A foray ( pl, zajazd, be, наезд, nayezd, uk, наїзд, naizd) was a traditional method of law enforcement in

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

and

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 Crown of the Kingdom of ...

. In view of the weakness of the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...

in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, it was used by members of the

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...

to defend their rights. In legal practice, foray was sanctioned by

starosta The starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', german: link=no, Starost, Hauptmann) is a term of Slavic origin denoting a community elder whose role was to administer the assets of a clan or family estates. Th ...

officials, and was the fourth step in the execution of a legal ruling. After the guilty party refused to abandon the disputed property, starosta would call his supporters as well as opponents of the guilty party (therefore creating a temporary force of

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

) and attempt to remove the guilty party from his manor. Since the mid-17th century, forays were increasingly done without a legal sanction simply when a member of

would gather his supporters and raid an estate of his opponent. They would become a common occurrence during the period of '' noble's anarchy'' in the Commonwealth. In literature, forays were most famously portrayed in

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (; 24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish Ro ...

's ''

Pan Tadeusz ''Pan Tadeusz'' (full title: ''Mister Thaddeus, or the Last Foray in Lithuania: A Nobility's Tale of the Years 1811–1812, in Twelve Books of Verse'') is an epic poem by the Polish poet, writer, translator and philosopher Adam Mickiewicz. The b ...

'', as well as in ''The Trilogy'' (''

With Fire and Sword ''With Fire and Sword'' ( pl, Ogniem i mieczem, links=no) is a historical novel by the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz, published in 1884. It is the first volume of a series known to Poles as The Trilogy, followed by ''The Deluge'' (''Potop'', ...

'', ''

The Deluge The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is the Hebrew version of the universal flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the microc ...

'', ''

Fire in the Steppe ''Pan Michael'' ( pl, Pan Wołodyjowski; also translated into English as ''Sir Michael'' and ''Colonel Wolodyjowski''; literally, ''Sir Wołodyjowski'') is a historical novel by the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz, published in 1887. It is the ...

'') of

Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish writer, novelist, journalist and Nobel Prize laureate. He is best remembered for his historical novels, especi ...

External links

Andriy Blanuca. Tradition of forays
{{in lang, uk Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Legal history of Poland Law enforcement in Poland