Lovers of historical novels by Henryk Senkevich more than once met in them such a thing as “gentry”. The meaning of the word, however, was not always clear from the context. Let us find out what this noun means, and also consider the history of the phenomenon called by this name.
What does the word "gentry" mean?
This term in the Commonwealth was called the noble class.
In fact, this noun can be considered a synonym for the terms “know”, “nobility”. At the same time, gentry is a special phenomenon characteristic of Polish culture. In addition, it existed in neighboring countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia) and those whose lands in the past were part of the Commonwealth (Belarus, Lithuania, Ukraine).
Etymology
The Russian word "gentry" was formed from the Polish noun szlachta. It, in turn, most likely, was formed from the German term Schlacht (battle, battle).
The version is also widespread that the “ancestor” of the “gentry” was the Old German word Slacht, meaning “breed, clan”.
Which of these theories is true is unknown. Moreover, the first evidence of the etymology of the word in question appeared only in the XV century. Moreover, the concept itself arose at least 4 centuries earlier.
Who is a nobleman
If the gentry is the common name of the aristocracy, then its separate representative was called "gentry" or "gentry" (if it was a woman of noble birth).
Initially (even during the period of the Kingdom of Poland) ordinary people could receive the nobility mainly for military merit (by the way, this is the origin of the term). Therefore, in the early centuries, the Polish gentry were close in their role to European knights.
In later times, becoming a nobleman became much more difficult, even despite the glorious feats on the military field. Moreover, throughout almost the entire history of the existence of the gentry, its representatives lay responsibility 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: by antiquity, by wealth, by the presence or absence of a coat of arms, lands or peasants, by origin, by place of residence, etc.
Despite the many varieties, gentry is always the elite of society. Therefore, even the poorest landless nobleman had more rights and privileges than the most prosperous commoner.
Since many nobles of the Commonwealth were poor, the main wealth of every aristocrat was his honor i godnośc (honor and dignity). Protecting them, even the poorest nobleman could challenge a noble rich man.
There is a misconception that all gentry were necessarily Catholics. This is a myth, although the issue of religion was very important for the Commonwealth, among its nobility were representatives of various Christian denominations.
History of the nobility
Having considered what the word "gentry" means, it is worth paying attention to the history of this phenomenon.
The first gentry knights appeared in the XI century. As mentioned above, they received a noble title for military merits. It is interesting that in those days any person could receive a noble rank for military achievements. Moreover, this rule applied even to slaves.
Thanks to such a policy in the XI century. a huge number of nobles appeared, while they did not have emblems and lands, being on state support.
Starting from the 12th century gentry is a land-holding class. From this period, Polish nobles began to gradually crush under themselves the management of all spheres of state life. Thus, having obtained land, for several decades they have practically enslaved the peasantry, depriving rural communities of self-government and introducing serfdom.
The situation with the urban population was no better. Since the bourgeoisie were peaceful people, not participating in ongoing military conflicts, the gentry deprived them of the right to own land. Also, nobles constantly taxed city dwellers and grossly interfered in all their affairs. Because of this, the industry of the state practically did not develop.
Golden Liberty
Having understood what “gentry” and “gentry” mean, it is worth learning about such a thing 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 the Commonwealth) was that almost every nobleman took part in government.
Although officially king was king, he was the only one in Europe to be elected. And it was elected by the Sejm (the parliament, consisting of the most wealthy noblemen, in structure resembles the modern Senate in the United States), and almost all wealthy nobles could apply for the king’s place, regardless of the antiquity of the clan.
The Polish king was chosen for life, but the gentry had the legal right to raise an uprising (rokosh) against him and remove the objectionable from his post. In addition, every member of the Sejm had a veto, so most of the laws in the Commonwealth were passed not by the king, but by the gentry.
Despite its progressiveness, Golden Liberty also had negative aspects. For example, the constant feuds 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 gentry as a class
After the Commonwealth ceased to exist in the XVIII century., A huge 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 there were a lot of Polish nobles (approximately 7% of the total population of Poland, while in Russia - 1%).
To reduce its number, throughout the XIX century. various restrictive laws were introduced in the empire, requiring the gentry to confirm the antiquity with a kind of documentary. However, not all nobles could collect all the necessary certificates. Because of this, almost half of them were transferred to the category of commoners.
Such a vile policy contributed to numerous uprisings, which only exacerbated the situation of the former gentry.
After the events of 1917 in the territory of the former Russian Empire and the Commonwealth, there were attempts to restore the gentry 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 Belarus were abolished, as was the estate itself.