Casimir Code
Encyclopedia
The Casimir's Code was a legal code
adopted in 1468 by Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Casimir IV Jagiellon
with an approval of the Lithuanian Council of Lords
. It was the first attempt to codify the laws of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
. The code prescribed punishment for property crime
s and limited court procedures. Much of the legal system was left uncodified and was governed by customs.
met in Vilnius
. The code differed from privileges previously issued by the Grand Duke because the code granted no new rights to the nobility. Judging from the content, the code was intended for the nobility and landowners, who received Casimir's privilege in 1447 to try veldamai, a class of dependent people that eventually became serfs
. The code attempted to impose some consistency in the treatment of veldamai. The document also did not specify the effective date or territory. Historians believe that the code was in effect in entire Lithuania up to the first Statute of Lithuania of 1529 even though no court cases are known that referenced the code.
Written in the Old Belarussian language, the original document did not survive, but several copies are known from the end of 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries. The document was first published in 1826 by Ignacy Daniłowicz, law professor at Vilnius University
. The document did not have a proper name and was named Casimir's Code or Casimir's Statute by modern historians. The original code was not divided into articles; modern historians have identified 25 articles.
A criminal first had to compensate the victim for the material losses (the stolen object was usually not returned to the victim, but transferred to the court). The code devoted special attention to this issue. Then criminal was subject to the actual punishment. There were four types of punishments: the stolen object was confiscated for the benefit of the court; if the object was not available, it was replaced by other compensation of equal value; flogging and putting into stocks
; hanging. The death sentence was limited to repeated offenders
, thefts of cows and horses, and other crimes that exceeded a certain monetary limit. The responsibility for the crimes did not extend to family members unless they knew or participated in the theft.
Legal code
A legal code is a body of law written by a governmental body, such as a U.S. state, a Canadian Province or German Bundesland or a municipality...
adopted in 1468 by Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV KG of the House of Jagiellon was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440, and King of Poland from 1447, until his death.Casimir was the second son of King Władysław II Jagiełło , and the younger brother of Władysław III of Varna....
with an approval of the Lithuanian Council of Lords
Lithuanian Council of Lords
The Lithuanian Council of Lords was the main permanent institution of central government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania active in its capital city of Vilnius....
. It was the first attempt to codify the laws of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
. The code prescribed punishment for property crime
Property crime
Property crime is a category of crime that includes, among other crimes, burglary, larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, shoplifting, and vandalism. Property crime only involves the taking of money or property, and does not involve force or threat of force against a victim...
s and limited court procedures. Much of the legal system was left uncodified and was governed by customs.
Context
The date or the circumstances when the code was adopted are unknown. The historians conjured that the most probable date is February 1468 when the Seimas of the Grand Duchy of LithuaniaSeimas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Seimas was an early parliament in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was active from 1445 to 1569, when it was officially abolished by the Union of Lublin. The Seimas was an irregular gathering of the Lithuanian nobility, called as needed by the Grand Duke or during an interregnum the Lithuanian...
met in Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
. The code differed from privileges previously issued by the Grand Duke because the code granted no new rights to the nobility. Judging from the content, the code was intended for the nobility and landowners, who received Casimir's privilege in 1447 to try veldamai, a class of dependent people that eventually became serfs
Serfdom
Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...
. The code attempted to impose some consistency in the treatment of veldamai. The document also did not specify the effective date or territory. Historians believe that the code was in effect in entire Lithuania up to the first Statute of Lithuania of 1529 even though no court cases are known that referenced the code.
Written in the Old Belarussian language, the original document did not survive, but several copies are known from the end of 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries. The document was first published in 1826 by Ignacy Daniłowicz, law professor at Vilnius University
Vilnius University
Vilnius University is the oldest university in the Baltic states and one of the oldest in Eastern Europe. It is also the largest university in Lithuania....
. The document did not have a proper name and was named Casimir's Code or Casimir's Statute by modern historians. The original code was not divided into articles; modern historians have identified 25 articles.
Content
The code prescribed various punishments for crimes and some court procedures. It dealt only with crimes against property (theft and robbery). The code primarily dealt with common thieves, but also addressed crimes by the Lithuanian nobility (such as cutting forest trees without permission or luring away veldamai from another noble). The nobility was to be tried and sentenced by the Grand Duke and the Council of Lords. Civil disputes between nobles were to be decided by the third-party judges. Peasants dependent on the Grand Duke were to be tried by tijūnai (high-ranking supervisors of royal estates), while those dependent on other dukes and nobles – by the nobles themselves or their appointed officials.A criminal first had to compensate the victim for the material losses (the stolen object was usually not returned to the victim, but transferred to the court). The code devoted special attention to this issue. Then criminal was subject to the actual punishment. There were four types of punishments: the stolen object was confiscated for the benefit of the court; if the object was not available, it was replaced by other compensation of equal value; flogging and putting into stocks
Stocks
Stocks are devices used in the medieval and colonial American times as a form of physical punishment involving public humiliation. The stocks partially immobilized its victims and they were often exposed in a public place such as the site of a market to the scorn of those who passed by...
; hanging. The death sentence was limited to repeated offenders
Recidivism
Recidivism is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have either experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been treated or trained to extinguish that behavior...
, thefts of cows and horses, and other crimes that exceeded a certain monetary limit. The responsibility for the crimes did not extend to family members unless they knew or participated in the theft.