Since Sigismund Augustus was childless, the future of the Polish-Lithuanian union became a paramount issue. Lithuanian socioeconomic, legal, and administrative structures came to resemble those of Poland, but the Lithuanians still opposed a simple incorporation. Their gentry, wishing to share in the privileges of the Polish szlachta, wanted a real union, but the powerful magnates opposed it. Fear of discrimination on religious grounds on the part of the Orthodox gentry (in Ukraine and the region that would become modern-day Belarus) was dispelled by granting them equality. The opposition of the magnates was finally broken by the king, who detached Podlasie, Volhynia, and the Kiev and Bracław regions from Lithuania and incorporated them into Poland. Facing the threat of complete annexation, the Lithuanian opposition gave in. The Union of Lublin (1569) established a federative state of two nations with a jointly elected mutual king–grand duke and legislature (a unique feature in Europe) and a customs union but with separate territories, laws, administrations, treasuries, and armies. Social and cultural developments
Polish culture, highly praised by Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, continued to flourish. Renaissance art and architecture, promoted by Sigismund I’s wife Bona Sforza, became the style for numerous churches and castles. From Kraków University came Nicolaus Copernicus, who revolutionized astronomical concepts. After 1513 a large number of books were printed in Polish, including translations of the Bible. During the 16th century the writings of Mikołaj Rej, the father of Polish literature, and of the great poet Jan Kochanowski helped establish the period as the golden age of Polish literature. The Renaissance and the Reformation had a major impact on Lithuania, marking its absorption into western European culture.
Frontispiece to Galileo's Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo, tolemaico e copernicano (1632; Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Ptolemaic & Copernican). From left to right are Aristotle, Ptolemy, and Copernicus. Ptolemy holds an astrolabe, Copernicus a model of a planet orbiting the Sun.Courtesy of the Joseph Regenstein Library, The University of Chicago
Under the tolerant policies of Sigismund II, to whom John Calvin dedicated one of his works, Lutheranism spread mainly in the cities and Calvinism among the nobles of Lithuania and Little Poland. The Sandomierz Agreement of 1570, which defended religious freedom, marked the cooperation of Polish Lutherans and Calvinists. The Polish Brethren (known also as Arians and Anti-Trinitarians) made a major contribution by preaching social egalitarianism and pacifism. In 1573 the szlachta concluded the Compact of Warsaw, which provided for the maintenance of religious toleration. These victories for the Reformation, however, were gradually canceled by the Counter-Reformation" class="md-crosslink">Catholic Counter-Reformation under the leadership of Stanisław Cardinal Hozjusz (Stanislaus Hosius). In the 1560s the Jesuits arrived in Poland (their greatest preacher was Piotr Skarga), and their network of schools and colleges included the future University of Wilno (now Vilnius, Lithuania), founded in 1579. The Commonwealth Báthory and the Vasas Social and political structure
The dual Polish-Lithuanian state, Respublica, or “Commonwealth” (Polish: Rzeczpospolita), was one of the largest states in Europe. While Poland in the mid-16th century occupied an area of about 100,000 square miles (260,000 square km), with some 3.5 million inhabitants, the Commonwealth at its largest point in the early 17th century comprised nearly 400,000 square miles and some 11 million inhabitants. As such, it was a multiethnic country inhabited by Poles, Lithuanians, Ruthenians, Germans, Jews, and small numbers of Tatars, Armenians, and Scots. It was also a multifaith country, with Roman Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, Jews, and Muslims living within its boundaries. Certain communities lived under their own laws; the Jews, for example, enjoyed self-administration through the Council of the Four Lands.
Poland, 1634Poland's territory in 1634, during the reign of Władysław IV Vasa.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
The term Poland was used for both the entire state and the strictly Polish part of it (though the latter was officially called the Crown). This could be confusing. A supranational term like “British” was missing. The Commonwealth gradually came to be dominated by the szlachta, which regarded the state as an embodiment of its rights and privileges. Ranging from the poorest landless yeomen to the great magnates, the szlachta insisted on the equality of all its members. As a political nation it was more numerous (8–10 percent) than the electorate of most European states even in the early 19th century.
Throughout most of Europe the medieval system of estates evolved into absolutism, but in the Commonwealth it led to a szlachta democracy inspired by the ideals of ancient Rome, to which parallels were constantly drawn. The szlachta came to see in its state a perfect constitutional model, a granary for Europe, and a bulwark against eastern barbarism. Its inherent weaknesses in finance, administration, and the military were ignored.
The end of the Jagiellonian dynasty meant the beginning of unrestricted election to the throne. The first king elected viritim (i.e., by direct vote of the szlachta) was Henry of Valois, the brother of the king of France. On his accession to the throne (reigned 1573–74), which he quickly abandoned to become Henry III of France, he accepted the so-called Henrician Articles and Pacta Conventa. Presented henceforth to every new king as a contract with the noble nation, the former document provided for free election (but not during the reigning monarch’s lifetime), religious peace, biennial meetings of the Sejm (with a standing body of senators active in the interval), and the right to renounce the allegiance to the king should he break the contract. Stephen Báthory
In 1576 the prince of Transylvania, Stephen Báthory (Stefan Batory), became king. A brilliant soldier, he closely cooperated with Jan Zamoyski, chancellor of the Crown and grand hetman (commander in chief). The most spectacular achievement of Báthory’s reign was a series of military victories (1579–81) over Ivan the Terrible of Russia. Yet it is likely that the king’s eastern policies were inspired by the ultimate goal of liberation of Hungary, which was not necessarily a Polish concern.
Stephen Báthory, detail of a painting by Marcin Kober, 1585; in the collection of the Missionary Fathers, Kraków, Poland.Courtesy of the Missionary Fathers, Krakow, Pol.
Sigismund III Vasa
The long reign of his successor, Vasa" class="md-crosslink">Sigismund III Vasa (1587–1632), raised hopes of a union with Sweden that would strengthen Poland’s standing in the north. Sigismund was the grandson of the legendary Swedish ruler Gustav I Vasa, but, as an ardent Roman Catholic and champion of the Counter-Reformation, he was unable to hold on to the crown of Lutheran Sweden, and a 10-year succession struggle ensued. His attempts to secure the throne involved Poland in a series of wars with Sweden. Although one of Lithuania’s great military commanders, Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, triumphed at Kirchholm (1605), and the Gdańsk-based navy defeated the Swedish fleet near Oliwa (1627), the truce that followed was inconclusive. The same was true for most settlements in foreign and domestic affairs.