Statutes of Casimir the Great
The Statutes of Casimir the Great or Piotrków-Wiślica Statutes (
Background
In the middle of the 12th century, following the
In the end, due to opposition from various factions, which saw the codification and unification of the legal system in the Kingdom of Poland as weakening their position, Casimir was not able to fully accomplish his task. He was nonetheless able to do so in two major provinces of Poland. The Piotrków statute regulated the law in Greater Poland (Wielkopolska), and the Wiślica statute in Lesser Poland (Małopolska).[5]
The date specific statutes were passed is not certain; it is accepted that most work was done in the years 1346-1362, that it took multiple congresses (wiec), and that both statutes were finished by 1362.[6] Further, historians now agree that the Statutes were partially written after the death of Casimir, and later the entire work was incorrectly attributed to him.[7]
Statutes
About 2/3 of the Statutes concerned the criminal law; the rest, private (civil) law.
Characteristically, most statutes contain not only the law, but explanation (justification) for why it exists.[7]
The Statutes were written in Latin. In the early 15th century they were translated into Polish and later, into Ruthenian. In the late 15th century they were printed.
Importance
The statutes for the first time in Poland codified the existing
Notes
- ISBN 0-415-09682-0.
- ^ "Władysław I the Elbow-high". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
- ^ (in Polish) Kazimierz III Wielki, PWN Encyklopedia
- Encyklopedia WIEM
- ^ (in Polish) Statuty Kazimierza Wielkiego, WIEM Encyklopedia
- ^ Stanisław Kutrzeba, Franciszek Piekosiński jako historyk prawa polskiego, in: Kwartalnik historyczny, Polskie Towarzystwo Historyczne, Lwów, Instytut Historii (Polska Akademia Nauk), 1908
- ^ a b c d e (in Polish) Wacław Uruszczak, STATUTY KAZIMIERZA WIELKIEGO JAKO ŹRÓDŁO PRAWA POLSKIEGO
External links
- Ḟedor Ḟedorovīch Zigel, Lectures on Slavonic law: being the Ilchester lectures for the year 1900, p. 115-118, Google Print (public domain book)
- (in Polish) Statuty Kazimierza Wielkiego, Encyklopedia Internautica