forward politic al ideas whi ch won recogn it ion in ot her Eur opean states on ly in the 18th and 19th centuries . N ihil novi itselfl and the seym in R adoml often cite d in debates over the union in 15691 facilitated s ign ing of th e Lublin unionl a nd contribllted to lay ing of constiwtional founda tions of the Repu b[ic of Bothl or indeed m anYI N a tions 49 • 0 49

Transla ted by Jacek S pólny

LVl

Ine ocences o~ Kmc al€xanb€Q aooptco at the Sevm helo In Rabom In 1505

IIe/ King Alexan der, did conve ne and hold au r seym in Radom in 1,05. The commen­cement o] its sess ion in this year was s ra­

, ted on sunday pro D omin ica Conduct us Paschae Iwhich was th e jo" of March )and

th e session was con cinued unt il s a curday following th e octave o] C orpus C hris ti [which was t he 315< o] M ay ). T he length o] the session was ca used by che fact tha t we waiced for th e arriva l o] che Lords of th e Counci[ o] our

67 'iC1 Zi emias G7 of Lichuan ia and Pruss ia who, as chose presenc at che s eym/s session/ were lis ted in che testimony th ere­of. T he length o] che sess ion was a lso ca use d by other devel opments of grea t concem . lt is at this Seym chat, w ith che consent o] the mos t revere nd and dign ified fa­th ers in C hrist, an d a lso wich the consen t of the eminenr, ven erabl e, bom and nob le Prela ces and Barons of

be briclled because old s ta tures provide cha t no one can be captured unless he is convic ted by the Law/ thcr ejore, whi­te abiding by th e decision of aur A nccstors, We enacc that none N obleman who is o] good reputati on sha ll be captu­red unless he were firs t defeaced by the Law. And che indi­vidu al who has th ree tim es been recorded in the thieves/ Regis cer sha ll not deemed o] goo d rcputa t ion, such in­dividual, being of bad reputar jon . deprived o] prote ction by che present statu r ę, sha ll be captured and detained .

~ The servants that arc not willing to set off in pur ­L:!J s uic o] th e T hief shal l be deemed infamous . Ln our t ime th e se rvancs ha ve everywhere sou ghc excuse for being unw il ling to purs ue che ,M a lefactors . They ar­gued cha t their Lords th emselves did not pursu e che Thie­

ves ar M a lefaccors or hoscile individua ls. H ence the our Council as we ll as th e depucies represent ing serva nts gave a considerable defence to eviI indivi­our Ziemias [a ll of the aforemencioned perso ns be­ duals who mig ht th us escape liab ility a t the hands ing lis ted in th e conclus ion o] thi s privilege ], We of th ose who couId easiIy c a pt urę them . For that re­have announ ced che Statures that ar e recorded be­ aso n we enac t chat if any o] che servants, whi le [ol­neach . lowing th eir Lord/s cornrnand, does not want to pur ­

sue ar captur ę any chieves or malcjactors, s uch se­I The King shall noc ma ke s ta tu tes that mi­ rva nt sha ll be deemed infam ous for ever: and tho se

, gh c eon eradi et t he Law withouc obt aining who would inflict infam y on chose who pursued or com mon consent . cap t ured the mal efactors, shall th emselves be sub­Sincc commonlv-a pplied Law and C row n s ta tu tes are noc bind ing on one ind ividua l, but on che common people, che­rejo re, while assembled wi th a li our Kingdam/s Pre la tes,

68 4.::1 members of our Counci l/ Lords and Z iemskie Deput.ies", and while driven by a ur reasonable undersrand ing, we enact that from naw on, nothing new whic h mighc cause harm and oppression co che R epublic ar which might be hamlful and decrimental to .lny ma nI and w hich mighc cend coward cha ng ing th e commonly-a pplied Law and common libercy/ sha ll be enacted by us and aLIT descen­danes wi t houc a joint consenc being giv en to ic by our Council and Z iems kie D epu ties .

N ew s ta tu ces shal l noc be of .lny bind ing force unless they Me firsc du ly published.

This is design ed co prevent anyone from being misl ecl by che lack of knowledge of the new statu ce in th e event when someone has clone something which is inconsi s tent with th e sta tuCe chat has noc been duly publi sh ed and thu s left unkn ownj th erefore We/ whil e demon scrating our wi ll CO proceecl publ icly in our scacucory Law/ enact that no one shall be obliged to observe che new s ca tute uncil the [accer is explained by being duLy publ ish ed in our King ­dom.

i3 ~ Those among che nobi lity who may or may noc be capcured.

s ince the number of che young men amo ng the nobility who are im 'olved in licious ,1: CS has re-endv surpris inglv in­.: eased a .: 5i .: [ ir rr "'I;.:I·"ng and ::

ject to the puni sh ment o] infam y.

r:5l The servants shallapply to their Lords for the dismis ­l2J sal six weeks before che commencement o] che War. l] any o] che serva nts involvecl in th e M ilitary campaign or any oth er jus tified need applies to his Lord for th e di ­smi ssal, a nd leaves him/ such servant sha ll be deemed infamous for ever.A nd everybody s ha ll begranted s ix We­eks prior co th e M ilicary campa ign and within thi s and nat earl ier/ time hel shal l app ly to his Lord for the dismi s­sa l from the service.

~6-Q T he C ourc hearin g session s hall noc be of stricc t ime lim ic nacure e it he r when held before t he

King or before che Sc arosta69 . D 69

Lc is in C rea t Poland tha t/ on che reques t of the cit izens of th is Z iemia who are our subj eccs/ we order and ena ct chat the first C ourt hea ring session which is held before .lny s carosta sha[1 not be of strict t ime limit nature. This is sobeca use th e Staros ta may not be deemed to be th e one who would hav e th e power larger chan che King him ­self before whom the first hearing session is not of s tr icc tim e lim it nature/ barring the except ion when sameone sub­jects himself to the s tricc cime limit regime of such session.

Ue7- IConfi rmation of th is present statute [che scaro­stas and Burgraves shal! noc collect .lny cha rges or gifts for the imroduction of the plaimiff imo

,0oc ( e U - er- - a" - (. ° (e sel 'eS

"·OJ I·i proc ee.i aga in .st r\...e2 .lro-re --;"'.er.ci

~, .

~e :J w.­

collec t [ _ 70 'D nas". In this respect thev sha :; procecel accor .iing to che

Stature o] King Jan Olbrach t, the St ,u m e forbidd ing che afo rememioned collecn on.

rg1About che Starosta C our ts that arc rc jerr cd to asL2J the complaint-rcceiving Courts . Which mattors a re those that Starosta shall adjudicare according to thc procedure app licab lc to comp la ints. Our subjecrs of th e G reat Polan d region, and spccijical ly those o] th e Poznań S taros ta provin ce, com pla ined to us abo ut being part icu larly burdened w ith the s tatemen ts o] claims [iled with che S tarosta. We} th erejore, order tha t S taro sta shal l not s umrnon anybody on the bas is o] the comp laint [iled w it h him, ba rring che excepti on when th e Lady hav ing dowry is vio lcnt ly driven away o] her lan ­de d estate, and when a [reshly committed evi l dee d co­mes into play. And the standar d for the assessing o] th e deed is fresh is one year an d six weeks .

II -O r§l T he G rodzkie statem ents o] cla irns" sha ll be se ­lZJ a lcd with the sca l of S taros ta. In order to pu r on the same foo t ing the te rr itery of Starosta o] Grea t Po lan d an d the Z iemias s ubject to ot her S tarostas o] our Kingdom we enact tha t in Great Po land, from that time on} the state rnents

72 -O o] cla ims iss ued by the Ziemski Court" sha ll not be is su ed undc r the se a l of S tarosta but un der our and our descendams' t ide} and und er the Ziemski cou rt6 sea L In the Starosta C ourt} on the other hand, they shal[ be iss ued and granted und er the cide and sea l of Staros ta .

Ili,IQJIThe Starostas s ha l[ no t gran t to the servants .lny - s.lfe-conduct Letters against the ir Lords .

Si nce our Prelates and Lords of G reat Po land reg ion com­plained to us a bout Poznań Starostas who previous [y used to gram the safe-co nduct Letters to these Prelates' and Lords' peasants and s ubjects} thereby inf[ict ing certa in affront and ins ult on these Pre lates and Lords . We, whi le supported by common consent} enact that from chat ti me on the Starostas of th ese places s ha [[ not iss ue any sa fe­conduct Let ters to the Prelates', Lords' and other C iti ­zens ' s ubjects, peasants, townsmen or servants, but we order that in th e matters that are subject of their concern the peasants and ot her indiv idu als who file their comp[a­in ts sha ll resort to the commonly appli ed Law 50 that eve ­rybody might have a due def ence in com pliance w ith the Law.

II ~ In the C a thedra l and Pa rish C hurches the can ­nonr ies s ha ll be gran ted to those who ar e of nobi­

[ia ry descem by fath er an d mother. Lec no one be rece ived to the Cathedra l an d Par ish C hur­ches in our Kingodm for the Bishoprics} Prelacries, Can­nonries bu t on [y the thos e that cur e nobl es by birth to both paren ts of no biliary status} an d those who are re­ared in the nobiliary habit. Yet a certain n um ber of ind ivi­du a[s of s imp le descent sha ll be affiliated w ith th e C hur­ches . And as regards those who are raised to the pos ition of Bishops and Prelates and who are no t of nobilia ry de­scent by being bom to both nobiliary parents} nor are re­ared in nobilia ry ha bit} let them not accept higher rank pos itio n under the penalty of eterna l infamy and forfeitu­

while using che pretex t of anv power or aurhorirv, lo pre­vent this we have [orm ula red the presen t S ta rure and che one which is la id down benearh: this being ope n ly made to reach the aforem emioned goa l by means o] che present statutes as we [[ as those o] our ancestors that are confir­med by us.

[12 ~ T he Statute re ferri ng to thc Pcop lc o] s im ple . cxtraction, enac ted upo n the reques t o] Her H i­ghness D uchess Lady Eliza beth, by God's grace Q ucen of Poland, our Mother} th a c ap plics to thosc wh o 0511<1[[ be el igib le to the Bish oprics and other C hu rch dignirics, and to the mode of th cir ap pointmcnt. l.ikcwisc, the Statute refers to the marm er by whi ch their nobilia ry s tatus; shall be; from that ti rnc on; proven . This is des ign ed to prevent che time of our s uccess] ul re­ign form the rise o] any dom es t ic doubts [the symptoms of which have a lready appeared ) and domest ic centrover­s ies (wh ich used to be worse than wars against foreign

enem ies ], t he do ubts and controversies being due to the fact that the ind ividua ls of low er socia l extracti on, driven by ambit.ion, used to [requent ly app ly for digni t ies and posts in the Cathedral and Parish C hurches o] our Kingdom. Their app lying for these dignities and posts involves manifest da n ­ger to these C hurches an d digni t ies and is prejudi­cia l to our nob ility who since remote t ime; than ks to their activities and vi rtues} were giv en priority

in th e process of selection among those app lying for these C hurch dign iti es . Likew ise; th is our no­

bility used to risk their life and limb while defend ing ­according to th e duties la id on them - our Kingdom aga­inst wars . Likewi se; the Churches, thanks to the kind of friends and the assistance th a t th e nobi lity rendered to them} were lef t in peace and due protection; which wou[d never have been ac hieved by those who; whi le} charged wi th their management; could not have resort to th is .15 ­

si s tance an d help in order to secure their pro tection . T he ­refore} whi le fo[[owing the common advice an d consent given to us by all our Counci l; and the comp laints [aid to us by our emi re nob ility; W e enact; decide and irrevoca ­bly order - by means of this present S tatu te and Decree which s ha ll be binding for ever - that from that t ime on on ly th e indiv idua ls of nobilia ry descen t sha ll be appoin­ted to the Bishoprics and Pre[at ries as found in the C a ­thedra l and Parish Churches; and - as regards the Co[le­giate C hurches - to the firs t high offices or dignities. The beha viour that contradicts th is Statute is severely prohi­bited and s ubject to th e penalty of eterna l infam y and forfeit ure by the perpetrator of a ll his es ta tes. T hi s pe­nal ty s ha ll be inflicted on those w ho, by whatever ma n­ner or method; wou [d dare oppose che presem Statute; th ereby a pplying for s upe rior pos ts; or accepting them if granted by anyone; in .lny of the afo rem entioned p[aces. Tll is pena lty s ha ll .l Iso be inf licted on their paren ts or re­latives who would secretly or openly ass ist them in obta­in ing these Posts . A nd we urgendy s t ipula te that if 5 0 ­

meone who is not a nobl eman were foun d to have obta ­ined .lny t id e whi le proceeding against th is S tatute; he and his parem s as well as his relat ives s ha ll be punished with the aforem entioned penal tie s . And as regards Ca­th edra ! and Parish Churches where th e C an nonries are he ld by ind ividua ls of simple descen t we wish that th e

Priv ileges and Decrees ado pted previously by aur A nce­s to rs be observed . In addition We enact th at none of whaterer kind and dignity shal l app ly in no manner wha t­soever for any ecclesias t ica l en dowment, nor acce pt one; i] given by any body - the endowment being in fact aur grant - without a ur perrnission, under th e aforementio­ned penalty o] infa my an d [or jeiture of his own es tares, th ose o] his par ents and th e es ta tes o] those close to him. A nd s ince there used to be asked questions about wha t the nobi lia ry ha bit is !the hab it being va rious ly under­s too d) we exp lain this issu e to the ex ten t that is requ­ired by this Statute, and specijica lly that only the one sha ll be wort hy the name o] t he nobleman and deserving

LV 11 l

rna ke no adjudica ti ng Commissions but for t he marking o] boundaries o] aur estates, a nd parti tioning our H erc­ditary es tates among our brerh rcn or our re la rives. H o­wever, thi s prohibition sha !l not app ly to the situa rion when th e par ties give th cir consent to creati ng the Com­missi on . The Commiss ions, when crea ted contra ry to th ese provisi on s, sha ll ha ve no power Ol' a ut ho rity,

~ 161N o one shall disobediently es tablish a duty. • S ince every co llec t ion, instit ut ed on th e basis of

unj arnil iar or s pecia l right, is likely to be the infringement o] common liberty, therejore We; in order to defend th e commonly-applied Law and civic [iber ty; and while equ­

of be ing awarde d the speci fied d ign it ies and ipped with th e common conse nt tha t we have obta­Eccles iastica l endowment, whose both par ents incd to do chat, enact that neither any Spi ritu al per­were noblcmcn a nd who was bom in anobiliary son nor Sec ular person s hal l establish or dare es ta­home and who himself lives - in the same way as blish on his beha lf any new Duty without our per­his pa rents did - in his leaseholds, cas t lcs, boro­ mis sion and a llowa nce nor wit hout our C rown C o­ughs, villages, acco rding to the custom o] his Fa­ un cił 's penniss ion and a llowa nce as given at the Ce­cherland and th e hab it o] th e nobi lity, therebv abi­ neral Seym . A nd i ] anyone does otherwise, he wh en ding by th e Nobi[iary Laws o] our Kingdom. We prove n gui[ty by virtue o] Law; sha ll - according to wish tha t a lso th e followin g individu als be clas­ our and our Council/s opinion - be punished with s ified as t hose bclongin g to the nobili ary es ta te, and specifica lly t hose whose lv\o ther was o] s imple extract ion but whose Farber was a Nob[eman; and th e­se parents of rheirs, Iike a lso he h imsel], have been living in our Kingdo m while following th e N obiliary pa t tern !th e one that has been described a bove) and who neither were involved in any crafts manship/ nor dea[t wi th the­se things tha t the Town sm en and those who [ive in Towns commonly used to dea! wi th . This is 50 becau se th e in­vo lvemen t in things that are not of Nobi[iary category lea ds to the convers ion of the Nobiliary s tatus into tha t of a s imp le man.

i13 :1 T he S tatu te to t he effect that Sp iritual persoTi be not su mmoned before the Secu[ar C ourt; an d

the Secu[ar person before the Eccles ias tic.l1Court. A ltho ugh in the old Statutes and Privileges it is far bid­den for th e Ecclesi astical Judges to usurp power of adju­dicating secu [ar matters; neverth eless We have faced t he overw he lming proportion of common complaint ,tgainst th e fact that; with no regard to th e old statutes; t he se­cular persons were repeated[y s ummoned before the ecc­lesi as tical Courts in matters that were seCldar. Therefo­re We order and ena ct th at from now on; th e Ecclesiasti­ca l Judges sha [[ not be in authority in Sec ular Courts nor sha [l ad judica te sec ular ma tters .

~4-1 About Sp irit u.l [ matters wh ich a re s ub ject t o Z iemskie Law?).

Whi le fi[ing s uits refening to t heir es tates or those refer­ring to th e damage dan e to these estates which a re sub­ject to che commonly appli ed law; th e dergy sha ll take a resort to the Ziemskie Law. A nd th e afore memioned damage is the one that refers to the boundries/ refugee peasants/ homicide/ infliction of woun ds on anot her: th e­se are a [[ these things that have been articulated in the Statute iss ued by H is Majesty King Jan O[ bracht.

I151The ma t ters for the settling of which the C om­missioners sh a ll be appointed.

order tOprese rve evervwhere the power of our C ourts _~ .- ~ ~ . . '~ n -1 : : : 10.;: \ ~ _1 .J O U T D es.: ~ dants sha ll

th e penalty o] [orfeiture o] th ese estates in which he; by means o] h is own w ill and his own - al th ough alle­gedly aur - author ity established the collect ion of Duty from our su bjects who are endowed w it h the commonly applied [iberty o] Law.

[iT] T he Court officers sh a [[ be elected at t he Povia­towy'· Seymiks and shall swear an oath.

The Court officers sha[l be elec ted a t th e Zi emskie Sey­miks according to the ord and s ti [[ preserved cus tom/ and specifica l[y according to th e provisions of th e statutes of King Ja n O lbrach t s pecified in his Privi[ege. A nd th ose that have been e[ected sha [l; by virtue of thi s our present Statute; make an oath. A nd/ ap art from th e event of th eir s uffering from any disease; they sha[l provid e no subs t i­t utes to perform their du ti es upon th e penal ty of [osin g their posts.

!IBl The Tow~~man wh~ ho lds Ziemskie estates sha ll render mlhtary se rvIce.

lt is common that merchan ts and town smen are success­fu l in using th eir prud ence to acquire wea[th. When th ey have su fficient proportion of th e latter they used to inte­grate the Z iemskie estates with those that they have in Towns . They s ubse quen tly used to acquire exemption from mi litary service. Being provident about the acquiring of their es ta tes they a[so try to en joy [arger [iberty in the ­se estates than th e nobles themse lves do. A[though we do not b[am e th em for the concem th at they demonstrate with res pect to their interes ts; never th eless this tenden­cy of theirs is formative of a series of doubts and bad exam­pIes in our R epub[ ic. The reason for th a t is th at thi s is th e nobiliary blood with which th e Repu b[ic and th e pe­ace thro ughout th e [and used to be pro tect ed and/ thanks to this peace/ th e s uccessful town smen who ha ve the po­ssess ion of Z iems kie es ta tes (thereby appropriating th e nobiliary food) used/ wi th their commo n[y observable pru­dence} to excuse themsel ves from th e common serv ice. Th erefore We} wi th ou r Prelates; C ouncil/ Lords and Z iemskie O eput ies} thought j e right tha t the Townsmen \\'h have heredi tarv Z iemskie eSL.ues sha ll .oc be exe pt (,-0 re Je ' S T u."'" se~ ' : _ O' . x.: -_.:1 c,, ;:- .}.r: I: ' ­

l

~ ~ ,.....-y .... .r - ~ L ~"S :- ...:t:.a ,...........e ..:..

~n .: :'l.c ~~;::i::e '''.:; ~ f ,i s \ 'u r~ .:;['\. d....e ~~'S [~[ w e-e S"~11 ­

rei to exe mpt thern h-J;;) such service as well as the Lec­ters tha t mighr scil! have been grameQ, shall nor be effec­cive, this issue being wi th more de ta ils provided for in the Privi[ege of our brother King O lbracht .

!191The price o] the goods that are pu t on sale shal l be fixed according to the examination o] prices pai d in other Ziemias.

Although these our prescnt Privilegcs as well as those is­sued by our Ancestors sufficiendy discuss the price of things put on sale, yet, perhaps through negligen­cel the decrees referring to these questions have not been implemenced, therefore We/ for the second and the third tirne, order and enact that the voivodes in their voivodships shall decide about the price of goods and other things that are the object o] sale. Let them leam o] the price o] the things on the ba­sis o] true testimonies and proofs by finding what the prices o] the th ings are in other Ziemias [rom where the things are being brought. And consequ­endy let them decide on the basis of right assessment. And those who do not observe these provisions prcdu­ced by the voivode and show contempt to them shal! be punished with the forfeiture o] the things and the price co[lected for them.

How sha![ he punish ed th e one who s uccess fu[!y has app[ ied for th e Ecclesiastica l en dowments

which in fact is the King /s or the King /s sub jects! grant. [t frequendy happens that Cortezans and other petitio­ners obtain by request in Rome Eclesiastica[ endowments which in fact ar e granted by our Subjects at the expense of their estates/ which is designed to provide the conso[a­tion of those of the;r b[ood-relations who are sti[[ [iving as wcll as those who have already died . By doing this/ those applying inf[ict a cons idera b[e dama.ge to the poor nobles who try to resort to Law in order to defend themselves. Therefore We order that those who obtain by request in the Aposto!ic See the Ecclesiastical endowments which in fact are our grants or those of our Kingdom's Lords and our Kingdom 's secu[ar nobles, shall be punished by penal­ties inflicted on their persons and on their estates. The same pena[ty shall .1[ 50 be meted out to the blood-rela­tion s and relatives of th e aforementioned app[icants.

11 21]1T he Dignities and Offices sh a ll be granted on!y to those who are setded in the Z iemia .

Whi[e adhering to the Statute of Nieszawa and other S tatutes that wer e deservedly made by our ancestors l We - on our and our descendants' beha[f - enact and promise with this present privilege of ours that We and our de­scendants sha[l grant neither an y Dignities nor an y appo­intments to Ziemskie Offices to anybody but those who are set rled in th e Kingdom in those provinces in which such Dignities and appointments ar e foundj the pena[ty for non-observance of the above provisions being the one laid down by our Lords in the foregoing Statute of Piotr­kow.

[22] The assessment of the F[orin. Si nce it has been as­75 a sessed to the am ount of thirty two groszes7l .

:: - ... .... -- ...- _. - - - -- -_._.. ~_ . .a....__ ... . ... ~ ... ...&.. ~ ~ .... - ~ ~

':"'eo&i..Sl' . .....

che rnore expensive lv [he [acce- is soki. Therejore i'1or .:le r

ro render sorne as sis tance ro aur subjec ts and by rcnd e­ring t his assis tance to make them richer because che we­a lth is due to the amp le supply of go ld, "Ve order and enact that the price of the Florin and the amount to be paid for it shal! not exceed the thirty two groszes . lf anybody pur­chases it or sells it in contradiction to this provision he shall be punished in accordance with th e Piotrkaw provi­sions o] the previous year or, in other words, in accordan­ce with the resolution o] King Olbracht, our brother.

[ ~ Let a l! the Starostas in the ir Poviats enfor­L- :J ce the C ourr-ad judicar ed awa rds under che penalty o] one hundred grzywnas. Since between the Ziemski Starostas and Povia­rowy Starostas there came to being the disputes referring to the enforcement o] the Court-adjudi­cated awards on occasions when the Starostas de­volved their du ties one on another, due to which our Subjects were prevented [rem enjoying justi­

ce already don e to rhem, We th erefo re enact that the Poviatowy Starostas shall be obligated and requircd, un­der the penalty o] one hundred grzywnas/ to enforce all the Court-adjudicated awards against al! our subjects of th eir Poviat.

~ 24!On the issue of free sale of nobiliary cerea[ in Byd­goszcz.

Our citizens in Kujawy Ziemia complained to us that they were restricted by our Townsmen who [ive in Byd­goszcz, and particu[arly on occasions when af ter th ey had strucka deal with somebody with regard to the cerea[ from their estates/ and transported the cerea! to the Town/ th ere soon ap Peared other Townsmen who, without bargaining/ took thi s cerea[ to their houses and granaries . And a[tho­lJgh they paid for this cereal yet they did it to the prejudi­ce of the aforementioned first purchaseTi thereby impo­sing res triction on the nobles. In order to prevent this prac ­tice We enact that in Byd goszcz the sale and haulage of the CereaJ sha l[ be free and carried out without .lny im­pediment generated by the aforesaid Townsmen/ and the Starosta shall be assigned the task to see to it that such impediments do not occur. And whenever there is s uch need the Roya.l Letters shal[ provicle for the above descri­bed regulations and shall impose th e penalty of fourteen grzywnas on the person who fails to observe the regula­t ions .

[2C"iT hos e who hold Dignit ies ar Starostwo posts in ~ specific pla ces shou!d perform thei r dutie s ther e.

In view of the fact that some individuals hold thei r Offi­ces/ and parti cu!arly S ta rostwo posts and oth er clignities in th e Ziemias which are situated far-away from th eir own estates (the dignities being granted to them pe r fa­vores!; th eir absence in these p[aces has given rise to many unk ind th ings becau se th ere was no one who might bridle th e sprigs and others who are responsible for the wanton activit ies . Therefore We ena ct that in .1[[ our Kingdom/s Z iemias and Poviats/ the Starostas/ Officers and .111 who ho [d an y dignities sha[[ ha ve th e status of settled inhabi­tanrs of the aforemenrioned p[aces. And th ey shall be

LX

ex hor te d by our Letters wh ich w ill demand th a t th ey s ho­uld fulfilI th eir duties ar is ing from t he offices tha t th ey hold. And/ in th e even t when three t imes ex hort ed, they are nevertheles s found to neglcct th eir duties th ey sha ll lose the ir offices and digniti es. The aforem ention ed ex hor­ta tion s ha ll require that they s hou ld have th e s tatus of sett led inha bitants and that th ey shou ld more frequ ently vis it t he places in which they have d ign ities a nd off ices .

r::2l A bout how to dema nd dowry if the W ife prcdcce­@J ases hel' Hus ba nd 01' th c Husband prede ceases h is Wi fe.

When th e W ife dics there used to be doubts referring to

th e payment o] hel' dowry which wa s legated to hel' during hel' lifetime. U p to th e pres ent timc there have been two ca uses o] these doubts. First, some said th a t hel' blood-re­lations who, a jter hel' dea th, ap plied to hel' husb and for the paym ent of hel' dow ry s ho uld count on bein g judic ia lly awarded th e holding of these es tates on which the dowry was legated dur ing che WifeJs life/ it being the H us band w ho was holding them dur ing hel' life. Second, oth ers sa id thar if the Husb an d predeceased his W ife/ a nd the lat ter was holdin g th e legar ed dow ry a li th e t ime before sh e berself died an d when, followi ng t he dea th o] s uch Widow who d ied in hel' widowh ood, hel' blo­od-relations a pplied for th e payrnen t of the dowrv, some arg ued th a t this w idów/s blcod -relations s hould s ue for rhe paym ent of th e dowry in a judi­cia! way/ othe rs claimed that th ese blood-relations should be as signed the ho lding of th e es ta tes on which the dowry was legated. H a ving these do­ubts in view and in order to do awa y with th em We/ while assisted by our Counci l and our Z iem­s kie O epu t ies/ ha ve decided that (rom that t ime on for eve r/ if t he woman wh ose dowry is lega ted on hel' H usb an dJs es tates predeceases hel' H usband/ the dOWly may be cla­ime d from the H usband who is a live by judicia l !awsu ic. A nd We orde r th e H us band to continue th e using and hol­ding of t he estates upon which he lega ted the dowry of his W ife in th e same w ay as he wa s us ing <111d holding the m before his Wife died . A nd he bear s legal liability to his de­ceased W ifeJs rela t ives Iwhen they app ly for t he dowry ) for <1 [ [ th ese t hings tha t were legated. But w hen the H us­band predeceases his W ife/ th en if/ followi ng his dea th/ his 'vVife con t inues - until hel' own dea th - the holdi ng of the­se es ta tes upon w hich hel' dowry was legated/ hel' blood­rela t ions/ upon hel' dea th/ sha ll be entitl ed to th e ho lding of th ese legated es tates th at thi s woman was ho lding as a

t;;,I~,."fji!I,.".,.~

W idow. A nd we ena ct t ha t thi s hold ing sha ll be a warded by the S taros ta of the place to those w ho ar e entitled to demand the return of the dowry. This s ha ll be done witho­ut a pplyin g any Judi cial procedure by t l1e ent itl ed persons but on ly upon th e infonnat ion a bout the lega ted dow ry and th e ex is tence of th e holding .

IInd in th e conclus ion of the a bove - listed

~ enactments w e s ta te that we have la id - th em down in R adom at the aforem en ti o­

. ned tim e/ wh ile applyin g th e a nci ent mode and follow ing the com mo n consent g iven

to th ese enactments by the P relates/ eccles ias tica l an d secu lar/ an d by the mos t em inent citizens of the Kingdom and th de puties re res enting our Z i mi as . Li ' ewis we

s ta te t hat We en trus t th e mo st reverend and dignified fa­th ers in C hrist, Lords and erninen t, ven erable, bom, noble a nd illus trious persens with th e function of being the s ince­ref reliable, gracious and faithful wit nesses o] what has been pronou nccd, th ese w itn esses sp ecifically includ ing:Andrzej Róża o] Borys zowi ce performing th e [un cti on o] A rchbi­

sho p o] G niezno an d Prima te of our Kingdom. Bernard Wil­cz ek o] Lubi eń who is elec ted Bish op o] Lvov Cburch, the following Bishops o] th e Church: Jan o] Konary represen­t ing Kraków/ Wincenty of Pr zerem ba representing Włocła­

we k 01' Kuja via . Ja n o] Lubraniec rep res en t ing Pozna ń ,

Ł ukas z repres en t ing Warmia/ Maciej o] D rzewica repre­se nti ng Przemyśl and performing the fun ct ion o] Deputy C hancellor of the Tr easury in our l(ingdom/ Wojciech re­presenti ng W ilno/ M arcin repr esent ing Miednica/ Sp ytko

o] J aros ł aw performing th e function o] Kra ków C ascc llan, Jan o] Tarnów perform ing th e [unc tio n o] Voivode o] San­

dom ierz/ Jan of Zabrzezie acti ng in the ca pac ity of Voivo­de of Troki and perfonning the functi on o] Marshal o] G rand Duchy o] Lithuania, the fol lowing Voivod es : Mi ko łaj G ar ­dzina o] Lubraniec Ka lis ki/ Piotr M ys zkowski o] M irów

Łęc zycki/ S tan is ław Jan owicz who is a C as tellan of T roki and Starosta o] S arnog itia, D uke Gli ń aki

who perjorrus the [un ction o] Knight M a rshal o]

our l.ithuani an Court, S tanisław H lebow icz per­forming th e funct ion of Voivode 01' S taro sta o] Po­Iock, a nd the following Voivodes : Miko łaj o] Ko­ś c i e l ec rep res enti ng Brześ ć/ Mikoła j of Kretków

representing I nowrocław/ Jan of Tarnów represen ­ting Ru th enia/ Mikoła j of Kuro zwęki represent ing Lublin/ Pra nd ota of Trzcia na represen tin g Rawa/

and th e followin g C as te llans : Jan Juranda of Bru ­dzów represe nti ng Kal is z/ Jan of Prze rem ba representing

S ieradz/ S tan i sław C hodecki repr esenting Lvov/ Janusz La­ta lski represen ting G niezno/ Ja kub of Si ek luki represen t ing WojniczJ Ja n Słu pec ki re present ing Są cz/ Piotr S za fra niec of Pieskowa Ska ła representing Wi ś lica/ Jan Jorda n of Z a­kliczy n representing Biecz/ Stani sł aw of Młodz i ej owi ce re­

presenting R adom/ Marcin Skotnicki of Bogoria represen ­

t ing Z aw ichojs k/ Stan i sław of Potulice repres ent ing Mi ę­

dzyrz ecz/ Piot r of O palen ica representi ng Ląd/ Pio tr Gór­s ki representing Nakło/Mi ko ł aj of R adzików represen ting

Dobrzyń/ Stan i sław of S rze11sk representing W isko/ A n­drzej of Oporów representing Kruszwica/ Piotr of N iemy­gł ów rep rese nting Rawa/ Paweł of C hodcza representing Połan i ec/ Mi ko łaj M yssopada rep resenting Czchów/ Ja n S zamowski rcpresent ing Konary/ Jan Łaski perform ing th e

funct ion of Lord C hance llor [of the Crownl; Ja kub of Szy­dłow i ec performing th e function of Undertreasurer of our Kingd om/ our S ecretaries : Wo jciech G órski w ho is a scho­lastic of Włocławe k/ Mi kołaj of Bartniki who is a C us to­dian of Płoc k" M ikoLlj Fid ej of Dą brow ica who is a C hief War rant 0fficer of Kraków a nd perfonns the funct ion of Staros ta of Lublin/ our [Z iems ki] Cham berlains : Woj ciech

Skóry of Gaj representin g Dob rzyń/ Deresław Wil czek re­presenting Lu b i eń Lwowski/ S tanis ł aw of Kazanów repre­senting Lublin / S tani sła w Szafraniec of P ies kowa S kała

perf0n11ing the function of C ourt C ha mberlain/ a nd ot her nu mero us lords si t t ing in our Council <15 wel! as th e depu­

t ies who/ as our subject.5/ represem alt Z iemias.

Z\ 'Dl ·...

D · Radom. Praca pod red. J. Bon ieckiego} \Varszawa 1975, s . 8-9i S . Pią tkows k i , Radom zarys dziejów mia s ta, Radom 2000, s . 24- 30i Radoms kie wę drówk i reg iona lne. Przewod ­ni k edukacji reg ionalnej pod red. J. Pulnara, Rad om 2000} s . 26-27i Ra dom. Fotografie Wojciecha S rana} Radom 2003, s . 7.

G ' Radomskie wędr ó wki regionaln e, s . P-53i S . Pi ątkows ki, Rad om zarys dziejów mias ta, s. 38-39i Domini k Ka zanow­s ki w bitwie pod Choj nicami w 1454 r. z rycerzami z iemi ra ­doms kiej uratował będącego w n i e bezpie czeństw i e króla Ka ­zimi erza jag ief[ o ń czyka. W nagrodę o trzyma ł starostwo niepołom i ckie i podkom ors two, a w 1463 r. starostwo rad om ­s kie. W 1468 r. uzys kał zezwole­n ie i ws parc ie finansowe na ufun­dowani e koś ci oła i klasztoru Bra ­ci M niejszych / be rnardynów/ w R ad om iu. Zm arł w [485 r., po­zos tawiając sześc i u synów i cór­k~ ./ C z. Zwolski} Hi s toria mia­s ta Radomia . Kronika, Radom 2005} s. 30-P/.

~- ) W . Ka linows ki} Urbanistyka i archi t ektura Radomi a, Lubl in 1979, s . 65·

40 S . Piąrkowsk i , R ad om zarys dzie jów, s . 33-34 . C z . Zwo ls ki pr zy t acza informa cje , iż woje ­wód z t wo lubelski e wy łączo no

z woj . sa ndomierskiego na mocy decyz ji Kazimierza jag iellończy­

ka, co utrudnił o re lacje handlowe R a domi a i mia s t ra do ms kic h z mi astami lub els kimi . {Ten ż e, His toria miasta Ra domia} s.p./.

G, Radoms kie w ędr ówk i regio­nal ne, s . 58-59 . W Księdze O sza­cowa ń Dokumentów Beneficja l­nych D iecez ji Krakowskiej z 1529 r. zawarte są infonnacje o szko ­ła ch parafialnyc h Radomia i po ­wiatu rad omskiego oraz \.Vynagro ­dzen iach nau czycieli./C z. Zwol­ --::=s ...~ ~ ~ s ki, Historia mias ta R ildomia, s .

--~ 37/. ~c~· ~

~ . .::--- ~G " Radom. Praca zbiorowa pod red . J. Bonieckiego, s. roi Radom­skie wędrówki regio na lne, s . 50.

r:::" , Radomskie w ędr ówki reg ionalne} s . 36.

c~ s Cz. Zwolski, Hi storia m ias ta Radornia, s . 29.

D ' M . Duczm a l, Jag iellonowie. Leksykon Biogr aficzny, Kraków 1996, s . 386.

0" 0 Kró l p rzebywa ł w Radom iu częs to w la tach 1461- 1464, organ iz u jąc zj az dy z ud z ia łem r a d y kró lewsk iej i możnowładców. \/'/1461 r. przyj ął na zamku radoms kim po­se lstwo Tatarów krymski ch , od k t órych o t rzymał

w darze wie l błą da. Kolejne sp otkania króla z możnowładca ­

mi mi ały miejsc e w la tach 1473-1 479. /C Z. Z wols ki} H isto ­r ia miasta Radomia, s . 31/.

tJ' " Tamż e, s . .19 .

C" " 30 X li 1474 r. w Radomiu kró lew na jadwiga publi cznie wyraziła zgodę na ś l u b z [crzyrn, a następnego dnia podpi­sano ze swatami umowę ma i ż e ń ską . M . Duczrna l, Jagiello­nowie. Leksykon Biograficzny, Kra ków 1996, s . 285.

D 'J Ka llimach / Filip Buonilccorsi/ b ył wybitny m poetą, pi­sarzem po lity cznym, history kiem i dyplom a tą, wych owawcą dzieci króla Kaz imierza J ilg i ellończyka .

0 '4M . Duczmal, Jagiellonowie, s . 236.

t } " "Iamze, s . 323 . G' ,6Tam że, s 326.

G'" Cz. Zwolski, H istoria mias ta R ad omia} s . .1 .1 ,

D 'SJ. Lu bo ń s ki, ,M onografia h is toryczna Radomia} Radom 1907} s . 17. G ' '9 Tam że, s . tr.

~~ W R ad oms kie wędrówki regi ona lne}s. 42- 43.

G il M . D uczmal, Jag iellonowie, s. 32-33.

D li Bona Sforza z rezygnowała ze swego posagu ustanowionego na dobrach Radomia i p rzeka z ał a je swojem u sy now i - Zygmun towi. Upos a ży ł o n nimi s wo j ą pierws zą żonę Elżbie tę - c ó rkę

Ferdynanda l./ Cz. Zwolski} H i­s toria miasta Radomia , s. 37/.

G " ) S . Pi ą tko wsk i , R ado m zarys dziej ów, s . 40.

0 '4 C z. Z wols ki, H is toria mia­s ta Radomia} s . 38-.19.

G' " Zob.A kta S tanów Prus Kró­lewsk ich , L IV CZ .2 11504- 1506), wy d. M . Bisk up przy wspó łpracy 1<. G órs kiego} Toru ń

1967 [cyt. n i żej : A S PK t .IVII); nr 194, s. 2I.

G " " Ibidem, nr 191, s .19.

O " Primum quod RegI7l1l1J Po­Ion iae et Magnlls Ducstus Li­chvaniae (1I1 /~lII tu r et cenoluci­nencurin unum ac m divisum ac ;nd;f f erens co rp as, ut s it lina gens/ ( /lW S populas. un.i frater­nita s a c co m m u n ia co ns ilis e ide m q u e co rpo ri p erp e t a o lin urn csput, Ul/US rex unusque domm us in loco et te mpore as ­s;gnat;s per p r.ies ences et ad elcerionem con ven iences vot is communibus eligatur quodque abs enciu m ob s c.int ia e/echo

non impe diacur et decre turn eleccionis in regno semper sit iuxcs consuet udines circa illud ex anciqao servat.ts, [\iV:] votamina Constitut;onul/1 c.I 1493-15 49, VOLT 1493­[526} w yd . S . Crodziski, l. Dworn icka i W . LIru szcza k, Warsza wil 1996 [cy t . ni ż ej : VC t . I/ r ], s .103. P rzek ła d W .U .

D '; W li ście pisanym z Brześc i a Litews kiego z dnia I lut ego 1505 r. do R ady G dańska król in jormowaf, że nie może przy ­być do Radomia na pla nowany pierwotn ie dzie l] otwarc ia sejmu 9 lutego z IIPowodu ca ra Zawo łżańsk iego i inn ych spraw W ielkiego Ks ię s twa" (pro imperatore Zawo!hens; et a!;;s hu ius M agn; D lIcatus neg od ;s ). Por.: AS PK d \0CZ .2, nr 197, s.29. :". ,. W. Konopczv ń ski, C hro no logia sej mów polsk ich 1493­1793, Kraków 1948 I=A rchiw um Komisji H is tor yczn ej PALlI t .XV I)/I nr 12/ S.133} na podstawie informacji zawartej we wstęp ie do konstytucji. Zob. VC t.l/r, S.138. W św i e tle wp i­sów do Metryki Koronne j obra dy mogł y trwać jeszcze de 4 czerwca. Tilką dat ę nos i un i wersa ł poborowy [pu bl. w VC t.l/r, S.I5r). Por. Matr;cu!ar;um Regn; Poioniae 5l1mm,ma, ed. T. W ierzb owski, t.l ll, Varsaviae [908 [cy t .: MRPS} t .l l l ], nr 2270- 2274} 2276-228 0}2288/ s .150-151.

i.xu

00 3 .. • propter cons i/iarios Licbvanis e ac Pruss iae terrs rum expecratos in t est imonio praesent lum serioces. aliosq ue ma­gnae imporcanciae eventus, asque ad diem ssbbs chi post O ct2vam Sacratissimi Corporis Christi (]l VI contin o.u :a fuit. VC t.l/r, s. 138.

0 3' Por. VC dl 1/ S. 143/ 147.

G '3' Zob. Akta A leksandra f(róla Polskiego....( r50 r- I506/t wyd.F. Pap će, Kra ków 1927/ nr 283/ s . 465-474.

t::"i''' V C r.l/ r, s . 138-143 .

t}>34 VC t. VI/ s . 138/ ar t , IrI , o " Prz ekł ad Ado lfa Paw ińskiego w : tego ż/ S ejmiki ziem ­skie/ początek ich i roz wój aż do ustalenia się udziału po­słów z iemskich w usta wodawstwie sejmu walnego IJ74 - I50S; Wars zawa 1895/ s . 213.

0 )6 VC t.l/r, s. 172- 173 .

0 37 ) . Bardach/ Iw :1 Historia S ejmu Polski ego, t.I Do schyl­ku e po k i sz lac he ckie j R ze c z yp ospol it e j/ pod red . J. M icha ls kiego/ Wars za wa 1984/ s ·57·

0 18 S zerzej o tym lw i: W . Ll r us z cz ak, S e jm w alny koronny w la tach 1506 -15401 Warszawa 1980/ s. 16I i n .

t}» O nullus obh:<Jatlls fu­erit ad IIOVdm constiiu­tion em serva ndam. nisi ips» primum per proc/a­marionem in R esno pu­blicecoi; Art.lz] D e eon ­st itu tion ibus novi s per proclamati on ern publ i­candis . V C t .I/r, S.138 .

G" o Użyto form u ły: nul­lum cap tivandu m [ore. nis i iure viaus esse t. Por. VC t.l/ r, s , 138.

O · , Art .ą ,

G'" Por.art. art. 6/7/ 8/ 9.

O ' ) A rt. n ,

O' · Com marie ine/iti Poloniae R egni p rivile­gium conscitutionum et indu/tum public iros de­cretorum, s ppro bs rora­mque, cum nonnullis iu­ribus tam divinis qusm łunna n is per se renissi ­nu/m principem et dom i­num A/exandrun~ Dei g rat ia req em Polonise. magnum dacem Lichvn­nis e. Russiae/ Praseis ­eque dominurn et hsere­dem ecc ... ,.. Zob . M . Cytowska, Bibliografia dr u ków urzędowych

XVI wi ekul VVrocław 1961/ pOZ.I/ S.53- 54. O Statucie Łaskie­go szerzej w : W. U ruszczak. Pr óba kody fika cji prawa pol­skiego w pier ws zej połowi e XVI w. Korekt ura pra w Z 1532 r., Wa rszawa 19791 S1). i n .

G '" B. Mio d ońskal Pr zeds tawienie pa ńs twa pols kiego w S ta ­tu cie Łaski ego z r. 1506/ w : Folia His roris e Arcium. t.V; Kra­ków 1968/ 5 , 19- 68.

0 . 6 J. Ekes, Tró j podz i a ł władzy i zgoda ws zystkich . Na­czelne zasady ustroju mi esz anego w s taropols kiej refleks ji polityc zn ej/ Si edlce 2001/ "SS . H,. r:::}47 Universa R eipublicae PO/OIII~lC ratio. IIlIC speccaro vide­tul) ut regiapud PO/Ol1os/ s it consticatis leg ibus impersndum. Ex quo /onHa diversa esse/ esereroram guhema cula reHno­rum. eonsra t. Ibi enim, quidquid reg ibus plscuic. iuris habet vigorem: hic non modo nu/lam Rex s ine se n.itus consilio. er nobilicstis sssensu/ fen legem/ sedcercis legi6us obtempers­re iubetur" J annis C rassini Polonia, B n n ia e 1)7.4., k 4 0 .

1:} . 8 Z ob . W. LIruszcza k. Le prin cip e « Lex es t rex » dans la th ćo rie et da ns la prariqu e en Po logne au XV le s iecle, w: Aequicas <Aequslicss <A uctoricss . R aison cheorique et ligi­cimation de Fautoriti dans le XVle europeen, sous [a dir. Dani ele Letocha, Pari s 1992/ S.1I9- ll6.

r::;~ ' 9 O sej m ie radom s kim z 150 5 r. szerz e j w pracy : W. l.lrusz cza k, S ejm wa lny ws zy s tkic h pań stw na szych . Sejm w Ra do mi u z 1505 ro ku. Kon stytu cja N ih il no vi, II C zaso p is mo Pra w no - H is to rycz ne" / P o znań 2005 Iw druku ).

0 50 Commune inclyt i Polo n iae Regni privilegi um . - l.ibr i duo iuris civilis M agd eburgens is et provin cialis Sax on ici­cum tertio libro iuri s feudal is . - R . Parthenopeus , Summa utriu sque iur is, Krakó w/ Jan H al ler/ l7 l 150 61 k. 1I5 1'-120 r.

0 5' BJ C im. 800 l . Opis egzcrnp larz a : Katalog poloników XV I w ieku Bib lioteki J agi elloński ej/ t . 1/ red . M . Malicki/ E. Zwinogr od zk a/ opr. M. Colusz ka. M . Malickil W . Ptak­Korbell Z . Wawry kiewi czl E. Zwinogr odz kal Warszawa-

Kra ków 1992/ S. 426.

O " 1<. Iq 1': Pres ule, To­m icio, Camcoue, duce a tqu e forensi Regina a fla ­t a l heu, talia Jura petit, k. 1I8 v: supra [olliurnj ó; a .

G ' 53 T om I I \Narszawa 1732/ s . 299- 309. Re edycja: Vo lum in a l.eg urn, t. 1/ nakl. J. Ohryzki/ Pet ers ­bur g 1859/ s . 136-141.Opis wydawnictwa w: S . Gro­dziski, Wst ęp [w .] Volu­m ina C onscitucionurn, t. I 14 93- 1549 1 vo l. I 1493­1526/ do d ruku pr z yg. S . C rcdzi ski, I. D wornic­ka iW. ll rus zcza k, War­szawa 1996/ s. 15 i n .

O s' Pełny tyt u ł por . przyp . 53. Kons tytu cje sej­mu radoms kiego zna j d ują

się w tomie 1/ vol. 1/ s, 138­143· G ' 55 j. Hcrburc, Staruca i przywi lej e k. o ro n n e, Krak ów, Mik oł aj S zar ­[enberger, [po 20 IV ] 15701

S. 24/ 26/ 721 961 129-1311 138/ 159/ 167/ 1711 177/ 207/ 20 91 212/ 26 1-262 1 28 2/ 302-3 03/3 4 11 358/ 3911 447/ 554/ 556- 557. Późn i e j s zy pr z e kł ad ko n s cyt uc j i N ih il novi sejm u ra do m ­s kiego w : A . Pawi ń s ki,

S ejmiki z iemskie . Pocza ­t ek ich i roz w ój aż do ustaleni a s ię ud zi ału po­

słów ziemskich w usta wod a wstwie Sejmu Walnego 1374­1505/ \;Varszawa 1895/ s . 213. 0 56 Instrukcja w ydawn icza do ź ródeł h istorycznyc h od X V I do p ołowy XIX wiekul red. K. LepSZYI Wro cł aw 1953.

O " Przypisy zostały sporz ąd z on e na podstawie: Słow ni k po lszczyzn y XVI wiekul Słown i k s taro polski .

t h 8 Pr zekład Wacław Llru szc za k.

G ' 59 tum - kościół katedra lny/ ka tedra .

t} 60 a wo - tu : więc .

t1'6, s na - tu: może .

t::"i' 6' korte zan - du chown y s tarający s ię w Kur ii Rzyms kiej o beneficjum z naru s zeni em uprawn i eń po lsk ich władz lub pos i a da j ący ben eficj um w Polsce a na s t a łe m i eszkający w Rzymie.

Ob, bieg un - tu : poddany polski prze vwaiącv stale w R--y­mie a ~j a~ ben ficju w P lsc .

-G:' ~,"= e l..;J ..iI. ":' .\a..:l.1~ \,....ł 'rt.,S= = = .:i

O'er Z iem i.i i5 che oli Po l i 5~' na rne af rerit oria l unie .province l .

O'o! ZieTT15k ie Dcpucies we re [he deputi es elcered by rhe re­sp ect ivc Sc ym iks .loc.al assemb lies o] che gemry in each Z ie­m iaj lO represent thern in the C OIllTencio ) v/agn<1 (par/amen­cum genera!is ) t ha t was referred to as t hc Seym .

O'6Q5tarosta was an official a ppoin ted by the I<ing. H e ex cer­cis ed jurisdiction of mostly pcna] profile over the landless no biliry as wel l as over people of othcr socia l stratc and, excep­tionaly, al so over th e land ed nobles in drasric cases s uch as hig hway robbcrv, invasion o] a hom e, ra pe or ar s on etc. J. Ludw ik I<os-Ra bcew icz-Z ubkows kil Po!ish Conscicutio­na! Law" in : Polish Law th roughout che Agesl ed. W . I. Wa ­gn erl Hoover Inst itute Press, Stanford U n ivers ity, Stanfordl

C a liforn ia r9701 pp. 2.35-236.

- ,

- ~t i..s tl.·t s (..;J. t er-,.er.:..s v! : w '~.s : '"'-i. t sc............ ·:l De t~ .e...1 H ""

me Gro:;.~;.;je CClIrt5 \\~ ; =~ were :~e C01Irt5 c\ .lr .d ; t;.:l łC.l ·

red mosrlv penal matters in people o] differenr ran ks were involved, including .1150 the landed nobles in the most se­nons cn rnes .

0''' Z iems ki C ourt wa s a tvp ical Court for nobility, lt excer­cised juri sdiction in al! cases in which a noblcrnan was a de­[endanc un less che type o] t he casc wa s reserved for other Courts . U nIike Ziemsk.ie C ourts thos e of 5tarościńsk.ie were under th e jurisdictio n of Srarosta . J. Ludwik Kos-R abcew icz ­Zubkowski l op. cic., pp. 235- 236.

t::}n Ziems kie La w wa s that branch o] law of the Polish- Li­thuanian s race thar ap plied to rhc nob iliry.

G -" Poviat was a t err itori al un it oth er th an Ziemia but/ like the la t ter, it cou ld have it s ow n [oca l Seymik.

o " The moneta ry unit of the t ime.

Ryciny uż yte w ks ią żc e poch odzą ze IIZ bioru odcis ków drzeworytów w ró żnych dzie lach polski ch w XVI

i X V I I wi eku odbitych "' " 1 Krakó w r84 8.

Na stronach XLII i X LV III przedsta ­wion o Su.tut lask iego oraz Przy­

w ilej rad omski ze zbi orów ACAD w Wars zawi e.

Pcdob iznę króla Aleksandra ze s t rony [V za cze r pni ę t o

z d z ie l a Jana C l uc hows k iego n [co n e s ks i ążąt i k ró lów po ł skich", K ra ków r605.

Poz osraJ e z d i ęc i a w publikac ji wy ko n a l ar t. forografik W ojc iec h Stan ,

(9