Fans of historical novels by Henryk Sienkiewicz have often come across in them such a concept as "gentry". The meaning of this word, however, was not always clear from the context. Let's 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 Commonwe alth was called the noble class.
In fact, this noun can be considered a synonym for the terms "know", "nobility". At the same time, the 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 Commonwe alth (Belarus, Lithuania, Ukraine).
Etymology
The Russian word "gentry" was formed from the Polish noun szlachta. It, in turn, was most likely formed from the German term Schlacht (battle, battle).
There is also a widespread version that the "progenitor" of the "gentry" was the old German wordSlacht, meaning "breed, genus."
Which of these theories is correct is unknown. Moreover, the first evidence of the etymology of the word in question appeared only in the 15th century. At the same time, the concept itself arose at least 4 centuries earlier.
Who is a gentry
If the nobility is the general name of the aristocracy, then its individual representative was called "gentry" or "gentry" (if it was a woman of noble birth).
Initially (during the existence of the Kingdom of Poland), ordinary people could receive the nobility mainly for military merit (by the way, hence 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 noble became much more difficult, even despite the glorious feats on the battlefield. At the same time, throughout almost the entire history of the existence of the gentry, its representatives were responsible for the defense of the country.
According to Polish historians, in the XVI-XVIII centuries. there were more than ten varieties of the nobility. They were divided into different categories: by antiquity, by we alth, by the presence or absence of a coat of arms, land or peasants, by origin, by place of residence, etc.
Despite many varieties, the nobility is always the elite of society. Therefore, even the poorest landless gentry had more rights and privileges than the most prosperous commoner.
Since many nobles of the Commonwe alth were poor, the main we alth of each aristocrat washis honor i godnośc (honor and dignity). By protecting them, even the poorest noble could challenge the noble rich.
There is a misconception that all gentry were necessarily Catholics. This is a myth, although the issue of religion was very important for the Commonwe alth, among its nobility were representatives of various Christian denominations.
The history of the appearance 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 11th century. As mentioned above, they received a noble title for military merit. Interestingly, in those days, any person could receive a noble rank for military achievements. Moreover, this rule even applied to slaves.
Thanks to this 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 XII century. nobility is a landowning estate. From this period, the Polish nobles began to gradually take over the management of all spheres of state life. So having received the land, in a few decades they practically enslaved the peasantry, depriving rural communities of self-government and introducing serfdom.
The situation with the urban population was no better. Since the townspeople were peaceful people, not participating in constant military conflicts, the gentry deprived them of the right to own land. Also, the nobles constantly taxed the city dwellers and rudely interfered in all their affairs. Because of thisthe industry of the state practically did not develop.
Golden Liberty
Having figured out what “gentry” and “gentry” means, it is worth learning about such a concept 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 Commonwe alth) was that almost every nobleman took part in government.
Although officially the head of the country was the king, he was the only one in Europe who was elected. And the Sejm chose him (the parliament, consisting of the we althiest gentry, resembles the modern Senate in the United States in structure), and almost all we althy nobles, regardless of the antiquity of the family, could claim the place of the king.
The Polish king was elected for life, but the gentry had the legal right to raise an uprising (rokosh) against him and remove the objectionable from his position. In addition, each member of the Seimas had the right to veto, so most of the laws in the Commonwe alth were adopted not by the king, but by the gentry.
Despite its progressiveness, the Golden Liberty also had negative sides. For example, constant civil strife and the struggle of the we althiest 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 Commonwe alth ceased itsexistence in the 18th century, a huge part of its lands was under the rule of the Russian Empire. The new authorities came to the need to equalize the gentry with the Russian nobles. But it turned out that there were a lot of Polish nobility (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 antiquity in a kind of documentary way. However, not all nobles could collect all the necessary certificates. Because of this, almost half of them were relegated to the category of commoners.
Such a vile policy contributed to numerous uprisings, which only aggravated the situation of the former gentry.
After the events of 1917 on the territory of the former Russian Empire and the Commonwe alth, there were attempts to restore the gentry as a class and restore their former rights and freedoms. However, this was not achieved, and in 1921 the last privileges of the nobility in Poland, Ukraine and Western Belarus were abolished, as was the estate itself.
