Tied up in red tape: the failure to establish absolutism in the elective Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th and 17th centuries

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Collection:
Mokslo publikacijos / Scientific publications
Document Type:
Knygos dalis / Part of the book
Language:
Anglų kalba / English
Title:
Tied up in red tape: the failure to establish absolutism in the elective Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th and 17th centuries
Authors:
Malašinskienė, Vita
In the Book:
Monarchy, the court, and the provincial elite in Early Modern Europe / edited by Peter Edwards. Leiden: Brill, 2024. P. 187-206
Subject Category:
LT
Politinė istorija / Political history; 13 amžius - 1569. Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė. LDK; 1569-1795. Lietuva ATR laikotarpiu; Lietuva (Lithuania); Lenkija (Poland).
Summary / Abstract:

ENAfter the death of the last Jagiellonian, Sigismundus Augustus, rulers of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were elected by the Elective Seimas. The elected ruler swore an oath to the Republic of the Two Nations and, in turn, the representatives of the states swore an oath to the new ruler. One of the fundamental rights of the ruler was the appointment of clerks to their post, almost all of whom were appointed for life. Even though Lithuania and Poland were united into one state, the institutions remained different. In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania one of the most important institutions was the Chancellery, the officers of which were recruited and placed according to social status, education and the gift of the ruler. Dignitaries and their offspring usually held the leading positions of chancellor and vice chancellor. The Grand Duke ruler relied and ensured the loyalty of the lower ranking officials through the sureties of the dignitaries loyal to him. From the end of sixteenth century to the beginning of the seventeenth Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth chancelleries, known as the institutions focusing on producing and keeping written documents, were gradually being strengthened. At a time when absolutism gradually became established in the other states, the Commonwealth went in the opposite direction, trying to limit the monarch’s power as much as possible. According to the historiography, bureaucracy could not exist there because, purportedly, it developed only from absolutism. Nevertheless, the chancellery of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth complied with the six traits of bureaucracy identified by Marx Weber. Absolutism did not necessarily emerge out of bureaucracy, but examples show that it worked and, as the monarch appointed the officers, potentially it was the means for him to strengthen his power.Even so, through the law and his influence in the state, the Chancellor could successfully oppose the monarch. And while more power was in the hands of the monarch, it was more dependent on his personality and the ability to play the political game. [Publisher annotation]

DOI:
10.1163/9789004694149_011
ISBN:
9789004694149
Subject:
Istorija / History
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https://www.lituanistika.lt/content/112756
Updated:
2024-12-27 14:11:48
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