Test of Nobility

Nagana szlachectwa (Latin: 'Vituperatio nobilitatis'), literally reprobation/reprimand/censure of nobility, also translated by Norman Davies as Test of Nobility[1] was a legal procedure of the revocation of nobility in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Descripiton

Due to the absence of formalized heraldry laws and lineage in early Poland, nobility of a person was tested in a regular court.[2] The confirmation of nobility was based on calling for a certain number of witnesses. In Poland this was in accordance with the 1633 statute,[3] in Lithuania by Chapter 3, Article 22 of the 1588 Statute.[4] The latter demanded two witnesses each from the maternal and paternal side. The penalty for perjury was being stripped of one's own szlachta status, by the Constitution of 1601.[5]

In case of the successful nagana, the accuser earned up to half of the property of the accused,[6] with the other half going to the state.[7] The justice was highly prone to miscarriage, in particular, to abusive ennoblement[8] Therefore, this procedure was gradually restricted in various ways. After 1581, the procedures took place before either the Crown Tribunal or the Lithuanian Tribunal.[9]

Norman Davies conjectures that this practice was among the factors leading to the establishment of a unique Polish practice of heraldic clans.[1] It is also asserted that this practice led to development of extensive personal archiving and archive research among Polish nobility.[6]

See also

References
  1. Norman Davies, God's Playground,
  2. Semkowicz, W. (1900). Nagana i oczyszczenie szlachectwa w Polsce XIV i XV wieku. Vol. 1. Z druk. W. Łozińskiego. p. 15. Retrieved 2015-06-25.
  3. "Volumina legum. Book 3". Ohryzko Jozafat. 1859.
  4. "Statut Wielkiego Xięstwa Litewskigo naprzód, za Naiaśnieyszego Hospodara Króla Jegomości Zygmunta III. w Krakowie w Roku 1588... teraz zaś piąty raz, za szczęśliwie panuiącego Naiaśnieyszego Krola jegomości Augusta Trzeciego przedrukowany" (in Polish). Drukarnia Akademicka Soc. Jesu. 1744.
  5. "Volumina legum. Book 2". Pan Biblioteka Kórnicka. Ohryzko Jozafat. 1859.
  6. Robert Degen, Wiesław Nowosad. "Archiwa - Kancelarie - Zbiory. Pierwszy polski rocznik archiwozoficzny". home.umk.pl. Retrieved 2015-06-25.
  7. Smoleński, Władysław (1919). Dzieje narodu polskiego. Warsaw.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. Instytut Sztuki (Polska Akademia Nauk) (1991). Polish Art Studies. Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. ISSN 0208-7243. Retrieved 2015-06-25.
  9. Pawlikowski, Michał (2012). Sądownictwo grodzkie w przedrozbiorowej Rzeczypospolitej. Strzałków. ISBN 978-83-933262-1-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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