File:Szlachta_in_costumes_of_the_Voivodeships_of_the_Polish-Lithuanian_Commonwealth.PNG · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Szlachta
Sign in to saveAlso known as Polish nobility, nobility of Poland, Šlechta, Silesian clans
upright=1.25|thumb|Szlachta in costumes of the voivodeships of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 17th and 18th century.]] upright=1.25|thumb|right|Journey of a Magnates of Poland and Lithuania|Polish Lord During the Times of King [[Augustus III of Poland, by Jan Chełmiński, 1880.]] thumb|right|Michał Kazimierz Ogiński, a nobleman from 18th century Poland and the Enlightenment
~70 min read
Encyclopedic overview
35 sectionsContents
- History
- Etymology
- Composition
- Origins
- Poland
- Military caste and aristocracy
- Lithuania
- Ruthenia
- Origins of szlachta surnames
- Heraldry
- Heritability
- Ennoblement
- Kingdom of Poland
- Estimated number of ennoblements
- Grand Duchy of Lithuania
- Privileges
- Real and false nobles
- Accretion of sovereignty to the szlachta
- Privilege of Koszyce and others
- First Royal Election
- End of the Jagiellonian dynasty
- Magnate oligarchy
- Szlachta loss of influence
- Culture
- Sarmatism
- Gastronomy
- Hunting
- Women as purveyors of culture
- Demographics and stratification
- Szlachta categories
- See also
- Explanatory notes
- References
- General bibliography
- External links
upright=1.25|thumb|Szlachta in costumes of the voivodeships of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 17th and 18th century.]] upright=1.25|thumb|right|Journey of a Magnates of Poland and Lithuania|Polish Lord During the Times of King [[Augustus III of Poland, by Jan Chełmiński, 1880.]] thumb|right|Michał Kazimierz Ogiński, a nobleman from 18th century Poland and the Enlightenment
The szlachta (; ; ) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was the dominating social class in the Kingdom of Poland and the Commonwealth, which was exercising political rights and power. Szlachta as a class differed substantially from the feudal nobility of Western Europe. The estate was officially abolished in 1921 by the March Constitution.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Szlachta” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.