The Henrician Articles or King Henry's Articles ( Polish: ''Artykuły henrykowskie'',

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

: ''Articuli Henriciani'') were a permanent contract between the "Polish nation" (the

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in ...

, or nobility, of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

) and a newly elected

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

upon his election to the throne. It stated the fundamental principles of governance and

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...

in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. While '' pacta conventa'' comprised only the personal undertakings of the king-elect, the Henrician Articles were a permanent constitution that all kings-elect had to swear to respect. The articles functioned, essentially, as a first constitution for Poland until the Constitution of 3 May 1791.

Origins

The charter took the form of 18 Articles written and adopted by the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

in 1573 at the town of Kamień, near

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

, during the

interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...

following the extinction of the Jagiellon dynasty. The document took its name from that of Henry of Valois, the first Polish

elected in a

free election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has oper ...

, who was obliged to sign the Articles before being allowed to ascend the throne. Subsequently, every king-elect was required to swear fidelity to them, as is contrasted with the similar documents, the '' pacta conventa'', which were tailored and different for each king-elect. Acceptance by the king-elect of the articles was a condition of his elevation to the throne, and they formed part of the royal oath at the coronation.

Provisions

* Kings were to be chosen by election by the

, and his children had no right of inheritance with regard to the throne. * Kings' marriages had to gain the approval of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. * The king had to convene a

general sejm A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

(Polish parliament) at least once every two years for six weeks. * The king had no right to create new taxes, tariffs or such without approval of the

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

; * Between sejms, 16 resident

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

s were to be at the king's side as his advisers and overseers. The Royal Council of 16 senators was elected every two years during the Sejm's session. Four of their number (rotating every six months) were obliged to accompany the king and serve as advisers and supervisors to ensure that the king made no decision contrary to the laws of the Commonwealth. All royal decrees had to be counterstamped by the chancellors or the deputy chancellors. * The king had no right to call a ''

pospolite ruszenie ''Pospolite ruszenie'' (, lit. ''mass mobilization''; "Noble Host", lat, motio belli, the French term ''levée en masse'' is also used) is a name for the mobilisation of armed forces during the period of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Li ...

'' (

levée en masse ''Levée en masse'' ( or, in English, "mass levy") is a French term used for a policy of mass national conscription, often in the face of invasion. The concept originated during the French Revolutionary Wars, particularly for the period follo ...

) without approval of the Sejm. Further, the Articles upheld the informal tradition that the king could not send those troops to serve outside the Commonwealth's borders without compensation. * The standing royal army (

wojsko kwarciane ''Wojsko kwarciane'' (, ''quarter army'') was the term used for regular army units of Poland (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth). The term was used since 1562. ''Wojsko kwarciane'' was formed from earlier '' obrona potoczna'' units. The term "quar ...

) was provided for. * The king had no right to declare war or peace without approval of the Sejm. * The king had to abide by the

Warsaw Confederation The Warsaw Confederation, signed on 28 January 1573 by the Polish national assembly (''sejm konwokacyjny'') in Warsaw, was one of the first European acts granting religious freedoms. It was an important development in the history of Poland and o ...

's guarantees of religious freedom. * If the king were to transgress against the law or the privileges of szlachta, the

could refuse the king's orders and act against him (in Polish, it became known as the '' rokosz''). Each king had to swear that "if anything has been done by Us against laws, liberties, privileges or customs, we declare all the inhabitants of the Kingdom are freed from obedience to Us".

References

{{reflist, refs= Juliusz Bardach, Bogusław Leśnodorski and Michał Pietrzak, ''Historia państwa i prawa polskiego'' (History of the Polish State and Law), Warsaw, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1987, pp. 216–7. {{cite book, author=Jacek Jędruch, author-link=Jacek Jędruch, title=Constitutions, elections, and legislatures of Poland, 1493–1977: a guide to their history, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rmx8QgAACAAJ, access-date=13 August 2011, date=1998, publisher=EJJ Books, isbn=978-0-7818-0637-4, pages=84–86 {{in lang, pl}
Artykuły henrykowskie
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819051859/http://www.trybunal.gov.pl/wszechnica/akty/art_henr.htm , date=2010-08-19 . Trybynał Konstytucyjny. Wszechnica Konstytucyjna Constitutions of Poland Legal history of Poland 1573 in law Political charters Legal history of Lithuania Henry III of France Law by former country 1573 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Origins

Provisions

See also

References