Seimas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Encyclopedia
Seimas was an early parliament
in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
. It was active from 1445 to 1569, when it was officially abolished by the Union of Lublin
. The Seimas was an irregular gathering of the Lithuanian nobility, called as needed by the Grand Duke or during an interregnum the Lithuanian Council of Lords
(an early government). The meetings would usually last about 1 or 2 weeks. Seimas gradually evolved from a meeting of the most powerful magnates to a full legislative institution representing all of the nobility. The Seimas was not the main political player as it was overshadowed by the Council of Lords. The Union of Lublin created a new state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and joined the Seimas of Lithuania with Sejm of Poland into one Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
. However, the Seimas continued to convene under the name of Lithuanian Convocation. In total there were 40 Seimas and 37 Convocations.
The first traces of large nobility meetings can be found in the Treaty of Salynas
of 1398 and the Union of Horodło of 1413. It is considered that the first Seimas met in Hrodna
in 1445 during talks between Casimir IV Jagiellon
and the Council of Lords. Soon influence of the nobility grew as Casimir's privileges released veldamas
, dependent peasants, from their taxes to the state. That meant significant increase in nobility's revenue. As the Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars
raged the country almost continuously between 1492 and 1582, the Grand Duke needed more tax revenues to finance the army and had to call the Seimas more frequently. In exchange for cooperation, the nobility demanded various privileges, including strengthening of the Seimas.
At first the Seimas did not have the legislative power. It would debate on foreign and domestic affairs, taxes, wars, state budget. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Seimas acquired some legislative powers. The Seimas could petition the Grand Duke to pass certain laws. The Duke usually granted the request as he needed nobility's support and cooperation. At first members of the Seimas were members of the Council of Lords and high state officials. Only gradually all interested nobles could arrive to the meetings. No invitation was necessary to attend. As the importance of Seimas grew, nobles from more distant regions started electing representatives from their districts and sending them to the meeting. However, the Seimas was dominated by the magnates as they were much more politically active and lesser nobles were more passive observers. However, gradually the lesser nobles understood that the Seimas gives them power to block new taxes and by mid-16th century they started to demand more privileges for themselves. Thus the Seimas shifted from magnate-controlled political tool to representation of all nobles. This shift was influenced by a similar movement in Poland.
Major reforms were carried out between 1564 and 1566, just before the Union of Lublin. According to the Second Statute of Lithuania, the Seimas acquired full legislative powers. It was composed of two houses: the upper house, called Senate, was the equivalent to the former Council of Lords and the lower house made up of representatives of each district of the state. No longer any member of the nobility could participate: each the 28 powiat
s could send only two delegates. It started a tradition of local Seimas (called seimelis).
When the separate Seimas for Lithuania was officially abolished in 1569, it adopted the name of Lithuanian Convocations and continued to meet until the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. It debated matters concerning the Grand Duchy of Lithuania or tried to establish a common position among Lithuanian delegates before departing for the Sejm of the Commonwealth. The convocations retained basic structures (upper and lower houses) and procedures of the Seimas: each powiat could send only two representatives. Convocations were called by the Grand Duke, who also ratified its decisions and included them in official law books.
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
. It was active from 1445 to 1569, when it was officially abolished by the Union of Lublin
Union of Lublin
The Union of Lublin replaced the personal union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with a real union and an elective monarchy, since Sigismund II Augustus, the last of the Jagiellons, remained childless after three marriages. In addition, the autonomy of Royal Prussia was...
. The Seimas was an irregular gathering of the Lithuanian nobility, called as needed by the Grand Duke or during an interregnum the Lithuanian Council of Lords
Lithuanian Council of Lords
The Lithuanian Council of Lords was the main permanent institution of central government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania active in its capital city of Vilnius....
(an early government). The meetings would usually last about 1 or 2 weeks. Seimas gradually evolved from a meeting of the most powerful magnates to a full legislative institution representing all of the nobility. The Seimas was not the main political player as it was overshadowed by the Council of Lords. The Union of Lublin created a new state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and joined the Seimas of Lithuania with Sejm of Poland into one Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
General sejm
The general sejm was the parliament of Poland for four centuries from the late 15th until the late 18th century.-Genesis:The power of early sejms grew during the period of Poland's fragmentation , when the power of individual rulers waned and that of various councils and wiece grew...
. However, the Seimas continued to convene under the name of Lithuanian Convocation. In total there were 40 Seimas and 37 Convocations.
History
| Number of Seimas Meetings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Reign | Location | Times |
| Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV KG of the House of Jagiellon was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440, and King of Poland from 1447, until his death.Casimir was the second son of King Władysław II Jagiełło , and the younger brother of Władysław III of Varna.... (1440–1492) |
Vilnius Vilnius Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County... |
7 |
| Brest Brest, Belarus Brest , formerly also Brest-on-the-Bug and Brest-Litovsk , is a city in Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the city of Terespol, where the Bug River and Mukhavets rivers meet... |
4 | |
| Hrodna Hrodna Grodno or Hrodna , is a city in Belarus. It is located on the Neman River , close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania . It has 327,540 inhabitants... |
2 | |
| Navahradak Navahradak -Early history:First mentioned in the Sophian First Chronicle and Fourth Novgorod Chronicle in 1044 in relation to a war of Yaroslav I the Wise against Lithuanian tribes. It was also mentioned in the Hypatian Codex under 1252 as Novogorodok -Early history:First mentioned in the Sophian First... |
1 | |
| Alexander Jagiellon Alexander Jagiellon Alexander of the House of Jagiellon was the Grand Duke of Lithuania and later also King of Poland. He was the fourth son of Casimir IV Jagiellon... (1492–1506) |
Vilnius | 3 |
| Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I of Poland , of the Jagiellon dynasty, reigned as King of Poland and also as the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until 1548... (1506–1548) |
Vilnius | 13 |
| Brest | 4 | |
| Hrodna | 1 | |
| Navahradak | 1 | |
| Sigismund II Augustus I (1548–1564) |
Vilnius | 3 |
| Minsk Minsk - Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened... |
1 | |
| Total | 40 | |
The first traces of large nobility meetings can be found in the Treaty of Salynas
Treaty of Salynas
Treaty of Salynas was a peace treaty signed on October 12, 1398 by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great and the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights Konrad von Jungingen. It was signed on an islet of the Neman River, probably between Kulautuva and the mouth of the Nevėžis River...
of 1398 and the Union of Horodło of 1413. It is considered that the first Seimas met in Hrodna
Hrodna
Grodno or Hrodna , is a city in Belarus. It is located on the Neman River , close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania . It has 327,540 inhabitants...
in 1445 during talks between Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV KG of the House of Jagiellon was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440, and King of Poland from 1447, until his death.Casimir was the second son of King Władysław II Jagiełło , and the younger brother of Władysław III of Varna....
and the Council of Lords. Soon influence of the nobility grew as Casimir's privileges released veldamas
Veldamas
Veldamas was a form of landownership in the early stages of Lithuanian serfdom. The term describes a peasant family with its land and other belongings granted by the Grand Duke of Lithuania to his loyal followers, usually as a reward for military service. The peasant retained ownership of his...
, dependent peasants, from their taxes to the state. That meant significant increase in nobility's revenue. As the Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars
Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars
The Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars The conflicts are referred to as 'Muscovite wars' in Polish historiography and as 'Lithuanian wars' in Russian one; English historiography uses both, ex...
raged the country almost continuously between 1492 and 1582, the Grand Duke needed more tax revenues to finance the army and had to call the Seimas more frequently. In exchange for cooperation, the nobility demanded various privileges, including strengthening of the Seimas.
At first the Seimas did not have the legislative power. It would debate on foreign and domestic affairs, taxes, wars, state budget. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Seimas acquired some legislative powers. The Seimas could petition the Grand Duke to pass certain laws. The Duke usually granted the request as he needed nobility's support and cooperation. At first members of the Seimas were members of the Council of Lords and high state officials. Only gradually all interested nobles could arrive to the meetings. No invitation was necessary to attend. As the importance of Seimas grew, nobles from more distant regions started electing representatives from their districts and sending them to the meeting. However, the Seimas was dominated by the magnates as they were much more politically active and lesser nobles were more passive observers. However, gradually the lesser nobles understood that the Seimas gives them power to block new taxes and by mid-16th century they started to demand more privileges for themselves. Thus the Seimas shifted from magnate-controlled political tool to representation of all nobles. This shift was influenced by a similar movement in Poland.
Major reforms were carried out between 1564 and 1566, just before the Union of Lublin. According to the Second Statute of Lithuania, the Seimas acquired full legislative powers. It was composed of two houses: the upper house, called Senate, was the equivalent to the former Council of Lords and the lower house made up of representatives of each district of the state. No longer any member of the nobility could participate: each the 28 powiat
Powiat
A powiat is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture in other countries. The term powiat is most often translated into English as "county", although other terms are also sometimes used...
s could send only two delegates. It started a tradition of local Seimas (called seimelis).
When the separate Seimas for Lithuania was officially abolished in 1569, it adopted the name of Lithuanian Convocations and continued to meet until the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. It debated matters concerning the Grand Duchy of Lithuania or tried to establish a common position among Lithuanian delegates before departing for the Sejm of the Commonwealth. The convocations retained basic structures (upper and lower houses) and procedures of the Seimas: each powiat could send only two representatives. Convocations were called by the Grand Duke, who also ratified its decisions and included them in official law books.