Statutes of Casimir the Great or Piotrków-Wiślica Statutes ( pl, Statuty wiślicko-piotrkowskie) - a collection of laws issued by Casimir III the Great, the

king of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

, in the years 1346-1362 during

congresses A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...

in Piotrków and Wiślica. It was the first and the only significant codification of laws during the times of the

Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branch ...

Background

In the middle of the 12th century, following the ill-thought testament of

Bolesław III Krzywousty Boleslav or Bolesław may refer to: In people: * Boleslaw (given name) In geography: *Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland *Bolesław, Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland *Bolesław, Silesian Voivodeship, Pola ...

, his sons begun the process of fragmentation of Poland.pg 369 - It would take Polish rulers over two centuries to unite most of the lands that Bolesław controlled under one ruler. This was achieved in the 14th century by Władysław I Łokietek. Władysław's son, Casimir III the Great, earned his singular reputation not through military exploits but through his acumen as a builder, administrator and diplomat. One of his project included an attempt to unify and codify law in the lands he controlled, in the attempt to build stronger ties between different provinces, and to tie them more tightly to the central government. In the end, due to opposition from various factions, which saw the codification and unification of the legal system in the Kingdom of Poland as weakening their position, Casimir was not able to fully accomplish his task. He was nonetheless able to do so in two major provinces of Poland. The Piotrków statute regulated the law in

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed ...

(Wielkopolska), and the Wiślica statute in

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a s ...

(Małopolska). The date specific statutes were passed is not certain; it is accepted that most work was done in the years 1346-1362, that it took multiple congresses (wiec), and that both statutes were finished by 1362.Stanisław Kutrzeba,
Franciszek Piekosiński jako historyk prawa polskiego
', in: Kwartalnik historyczny, Polskie Towarzystwo Historyczne, Lwów, Instytut Historii (Polska Akademia Nauk), 1908 Further, historians now agree that the Statutes were partially written after the death of Casimir, and later the entire work was incorrectly attributed to him. Wacław Uruszczak

/ref>

Statutes

About 2/3 of the Statutes concerned the

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

; the rest, private (civil) law. Characteristically, most statutes contain not only the law, but explanation (justification) for why it exists. The Statutes were written in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the 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 the power of the ...

. In the early 15th century they were translated into

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

and later, into Ruthenian. In the late 15th century they were printed.

Importance

The statutes for the first time in Poland codified the existing legal customs. They would form the basis of the Polish law in centuries to come, and would be expanded by codification of other customs, precedents and passing of other legal acts. They also succeeded in uniting the country.

Notes

External links

*Ḟedor Ḟedorovīch Zigel, ''Lectures on Slavonic law: being the Ilchester lectures for the year 1900'', p. 115-118
Google Print (public domain book)

Encyklopedia Internautica Encyklopedia Internautica (Polish: "Encyclopedia Internautica") is a Polish Internet encyclopedia based on the ''Popularna Encyklopedia Powszechna'' (Popular Universal Encyclopedia) or Pinnex. It is freely accessible on the pages of Interia, Polan ...

{{wikisource, pl:Statuty Kazimierza Wielkiego 14th century in law Medieval legal codes Legal history of Poland Casimir III the Great 14th century in Poland