List of szlachta

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A Polish Nobleman by Rembrandt 1637
A Polish Nobleman by Rembrandt 1637

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was a federal monarchic republic comprising the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, from 1569 until 1795. It was governed by an elected monarch. The Commonwealth's dominant social class was the nobility. This article chiefly lists the nobility's magnate segment (the wealthier nobility), as they were the most prominent, famous and notable. These families would receive non-hereditary 'central' and Land dignities and titles under the Commonwealth law that forbade (with minor exceptions) any hereditary legal distinctions within the peerage. They would later be 'approximated' to honorary hereditary titles in the Partition period with little real-power privileges but would still be venerated among the Polish upper class and the rest of the society as 'senatorial', 'palatinal', 'castellanial' or "dignitarial' families.

Contents

[edit] By family

Below is a list of important noble families. See each family's article for a list of its notable members. All names are given first in the singular, then (parenthetically) in the plural.

Famous magnates: families that had accumulated great wealth and political power and had few equals; they were the top magnates, who generally preserved their power across several centuries. Also included are some famous middle and lesser noble families.

Szpakowicz (Szpakowicze)

[edit] By year of birth

Listed below are important members of the szlachta of Poland and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, by century and year of birth.

In many cases, birth year is uncertain or unknown. During the Commonwealth, most people — including szlachta — paid little attention to their birthdates.

"Szlachta" is the proper term for Polish nobility beginning about the 15th century. A Polish nobleman who lived earlier is referred to as a "rycerz" ("knight"); the class of all such individuals is the "rycerstwo."

[edit] 15th century

Jan "Ciężki" Tarnowski, 1479-1527, castellan, starost

[edit] 16th century

[edit] 17th century

[edit] 18th century

[edit] 19th century

[edit] 20th century

Nobility privileges were abolished under the Second Polish Republic (1918-1939). Nobility obligations are not addressed. This would leave the legal status of nobility as consisting of obligations only (as they demonstrated in WW2) had the article been not later revoked anyway.

[edit] Fictional nobles

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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