Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Republic of the Two Nations, or Republic of Both Nations (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów, Lithuanian: ?e?pospolita or Abiej? taut? respublika, Belarusian: ??? ?????????? or ??? ?????????? ??????? ???????, Latin: Regnum Serenissima Poloniae) was a federal monarchy?republic formed by the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1569, lasting until 1795.

Culture

The Commonwealth was one of the important European sites for the development of modern social and political ideas. It was famous for its unique quasi-democratic political system praised by philosophers such as Erasmus, was known for a near-unparallelled religious tolerance during the Counter-Reformation, hence the numerosity of peacefuly coexisting Catholic, Jewish, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and even Muslim communities. It gave rise to the famous Christian sect of Polish Brethren, antecedents of the British and American Unitarians.

Related Topics:
Philosophers - Erasmus - Religious tolerance - Counter-Reformation - Catholic - Jewish - Eastern Orthodox - Protestant - Muslim - Sect - Polish Brethren - British - American - Unitarians

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With its unique political system, the Commonwealth gave birth to political philosophers such as Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski (1503?1572), Wawrzyniec Grzyma?a Go?licki (1530?1607) and Piotr Skarga (1536?1612). Later, works by Stanis?aw Staszic (1755?1826) and Hugo Ko???taj (1750?1812) helped pave the way for the Commonwealth's Constitution of May 3rd, 1791, the first written national constitution in Europe, which enacted revolutionary principles of political science for the first time in Europe.

Related Topics:
Political philosophers - Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski - 1503 - 1572 - Wawrzyniec Grzyma?a Go?licki - 1530 - 1607 - Piotr Skarga - 1536 - 1612 - Stanis?aw Staszic - 1755 - 1826 - Hugo Ko???taj - 1750 - 1812 - The Commonwealth's Constitution - May 3rd - 1791 - Written - Constitution - Political science

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The Jagiellonian University in Kraków is one of the oldest universities in the world. The Commonwealth's Commission for National Education (Polish Komisja Edukacji Narodowej), formed in 1773, was the world's first national ministry of education. Commonwealth scientists included:

Related Topics:
Jagiellonian University in Kraków - Universities - Commission for National Education - Polish - Komisja Edukacji Narodowej - 1773 - Ministry of education

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• Martin Kromer (1512?1589), historian and cartographer,
• Micha? S?dziwój (1566?1636), alchemist and chemist,
• Kazimierz Siemienowicz (1600?1651), military engineer, artillery specialist and one of the founders of rocketry,
• Johannes Hevelius (1611?1687), astronomer, founder of lunar topography.

The many classics of Commonwealth literature include:

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• Jan Kochanowski, (1530?1584), writer, dramatist and poet,
• Wac?aw Potocki, (1621?1696), writer, poet
• Ignacy Krasicki, (1735?1801), writer, poet
• Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, (1758?1841), writer, dramatist and poet.

Many szlachta wrote memoirs and diaries; perhaps the most famous of those are the Memoirs of Polish History by Albrycht Stanis?aw Radziwi?? (1595?1656) and the Memoirs of Jan Chryzostom Pasek (ca. 1636 ? ca. 1701).

Related Topics:
Memoir - Diaries - Albrycht Stanis?aw Radziwi?? - 1595 - 1656 - Jan Chryzostom Pasek - 1636 - 1701

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Magnates often undertook construction projects as monuments to themselves: churches, cathedrals, and palaces like the present-day Presidential Palace in Warsaw built by Hetman Stanis?aw Koniecpolski. The largest projects involved entire towns, although in time many of them would lapse into obscurity or be totally abandoned. Usually they were named after the sponsoring magnate. Among the most famous is the town of Zamo??, founded by Jan Zamoyski and designed by the Italian architect Bernardo Morando.

Related Topics:
Magnate - Church - Cathedral - Palace - Presidential Palace in Warsaw - Hetman - Stanis?aw Koniecpolski - Zamo?? - Jan Zamoyski - Italian - Architect - Bernardo Morando

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Szlachta and Sarmatism

The prevalent ideology of the szlachta became "Sarmatism", named after the Sarmatians, alleged ancestors of the szlachta. This belief system was an important part of the szlachta's culture, penetrating all aspects of its life. Sarmatism enshrined equality among szlachta, horseback riding, tradition, provincial rural life, peace and pacifism; championed oriental-inspired attire (?upan, kontusz, sukmana, pas kontuszowy, delia, szabla); and served to integrate the multi-ethnic nobility by creating an almost nationalistic sense of unity and of pride in the szlachta's Golden Freedoms.

Related Topics:
Ideology - Sarmatism - Sarmatians - Culture - Tradition - Pacifism - Oriental - ?upan - Kontusz - Sukmana - Pas kontuszowy - Delia - Szabla - Nationalistic

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In its early, idealistic form, Sarmatism represented a positive cultural movement: it supported religious belief, honesty, national pride, courage, equality and freedom. In time, however, it became distorted. Late extreme Sarmatism turned belief into bigotry, honesty into political naïveté, pride into arrogance, courage into stubbornness and freedom into anarchy.

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Demographics and religion

The population of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was never overwhelmingly either Roman Catholic or Polish. The Commonwealth comprised primarily four nations: Lithuanians, Poles, Ukrainians and Belarusians (the latter two refered usually as the Ruthenians). This circumstance resulted from Poland's possession of Ukraine and federation with Lithuania, in both of which countries ethnic Poles were a distinct minority. To be Polish, in the non-Polish lands of the Commonwealth, was then much less an index of ethnicity than of rank; it was a designation largely reserved for the landed noble class (szlachta), which included members of Polish and non-Polish origin alike. Generally speaking, the ethnically non-Polish noble families of Ukraine and Lithuania adopted the Polish language and culture, by an ineluctable process of Polonization. As a result, in the eastern territories a Polish (or Polonized) aristocracy dominated a peasantry whose great majority was neither Polish nor Roman Catholic. Moreover, the decades of peace brought huge colonization efforts to Ukraine, heightening the tensions among Ruthenian and Polish peasants, Cossacks, Jews and nobles. The tensions were aggravated by conflicts between Eastern Orthodoxy and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church following the Union of Brest, and by several Cossack uprisings. In the west and north, many cities had sizable German minorities, often belonging to Reformed churches. Due to its almost unequaled political tolerance, the Commonwealth had also one of the largest Jewish diasporas in the world.

Related Topics:
Roman Catholic - Lithuanians - Poles - Ukrainians - Belarusians - Ruthenian - Ukraine - Federation - Ethnicity - Rank - Landed noble class - Noble - Polish language - Culture - Polonization - Colonization - Cossack - Jew - Eastern Orthodoxy - Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church - Union of Brest - Uprising - German - Reformed churches

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Until the Reformation, the Polish szlachta were mostly Catholic or Eastern Orthodox. However, many families quickly adopted the Reformed religion. After the Counter-Reformation, when the Roman Catholic Church regained power in Poland, the szlachta became almost exclusively Roman Catholic, despite the fact that Roman Catholicism was not a majority religion (the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches counted approximately 40% of the population each, while the remaining 20% were Jews and members of various Protestant churches). It should be noted that the Counter-Reformation in Poland, influenced by the Commonwealth tradition of religious tolerance, was based mostly on Jesuit propaganda, and was very peaceful when compared to excesses such as the Thirty Years' War elsewhere in Europe.

Related Topics:
Reformation - Catholic - Reformed - Counter-Reformation - Roman Catholic Church - Roman Catholicism - Jew - Protestant - Religious tolerance - Jesuit - Propaganda - Thirty Years' War - Europe

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