The szlachta (Polish: szlachta, [ˈʂlaxta]ⓘ) was a privileged social class in the Kingdom of Poland. The term szlachta was also used for the Lithuanian nobility after the union of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with Poland as the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (Union of Lublin, 1569) and for the increasingly Polonized nobilities of territories controlled by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, including Ducal Prussia and the Ruthenian lands.
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a semi-confederated, semi-federated monarchic republic from 1569 until 1795, comprising the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The head of state was an elected monarch. The Commonwealth's dominant social class was the nobility. This article chiefly lists the nobility's magnate segment (the wealthier nobility), as they were the most prominent, famous, and notable. These families would receive non-hereditary 'central' and Land dignities and titles under the Commonwealth law that forbade (with minor exceptions) any hereditary legal distinctions within the peerage. They would later be 'approximated' to honorary hereditary titles in the Partition period with little real-power privileges but would still be venerated among the Polish upper class and the rest of the society as 'senatorial', 'palatinal', 'castellanial' or "dignitarial' families.
"Szlachta" is the proper term for Polish nobility beginning about the 15th century. Most powerful members of szlachta were known as magnates ("magnaci" or the "magnateria" class). A Polish nobleman who lived earlier is referred to as a "rycerz" ("knight"); the class of all such individuals is the "rycerstwo" (the "chivalry" class). Most powerful members of "rycerstwo" were known as "możnowładcy" (the "moznowładztwo" class).
The szlachta (Polish: szlachta, [ˈʂlaxta] ) was a privileged social class in the Kingdom of Poland. The term szlachta was also used for the Lithuanian...
The szlachta (Polish: [ˈʂlaxta] ; Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the...
ListofszlachtaListof Polish titled nobility Magnates of Poland and Lithuania Karl Friedrich von Frank, Standeserhebungen und Gnadenakte für das Deutsche...
The Nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania or Greater Lithuanian szlachta (Lithuanian: bajorija, šlėkta, Polish: szlachta Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego)...
(1738–1781), father of Rozalia Lubomirska Aleksander Chodkiewicz (1776-1838), Polish patriot and polymath Lithuanian nobility Listofszlachta Wikimedia Commons...
of Jastrzębiec Clan of Odrowąż Clan of Ostoja Clan of Kur List ofszlachta Magnates of Poland and Lithuania Konarski S., 1958, Armorial de la noblesse...
of Poland and Lithuania (Polish: magnateria) were an aristocracy of Polish-Lithuanian nobility (szlachta) that existed in the Crown of the Kingdom of...
Lenczewski, Genealogie rodów utytułowanych w Polsce, t. I, Warszawa 1997. ListofszlachtaListof Polish titled nobility Magnates of Poland and Lithuania...
by and about Wasielewski in the German National Library catalogue Listofszlachta ADB:Wasielewski (1910), "Wilhelm Joseph von Wasielewski", Allgemeine...
Wasyl Ostrogski with Słucka. Lithuanian nobility Ostrogski family Listofszlachta Wikimedia Commons has media related to Konstanty Ostrogski. Ostrozky...
Lubomirski (1869–1930) Lubomirski Rokosz Lubomirski Palace Łańcut Castle Listofszlachta A. Boniecki, A. Reiski, herbarz polski, part 1, Wiadomości historyczno-genealogiczne...
The princely houses of Poland and Lithuania differed from other princely houses in Europe. Most importantly, Polish nobility (szlachta) could not be granted...
Feodor Ostrozky and probably Wasyl. House of Ostrozky Dmytro Dedko Listofszlachta Ostrozky in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993) (in Polish) Opis...
Additional feuds with rebel nobility (szlachta) and most notably Stanislaus I Leszczyński and France diminished the influence of Poland-Lithuania in the region...
The privileges of the szlachta (Poland's nobility) formed a cornerstone of "Golden Liberty" in the Kingdom of Poland (before 1569) and, later, in the Polish–Lithuanian...
and is interred at Paris's Montmorency Cemetery.[citation needed] Listofszlachta Encyklopedia Polski. Encyklopedia powszechna PWN. "Delfina Potocka"...
Global Information