Livonia in the Early Modern Period – factors of nobility migration vs. stability Cover Image

Inflanty nowożytne – czynniki szlacheckiej migracji versus stabilizacji
Livonia in the Early Modern Period – factors of nobility migration vs. stability

Author(s): Bougsław Dybàs
Subject(s): Military history, Social history, 16th Century, Migration Studies
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika
Keywords: the Reformation; the Privilege of Sigismund Augustus; nobility; the Northern Wars;

Summary/Abstract: The Privilege of Sigismund Augustus (Latin: Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti) was an act issued in 1561, which constituted the Livonian nobility and stabilized its social position. It had been a significant benchmark throughout the whole early modern period, regardless of whether Livonia’s territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sweden or Russia. Social and geographical mobility of the Livonian nobility was shaped by three factors: 1) Livonians’ service for and affiliations with the aforementioned empires, 2) new state-structures in Livonia, such as the Duchy of Courland, 3) armed conflicts on Livonia’s territory, which involved the local nobility.

  • Issue Year: 35/2015
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 69-83
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Polish