Outlines of Polish history. A course of lectures delivered at King's College, University of London

(1)

(2)

?

. : ' . " '

• '

II

.

jtvv.,; ';';5 ^{. , .}

II

' ■•' ' v -'■7.. ■■■ ■ . -■ 7 -: ' •.

H

-

_

(3)

(4)

(5)

O U T L IN E S OE P O L IS H H IST O R Y

(6)

(7)

O U T L I N E S O F P O L I S H H I S T O R Y

A COURSE OF LECTURES D ELIV ER ED A T KIN G ’S COLLEGE,

UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

by

R O M A N D Y B O S K I, Ph.D .

P rofessor o f English Literature in the U niversity o f Cracow

L O N D O N

G E O R G E A L L E N & U N W IN L T D M U S E U M S T R E E T

(8)

1 0 % / ^

F I R S T P U B L I S H E D I N I Q 2 5

S E C O N D E D I T I O N , T H O R O U G H L Y R E V I S E D A N D E N L A R G E D , 1 9 3 1

1 3

T

t^V0VY^ • U t . W fif, m,. y\ jx v i i % o -- z k

A ll rights reserved

P R I N T E D I N G R E A T B R I T A I N E V I W W I N B R O T H E R S L T D . , W O K I N G

(9)

P R E F A C E TO T H E S E C O N D E D I T I O N

Th e present lectures, like those on Polish L iterature, published in two volumes by th e Oxford U niversity Press (1923-1924), were originally delivered a t K ing’s College, in th e U niversity of London, under th e auspices of the School of Slavonic Studies. They were p u t into book form w ith a view to supplying to th e reading public of the English-speaking countries such inform ation as m ight be called for concerning th e historical antecedents of one of th e “new S tates” of post-w ar Europe.

Poland differs from some of th em by being n ot a new but indeed a very old S tate, which suffered th e unique fate of disappearing from th e m ap for over a hundred years, to reappear on it again in our own days. In writing th e history of th e old Poland and its fall, as well as th a t of m odern P oland’s captivity and political resurrection, the author has m ade efforts to keep clear of th e two opposite extrem es of apologetic optim ism on th e one hand and critical pessimism on th e other. While a t one tim e the partitions of Poland were ascribed by historians entirely to th e inw ard faults of her political and social system , nowadays th e greatness of some of th e old P oland’s achievements, bo th in foreign policy and constitutional organisation, is more fully realised; th e reforming zeal of th e nation during th e last decades before th e final p a r

titions is duly honoured; and th e blame for Poland’s fall is more evenly distributed between th e rap acity of her powerful neighbours and her own errors. As regards captive P oland’s repeated struggles for independence in th e nineteenth century, it is adm itted to-day th a t, while sometimes w anting in th a t sense of reality which con

stitutes political wisdom, th e y certainly include m uch valuable constructive effort as well as an abundance of

5

(10)

OUTLINES OF POLISH H ISTO RY

self-sacrificing heroism; and throughout th e record, the unconquerable national vitality of th e Polish race is apparent as a fundam ental fac t which has successfully stood the test of all the fires of history.

The history of Poland has been to ld in a num ber of monumental works in Polish, such as th e recent co

operative History of Poland, now being published in a series of volumes by the Polish Academy a t Cracow as part of its large Polish Encyclopaedia. The bibliography of Polish history itself fills a huge work b y th e late Professor L. Finkel, of Lwów, now published in a second edition. The present writer, in his labours of selection, omission and compression, has been guided a n d assisted by several existing brief m anuals of th e subject in Polish, including two most brilliant ones, each in three slender volumes, by his Cracow colleagues W. Sobieski and J. Dąbrowski. Nor m ust it pass unm entioned t h a t in the course of th e preparation of th e second edition of these lectures, a standard work on Polish history, the Dzieje Polski of Professor M. Dobrzyński (2 vols., 1877; 4th ed., 1927), was completed, in its honoured author’s extreme b u t still vigorous old age, by a th ird volume (1931), covering the period between 1795 a n d 1923.

Embodying the rich and long experience of one who has been both a scholar and a statesm an in his tim e, this great work, with its grave warning lessons from th e p a st, will no doubt fulfil in the life of resurrected Poland, for more th an one generation, th e useful function defined by the ancient adage Historia magistra vitae.

In the present book, which is to serve English-speaking readers as a first introduction to th e subject, bibliographi

cal references have only been m ade to studies in Polish history written in English. The num ber of such publica

tions having increased of late years, th e bibliography appears in considerably enlarged form in this second

6

(11)

PREFACE

edition of th e book. Otherwise, th e second edition differs from th e first m ainly by certain additions to th e last chapter, which now carries th e record of events in Poland down to th e beginning of 1931.

R. B„

T h e U n i v e r s i t y o r C r a c o w , P o l a n d

Easter 1931

7

(12)

(13)

C O N T E N T S

FAC IE

Pb e f a c e 5

Pa r t I

THE POLISH STATE FROM ITS RISE TO THE PARTITIONS (962-1795)

LECTURE I

E a r l y E x p a n s i o n a n d T e r r i t o r i a l D i v i s i o n 13

LECTURE I I

Re u n i o n a n d Pe a c e f u l Pr o g r e s s 3 7

LECTURE I I I

Th e Po l i s h- Li t h i t a n i a n Mo n a r c h y 5 8

LECTURE IV

Re n a i s s a n c e Po l a n d 7 6

LECTURE V

Po l a n d’s La s t Vi c t o r i e s a n d He r De c a y 9 5

LECTURE VI

Na t i o n a l Re v i v a l a n d Po l i t i c a l Do w n f a l l 115

LECTURE V II

Th e Re f o r m e d Co n s t i t u t i o n a n d t h e La s t Pa r t i t i o n s

o f P o l a n d 1 3 4

9

(14)

OUTLINES OF POLISH HISTORY

Pa k t II

POLAND’S CAPTIVITY AND DELIVERANCE (1795-1930)

LECTURE I

P o l i s h N a t i o n a l E p f o b t p b o m t h e N a p o l e o n i c W a e s t o t h e I n s u e b e c t i o n o p 1831

LECTURE I I

Th e Po l i s h Em i g b a n t s Ab b o a d a n d t h e Pe b i o d o p Eu b o p e a n Re v o l u t i o n s

LECTURE I I I

T h e P o l e s u n d e b R u s s i a : T h e I n s u b b e c t i o n o p 1863 a n d A p t e b

LECTURE IV

Th e Po l e s u n d e b Pb u s s i a: Th e St r u g g l e a g a i n s t Bis m a b c k a n d h i s Su c c e s s o b s

LECTURE V

Th e Po l e s u n d e b Au s t r i a: Se l p- Go v e b n m e n t a n d i t s Re c o e d

LECTURE VI

Th e Wa b a n d t h e Ne w Po l i s h St a t e

Bi b l i o g b a p h i o a l No t e s

In d e x

PAGE

155

1 6 9

1 8 5 .

2 0 7

2 2 6

2 4 7

275

2 7 9

10

(15)

P A ß T I

THE PO LISH STATE EROM ITS R ISE TO T H E PARTITION S

(962-1795)

(16)

(17)

LECTUKE I

EA RLY E X PA N SIO N AND T E R R IT O R IA L D IV ISIO N

I

Sl a v o n i c nations play a distinct p a rt in Europe as early as the seventh century of our era, but it is not till the te n th th a t a Polish State emerges into the light of history. I t appears a t a tim e when tw o neighbouring Slavonic States are also consolidating for good: a Russian one, which in th a t period centres in the South, round the tow n of K ie v ; and a Czech one, which inherits p a rt of a large and short-lived M oravian Em pire of the ninth century. The fourth Slavonic State, Serbia, in the South, only became em ancipated from foreign control somewhat later, in the eleventh century; the fifth, Bulgaria, had arisen earlier, in the ninth, out of a nation of Asiatic invaders who adopted Slavonic speech and custom, after waging ruinous war on the Slavs for two centuries.

I t was such invasions by E astern nations from Asia which were th e decisive factor th a t prom pted Slavonic tribes to organise in to larger political communities. The recurrent tide of Asiatic invasions began w ith the Huns in the fourth century, and ended in the ten th with the Magyars, who ultim ately drove in a wedge between the N orthern and Southern Slavs, to rem ain as the H ungary of to-day. A nother invading tribe, the Avars, who had come earlier, were only checked on the threshold of W estern Europe by Charlemagne, the founder of a m ighty Eranconian m onarchy out of Teutonic peoples.

T h a t empire, a fte r its break-up, was replaced on the IS

(18)

Slavonic border by a u nited Germ any, henceforward the common foe of Slavdom. To th e pressure of invasions from the E ast there was now added th a t of invasion from the West, because the Carolingian m onarchy and the later Germany inherited from the old R om an Empire the policy of m ilitary colonisation, and erected bulwarks for itself against the E a st in th e Slavonic borderlands, whose inhabitants were subjected or exterm inated with ruthless resolution.

Under such double stress, both from E a st and West, sometimes whole Slavonic nations perished, even after they had formed States. Such was th e fate of the W endish Kingdom in the eleventh century, on th e ruins of which the German principality of B randenburg was b u ilt up.

Sometimes it was Teutonic invaders them selves who became the political organisers of Slavonic States, as in the case of the early Russian Em pire, w ith its Norman dynasty of Scandinavian origin,

I I

But it was another influence, coming from abroad, which definitely brought Slavs into th e pale of common medieval civilisation and th e E uropean political system.

That influence was the Christian religion.

The way in which Christianity came am ong th e pagan Slavs determined the m omentous question w hether a m uted Slav world was to appear on th e E uropean scene and oppose its solid block to th e united G erm an power.

The introduction of different forms of Christianity established a division among Slavs, which deepened in the course of ages, and separates th em to-day. Following the breaking-up of the late r Rom an Em pire in to an Eastern and a W estern one, Christianity, by th e tim e it reached the Slavs, was splitting up into tw o branches.

14

(19)

CH RISTIAN ITY

One of these, th e R om an Catholic Church, inherited the imperial genius and intellectual culture of ancient Rome, while the other one became associated in its fortunes and in its structure, in its spirit and in its traditions, with the hardening absolutism of th e Greek emperors at Byzantium , or Constantinople. I t became even dis

tinguished outw ardly from th e Rom an Church by the use of Slavonic speech in ritual, instead of L atin, and by the introduction of an alphabet, based n o t on th e W estern L atin, b u t on Greek characters.

Byzantine and Rom an C hristianity henceforward con

front each other within the Slavonic group of peoples.

The distinction extends far beyond Church organisation or literary culture, in to th e dom ains of political develop

m ent and national character. I t lies a t th e ro o t of the agelong antagonism s a n d deep tem peram ental difference between such Slavonic neighbours as th e Russians and the Poles, or, in a lesser degree, th e Serbs an d the Croats.

The Czechs, after an early conversion to Byzantine Christianity, were ultim ately draw n in to th e orbit of Rome, and Poland received th e R om an religion from them a t th e m arriage of its first historical ruler to a Czech princess. This was due to th e fac t th a t th e W estern branch of th e Slavonic group, composed of Poles and Czechs together, was separated, by th e intrusion of the Magyars, from Byzantium , th e seat of E astern Christianity.

At first this placed Poles and Czechs a t a disadvantage as compared w ith Serbians, Bulgarians and Russians, who profited by th e treasures of Greek culture, inherited by the Byzantine Em pire. And connection w ith Rom e also m eant a preponderating influence of Rom an Catholic Germany. B u t la te r on, B yzantium decayed, to be ultimately swallowed by th e tid e of Islam , and, on the other hand, Rome progressed in intellectual power and

15

(20)

achieved success in political struggles w ith the German monarchs. In the altered circumstances produced by these later developments the Rom an connection of Poland, as well as of the Czech Kingdom, and also of H ungary, told in favour of joint advance in civilisation together with the whole Western world.

I l l

The earliest history of the Polish S tate is w rapt, like th a t of others, in a m ist of legends. Some of them are met with in other European cotmtries as well—like the story of Prince K rak, the dragon-killer and founder of the town of Cracow, or Prince Popiel, who was devoured by swarms of mice. Some others are common property of the romantic poetry of W estern m edieval nations—

like the story of the brave W alter and his foreign wife Hildgund. Another one yet, the legend of Princess Wanda, who drowned herself to escape a German m arriage, has been frequently treated by m odem Polish poets, and has acquired the dignity of a national allegory.

There is one, finally, which is evidently allegorical, even in its original form : the story of th e peasant prince Piast, a farmer and wheelmaker, who becomes the founder of the first Polish dynasty, and whose figure symbolises the peasant strength of an agricultural nation.

All these legends centre round two riv e rs : th e Vistula, which is the principal artery of central Poland through

out history, and its W estern trib u ta ry th e W arta, which waters the old W estern province of Poland, th a t was to hold its own against Prussian rule so bravely in our own days. I t is these regions, then, on th e banks of the Vistula and the W arta, which form th e nucleus of the oldest historical Poland, and th ey are th e principal

16

(21)

T H E E M P IR E O F BO LESLA S I

possessions of th e earliest authentically recorded ruler, Miesco I (962-992). H is em pire grew to considerable size, extending as far as th e m outh of th e R iver Oder in th e N orth-W est; b u t he had still to do homage to th e German Em peror, and was n o t well able to hold his own against aggressive Slavonic neighbours, either th e Czechs on th e one han d or th e Russians on th e other. H e sought support in H ungary, which by th a t tim e was a Christian S tate, and he form ed alliances w ith Sweden and D enm ark by dynastic m arriages. B u t self-help proved a b e tte r source of strength under his g rea t successor, Boleslas the Brave (992-1025), who drove a German stepm other and her sons out of th e country, fought Germans, Czechs and Russians victoriously in m any long wars, and ex tended Poland’s frontiers over th e provinces known in our days as E astern Galicia in th e E a st and Silesia in th e W est, while he gained a strong foothold on the Baltic shore in th e N orth, and added the Slovak country, beyond th e C arpathian M ountains, to Poland in th e South. I t was due to th e genius of this ruler, then, th a t about the year 1000 th e historical Poland as a large State really arose. His victorious expeditions a t different tim es ranged as far as th e town of K iev in th e South-E ast (then the capital of Russia), and th e R iver Elbe in th e W est (then still flowing through Slavonic territo ry );

and he n ot only created a large empire, b u t also organised its political adm inistration on a basis of absolute m onarchy and feudal class division. A sta n d ing arm y of 20,000 knights and an extensive system of tax a tio n gave strength and m eans to conduct a resolute im perial policy.

IV

The chief power which held th e em pire of Boleslas the Brave together was, a fte r all, th e great king’s personality.

17

(22)

When th a t was gone, a period of rapid decay in ev it

ably set in: Poland was not only deprived of all her border provinces, b ut threatened by u tte r extinction. A peasant revolt, coupled with a reaction of th e rem nants of paganism against Christianity, plunged the country into anarchy. Jealousy between the Germans and the Czechs saved Poland from perishing a t the hands of either the one or the other of these neighbours, and the foundations laid by the great Boleslas finally reappeared from under a passing wave of invasions and insurrections.1 Adm inis

trative order was re-established, and civilised institutions were patiently rebuilt by the peaceful king, Casimir I (1034-1058), justly called “the R estorer,” and the wide frontiers Poland had acquired under the first heroic Boleslas were won back by his equally heroic great- grandson, Boleslas I I, called the Bold (1058-1079), the first Polish king perm anently residing in P oland’s m edi

eval capital, Cracow. By interference in the dynastic quarrels of the Hungarian, Czech and South R ussian kingdoms, he asserted Polish influence in these neigh- homing countries, and by giving aid to th e German Emperor’s adversaries he successfully defied his power;

in this he was morally supported by the Pope, Gregory VII, then at strife with the Em peror, H enry IV. B u t once more was the rising authority of Poland in the international affairs of Eastern Europe to suffer a check.

A bishop, intriguing with revolted nobles against the king—St. Stanislas of Cracow—was m urdered b y him a t the altar, like Thomas ä Becket by H enry I I in England, and the greatest power in th e m edieval world—the Church—triumphed over the State, as it did so often in other countries a t th a t tim e. The royal m urderer ended his days in exile, and under a weaker brother, who fol

lowed him, the reconquered m ight of th e Polish State decayed for a second tim e; the am bition of a powerful

18

(23)

T H E ST R U G G L E F O R T H E SE A SH O R E favourite alm ost led to th e overthrow of th e dynasty, and division and civil war ensued. I t seems as if P oland’s good fortune in th a t early period was bound up with the nam e of Boleslas, for a th ird valiant king of th a t name, surnam ed th e W ry-M outhed (1102-1138), once more restored u n ity and power against foreign interven

tion and a ttem p ts a t dism em berm ent. The m em ory of a crushing defeat he inflicted on th e Germans n ear Breslau, in Silesia, is supposed to live in th e nam e of a small tow n in th a t neighbourhood called “Dogsfield” (Hundsfeld).

The au th o rity of Poland was asserted against Czech interference by repeated expeditions into the very h e a rt of th e Czech Kingdom . B ut the king’s principal endeav

ours were directed, w ith a rig h t sense for th e v ital necessi

ties of th e Polish S tate, a t th e aim of securing for Poland a broad stretch of B altic shore about th e m ouths of th e Vistula and th e Oder. This end was a tta in e d by prolonged struggles, w ith the help of th e B anish ally, and places so entirely beyond Slavonic boundaries now as th e tow n of S tettin a t th e m outh of th e Oder and th e island of Rügen opposite to it, th en both inhabited by Slavonic tribes, became subject to Polish overlordship. Tins, however, was far from being th e end of Poland’s agelong struggles for her indispensable outlet on the B altic Sea. The m outh of the Oder was to be soon lost once more, and for good; i t became thoroughly Germanised; for th e m outh of the Vistula there were to be more long wars, and E a st of it the German elem ent was to obtain a perm anent foothold, which i t possesses to-day in E ast Prussia.

V

N ot only w ith regard to th a t vital problem of an outlet on the sea, b u t also in other directions, th e renewed conquests of the th ird Boleslas were not lasting. In fact,

19

(24)

this third attem pt a t Polish empire-building on a large scale was once more to be followed by a period of eclipse, when the man who was the soul of i t vanished from the scene; and the eclipse was more durable and more dark this time. More impulsive by tem peram ent even th an any of his predecessors, Boleslas I I I m arred his achievements, in dying, by a division of Ids empire between four sons, with provisions for the feudal sovereignty of th e oldest one over the rest. This was then the dynastic practice in both neighbouring States, Russia and the Czech Kingdom . But in both of them it had led to endless domestic broils, and in Poland the result could not b u t be th e same. For two centuries and more—best p a rt of th e tw elfth, th e whole thirteenth, and one-third of th e fourteenth—Poland exists only as a group of warring principalities: th e G rand Ducal Seat of Cracow is always contested, and th e authority of the Grand Duke over the other regional princes never recognised. Nor is this the only source of calam ities:

another permanent scourge of Poland makes its terrible appearance, in the shape of T artar invasions, which henceforward will periodically sweep th e country, and especially its South-Eastern border provinces, for half a thousand years nearly. The first T artar inroad, in 1241, actually devastated the whole of Poland, an d its tide broke only on the confines of Germany, turning aside into Hungary and finally back into the E a st on th e news of the death of the great Khan. From th a t terrible y ear onward ever-renewed defensive fights against th e T artars, and m course of tim e also against th e Turks, become a constant feature of Polish history; the battleground of the steppes on the Ukrainian border is th e school of Polish chivalry; the “T artar dance,” as it was called, is the training of the nation’s youth, and th e dignity of a ulwark °f Christian civilisation the chief object of national honour and ambition.

20

(25)

BETWEEN TARTAR AND TEUTON VI

B ut y e t another, and even more dangerous, enemy to Poland arises in definite shape and grows in power during this storm y and calamitous period. The agelong and instinctive “pressure E astw ard ” of th e German elem ent—

the “D rang nach O sten,” as German historians have described i t —led to th e absorption, in th e eleventh century, of th e Slavonic territories now forming th e E astern half of Germany. The German danger, having reached th e doors of Poland proper, became embodied, with regard to Poland herself and her smaller neighbours in th a t period, in th e menacing form of a German m ilitary organisation of religious origin. The Teutonic K nights of the Cross, originally form ed in connection w ith th e m ove

m ent of th e Crusades, gain a foothold on th e N orth- W estern outskirts of Poland, near th e Baltic shore, under pretext of converting to C hristianity th e still heathen tribes of N orth-E astern Europe. They spread Christianity among them w ith fire and sword, and from th eir widening vantage-ground th e y become th e vanguard of German expansion—th e founders of m odern Prussia and its imperialism. I t was an ill-starred m om ent for Poland when th e y were sum m oned as allies against th e heathen Prussians by one of th e Polish territorial princes, Conrad of Masovia, in 1226, and encouraged by a g ran t of land.

They exterm inated th e Prussian nation root and branch, and its nam e was appropriated afterw ards by its German successors. B u t th e rescuers soon became a thorn in the side of th e rescued; com bats against th e German Knights henceforward are an even more constant feature of m edieval Polish history th a n th e periodical fights against th e T artars. B y uniting w ith her N orth-E astern neighbour, L ithuania, against th e common foe, Poland finally beat down th e German K nights and succeeded in

21

(26)

securing access to the Baltic for good; b u t it took more than two centuries of wars to achieve th a t end, and in vanishing from history a t last, the German K nights left behind them as their successor in early m odern Europe the secular duchy of Prussia, which, from a vassal of Poland, developed into one of its powerful destroyers.

During the period we are surveying now th e Teutonic element is irresistibly advancing, owing to th e weakness of a divided Poland. The regional princes of Silesia are drawn into the sphere of German influence, and their Germanisation prepares th e ground for th e loss of th e country to Poland in the fourteenth century. W h at is more, the Silesian example shows th e w ay to introduce Germans into the very heart of Poland’s interior provinces.

The devastation of the country by th e T artars and the depopulation of its cities drive Polish princes to th e expedient of calling in German settlers to re-people th e towns. To make the offer alluring, th e towns so colonised must be granted self-government, on th e m odel of self- governing city institutions as established in th e towns of Germany. For several centuries, some of P o land’s principal towns'—including the royal capital, Cracow'—- become German in the body of th eir w ealthy m erchant population, and even keep their records in th e German language. When the effects of this German intrusion are at last overcome by assimilation to th e Polish surround

ings, a period of decay for th e flourishing tra d e of th e towns sets in, owing to the narrow-m inded and selfish legislation of the privileged land-owning class, th e gentry, which has only its own agrarian interests a t heart. Such, then, is the historical foundation of th e deplorable fact th a t the old Poland was deficient in such an indispensable m ainstay to healthy social organisation as a strong m iddle class. During the period, however, which we are engaged on at present, the towns are still on th e upw ard grade of

22

(27)

DOMESTIC WARS

development, and th eir citizens grow rap id ly in prosperity and culture, in spite of th e ceaseless vicissitudes and disturbances in th e country.

V II

Of these political vicissitudes them selves, showing Poland in its w orst sta te of decom position and enfeeblement, it is scarcely w orth while to speak in detail. Some few o u t

standing personalities and facts only need be singled out, especially in th e late r p a rt of th e period, when th e tren d is towards consohdation once more.

A t first we witness nothing b u t fratricid al broils, and the prestige of Poland lies low indeed when an expelled Polish prince invokes th e German E m peror as arb iter in the Polish dynastic strife, and th e exile’s rival m ust ultim ately subm it to such a rb itratio n and has to appear before another German E m peror—th e great Frederick Barbarossa^—in th e very cap ital of W estern Poland, Poznań—in th e guise of a p enitent, bare-foot, and w ith a sword hanging round his neck. If th e German emperors do not profit b y this period of disorder and division to subject Poland entirely, it is because th e y have constant troubles of th eir own to prevent th em : crusades and expeditions into Ita ly a t first, th e dynastic struggles between Welfs and H ohenstaufens afterw ards, and finally, a long and ruinous interregnum ; a fte r which, th e new Hapsburg dy n asty have enough to do to establish th eir position a t home. B u t although all this lessens th e German danger, th e inner weakness of Poland advances; her territories are splitting up into smaller a n d smaller sections w ith each generation, as th e territorial princes, in their tu rn , divide th e ir provinces betw een th eir sons.

A baneful feature of late r Polish history—th e ambitious intrigues of great nobles and th eir influence on th e princes

28

(28)

—also begins to show its m any hydra heads a t this tim e, and is a main factor of th e general restlessness and in

security. At intervals only, rulers appear who are strong enough to curb the nobles’ self-will, and far-sighted enough to conduct foreign affairs on im perial lines, chiefly by skilful dynastic marriages, as other m edieval countries did. Such strong domestic and intelligent foreign policies were the distinctive m erits of Miesco I I I (called th e Old), who ruled at Cracow in th e later half of th e tw elfth century. He also made rightly aimed efforts a t stre n g th ening the exchequer, although he employed for th a t p u r

pose the doubtful means—common in more recent tim es—

of intentionally debasing th e currency. His endeavours, a t any rate, if oppressively bureaucratic, were constructive in their aims, which is more th a n can be said of his suc

cessor, Casimir I I (called th e Just). This ruler set a disas

trous precedent, often, a la s! to be followed by late r Polish kings: he bargained with th e powerful nobles for recogni

tion of his successor in return for such concessions as the exemption of the higher clergy from th e S ta te ’s right to their property and the abandonm ent of th e S ta te ’s right to requisition private tran sp o rt for official use (1180).

These were, indeed, the beginnings of th e constitutional liberties of later parliam entary Poland, b u t th e y also contained the germs of the final anarchic weakening of all central government authority. If this act, then, m ust now be considered as by no means an unm ixed blessing to Poland, it m ust be recognised, on th e other hand, th a t this particular prince came nearer th a n anyone else in this disastrous period of division to reuniting all Polish lands under his sceptre. However, th e fabric of reunion was shattered again under a regency of nobles during the long minority of the succeeding prince. I t was a t th a t time th a t the former ruler, Miesco th e Old, three tim es returned to the Grand Ducal residence of Cracow, and

24

(29)

A D IV ID E D POLAND

had to quit it again, until he died in possession during his fourth tenure of it. Succeeding holders of th e throne do not even a tte m p t to em ancipate themselves from under the power of th e great nobles, who are tru e king-makers, like some m edieval barons of England. One of th e princes, Lesco (called th e W hite), being ham pered by th e barons in his endeavours to extend Polish power N orthw ard to the seashore again and E astw ard among th e Russian tribes, seeks an ally against the barons in the Church, and, by way of propitiating th e ecclesiastical authorities, recognises th e Gregorian reforms, which free th e ecclesi

astical hierarchy from State control. This, unfortunately, m eant b u t freedom for another dangerous power, which now strenuously takes sides in all civil wars and pursues a resolute policy of its own, as a S tate w ithin th e State.

The appearance of this factor in its new strength upon the scene added th e last touch to P oland’s disruption, and for a tim e th e D uke of Cracow ceased even form ally to be the sovereign over the crowd of sectional rulers (1227).

V III

The last tra c e of a Polish m onarchy seems gone for ever.

During another long m inority of a Cracow prince th e civil war reached its climax in th e dispute for th e regency between th e Germanised duke, H enry th e B earded of Silesia, and th e savagely cruel and recklessly impulsive Conrad of M asovia; th e pacifying influence of Princess Hedviga of Silesia (who was declared a saint by the Church afterw ards) is b u t a faint and in term itten t flicker

ing of comfort am idst th e universal ou tb u rst of passion and violence; and the tem porary success of St. H edviga’s son, Prince H enry the Pious of Silesia, in uniting a large p a rt of Poland under his rule, is brought to a speedy end by his heroic death on the battlefield of Lignica in stem-

25

(30)

miner the tide of T artar invasion a t the very doors of Central Europe (1241). His successor a t Cracow, Boleslas the Modest, does n ot follow this sublime exam ple, but flees the country when the Tartars come again, and shows his incapacity besides by subservience to th e power of the clergy during a long reign. No doubt his m arriage to the saintly Hungarian princess, Cunegunda—also canonised by the Church, like St. Hedviga—had m uch to do w ith th a t policy, or rather w ant of policy; an d as he errs by weakness, so his successor, Lesco I I (surnamed the Black), errs by falling into the opposite extrem e of passionate and vindictive rashness and violence in his continuous strife with the nobles, the higher clergy, and a princely rival.

He does not achieve much success, either, in endeavouring to do what the medieval kings of France did more success

fully—viz. to lean for support against the nobles on the growing and prosperous middle class of th e towns. This policy is pursued to better effect by a Silesian prince, Henry the Honest, whom the German burghers of Cracow, now an active and im portant factor upon th e political scene, trium phantly introduce in to th e capital (1298).

The reason for their enthusiasm was largely th a t H enry, like the other Silesian princes, had become m ore th a n half a German, and even wrote German poetry. I t was the reaction of nationality against German intrusion which a t last, after the long period of degradation and division, m uted Polish forces for resistance. B u t another candidate of the German burghers, th e Czech king, Venceslas, still succeeded a Polish prince, Przemysław, who had actually been the first to extend his power as far as the sea-coast once more, and to be crowned king of the whole of Poland again by th e archbishop of th e realm ; and it was the foreign ruler, Venceslas, who actually reunited a large p a rt of the Polish territories under Ms sceptre (1300). His governm ent is ill rem em bered, because

26

(31)

R E U N IO N

he withdrew to his own Czech Kingdom and left Poland to be mercilessly exploited :, by Czech adm inistrative officials (the “starostas”—a title and an office hence

forward adopted in Poland). I t was undoubtedly wide

spread dissatisfaction 'with this Czech rule which secured national support for K ing Yenceslas’s Polish opponent, I Ladislas th e Short (“Ł okietek” ), who after being three I times defeated and expelled, and spending long periods in exile in H ungary and in adventurous wanderings about his own country, like K ing Alfred in England under Danish occupation, a t last emerged after his adversary’s death and resolutely fought his way to unchallenged supremacy over a large portion of Polish territories (1306).

I

W ith his advent we e n te r upon a new epoch of political reunion and more settled conditions in Poland, which was to lead up to th e splendour and power of a large Polish Em pire in th e late r Middle Ages.

IX

Amidst all the ups and downs of domestic and foreign war which constitute P oland’s early m edieval history, there would seem to be little scope indeed for steady progress tow ards legal stability, social organisation, eco

nomic prosperity, intellectual culture or artistic activities.

And y et all these peaceful aspects of civilised life develop I in the intervals of storm s, and foundations are laid for the magnificent structure of Polish national civilisation in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Politically, Poland in this period, when united, is, like most of th e surrounding European States of th e tim e, an absolute m onarchy. The m onarch’s power is theoretically unlim ited and p atriarchal in character. The Council of State, composed of th e principal dignitaries, both spiritual and tem poral, is a t first a purely advisory body. The

27

(32)

dependence of Poland’s early rulers on th e German em perors was skilfully counterbalanced late r by th e protec

tion of the other great power in the m edieval world—the Holy See; this protection was obtained a t th e price of voluntary offerings, which in tim e became a fixed custom ary tribute called “St. P eter’s pence.” The organisation of administrative control over the realm was modelled, in early medieval Poland, on Franconian institutions. I n this system the highest officers of the State were Court officials, assisting the king in his different sovereign functions, and foreshadowing the ministers of a m odern constitutional monarchy. The centres of local governm ent were fortified castles, from which their m ilitary commanders exercised all administrative and judicial functions over th e su r

rounding districts. These castellans also levy on the settlers of the neighbourhood the heavy taxes imposed by the prince for the maintenance of his Coui’t, his standing arm y, and his administrative apparatus, these taxes being, in early times, mostly paid in kind. The castles, from m ilitary and administrative centres, become the nuclei of towns.

This political structure of early Poland becomes more comphcated in course of tim e, particularly w ith the progress of social differentiation. The estates, or social classes of the typical medieval comm unity, become more and more sharply divided, and their rights and privileges more strictly defined, especially when weak territorial princes have to make concessions in retu rn for recognition.

Immunities or exemptions from certain duties tow ards the State are wrung from the rulers by different strong social groups, especially by the clergy.

X

In Poland, as elsewhere in early m edieval Europe, the Church is the centre of the social world. Growing in w ealth

28

(33)

CHURCH AND STATE IN EA R L Y POLAND and moral authority, th e clergy become, in course of tim e, practically free from secular jurisdiction and political adm inistrative control. On the other hand, th ey exercise a recognised active influence both on politics a n d on the law. In the political sphere, th ey win an assured position of power by the presence of th e chief prelates in the Council of S tate. In jurisdiction, the au th o rity of the ecclesiastical courts is gradually extended to all cases connected w ith th e sacram ents of th e Church, and as these include Baptism , M atrim ony, and E xtrem e U nction, m ost of the im p o rtan t events and social relations of the citizen s life are brought by such an arrangem ent under the legal control of the Church.

The m onastic orders are a factor equal in power to th e secular clergy. As early as about the year 1000, foreign monks were in v ited to Poland from Ita ly to counteract the danger to n atio n ality from the large num ber of German and Czech priests in early Poland. Irish monks also, of course, played th eir im p o rta n t p a rt in Poland in the earlier Middle Ages, as th ey did all over the European Continent. Among th e actual orders, th e Benedictines and the Cistercians figure prom inently in th e early p e rio d ; later on, w ith th e rise of th e Begging Friars in the thirteenth century, th e Dominicans and the Franciscans become im portant. In Poland, as elsewhere in Europe, the rise of the Friars has a profound influence on th e spiritual tem per of th e age. There is a widespread revival of m ystic piety: m any distinguished persons of th e tim e, some of them of princely rank, both m en and women, voluntarily end their days in convent cells, and thirteen th -cen tu ry Poland gives its crop of saints to th e Rom an Calendar, mainly ladies of royal birth.

B ut it was even before th a t new m ovem ent, and p a r

ticularly in the very earliest ages, th a t the Church had exercised a softening influence on the morals and m anners

29

(34)

of a half-savage nation. The clergy and th e m onks were also the principal teachers of the people, instructing them in husbandry by the example of th e adm inistration of their own estates, introducing im provem ents in farm ing as well as various useful arts and crafts. Holding, fu rth e r

more, as they did, the monopoly of th e arts of reading and writing and of the knowledge of L atin—th a t common international tongue of the happy m edieval world—th ey established contact between Poland and th e intellectual culture of the European W est. Schools grew up in connec

tion with cathedral chapters and large m onasteries, and the common medieval courses of elem entary and higher studies—the trivium, or three R ’s, and quadrivium, or liberal arts—came to be widely ta u g h t in Poland. The influence of the schools made itself felt in course of tim e ; the knowledge of reading and writing spread beyond the class of clerics, and numerous w ell-written deeds on parchment testify to the growth of this accom plishment among the laity, particularly among judges and adm inis

trative officials. A Polish educated class was growing up.

Sooner than elsewhere th e native Polish elem ent, of course, asserted itself among the educators them selves; th e clergy of Poland become more and more purely Polish. The fact th a t bishops, in the later Middle Ages, are m ostly draw n from the ranks of a few great noble families does not, of course, tell in favour of tranquillity in the country, fam ily and class ambitions now running high in th e sphere of Church politics. B ut the growing strength of th e Polish element among the rank and file of th e clergy is bound to be favourable to the developm ent of popular education.

In 128Ö a Synod memorable in the annals of the Polish Church—the assembly of Łęczyca—among o th e r provi

sions of far-reaching importance for Church organisation, lays down the rule th a t Polish priests only m ust be appointed to the posts of teachers in th e schools.

80

(35)

M EDIEVAL PO LISH LIT ER A TU R E

X I

This developm ent could n o t b u t lead, in th e end, to the growth of a literature in th e Polish language. Polish literature, however, is singularly slow in coming. L atin predominates to a m uch larger ex ten t, and for a m uch longer tim e, in th e m edieval litera tu re of Poland th a n in th at of W estern E uropean countries. T h a t is equally tru e of sober prose a n d of rom antic poetry. N ext to nothing remains on record of any a tte m p ts to em ulate in Polish the mass of epics of chivalry an d adventure, songs of courtly love and m ystic piety, didactic and satirical lyrics, and holy dram as and profane interludes which we possess in the m edieval tongues of W estern Europe. The oldest preserved song in th e Polish language, a hym n in honour of th e Virgin {Bogurodzica), has only come down to us in a m anuscript of th e Renaissance period, although the diction of th e song points to a m uch earlier date.

The scarcity of early m edieval literatu re in Polish is perhaps p a rtly accounted for by th e general restlessness of the storm y period of P o land’s division, b u t no doubt largely by th e fact th a t for several centuries education was in the hands of a foreign clergy. I t was to th em th a t the beginnings of litera ry activ ity in Poland were due, and they are natu rally in L atin. I t is a foreign priest—•

probably from H ungary, though tra d itio n calls him Gallus—who, being in some way connected w ith the Court of the early Polish kings, left a valuable L atin record of contem porary Polish history behind, which ends a t the year 1113. A higher level of elegance and learning is reached in a late r L atin chronicle of Poland by Master Vincent (called Kadłubek), a bishop of Cracow m the th irteen th century, who ended his days as a m o n k ; and L atin poetry, both on historical and rom antic sub-

31

(36)

jects, becomes a flourishing branch of literatu re (mostly anonymous) in later medieval Poland.

X II

Next to the clergy, the m ost im p o rtan t class in Poland are the nobility and gentry, divided in th e earlier Middle Ages into a num ber of higher and lower degrees.

The Polish gentry have been assum ed by some his

torians to owe their distinctness from th e rest of the nation to a foreign origin and to conquest. W hatever the real solution of th a t vexed historical problem m ay be, the gentry are a fully developed, privileged class in the twelfth century. Soldiers in war and tillers of the soil in peace, they hold their lands, like th e knighthood of England and other European countries in th e Middle Ages, from the king in return for k night’s service. They are organised into family associations, som ew hat resem bling the clans peculiar to Scotland, and distinguished, like them, by common coats-of-arms and common slogans in the field.

As a superstructure above the large mass of th e gentry there rises, like the prelates among the clergy, th e class of the barons. They form the lay elem ent in th e Council of State, and they develop, by degrees, into an oligarchy of a few great families, members of which are the hereditary holders of the supreme offices under th e Crown.

X I I I

Towns became a necessity w ith the progress of m aterial refinement and the growth of handicrafts and commerce.

As we have seen, the Polish towns of th e la te r Middle Ages largely developed through G erm an colonisation and were endowed with self-government on th e German

32

(37)

T H E G E N T R Y , T H E TO W N S, T H E VILLAGES model. Being founded, however, round th e existing castles, the towns contained a nucleus of old Polish population, which in course of tim e assim ilated the German elem ent. H aving to p ay re n t for th e ground th ey stood on and for th e use of business premises and other public buildings, as well as fees for jurisdiction, the towns were sources of large income to th e princes; on the other hand, th eir new in h ab itan ts them selves prospered by pursuing commerce w ithout th e pressure of any com

petition, th e fetters of adm inistrative control, or th e binden of S tate taxation. W ithin th eir self-governing social organism som ething like th e power of the m odern trade unions is organised over th e individual citizen by the compulsory organisation of all professions into craft- guilds. The townsm en m ay own lan d in the neighbourhood of the tow n; th ey bear arm s, like th e gentry, and their trained m ilitary force occasionally m akes its power felt in Poland’s civil wars.

X IV

I t was n o t only th e towns around the castles, b u t also villages in the em pty and uncultivated spaces of the country, which were organised by im ported settlers from Germany, N orthern France an d the Flem ish lands, who became the bailiffs of th e new settlem ents; th e nam e Hollander for a free peasant long survived in Poland as a trace of this foreign origin. The inhabitants gathering round th e foreign organisers were largely Polish; and later on, th e colonisation of w aste lands by Polish peasants from more densely populated districts became th e rule.

This went on in the central provinces of Poland until the fifteenth century, and m uch longer in th e v a st unpeopled expanses of th e E astern borderlands, where i t is being continued in the new Poland of to-day. The villages, like

33 c

(38)

the towns, were system atically planned in th e ir archi- tectnre and organised on a basis of self-governm ent of German type in their adm inistration. I t was from Ger

m any also th a t the system of th e “three fields” was introduced, the common land near th e village being used one-third of it for tilth, one-third for pasture, and one- third left fallow by turns. This m eant progress in the economic exploitation of land, and was m aintained in many Polish villages until fairly recent tim es. >

I t was by degrees only, and in th e shape of custom ary law, th a t peasant serfdom grew up to be an established institution in medieval Poland, as in the other E uropean cormtries of the dime. As the townsmen paid ground-rent to the lord of the castle, so did th e villagers to th e lan d lord of the neighbourhood. Besides, one class of peasants, the actual serfs, had the obligation to till his land for a fixed number of days per week in retu rn for owning th eir land from him. This unpaid labour did n o t y et, in th e early period of the Middle Ages, constitute th e heavy burden upon the peasant into which i t grew later, w ith the development of large estates. N or were the landlord’s powers over the serf tyrannous and unlim ited in th e early tim e; the bailiff and the elders of th e village form a self- governing body, like the m ayor and elected council in th e town. A large portion of the peasants are entirely free in person, and the tenure of th eir land, in retu rn for ground-rent and labour, is fixed and n o t subject to arbitrary change. N either are th e peasants under the control of the adm inistrative officials of th e S tate. Like the gentry and the townsmen, th ey have th eir own courts of law; on these the landlord sits as chairm an in grave criminal cases only, which are judged a t periodical assizes.

The introduction of German colonists, who would settle on the liberal terms of German law only, of course to ld in favour of the legal position of th e old Polish p ea sa n try as

04

(39)

CONDITIONS OF DAILY LIFE

well, who in m any cases obtained th e same privileges.

On the other hand, th e Polish elem ent in the village, as in the towns, showed its assim ilative power: the foreign new-comers became, in a very few generations, entirely Polish, even more quickly th a n th e larger and more organised communities of German settlers in the towns.

XV

A fter th e political and the social conditions we m ay, in conclusion, briefly envisage the actual daily life of the people of Poland in the early Middle Ages in its m aterial aspects.

From the details already given as to the founding of towns and villages by foreign colonists, it m ay be inferred how undeveloped a country Poland, on the whole, still was in th e earlier centuries of the Middle Ages. Vast virgin forests and stretches of m arsh and bog were only beginning to disappear, and on the frontiers the forest was purposely left untouched, to bar access to invaders.

Agriculture is still in its infancy, and hunting and cattle- breeding are more im p o rtan t occupations. H andicrafts are practised in an elem entary way, and for domestic needs only. W h at tra d e there is is in th e hands of Germans and Jews in th e W est, and Russians and Greeks on the“

E astern side. Foreign currencies are largely used, until the discovery of silver-mines in South-W estern Poland m akes the coining of Polish money possible. The people, and even their rulers, live in wooden houses of prim itive s tru c tu re ; and wood is also the m aterial used for the building of churches, and of towers and palisades on the walls which surround the towns. A national style of wooden architec

ture develops, which survives in m odern Polish peasant art. Only in the eleventh century buildings of stone, and in the later tw elfth century of brick, begin to arise. B ut

85

(40)

a prolonged period of peace and security as well as en

lightened initiative is needed to carry Polish architecture forward to the higher achievements which it reaches a t last in the fourteenth century, when all these conditions are provided in a reunited Poland by the wise rule of Casimir the Great.

36

(41)

LECTURE II

RENUNION AND PEACEFUL PROGRESS

I

In the th irte e n th century it was still an open question w hether Poland would occupy a perm anent place in th e E uropean system as a united and independent State.

The territorial division seemed to be progressing tow ards the same dissolution which was by th a t tim e overtaking the Southern Russian Em pire of Kiev. The T a rta r in vasion and its devastations, w ith consequent German colonisation on a large scale, seemed to obliterate th e very national physiognom y of Poland. Finally, reunion under a Czech king seemed to seal th e fate of th e Polish Em pire.

A large and independent Poland could only be created by a personality gifted w ith th e organising energy of genius, th e governing capacity of a born ruler, an d the heroism of a m ilitary leader. These qualities appeared upon th e scene, united in th e indom itable person of King Ladislas th e Short. Twice expelled from his country, he returns for a th ird tim e, to tak e final possession of th e throne after three years of guerrilla w arfare and th e deaths of two Czech rivals in succession (1306). B ut th e whole quarter of a century of his rule is still filled w ith incessant struggles for reunion. A t first W estern Poland does not recognise him, preferring to subm it to a Silesian duke;

th en th e townsm en of his own capital, Cracow, revolt against him. In both cases it is th e new German elem ent in the country w hich refuses to be governed by a purely Polish m onarch, whose popular w atchw ord was “Poland for th e Poles.” A t th e same tim e th e foreign German power—P oland’s arch-enem y, th e K nights of th e Cross—-

37

(42)

profit by an alliance concluded w ith th em under stress of necessity, and seize the Baltic coast province of Poland.

Out of all the adversities the king emerges victorious a t home, and successful, to some ex ten t a t least, abroad.

In his last battle, 1331, he inflicts a tem porary check on the German Knights, who were strong enough by th a t time not to recognise even an aw ard of th e Pope in favour of Poland, and had found an ally in th e Czech king as a pretender to the Polish Crown.

Against this double enemy the Polish m onarch h a d sought alliances, w ith his Southern neighbour, H ungary, on the one hand, and his N o rth-E astern neighbour, Lithuania, on the other, in th e usual form of dynastic marriages. In his domestic struggles he h a d had the support of the native Polish p easantry against th e foreign candidates favoured by th e German settlers.

I I

Both these lines of policy—-the dynastic alliances w ith neighbouring States and good relations betw een th e Crown and the peasant elem ent a t home—were inherited b y Ladislas’s son, Casimir I I I (1333-1370), an d skilfully developed with a view to peaceful consolidation above all. A true Prince of Peace among th e m ilita n t kings of those storm y early ages, he becam e an em pire-builder by this new and different means, and earned b y i t his surname of the Great. H e is th e only Polish king to whom history has given it, after his rem ote ancestor Boleslas I, who won it by building up a large em pire w ith his sword.

Casimir s greatness was achieved, on th e contrary, by a consistently peaceful policy—a policy of peace alm ost a t any price, and certainly not free from diplom atic intrigue, which he used deliberately as a weapon prefer

able to war. Not in this respect only, b u t in others, Casimir 38

(43)

CA SIM IR T H E G R E A T

a t first would seem to have little of th e m arks of greatness about him. B oth his yo u th in his sister’s brilliant H u n garian Court an d his late r life are full of passionate love adventures. Luxury-loving an d effeminate, he h ad grieved his warlike fa th e r’s h e a rt b y cowardly flight from a b a ttle field ; and, a tta ch e d to foreign, W estern European m anners and customs, he seemed to be little qualified for becoming as popular w ith his Polish subjects as his father, who was th e em bodim ent of anti-G erm an national reaction.

I t was under no very favourable auspices, then, th a t he began a reign w hich m eant a m ost thorough change of system in comparison, n o t w ith his fa th e r’s only, b u t w ith th e m ilitary spirit of several great Polish rulers before him. I t was only th e assured self-consciousness of creative political genius which enabled Casimir to persist from first to last in his deliberately peaceful policy against th e trem endous odds of national diffidence. In th e light of history, th e th ree decades of his reign look indeed w hat a Polish historian called th em —a m asterpiece of a rt in logical continuity an d u n ity of purpose. I t is this purpose—th e welfare a n d developm ent of his country—

which lifts him above th e m ere fam ily am bition of his neighbours in H ungary and Bohemia, though th e a ctu al means he uses in foreign policy to ensure peace and safety for his dom estic schemes are as unscrupulous as those employed by those neighbours themselves. In th e quarrels between th e G erm an em peror and th e Czech king he changes sides w henever he thinks it ex p ed ien t; and when th a t ty p e of knight-errantry, th e Bohemian K ing John of Luxem burg (who was to fall in th e b a ttle of Crecy), invades Polish territo ry , Casimir cynically m akes mockery of th e decaying ideals of adventurous chivalry b y chal

lenging th e blind old m an to settle th e dispute in a duel.

B ut more tangible objects th a n th e abstractions of moral 39

(44)

dignity and chivalrous honour had to be sacrificed in order to gain for Poland the coveted H esperide apples of pros

perity and culture. I t is one of th e lessons m ost fully borne out by individual experience, as well as b y th e history of nations, th a t nothing in hum an life is got for nothing.

Casimir had to pay for half a century of peace by renun

ciations, the full weight of which only m ade itself felt in later history, and p artly troubles even th e Poland of to-day.

The gravest of these sacrifices which stan d to Casimir’s debit account in Polish annals was th e surrender of Silesia. The loss of this W estern border country was p re pared in the period of Poland’s disastrous divisions by the peaceful penetration of German influence among its territorial princes and the loosening of th eir connection with the centre of Poland. Casimir, a t th e very beginning of his reign, and w ith a heavy h eart, to o k th e decisive s te p : he ceded his liege lordship over Silesia to th e Czech king in return for the la tte r’s resignation of his claims to the Polish Crown (1335). The price was even higher than th a t, for a large sum of m oney a n d th e sovereignty over the central Polish province of M asovia w ent w ith it. Masovia was recovered in course of tim e, its prince did homage to Casimir, and when th e territo rial d y n asty died out in the fifteenth century th e province was finally incorporated in Poland. B ut Silesia shared, since Casimir, the fortunes of all lands of the Czech Crown, an d was exposed, together with them , to growing G erm an influ

ence; it finally got under Prussian rule for nearly two centuries. I t is one of th e m ost m agnificent proofs of th e national vitality of the Polish p easant stock th a t the South-Eastern section of Silesia a t least, becoming p a rt of Poland again in our days after six hundred years of separation, should still be purely Polish in th e body of its country population.

40

(45)

SACRIFICES FOR PEACE

I I I

Silesia was th e only jewel tak e n out of th e Polish Crown perm anently m Casimir’s tim e, b u t not th e only province signed away. Besides th e Czech rival for th e Crown, one other dangerous neighbour h ad to be m itigated—the German K nights. A fter concluding an arm istice w ith them on th e very day of his coronation, Casimir skilfully protracted diplom atic negotiations w ith them for ten years, un til th e regained strength of Poland allowed him to conclude a final agreem ent on fairly equal term s.

Trickery on his p a rt was n ot w anting in this diplom atic game, particularly in th e w ay he secured th e sym pathy of th e Popes, th e n residing a t Avignon. Casimir’s intrigues were th e necessary and highly skilful counter-manoeuvres to th e undoubted b ad faith of th e Germans. In th e end the Germans h a d to be bought off a t no less heavy a price th an th e Czechs: Casimir voluntarily resigned to them the two provinces nearest to th e B altic shore in return for two others nearer to th e h e a rt of Poland (1343). B ut the struggle for th e B altic shore, th a t v ita l outlet for Polish agricultural export and trad e, was soon to be renewed.

The only gain of Casimir’s reign, counterbalancing th e losses of Silesia and of th e B altic provinces, was, indeed, no inconsiderable one. E ver since th e dawn of history wars had been going on betw een Poland and th e South Russian princes for th e territo ry of Red Russia, called in modern tim es E astern Galicia, after its ancient capital, the town of Halicz. The disintegration of South Russia by territorial divisions an d dynastic feuds proceeded even a t a more intense rate th a n th a t of Poland in th e th irteen th century, and Casimir finally profited by th e extinction of th e provincial line of princes governing the disputed province, to tak e possession of it by virtue

41