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

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 ...

. Introduced by

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

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 (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

. 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 The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

Legal history of Poland {{Lithuania-hist-stub

See also

Sources