Articuli Henriciani
The Articuli Henriciani (Polish Artykuły henrykowskie) from 1573 were one of the fundamental constitutional documents of the Polish-Lithuanian Rzeczpospolita .
They were created after the election of Heinrich von Valois as king by the high nobility, who wanted to secure their privileges and rights. They were binding for all elected kings until 1795 , with one interruption ( 1791–1792 ).
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The ruler undertook in them a. a. for the recognition of the principle of free choice of king . In addition, he was forbidden to introduce new taxes or to call the general contingent without the consent of the Polish Reichstag ( Sejm ). The Sejm itself was to meet for six weeks every two years. Each Sejm had to choose 16 “ residents ” from among the senators . Every six months, four of them were to take turns advising the king between the Sejm meetings. Freedom of religion was secured.
In the event of non-compliance with previous and new obligations, the nobility was given the opportunity to renounce obedience. The articles were supplemented by the aristocracy through the Pacta conventa , the respective specific government program of the new ruler.
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See also
literature
- Literae confirmationis articulorum Henrico Regi antea oblatorum [= Articuli henriciani], in: Volumina Legum. Prawa, konstytucye y przywileie Królestwa Polskiego Wielkiego Xięstwa Litewskiego y wszystkich prowincyi należących […] Vol. 2: [1550–1609]. Petersburg 1859, pp. 150–153.
- Zdisław Kaczmarczyk (ed.): Artykuły henrykowskie. Poznań 1946 (Biblioteka źródeł historycznych, 1).
