Henrician Articles
Encyclopedia
The Henrician Articles or King Henry's Articles (Polish
: Artykuły henrykowskie, Latin
: Articuli Henriciani) were a permanent contract that stated the fundamental principles of governance and constitution
al law
in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
in the form of 21 Articles written and adopted by the nobility
in 1573 at the town of Kamień
, near Warsaw
, during the interregnum
following the extinction of Jagiellon
dynasty
. It functioned, essentially, as a constitution for Poland until the Constitution of May 3, 1791
.
The document took its name from that of Henry of Valois
, the first Polish
king
elected by "free election" {wolna elekcja}, who was obliged to sign the Articles before being allowed to ascend the throne. Subsequently every king-elect was required to swear fidelity to them, as is contrasted with the similar documents, the pacta conventa
, which were tailored and different for each king-elect.
While pacta conventa
comprised only the personal undertakings of the king-elect, the Henrician Articles were a permanent statute that all king-elects had to swear to respect, beginning with the first elected Polish king, later Henry III of France
.
The provisions of the Henrician Articles stated that:
The Henrician Articles created the Council comprising 16 senators (also known as "residents"). The Council was elected every two years during the Sejm
session. Four of their number (rotating every six months) were obliged to accompany the king and serve as advisors and supervisors to ensure that the king made no decision contrary to the laws of the Commonwealth.
The Articles upheld the informal tradition that the king could not send levee en masse
troops to serve outside the Commonwealth's borders without compensation and that he must pay for the royal army (wojsko kwarciane
). The Articles incorporated the Warsaw Confederation
provisions guaranteeing almost unprecedented religious freedom. The Articles also included a list of official posts and titles in the Commonwealth.
Finally, if the monarch were to transgress against the law or the privileges of the szlachta
, the Articles authorized the szlachta
to refuse the king's orders and act against him (by raising a rokosz
, or rebellion). Each king had to swear that "if anything has been done by Us against laws, liberties, privileges or customs, we declare all the inhabitants of the Kingdom are freed from obedience to Us".
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
: Artykuły henrykowskie, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
: Articuli Henriciani) were a permanent contract that stated the fundamental principles of governance and constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
al law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
in the form of 21 Articles written and adopted by the nobility
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
in 1573 at the town of Kamień
Kamien
Kamień is the Polish word for stone. It appears in several Polish toponyms, and was a past Polish unit of measurement.Places in Poland called Kamień include:* Kamień Pomorski, a town in West Pomeranian Voivodeship , seat of Kamień County...
, near Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, during the interregnum
Interregnum
An interregnum is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order...
following the extinction of Jagiellon
Jagiellon dynasty
The Jagiellonian dynasty was a royal dynasty originating from the Lithuanian House of Gediminas dynasty that reigned in Central European countries between the 14th and 16th century...
dynasty
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...
. It functioned, essentially, as a constitution for Poland until the Constitution of May 3, 1791
Constitution of May 3, 1791
The Constitution of May 3, 1791 was adopted as a "Government Act" on that date by the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Historian Norman Davies calls it "the first constitution of its type in Europe"; other scholars also refer to it as the world's second oldest constitution...
.
The document took its name from that of Henry of Valois
Henry III of France
Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
, the first Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
king
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
elected by "free election" {wolna elekcja}, who was obliged to sign the Articles before being allowed to ascend the throne. Subsequently every king-elect was required to swear fidelity to them, as is contrasted with the similar documents, the pacta conventa
Pacta conventa (Poland)
Pacta conventa was a contractual agreement, from 1573 to 1764 entered into between the "Polish nation" and a newly-elected king upon his "free election" to the throne.The pacta conventa affirmed the king-elect's pledge to respect the laws of the...
, which were tailored and different for each king-elect.
While pacta conventa
Pacta conventa (Poland)
Pacta conventa was a contractual agreement, from 1573 to 1764 entered into between the "Polish nation" and a newly-elected king upon his "free election" to the throne.The pacta conventa affirmed the king-elect's pledge to respect the laws of the...
comprised only the personal undertakings of the king-elect, the Henrician Articles were a permanent statute that all king-elects had to swear to respect, beginning with the first elected Polish king, later Henry III of France
Henry III of France
Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
.
The provisions of the Henrician Articles stated that:
- kings of the Commonwealth were all to be chosen by election by the szlachtaSzlachtaThe szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
, and never to succeed by right of inheritance; use of the title of "prince" or "princess" was forbidden to king's children. - the king must convene a general sejmGeneral sejmThe general sejm was the parliament of Poland for four centuries from the late 15th until the late 18th century.-Genesis:The power of early sejms grew during the period of Poland's fragmentation , when the power of individual rulers waned and that of various councils and wiece grew...
(Polish parliament) at least once every two years for six weeks; - the king had no right to create new taxes, tariffs or such without approval of the SejmSejmThe Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
; - between sejms, resident senators were to be at the king's side as his advisers and overseers;
- the king had no right to call a pospolite ruszeniePospolite ruszeniePospolite ruszenie , is an anachronistic term describing the mobilisation of armed forces, especially during the period of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The tradition of wartime mobilisation of part of the population existed from before the 13th century to the 19th century...
(levee en masseLevée en masseLevée en masse is a French term for mass conscription during the French Revolutionary Wars, particularly for the one from 16 August 1793.- Terminology :...
) without approval of the SejmSejmThe Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
; - the king had no right to declare war or peace without approval of the SejmSejmThe Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
; - the king must abide by the Warsaw ConfederationWarsaw ConfederationThe Warsaw Confederation , an important development in the history of Poland and Lithuania that extended religious tolerance to nobility and free persons within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. , is considered the formal beginning of religious freedom in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and...
's guarantees of religious freedom; - if the king broke any of the Commonwealth's laws, the nobility (szlachtaSzlachtaThe szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
) were free to disobey the king's orders.
The Henrician Articles created the Council comprising 16 senators (also known as "residents"). The Council was elected every two years during the Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
session. Four of their number (rotating every six months) were obliged to accompany the king and serve as advisors and supervisors to ensure that the king made no decision contrary to the laws of the Commonwealth.
The Articles upheld the informal tradition that the king could not send levee en masse
Levée en masse
Levée en masse is a French term for mass conscription during the French Revolutionary Wars, particularly for the one from 16 August 1793.- Terminology :...
troops to serve outside the Commonwealth's borders without compensation and that he must pay for the royal army (wojsko kwarciane
Wojsko kwarciane
Wojsko kwarciane was the term used for regular army units of Poland . The term was used from 1562.Wojsko kwarciane was formed from earlier obrona potoczna units....
). The Articles incorporated the Warsaw Confederation
Warsaw Confederation
The Warsaw Confederation , an important development in the history of Poland and Lithuania that extended religious tolerance to nobility and free persons within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. , is considered the formal beginning of religious freedom in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and...
provisions guaranteeing almost unprecedented religious freedom. The Articles also included a list of official posts and titles in the Commonwealth.
Finally, if the monarch were to transgress against the law or the privileges of the szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
, the Articles authorized the szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
to refuse the king's orders and act against him (by raising a rokosz
Rokosz
A rokosz originally was a gathering of all the Polish szlachta , not merely of deputies, for a sejm. The term was introduced to the Polish language from Hungary, where analogous gatherings took place at a field called Rákos....
, or rebellion). Each king had to swear that "if anything has been done by Us against laws, liberties, privileges or customs, we declare all the inhabitants of the Kingdom are freed from obedience to Us".
See also
- Royal elections in Poland
- Pacta conventaPacta conventa (Poland)Pacta conventa was a contractual agreement, from 1573 to 1764 entered into between the "Polish nation" and a newly-elected king upon his "free election" to the throne.The pacta conventa affirmed the king-elect's pledge to respect the laws of the...