Nihil novi

Etymology

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.

"Nihil novi" in this political sense, is interpreted in the vernacular as "Nothing about us without us" (in Polish, "Nic o nas bez nas").

History

Nihil novi effectively established "nobles' democracy" in what came to be known as the Polish "Commonwealth or [Republic] of the Nobility". It was a major component of the evolution and eventual dominant position of the Polish parliament (Sejm).

''Nihil novi''

The act of Nihil novi was passed in 1505 during a Sejm session in Radom () that lasted from 30 March to 31 May and was held at the . It was signed by King Alexander Jagiellon on 31 March and adopted by the Sejm on 30 May.

The Sejm*'''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 lands (*królewszczyzny''), mines, fiefdoms, royal peasants, and Jews.

Nihil novi invalidated the Privilege of Mielnik, which had strengthened only the magnates, 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. This initiated the period in Polish history known as the "Nobles' Democracy," a limited democracy giving suffrage to male nobility (szlachta), who at the time made up more than 10 percent of the Republic's population.

Text

References

Sources

• Norman Davies, God's Playground: A History of Poland in Two Volumes. Volume I: The Origins to 1795, New York, Columbia University Press, 1982, .
• Sebastian Piątkowski, Radom: zarys dziejów miasta (Radom: A Brief History of the City), Radom, 2000, .
• Adam Zamoyski, The Polish Way: A Thousand-Year History of the Poles and Their Culture, New York, Hippocrene Books, 1994, .

References

1. ''[[King James Version]]'': "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun." ''[[New International Version]]'': "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."
2. Wagner, W.J.. (1992). "May 3, 1791, and the Polish constitutional tradition". The Polish Review.
3. Choińska-Mika, Joanna. (2013). "Obywatele u władzy: narodziny, rozkwit i zmierzch szlacheckiej republiki". Klio. Czasopismo poświęcone dziejom Polski i powszechnym.
4. (1995). "Dzieje Polski średniowiecznej: Od roku 1333 do 1506". Tow. Autorów i Wydawców Prac Naukowych Universitas.
5. Zamoyski, Adam. (1987). "The Polish Way: A Thousand-year History of the Poles and Their Culture". John Murray.
6. (2022). "Polski parlamentaryzm a lekcje historii". Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.
7. Szpoper, Dariusz. (2015). "Cura te ipsum! W odpowiedzi W. Uruszczakowi". Studia z Dziejów Państwa i Prawa Polskiego.
8. "Poznaj Sejm".
9. Translated from [[Polish language. Polish]].