Gentry - this is what. Who is a nobleman? A Brief History of the Szlachta

Fans of historical novels of Henrik Sienkiewicz often met in them such a notion as "gentry". The meaning of this word, however, was not always clear from the context. Let's find out what the given noun means, and also consider the history of the phenomenon called this name.

What does the word "gentry" mean?

This term in Rzeczpospolita was called the nobility class.

In fact, this noun can be considered synonymous with the terms "nobility", "nobility". At the same time the szlachta is a special phenomenon, characteristic for Polish culture. In addition, it existed in neighboring countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia) and those whose lands were formerly part of the Commonwealth (Belarus, Lithuania, Ukraine).

Etymology

The Russian word "gentry" was derived from the Polish noun szlachta. It, in turn, most likely was formed from the German term Schlacht (battle, battle).

It is also common that "the progenitor" of the "nobility" was the old German word Slacht, meaning "breed, genus."

Which of these theories is correct is unknown. Especially since the first evidence of the etymology of the word in question appeared only in the 15th century. At the same time, the concept itself arose at least 4 centuries earlier.

Who is the nobleman?

If the szlachta is a common name for the aristocracy, then its individual representative was called "nobleman" or "gentry" (if it was a woman of noble birth).

Initially (even during the existence of the Kingdom of Poland) ordinary people could obtain nobility for combat services (by the way, hence the origin of the term). Therefore, in the early centuries the Polish gentry were close in their role to European knights.

In later times it became much more difficult to become a nobleman, even in spite of his glorious feats on the battlefield. At the same time, for almost the entire history of the szlachta's existence, its representatives were responsible for the defense of the country.

According to Polish historians, in the XVI-XVIII centuries. There were more than ten varieties of gentry. They were divided into different categories: in antiquity, in wealth, in the presence or absence of a coat of arms, land or peasants, by origin, by place of residence, etc.

Despite the many varieties, gentry are always the elite of society. Therefore, even the poorest landless gentry had more rights and privileges than the most prosperous commoner.

As many noblemen of Rzecz Pospolita were poor, the main wealth of each aristocrat was his honor i godnośc (honor and dignity). Defending them, even the most poor nobleman could challenge a noble rich man.

There is a misconception that all the nobility were necessarily Catholics. This is a myth, although the question of religion was very important for Rzeczpospolita, among its nobility were representatives of different Christian denominations.

The history of the appearance of the gentry

Having considered what the word "gentry" means, it is worth paying attention to the history of this phenomenon.

The first knights-nobles appeared in the 11th century. As already mentioned above, they received the noble title for military merit. It is interesting that at that time any person could gain a noble title for military achievements. And this rule extended even to slaves.

Thanks to such a policy in the XI century. A huge number of nobles appeared, while they did not have arms and lands, being on the state security.

Since the XII century. Gentry is a landowning estate. From this period, the Polish nobility began gradually to subordinate themselves to the management of all spheres of life of the state. So having received the land, for decades they practically enslaved the peasantry, depriving the rural communities of self-government and introducing serfdom.

The situation with the population of cities was no better. Since the petty bourgeois were peaceful people, not participating in permanent military conflicts, the nobility deprived them of the right to own land. Also, the nobles constantly imposed taxes on the city dwellers and rudely intervened in all their affairs. Because of this, the state industry has practically not developed.

Golden Liberty

Having dealt with what "gentry" and "gentry" means, it is worth learning about such a concept as "gentry democracy" or Złota Wolność (Golden Liberty).

The essence of this political system (which was formed in the Kingdom of Poland, and then spread to Rzeczpospolita) was that virtually every nobleman took part in the government of the state.

Although officially the king was at the head of the country, he was the only one in Europe elected. And he was elected by the Sejm (a parliament consisting of the most wealthy gentry, resembling the modern senate in the United States in structure), and almost all wealthy noblemen could claim the place of the king, regardless of the antiquity of the clan.

The Polish king was elected for life, but the szlachta had the legal right to raise against him an uprising (rokosh) and to dislodge the objectionable one from his post. In addition, each member of the Seimas had the right of veto, therefore most laws in the Commonwealth were taken not by the king, but by the gentry.

Despite its progressiveness, Gold Liberty had negative sides as well. For example, the constant strife and the struggle of the wealthiest nobles for power. For this reason, at the end of the XVIII century. The country was so weakened that it was conquered by three neighboring states: the Russian Empire, Austria and Prussia.

The decline and disappearance of the szlachta as a class

After Rzeczpospolita ceased to exist in the 18th century, a large part of its lands fell under the rule of the Russian Empire. The new authorities came to the need to level the gentry with the Russian nobles. But it turned out that the Polish nobility was very much (about 7% of the total population of Poland, while in Russia - 1%).

To reduce its number, throughout the XIX century. In the empire, various restrictive laws were introduced, requiring from the gentry the confirmation of antiquity of a kind of documentary. However, not all the nobles could gather all the necessary information. Because of this, almost half of them were converted to the category of commoners.

Such a vile policy contributed to numerous uprisings, which only aggravated the situation of the former gentry.

After the events of 1917 on the territory of the former Russian Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, attempts were made to restore the nobility as a class and restore its former rights and freedoms. However, this was not achieved, and in 1921 the last privileges of the nobles in Poland, Ukraine and Western Belorussia were abolished, as did the estate itself.