Asilum
Haereticorum
the
heretics asylum
The
Surprising Religious Views of 16th
century Poland
Original act of the Warsaw Confederation
"Whereas
in our Common Wealth [sic] there is no small disagreement in the
matter of the Christian faith, and in order to prevent that any
harmful contention should arise from this, as we see clearly taking
place in other kingdoms, we swear to each other... that albeit we are
dissidents in religion, we will keep the peace between ourselves, and
that we will not, for the sake of our various faith and difference of
church, either shed blood or confiscate property, deny favor,
imprison or banish, and that furthermore we will not aid or abet any
power or office which strives to this in any way whatsoever..."
Article
of the Warsaw Confederation
by
Pani Jadwiga Radomykowa
Originally
Presented at the String Theory Ithra in the Canton of Bearwood
October 2014
Section
One: A brief overview of Polish History
This
is not a exhaustive list of everything that happened in Poland, but
rather major events, especially ones that shaped religious feelings
in the country.
5th
- 9th
Century
The
first Slavic tribes settle in the lands that will one day be Poland.
Beyond archeological evidence, there is little known about this time,
save that the people called themselves the Polane “People of the
Land.”
10th
Century
Baptism
of Poland. King Mieszko I, the creator of the polish state marries
Dobrawa, the daughter of the Bohemian ruler, a devout catholic. The
king converts as does the rest of the state over the next centuries.
Poland is recognized as a sovereign nation by Otto III in 1000.
11th
- 14th
Century:
Poland
begins to form as a country. During this time it is much like it's
neighbors the Holy Roman Empire (Germany) and other more “Western”
European states.
1030:
there is a pagan uprising.
1182:
the first meeting of the Sejm (lower house of parliament).
1264:
Statute of Kalisz Giving Jews much freedom.
1308:
the Teutonic Knights capture Gdańsk (Danzig), this begins the long
history of tension between the Order and the Polish State.
1333:
Formation of the Szlachta a legally privileged noble class.
1347:
The Wiślica Statutes are drafted. This is the first time that
customary law is codified.
1384:
Jadwiga of Anjou is crowned King of Poland
1385:
Jadwiga Marries Lithuanian duke Jagiello this binds Poland and
Lithuania together, part of the agreement is Jagiello converts to
Christianity along with all of Lithuania.
15th
Century:
Poland
and the Teutonic Order begin almost 200 years of on again off again
warfare called the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War or simply the
Great War.
1410:
Battle of Grunwald, first major battle of the Great War, and the
beginning of the decline of the Teutonic Knights.
1432:
Union of Grodno, the beginnings of the Polish Lithuanian alliances
being formalized.
1454:
Nieszawa Statutes are signed which state that the king must get
permission from the Szlachta before making new laws, raising armies
or levying new taxes.
16th
Century:
1505:
Nihli Novi (“Nothing New”) Act signed, limiting Polish kings from
making any new laws with out the blessing of the nobility.
1569:
Union of Lublin, the creation of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth.
1573:
Warsaw Confederation signed, guaranteeing religious freedom for all
freedmen of Poland
Section
Two: Foundations of Religious Tolerance
In
the early 16th
century Cardinal Stanislaus Hosius called Poland the asylum of
heretics.
This
name was not unearned. During a time when reading the wrong book
could get a man killed, and worshiping “incorrectly” could damn
one to hell, not to mention be tortured before meeting that fate,
Poland had opened her borders to men of all faiths, and took a rather
lackadaisical view on upholding the religious “rights” of the
church.
The
Jagiellon Dynasty 1386-1572 was considered the height of Polish
Culture. As it began to wain the Sejm (senate) sought to protect the
unified Poland and prevent separatists from undermining hundreds of
years of work. To that end, there had to be a unified voice, and a
key point of contention was the different views of religion.
Therefore the defacto culture of religious tolerance was codified in
the Warsaw Confederation.
This
fell in line with the Sarmation ideology espoused by the szlatcha who
believed that no one man should have the ability to rules over the
life and death of another, this included bishops and the king.
Moreover this became imperative after the St. Bartholomew's day
massacre in France where 20,000 Protestants were killed by rioting
Catholics. They set up rules that a king had to sign before being
given the grown, called the Henrician Articles, these were 16
unchangeable rules, one of which is that they must observe the edicts
of the Warsaw Confederation. This ties in with the Golden Liberty, an
article of the szlatcha that stated all nobles are equal regardless
of rank, class or religion.
Sitting
between the Orthodox Grand Duchy of Moscow to the East, Muslim Empire
to the South, and the rest of Europe torn between reformation and
counter reformation to the west Poland welcomed Catholics,
Protestants, Jews and even Muslims to settle it's lands. Every time
there would be a religious purge in a neighboring land, Poland’s'
population would grow. This led to more skilled laborers and a better
economy.
By
the mid 16th
century records put about 3/4th
of all Jewish people live in Poland. In 1503 a Chief Rabbi was
appointed, and by 1551 Jews could elect their own Chief Rabbi. He was
allowed to make rules, and laws for the Polish Jews and collect
taxes, however only about 30% of funds raised were used for the
Jewish people, the rest went to the kingdom for protection. 1567 a
Talmudic academy was found in Lublin. During this time the Statute
of Kalisz was written, 26 rules for the treatment of Jewish people.
Of note:
1.
...Should a Jew be taken to court, not only a Christian must testify
against him, but also a Jew, in order for the case to be considered
valid.
17.
...Any Jew may freely and securely walk or ride without any let or
hindrance in our realm. They shall pay customary tolls just as other
Christians do, and nothing else
Section
Three: Religious Freedom Made Manifest.
The
szlatcha were the noble class in Poland. Unlike most kingdoms of this
time, the szlatcha could come from any rank or class. During this
time most szlatcha were Catholic or Orthodox with a small number of
Muslims.
In
1569 the city of Rakow was founded as the seat of the Polish Brethren
With was a minor branch of the Reformed Church of Poland a
Nontrinitarian Protestant church that existed in Poland from 1565 to
1658. This later changed into the Unitarian belief.
The
Church in Poland had an unusual relationship with the Vatican, rather
than being appointed by Rome, the kingdoms bishops were chosen by the
King who submitted his candidates. However, if the Church did not
agree with a choice this had little effect, for it was ignored, and
bishops were invested anyways. Even attempts to excommunicate bishops
and kings fell upon deaf ears.
Summed
up by a deputy of the Sejm in 1550:
“The
gentlemen of the clergy summon us, citing their titles and invoking
some foreign, Romish law, contrary to the laws and freedoms of our
realm, attempting to extend their jurisdiction and that of their
mater the Roman Pope, which jurisdiction we, not finding it in our
statutes neither can nor will bear; for we know no other
jurisdiction than the supremacy of his majesty the King our
master.”
Various
religions were worshiped during this time. Luther's declaration was
popular in northern and western parts of Poland. Those who held the
faith were called lax Catholics. Many priests had common-in-law
wives, recognized their offspring and gave them positions due to
their rank. As such, protestant demands weren't shocking. Calvinism
was quite popular as well throughout the land, both because putting
men as equals echoed feelings of the szlatcha and as well as the fact
that there was little rite and ceremony making it a cheap religion to
be a part of. Moreover, during this time Bishop Drohojowski of
Kujavia allowed Catholics and Lutherans to share churches in his
diocese.
By
mid 16th
century Poland had almost 100 mosques.
In
1554 Bishop Czarnkowski sentenced 3 merchants to be burned at the
stake. They were saved by the Szlachta who were mostly Catholic. He
later sentenced a cobbler and over 100 nobles came to his rescue,
this time laying siege to the episcopal estate and freeing the man.
The bishop was then banished from the town. Later when a man was
killed for supposedly stealing a host from the local church and
selling it to Jews for apparent occult rites, there was an outcry and
again the szlatcha raised arms against the church, and managed to
save three Jews that were going to be burned the next day. As Jan
Tarnowski a noble of the time points out, “It is not a question of
religion, it is a question of liberty.”
Shortly
after this the Sejm came to unanimous agreement that there would be
no liberty while a force independent of the parliamentary system was
able to judge people. Therefore the ecclesiastical tribunal was
annulled in 1562. There was an outcry from the church, how could the
laws of the bible and the will of God be upheld? The poet Mikołaj
Rej gave the church the Szlatcha's reply when he wrote that if God
was offended, God would punish.
Further
Reading:
Chorzempa,
Rosemary A. Polish Roots : Korzenie Polskie. Baltimore, MD:
Genealogical Pub., 1993. Print.
Davies,
Norman. God's Playground: A History of Poland: In Two Volumes. New
York: Columbia UP, 2005. Print.
Hewett,
Phillip. Racovia: An Early Liberal Religious Community. Providence,
RI: Blackstone Editions, 2004. Print.
Zamoyski, Adam.
Poland: A History. New York: Hippocrene, 2012. Print.
Wandycz, Piotr
Stefan. The Price of Freedom: A History of East Central Europe from
the Middle Ages to the Present. London: Routledge, 2001. Print.
Zamoyski,
Adam. The Polish Way: A Thousand-year History of the Poles and Their
Culture. New York: Hippocrene, 1994. Print.
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