A Republic of Nobles: Studies in Polish History to 1864J. K. Fedorowicz, Maria Bogucka, Henry Samsonowicz CUP Archive, 12 d’ag. 1982 - 293 pàgines Poland continues to be a puzzle for the West, partly because its history remains unfamiliar. Recently, however, the country has produced a number of excellent historians whose work is highly esteemed by specialists but has not yet penetrated to the general reader. The present collection of studies by thirteen of Poland's leading historians will acquaint the layman with the basic issues of Poland's historical evolution, and offer specialists radical reinterpretations of some of those issues. It is intended both as an overview of recent trends in Polish historiography and as a summary of Polish history from its origins to the mid-nineteenth century. Historically, Poland represented the great exception to the emergence of centralized bureaucracy in Europe. The Polish Commonwealth became a fully elective monarchy which extended the franchise and citizenship rights to almost 10 per cent of its population, thereby making the state a unique example of gentry democracy. The nobility played a role in Polish history unlike that of any comparable class everywhere in Europe, and this unique phenomenon serves as a thread unifying the various themes in these studies of a 'republic of nobles.' -- from dust jacket. |
Continguts
Poland and the cultural geography of medieval Europe | 10 |
the thirteenthcentury breakthrough in Polish | 28 |
Polish politics and society under the Jagiellonian monarchy | 49 |
Sixteenthcentury Poland and the turning point in European | 70 |
an essay | 91 |
The structure of power in the Commonwealth of the sixteenth | 109 |
Polish towns between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries | 135 |
The arts and social prestige in Poland between the sixteenth | 153 |
The Polish art of war in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries | 179 |
The fate of Polish Protestantism in the seventeenth century | 198 |
The international position of Poland in the seventeenth | 218 |
The place of the Enlightenment in Polish social history | 239 |
The direction of political change in the era of national insurrection | 258 |
Frases i termes més freqüents
according achieved activities already areas army attempted August authority became beginning cavalry cent central centres chamber of deputies changes church cities common Commonwealth considerable continued court culture demanded direct early eastern Europe economic effect eighteenth century election elite emerged Enlightenment entire especially estates European example existence fact fifteenth force foreign further Gdańsk gentry German growth hand ideas important included increase independence individuals influence institutions interests Italy king Kraków land later least limited magnates middle military monarchy movement needed nobility noble organization origin partition peasants period Poland policies Polish political population position present privileges production Prussia Reformation regions remained represented result role royal Russian Sejm Senate seventeenth century situation sixteenth century social society struggle studies success Swedish towns traditions union urban various Warsaw western Wielkopolska