Skartabellat (lat. ''scartabellat'') was a specific form of nobilitation in

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

. Introduced by

pacta conventa ''Pacta conventa'' (Latin for "articles of agreement") was a contractual agreement, from 1573 to 1764 entered into between the "Polish nation" (i.e., the szlachta (nobility) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth) and a newly elected king upon ...

of 1669,

ennoblement Ennoblement is the conferring of nobility—the induction of an individual into the noble class. Currently only a few kingdoms still grant nobility to people; among them Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Vatican. Depending on time and reg ...

into a sort of lower nobility. Skartabels could not hold public offices or be members of the

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

. After 3 generations in noble ranks these families would "mature" to peerage. Most scartabellats came from burghers; the institution was abolished in 1817.

Sources

* Oswald Balzer: "Skartabelat w ustroju szlachetstwa polskiego", Kraków, 1911 Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Polish nobility Legal history of Poland {{Lithuania-hist-stub

See also

Sources