#poland lithuania

John III Sobieski in the Royal Armoury in Dresden (top)

Armour of King Stephen Báthory in Vienna (left)

"Pan Thaddeus" illustrated by Jan Marcin Szancer (Polish, 1902-1973)

Pan Thaddeus (1834), by Polish writer, Adam Mickiewicz, is recognized as the national epic of Poland and it is considered by many to be the last great epic poem in European literature. The poem narrates the tale of two feuding noble families and the love story between Tadeusz and Zosia. It takes place in a fictional idyllic village, in 1811 and 1812.

"No European nation of our day has such an epic as Pan Thaddeus. In it Don Quixote has been fused with the Iliad. ... Pan Thaddeus is a true epic. No more can be said or need be said". (Zygmunt Krasiński)

Cultural movements and the concepts they espouse can reflect a society’s potential, it can also showcase its limitations, reflecting social tensions.  In some cases ideals can burn so bright, it’s social engineers can become somewhat blind and complacent to the reform needed to breathe new life into it.  Some ideals can also showcase weaknesses ripe for exploitation by other societies as well.  One historical case that could be said to demonstrate this kind of tension is that of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the concept of Sarmatism in the 16th and 17th centuries with ramifications into the 18th century and beyond...

Background & Union of Lublin:

-It goes by many names, Poland-Lithuania, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth or simply Poland.   It was a nation that existed as a bi-federation from 1569-1795 and was the precursor to modern states of Poland and Lithuania.  It covered more than those modern nations it also covered parts of Belarus and Ukraine as well.

-Both Poland & Lithuania had a long history of interaction in the centuries prior to their union.  With Poland, being made up primarily of the Western Slavic people, the Poles, who were largely Catholic in religious orientation.  Meanwhile, Lithuania and Lithuanians were a grouping of various Baltic peoples who officially remained one of the last bastions of European paganism untouched by Christianity, in some pockets well into the 15th century.

-The Poles & Lithuanians were at times antagonistic and other times partners.  Poles in the Duchy and later Kingdom of Poland suffered raids from the pagan Lithuanians and other Balts and requested help from the Pope in converting them to Catholicism.  This lead to the Northern Crusades from the 13th-15th centuries which saw a gradual conversion of Lithuanians and other Baltic pagans to Christianity.  The cross was largely taken up by Germanic religious military orders like the Teutonic Order which became powerful in their conquest of Baltic lands and they began to contribute to the German colonization of Baltic territories.  

-This German colonization gradually led to a permanent German presence in the area, one that the fellow Christian Poles felt started to overstep the bounds of their initial mandate, convert the pagans by force of arms.  Now the Teutonic Order and other Germanic religious orders were becoming de-facto power players in the area which the Poles sought for themselves.

-1385 saw one the earlier lasting attempts to unify the two nations when Jogalia, Grand Duke of Lithuania converted to Christianity and married Jadwiga, Queen of Poland.  This established the Union of Krewo and the Jagilleon dynasty which would rule Poland and Lithuania as separate nations with a common monarch, at least nominally.  Though Lithuania would have separate Grand Dukes at times as well.  This also lead to the official Christianization of Lithuanian nobility.  

-1410 saw the greatest example of cooperation with Polish-Lithuanian forces combined with other Slavic and Turkic Tatar support defeated a Germanic army of the Teutonic Order’s knights at the Battle of Grunwald, also known as the Battle of Tannenberg.  This battle would be important in the cultural psyche of later generations of Slavs and Germans who sought to romanticize as part of a centuries long struggle between two broader ethnolinguistic groups in Europe.  Another battle fought further east but in the general vicinity would be fought in 1914 during the opening months of World War I between the German & Russian Empires, both seeking to invoke this 15th century battle.

-Over time, Lithuania and Poland signed a number of other unions or treaties that effectively maintained their de-jure separation were in fact both nations were closely interlinked.

-1569′s Union of Lublin,  under Sigismund II Augustus, the childless king and last of the senior line of the Jagilleon dynasty evolved the personal union of a shared monarch into a real union between the two.  Now both nations shared a common legislature made up of two houses, a Senate & parliament (Sejm).  While nominally a joint partnership between Poland-Lithuania, Poland was in fact the dominant power.  It had the greater population, the capital, more developed economy and infrastructure. Also cultural Polonization took place en masse among the Lithuanian nobility, with Polish along with Latin being the official languages of country and its nobility.  Lithuanian was still spoken among the commoners in the Grand Duchy but over time the nobility increasingly was viewed both insiders and foreigners as “Polish” regardless of ethnicity, this also extended to a lesser degree in the Polish controlled parts of Belarus and Ukraine, where the Eastern Slavs were known as Ruthenians (modern Belarussian & Ukrainians).  Though the commoner class remained “Ruthene” and practiced Eastern Orthodoxy.

Sarmatism:

-At its core, Sarmatism is the idea of the supposed origins of the Polish people.  That they descend from an ancient nomadic Iranian people, the Sarmatians.  The Sarmatians were part of the broader Scythian peoples who were Iranian in terms of ethnolinguistic grouping and ruled over the steppes of Eurasia stretching from Siberia and Central Asia to modern day Hungary in the west.  The Sarmatians did become the most powerful of tribal confederations among the Scythians.  Like all Scythians they were nomadic and equestrian ruling over the vast grasslands of mostly Ukraine and southern Russia north of the Black Sea.

-The Sarmatians and more broadly the Scythians were mostly known from Greco-Roman sources for most of history, though more recent archaeology and genetic testing has given us a somewhat better understanding of them.  They were warlike and practiced horse archery and in the Sarmatian case, developed heavy armor.  It was believed the Sarmatians were the descendants of Scythian tribesmen and the warrior women known to the Greeks as the Amazons.

-The truth of whether the Poles descended from the Sarmatians is debated, though the Sarmatians did live in the area of modern Poland and Ukraine and the Romans gave it the name Sarmatia.  What is often said is that the Early Slavs who are believed to have lived near the Sarmatians and other Scythians, absorbed the last of them in roughly the first few centuries AD.  Sarmatians became culturally and linguistically and eventually genetically subsumed into the Slavs greater numbers.

-While Sarmatians or other Scythian tribes are part of the Slavic makeup, the extent of it is still widely debated and controversial.  More pointedly here, the extent to which this directly translated into the modern day Poles, a West Slavic people, is a topic of ongoing discussion that isn’t resolved with certainty.

-By the 16th century, the notion of the Sarmatians being the direct antecedents to the Poles took real stock, mostly among the nobility who saw itself as directly descended from these Iranian nomadic warriors and in some ways not even Slavic.  The landed gentry which largely made up the Sejm was called the szlachta and the Sarmatism concept took root primarily amongst them.

-Sarmatism was translated into many forms, took on many aspects and was not uniform in its beliefs or manifestations.  Its unifying belief was the Sarmatian ancestry to the Poles.

-Sarmatism affected all aspects of identity for the szlachta.  From fashion, funeral rights, art, literature, science, politics, history and plain self-identity.

-As a cultural movement and identity was coupled with a companion political concept within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, “Golden Liberty” which contained many of the elements of the Commonwealth’s unique political structure and reflected the Polish nobility’s strong sense of self.  Both concepts intertwined and became mirror reflections of the broader Polish society.  They arose with the cultural flourishing that became known as the “Golden Age of Poland” roughly lasting from 1569 to the 1660′s.

-Golden Liberty as a political system was summed up with the key phrases: “Our state is a republic under the presidency of the king,”  Or the “king reigns but does not govern.”

-Its key features made the Commonwealth unique in the 16th-18th centuries among European powers.  It had an elected king, one elected by the szlachta.  It essentially made the nobility the real power within the nation and the king as their figurehead and sometimes legislative partner.  It also required the king to hold a parliament, at least every two years, laws/oath binding elected monarchs to uphold certain laws and privileges' and rights of the nobility. 

-The szlachta also had the right of rebellion by force of arms against the king should their rights be threatened by the king’s policies.  There was also religious freedom, the right of confederation or of association to band together for a common political purpose.  Finally, it granted each member of the Sejm the right of liberum veto or free veto.  Which effectively meant if one single member of the body didn’t like a proposal, they could choose to exercise their veto right and strike down the legislation.  This practically nullified the idea of majority rule as a check and balance.

-Sarmatism as a political concept early on transcended the multiethnic nobility as they effectively were Polonised, non-Poles who were nobles could still claim Sarmatian roots.  In theory this smoothed out ethnic tensions and promoted tolerance.  In practice it simultaneously developed an elitist culture, one built somewhat around class with nationalist overtones rather than promoting overt ethnic divides.

-It also promoted a martial tradition, especially of equestrian nature in tune with the Sarmatian-Scythian horse archer tradition.  The Poles developed a powerful cavalry tradition most famously their Winged Hussars while the Lithuanians proved to be expert light cavalry troops which was further complimented by the Turkic Tatars, (Lipka Tatars) that moved from the Golden Horde (Turco-Mongols) into Lithuania.

-Sarmatism promoted a host ideals, aside from the somewhat transcendent inclusion of Polonized nobility from many ethnicities it promoted equality among all nobles, no matter their wealth or material possession so long as they were a member of the szlachta.  Women were highly regarded as honorable as  supposed descendants of the Amazons.  Noble pastimes such as horseback riding, hunting and leisurely pacifism were celebrated ideals.  Ultimately pushing a preference for a gentrified country lifestyle over an urban based one.

-Conversational culture was regarded as important and something to be encouraged and celebrated.  Whole porches were created at estates for people of all background and classes who were passersby to engage in conversation with the owner and family on a host of topics.

-Sarmatism celebrated the good life not only in conversation but large feasts, alcohol fueled parties and accompanied by traditional dances like the polonaise & marzuka.

-Fashion and the arts were touched upon by Sarmatism as well.  In fashion, clothing tastes tended to blend oriental and occidental styles.  Crimson and scarlet red were ubiquitous.  Feathered caps weren’t uncommon and the kontusz (long robe) was a common feature of dress for outer garments.

-The Sarmatists tended to believe they had a kindred culture in the Turks and Tatars both within their own realm and the Ottoman Empire, viewing them as fellow equestrian nomads who were merely misguided by the adoption of Islam. Yet with religious freedom, Islam was tolerated despite the Catholic dominance.  Muslims and Jews were sometimes better tolerated than Eastern Orthodox Christians in Polish Ruthenia as well as some Protestant believers.  These people were often peasants and regarded as not only misguided but stubborn and uneducated.

-The szlachta also celebrated their “origins” and wealth with oriental architecture in their manors and castles, with eastern architecture, including Chinese influences, along with oriental rugs to adorn their walls and floors being an not unfamiliar sight.

-Even in death Sarmatism played a role, with funerals being elaborate productions and a trend of having coffin portraits made to decorate the coffin and allow for “commune” with the deceased became fashionable as well.  These portraits were unique to Baroque Polish art in Europe and provide unique and realistic portraits of the nobility as they lived at the time.

-Politics at end of the day was always intertwined with the Sarmatist culture.  They viewed self-government & law & order as sacred rights.  Poland-Lithuania could rightly boast that it was unique among its European contemporaries in that it didn’t pursue an absolutist or centralized monarchy.  It had relative decentralization, elements of democracy albeit limited to the voting rights of male nobility which at most constituted no more than 15% of the population.  Leaving the rest disenfranchised and many to be serfs and the szlachta benefitted from serfdom.  Their own self-concept was one that viewed themselves in the tradition of the ancient Greek polis or patrician class of Rome’s Republic in antiquity.  They also confidently viewed Golden Liberty as the best system of governance in the world, elitist in more than one sense.  One to protected at all costs.

Aftermath & Legacy:

-Poland-Lithuania peaked in the first half of the 17th century and began a long gradual decline due to multiple factors.  Ineffectual kings, wars, foreign influence namely from Russian, Prussian & Austrian interference.  Changes in the economy, social disorder and political corruption.  

-The szlachta and Sarmatism contributed to its decay.  They built up its political system which promoted tolerance, strains of which had long existed in Polish politics predating the Commonwealth, such as religious tolerance for Jews and in the Commonwealth era this extended to loyal Muslim Tatars and even some Protestant Christians or foreign religious exiles.  There was also promotion of education and the humanities in the sponsorship of renowned universities which promoted mathematics and science.  Additionally a renaissance of art and literature among other cultural aspects.

-However, despite all that Sarmatism and Golden Liberty promoted, its designers: the szlachta, also set it motion the very fatal mechanisms which was to end the Commonwealth.  Their limitations on the king worked as an effective check on absolutism but their use of the liberum veto, intended as a exercise in equality in practice became a cynically used political device, one that stifled potential reforms from being passed into law.  Furthermore, Poland’s enemies in Russia, Prussia and Austria recognized this flaw and using bribes of increased land and money meant they could influence Sejm members to deny legislation which their governments found objectionable.  This soon brought divided loyalties among the Sejm, some becoming increasingly corrupt and self-interested, placing foreign influence at the very heart of Polish lawmaking.

-The szlachta in its decentralization had rendered any chance at absolutism which is saw as a threat to its privledged existence.  This approach to achieving “equality” in fact morphed into paranoia which spurred resentment towards the szlachta as a class by not extending political rights to other social groups, namely the commoners and in particular the Eastern Orthodox Ruthenians and Cossacks which increasingly sought Russia’s help.  This turning of a blind eye on political rights to other social classes within the Commonwealth lead to rebellion and anarchy which drained the economy and increased foreign interference.

-The szlachta had setup a system intended for them and it served them and by extension the country well initially.  Ultimately, this same system turned on itself: its very design coupled with changing external factors prevented the reforms needed to sustain and grow the very nation it shaped.  Finally, in the 18th century Russia, Prussia and Austria in a series of military actions of varying lengths gradually partitioned the Commonwealth directly into their realms, increasingly the more subtle political bribery gave way to a state so weakened it couldn’t fund an army to defend its borders.  Again, by design the miltary had funding issues to prevent the king from using it as a tool against the szlachta and the rights they possessively guarded with increasing suspicion and paranoia.

-1791 saw a long overdue constitution being developed, one that could have corrected the Commonwealth’s flaws and gradually extended political equality to all regardless of economic class.  However, it came too little too late, the partitioning powers, namely Russia saw any chance of a revitalized Poland as a threat to their goals and their combined military might proved too much so that by 1795 after a failed military defense, the already reduced Commonwealth was completely annexed. It removed Poland and Lithuania entirely from the map as independent countries until the aftermath of World War I.

-Sarmatism as an ideology and way of life can be viewed in a number of ways and indeed its legacy in Poland has gone through periods of revision casting it in both positive and negative lights.  It certainly promoted qualities that can be seen as unique to itself and a system of governance that despite its flaws was ahead of its time.  It also help shape a new nation’s identity and one that lasted nearly 250 years.  An identity which carries on in the more romantic strains of Polish nationalism to this very day.  Taken as a whole, Sarmatism, a concept whose very central claim is a subject of debate could be summed up by the following description from Catherine Leach who translated and edited the memoirs of a 17th century szlachta nobleman named Jan Chryzostom Pasek.  Leach says...

"Was the Sarmatian way of life worth preserving? Some aspects of it, no doubt. But because the gentry insisted on jealously guarding its privileges, preventing their extension to other social groups, it doomed the structure of the Commonwealth to atrophy and to the revenge of the lower orders.  Sarmatism was an ideological shield against the historical realities which contradicted it at every turn.”