Piechota wybraniecka
Encyclopedia
Piechota wybraniecka was a type of an infantry formation in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Formed in 1578. Consisted of "royal" peasants (one from every 20 łans) from not charged (not under frequent lien
Lien
In law, a lien is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation...

, etc.) and revendicated
Execution movement
The Executionist movement was a 16th-century political movement in the Kingdom of Poland and, later, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was popular among lesser, middle and even some higher nobility, and it also enjoyed the support of the Polish king...

 royal lands.

Difficulties in recruitment:
  • mostly due to lack of constant dynasty in Poland (see: Royal elections in Poland), royal lands were under notorious, often illegal, control of Polish magnates (powerful and sometimes even semi-independent from the state), who opposed (see: liberum veto
    Liberum veto
    The liberum veto was a parliamentary device in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It allowed any member of the Sejm to force an immediate end to the current session and nullify any legislation that had already been passed at the session by shouting Nie pozwalam! .From the mid-16th to the late 18th...

    ) losing their workers, legal revendication actions of King and Execution movement
    Execution movement
    The Executionist movement was a 16th-century political movement in the Kingdom of Poland and, later, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was popular among lesser, middle and even some higher nobility, and it also enjoyed the support of the Polish king...

     didn't give satisfactory results,
  • even in free of charge and revendicated
    Execution movement
    The Executionist movement was a 16th-century political movement in the Kingdom of Poland and, later, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was popular among lesser, middle and even some higher nobility, and it also enjoyed the support of the Polish king...

     royal lands noble overseers preferred to cut costs by limiting the number of trainings and equipment available, which reduced the military value of the unit,
  • tries of expanding this duty to non-royal lands met with vast opposition (liberum veto
    Liberum veto
    The liberum veto was a parliamentary device in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It allowed any member of the Sejm to force an immediate end to the current session and nullify any legislation that had already been passed at the session by shouting Nie pozwalam! .From the mid-16th to the late 18th...

    ) from feudaly-bounded lesser and middle 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 majority) so the formation was never expanded beyond the revendicated
    Execution movement
    The Executionist movement was a 16th-century political movement in the Kingdom of Poland and, later, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was popular among lesser, middle and even some higher nobility, and it also enjoyed the support of the Polish king...

     royal lands.
  • armed "royal" peasants were inconvenient for stability of obsolete feudal political system of the country (see: Chmielnicki uprising supported by peasantry, Szela uprising
    Galician slaughter
    "The Galician Slaughter" also "The Peasant Uprising of 1846" or Szela uprising was a two month uprising of Polish peasants resulting inter alia in suppression of other - szlachta uprising and massacre of szlachta in Galicia in the Austrian partition in early 1846. The peasant uprising lasted from...

     the largest peasant uprising on the Polish lands in 19th century (II-III 1846)),
  • nobility
    Nobility
    Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

     in Poland (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...

    ) was much more numerous then in other countries reaching about 1,15 million people in 1618, a number high enough to fulfill any contemporary military requirement, without additional need to recruit "royal" peasants.


Eventually the formation was totally discontinued (late 17th / early 18th century) in exchange of tax for the army.

See also other types of Polish historical formations

  • Piechota dymowa
  • Piechota łanowa
  • Wojsko komputowe
    Wojsko komputowe
    Wojsko komputowe is a type of military unit used in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 17th century and the 18th century.Until the mid-17th century, Polish forces were divided into permanent units and supplemental units , which were created in the time of military needs...

  • 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....

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