“Natural monarchs” and the electiveness of the throne in medieval Poland

The concept of “natural monarchs”, the only legitimate heirs to the monarchical power, was most closely associated with the Piast dynasty. Yet at the time of regional disintegration of Poland which occurred in the period 1138–1320, the disputes concerning succession to the Krakow throne, had led to a situation when side by side the principle of heredity, certain elements of electiveness of the supreme ruler had already been introduced. More and more often it was the magnates who decided about the election of the monarch, in exchange for support and certain class privileges. The first ruler to be elected from outside the Piast dynasty was the Czech king Vaclav II who ascended to the throne in the year 1291, having paid for the support of the nobility with the privileges granted to them in the town of Lutomyśl. The dying out of the Piast dynasty in the 14th cenuty, had led to the situation when the succession of the Andegaven dynasty both in the male and female line, had to be obtain the approval of both the clergy and the knighthood. And although Jadwiga /Hedwig/ was recognizsed as the “natural monarch”, her husband Władysław Jagiełło, had to be formally elected by the nobility, regardless of the so called “treaty of Krewo” – thus he was an elected king. In the 30’s of the 15th century, the principle of the hereditary rights to the throne sustained by the Jagiellon dynasty and the principle of the electiveness of the king supported by the nobility, became the object of arguments between the monarch and the “political nation”. Ultimately, it was the principle of electiveness that gained the upper hand, yet in practice it was subsequently realized within the Jagiellon dynasty. After the dying out of the Jagiellons, the Polish-Lithuanian state became fully elective, and when choosing each successive monarch, up until the year 1669, the nobility always took into consideration the blood ties of the successive king elect with the extinct Piast and Jagiellon dynasties.

“Natural monarchs” and the electiveness of the throne in medieval Poland

The concept of “natural monarchs”, the only legitimate heirs to the monarchical power, was most closely associated with the Piast dynasty. Yet at the time of regional disintegration of Poland which occurred in the period 1138–1320, the disputes concerning succession to the Krakow throne, had led to a situation when side by side the principle of heredity, certain elements of electiveness of the supreme ruler had already been introduced. More and more often it was the magnates who decided about the election of the monarch, in exchange for support and certain class privileges. The first ruler to be elected from outside the Piast dynasty was the Czech king Vaclav II who ascended to the throne in the year 1291, having paid for the support of the nobility with the privileges granted to them in the town of Lutomyśl. The dying out of the Piast dynasty in the 14th cenuty, had led to the situation when the succession of the Andegaven dynasty both in the male and female line, had to be obtain the approval of both the clergy and the knighthood. And although Jadwiga /Hedwig/ was recognizsed as the “natural monarch”, her husband Władysław Jagiełło, had to be formally elected by the nobility, regardless of the so called “treaty of Krewo” – thus he was an elected king. In the 30’s of the 15th century, the principle of the hereditary rights to the throne sustained by the Jagiellon dynasty and the principle of the electiveness of the king supported by the nobility, became the object of arguments between the monarch and the “political nation”. Ultimately, it was the principle of electiveness that gained the upper hand, yet in practice it was subsequently realized within the Jagiellon dynasty. After the dying out of the Jagiellons, the Polish-Lithuanian state became fully elective, and when choosing each successive monarch, up until the year 1669, the nobility always took into consideration the blood ties of the successive king elect with the extinct Piast and Jagiellon dynasties.