Nihil novi
Encyclopedia
Nihil novi nisi commune consensu ("Nothing new without the common consent
") is the original Latin
title of a 1505 act
adopted by the Polish
Sejm
(parliament
), meeting in the royal castle at Radom
.
Nihil novi effectively established "nobles' democracy
" in what came to be known as the Polish "Commonwealth
[or, Republic
] of the Nobility." That First Polish Republic would come to an end in 1795 with the Third and final Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
.
"Nihil novi," in this political
sense, is interpreted in the vernacular
as "Nothing about us without us
" (in Polish
, "Nic o nas bez nas").
The Latin expression, "nihil novi" ("nothing new"), had previously appeared in the Vulgate Bible phrase, "nihil novi sub sole" ("there is nothing new under the sun"), in Ecclesiastes
1:9.
s 1505 Act of Nihil novi nisi commune consensu marked an important victory for Poland's nobility
over her Kings. It forbade the King to issue laws without the consent of the nobility, represented by the Senat and Chamber of Deputies, except for laws governing royal cities
, crown land
s (królewszczyzny), mine
s, fiefdom
s, royal peasant
s, and Jews.
Nihil novi invalidated the Privilege of Mielnik
, which had strengthened only the magnate
s, and it thus tipped the balance of power in favor of the Chamber of Deputies (the formally lower chamber of the Parliament
), where the ordinary nobility
held sway. Nihil novi is often regarded as initiating the period in Polish history
known as "Nobles' Democracy," which was but a limited democracy as only males with titles of nobility were able to participate (the nobility constituting some ten percent of the Republic's population, nevertheless a higher eligible percentage than much of Europe).
The act of Nihil novi was signed by King Alexander Jagiellon
on May 3, 1505, during a Sejm session held at the royal castle in Radom
.
That same year, the nobility
further expanded their power by abrogating
most cities'
voting rights in the Sejm
and by forbidding peasant
s to leave their lands without the permission of their feudal lords, thereby firmly establishing a "second serfdom
" in Poland.
Consent of the governed
"Consent of the governed" is a phrase synonymous with a political theory wherein a government's legitimacy and moral right to use state power is only justified and legal when derived from the people or society over which that political power is exercised...
") is the original Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
title of a 1505 act
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
adopted by the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
(parliament
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...
), meeting in the royal castle at Radom
Radom
Radom is a city in central Poland with 223,397 inhabitants . It is located on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship , having previously been the capital of Radom Voivodeship ; 100 km south of Poland's capital, Warsaw.It is home to the biennial Radom Air Show, the largest and...
.
History
Nobles' Democracy
Nobles' Democracy may refer to* History of Poland * Golden Liberty, the political system of that time in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
" in what came to be known as the Polish "Commonwealth
Commonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
[or, Republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
] of the Nobility." That First Polish Republic would come to an end in 1795 with the Third and final Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
.
"Nihil novi," in this political
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
sense, is interpreted in the vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
as "Nothing about us without us
Nothing About Us Without Us
"Nothing About Us Without Us!" is a slogan used to communicate the idea that no policy should be decided by any representative without the full and direct participation of members the group affected by that policy...
" (in Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, "Nic o nas bez nas").
The Latin expression, "nihil novi" ("nothing new"), had previously appeared in the Vulgate Bible phrase, "nihil novi sub sole" ("there is nothing new under the sun"), in Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes
The Book of Ecclesiastes, called , is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew title.The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qoheleth , introduces himself as "son of David, king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal...
1:9.
Nihil novi
The SejmSejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
s 1505 Act of Nihil novi nisi commune consensu marked an important victory for Poland's nobility
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
over her Kings. It forbade the King to issue laws without the consent of the nobility, represented by the Senat and Chamber of Deputies, except for laws governing royal cities
Free Royal Cities Act
The Free Royal Cities Act was an act adopted by the Four-Year Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on April 18, 1791, in the run-up to the adoption of the...
, crown land
Crown land
In Commonwealth realms, Crown land is an area belonging to the monarch , the equivalent of an entailed estate that passed with the monarchy and could not be alienated from it....
s (królewszczyzny), mine
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
s, fiefdom
Fiefdom
A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...
s, royal peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
s, and Jews.
Nihil novi invalidated the Privilege of Mielnik
Privilege of Mielnik
The Privilege of Mielnik was an act granted on October 25, 1501, at Mielnik by Poland's King Alexander Jagiellon. The privilege substantially expanded the powers of the Senate at the expense of the king and de facto introduced a republican form of government...
, which had strengthened only the magnate
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
s, and it thus tipped the balance of power in favor of the Chamber of Deputies (the formally lower chamber of the Parliament
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
), where the ordinary nobility
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
held sway. Nihil novi is often regarded as initiating the period in Polish history
History of Poland
The History of Poland is rooted in the arrival of the Slavs, who gave rise to permanent settlement and historic development on Polish lands. During the Piast dynasty Christianity was adopted in 966 and medieval monarchy established...
known as "Nobles' Democracy," which was but a limited democracy as only males with titles of nobility were able to participate (the nobility constituting some ten percent of the Republic's population, nevertheless a higher eligible percentage than much of Europe).
The act of Nihil novi was signed by King 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...
on May 3, 1505, during a Sejm session held at the royal castle in Radom
Radom
Radom is a city in central Poland with 223,397 inhabitants . It is located on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship , having previously been the capital of Radom Voivodeship ; 100 km south of Poland's capital, Warsaw.It is home to the biennial Radom Air Show, the largest and...
.
That same year, the nobility
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
further expanded their power by abrogating
Abrogation
Abrogation may refer to:* Abrogation of Old Covenant laws, the ending or setting aside of the Old Testament ethics for the New Testament.* Denunciation of a treaty* Abrogation doctrine, a doctrine in United States constitutional law...
most cities'
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
voting rights in the Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
and by forbidding peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
s to leave their lands without the permission of their feudal lords, thereby firmly establishing a "second serfdom
Serfdom
Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...
" in Poland.