Veteranos milites pod Obertynem (22 sierpnia 1531 r.). Kryterium doboru kadr a merytokratyczny model państwa na przełomie średniowiecza i nowożytności
Veteranos Milites at Obertyn (22 August 1531). Officer Selection Criteria and the Meritocratic Model of the State at the Turn of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period

Summary/Abstract: The frequently discussed topic in the literature concerning the high level of experience (competence) among Polish military commanders during the reign of King Sigismund I the Old has been confronted in this study with a detailed analysis of sources documenting the military activity of Polish captains. This study posits (following Otto Hintze, Max Weber, Charles Tilly, and Thomas Ertman) that the bureaucratisation of the state based upon meritocratic principles of personnel selection, including military personnel, is an indicator of the transformation of a medieval polity into an early modern state. However, analysis of the available sources reveals that, in the case of the military campaign under examination, such criteria were not of primary importance, since half of the commanders accepted into service were assuming this role for the first time. Nevertheless, broader research has made it possible to reconstruct the general trajectories of individual military careers among these captains, demonstrating that participation in the 1531 campaign marked the beginning of long-term military careers for many of them.

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