Das Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen und die polnisch-litauische Rzeczpospolita vom 16. bis zum 18. Jahrhundert. Die Anwendung des preußischen Musters und ihre Folgen
The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century: The Application of the Prussian Model

Summary/Abstract: The Treaty of Kraków of 1525, beyond its significance for Polish-Prussian relations, rep-resented an important step in shaping the state structures of the Polish-Lithuanian Common-wealth. The agreement established a model of vassalage in which a dependent territory, uponthe extinction of its ruling dynasty, was intended to be incorporated into the Kingdom of Po-land. A similar arrangement was later applied to part of Livonia, which in 1561 came underthe authority of the Jagiellonian monarchy. The southern portion of this region, Courland, wastransformed into a secular duchy and granted to Gotthard Kettler, the last Livonian Master ofthe Teutonic Order. Despite the growing influence of Russia in the eighteenth century, Cour-land remained a vassal of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until the Third Partition in1795. From the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Courland’s history was shapedby tensions between its dukes and nobility. These disputes were frequently resolved throughroyal or Polish-Lithuanian commissions. In 1617, one such commission established Courland’ssystem of government, the so-called Formula Regiminis, which was explicitly modelled onPolish-Lithuanian institutions. Further commissions operated in 1717 and 1727, among otheroccasions, while the Four-Year Sejm of 1792 also addressed questions concerning Courland’sstatus. Compared to the vassalage of Ducal Prussia, the history of Courland’s relationship withthe Commonwealth has received far less scholarly attention. Yet an examination of the com-missions’ work confirms that the establishment of Courland was a direct continuation of thesystemic policies addressed at vassal territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, firstinitiated by the Treaty of Kraków. This perspective provides a framework for further detailedresearch into the various aspects and mechanisms of this process.

• Details
• Contents