Hiberna in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, also known as "chleb zimowy" (winter bread), was an obligation to guarantee accommodation for troops during winter time. It was an obligation of ''Królewszczyzna'' ( crown lands) and church estates. Initially it was paid in kind, in 1649-1652 it was a targeted tax to support the troops collected by Grand Crown Hetman. Over time ''hiberna'' absorbed some other taxes (e.g. Jewish poll tax and '' kwarta'') and extended to other population categories.''Scepter of Judah: The Jewish Autonomy in the Eighteenth-Century Crown Poland''
pp. 16-17
/ref> The term is borrowed from

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

, where the '' castra hiberna'' were a winter camps for

Roman legions The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizens serving as legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 infantry and 300 cavalry. After the Marian reforms in 1 ...

References

{{reflist Military history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Legal history of Poland Abolished taxes