In the 18th century Poland (a short term for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) was gradually falling into the sphere of influence of neighbouring countries: Russia, Prussia and Austria. The previous century’s conflicts with Sweden, Russia and Turkey, and the Cossack rebellions in the borderlands, had significantly weakened the Commonwealth. The strong position of the nobility with the infamous liberum veto (the free veto), paralysing any parliamentary proceedings, and the limited power of the king, gravely contributed to the political and economic decline of the state.  The phrase “Poland stands by anarchy” clearly defined the political system of the state at the time.

The election of Stanislaw August Poniatowski  to the throne in 1764 resulted in eager attempts by enlightened Poles to avert further deterioration of the state. However, the opposition of conservative magnates and gentry, supported vigorously by Russia, against a radical programme of reforms, brought about the First Partition of Poland by Russia, Austria and Prussia in 1772. The shock of the Partition mobilized patriotic circles to increase their efforts to restore the Commonwealth through a series of reforms.  As a result the Commission of National Education and the Corps of Cadets were established.  The Four-Year Diet held in Warsaw between 1788 and 1792 instituted reforms, of which the most important was the adoption of the Constitution of 3 May 1791.

Ustawa rządowa. Prawo uchwalone. Dnia 3. Maia, roku 1791. (Warsaw, [1791]). [Government Act. The law enacted on 3rd May, 1791]  British Library Cup.403.l.8

The Constitution was an act regulating the scope of state rule and a reorganisation of the system of power according to  Montesquieu’s theory, i.e. the division of powers into legislative, executive and judicial. It abolished the two pillars of the gentry’s “Golden Freedom”: free elections of individual kings and the liberum veto. It subsequently established constitutional monarchy as well as vested legislative power in the Diet.  The introduction of political equality between burghers and gentry was another significant provision of the Constitution. It also gave way for the gradual process of free development for the peasants who, for the first time in Polish history, were recognised as part of the nation. In addition it guaranteed freedom to all religious denominations, though Catholicism remained the state religion.  The crushing of the Constitution was inevitable as it made the state governable again and this was against the interests of the neighbouring powers, particularly Russia. Two subsequent partitions followed, and by 1795 Poland was wiped off the map of Europe.  

An allegory of the Constitution from: Goettinger Taschen Calender vom Jahr 1793 (Göttingen, 1793)  C.109.e.2

The Polish Constitution aroused great interest throughout the world. It was preceded only by the Constitution of the United States of 1787 and predated the French Constitution by a few months. The document was widely discussed in the press in Western Europe and North America, and was immediately translated into French and English. It reflected the spirit of the Enlightenment. Although the Constitution had its shortcomings, it was a milestone in the history of law.

Translation of the Constitution into French: Forme Constitutionelle de la Pologne (Paris, 1791) 114.i.11

It is considered the first modern constitution in Europe and one of the world’s greatest documents of freedom. The 3 May Constitution is as precious to the Polish people as Magna Carta is to the English.

Magda Szkuta, Curator East-Central European Collections

Further reading:

Konstytucja 3 Maja 1791. (Warsaw, 2001) OPK.2005.x.169

Constitution and Reform in Eighteenth-Century Poland. The Constitution of 3 May 1791. Edited by Samuel Fiszman.  (Bloomington, 1997)  98/09571

Henryk Kocój,  Dyplomacja Prus, Austrii i Rosji wobec Konstytucji 3 maja 1791. (Kraków, 1998)  YA.2003.a.583

In a new guest post for European Literature Night 2015 Rosie Goldsmith, presenter of the authors’ event and chair of the judging panel, casts her vote for European Literature.

It will hardly have escaped your notice that we are in the midst of an election campaign in the UK and that one of the key platforms is European literature: do we allow it in to the UK or do we keep it out? Is it taking over our home-grown English literature? Should there be a referendum on it? What are the business advantages to the UK of supporting it? And so on.

On May 13th there’ll be some key post-election analysis at our annual ‘European Literature Night’ at the British Library. However, as your host I feel obliged to warn you that I have already come out in favour of European Literature. Sorry, but The Lady’s Not For Turning.

We’ve enjoyed an impressive pre-election build-up. Our ELN manifesto was published in early autumn 2014; nominations closed in December; the jury met in January 2015; early results were published in March 2015. In the interests of transparency and full disclosure I reprint some sections of the official ‘ELN Call For Participation’, sent out to all ‘Cultural Institutes or Embassies, literary organisations, educational institutions, publishers, booksellers and professional literature practitioners’ stating that nominated writers,

* Must be reasonably established in their home country…..
* Must have had a book published in English after January 2012 or ….by May 2015;
should preferably speak English sufficiently well to be able to participate in readings and discussions.
* Must supply an extract of work (up to 15 pages of a novel or a small selection of poems).

As ELN party leader for the seventh year running (although my re-election seems to be based purely on my shoe choice), I take my responsibilities seriously. My New Year’s Eve was spent  reading through 44 literary extracts from all over Europe, including a high representation of what is officially termed lesser-known languages and minority cultures in UK-Eurolit politics: Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Macedonia, Slovakia and Slovenia. And if you are a keen pollster and trend-spotter you’ll be pleased to know there was a good spread between ‘East’ and ‘West’ (are we permitted to distinguish these days?), of publishers, of well-known and lesser-known writers; a broader spread of genres than other years – including our first e-book and Young Adult novel. But one trend remains constant: the presence of the big fat Spanish novel. (Discuss: do the Spanish write longer novels than other nationalities?).

Rosie Goldsmith interviewing French author Antoine Laurain at European Literature Night 2o14

The quality of translations was also excellent (an upward trend). And a first: nearly half of all submissions were written by women. Sadly though, by the time we judges convened, and I was forced to relinquish total control over the party, our final selection of 6 authors comprised 4 men and only 2 women (although one author masquerades as a woman – the French novelist Yasmina Khadra is a man).

However, reflecting the UK’s general election landscape, ELN boasts a high representation of women in leading positions, both running the campaign and the final show: Sarah Sanders and Sharmilla Beezmohun of ‘Speaking Volumes Live Literature Productions’;  Janet Zmroczek, Head of European Studies at the British Library and the deputy Director of the Czech Centre Renata Clark. (And I hesitate to point this out, but I am also a woman.) Increasingly though ELN men are forging ahead and making up for decades of oppression. See the full list of events and participating male members here.

So what are we to make of our final list of candidates? Our Six Authors in Search of Fame and Fortune in the UK are supremely multi-cultural, a testament to the broadmindedness of the British voting public, a guaranteed boost to the publishing and bookselling economy (book sales at ELN in 2014 were, to quote one voter’ ‘bonkers’) – and quite frankly all six books are a joy to read.

The busy ELN bookstall

Naja Marie Aidt brings her crisp and clear short story collection Baboon from Denmark, although rather excitingly she is originally from Greenland (another ELN first); Yasmina Khadra, author of The African Equation is that superb male novelist from France, writing under his wife’s name (how times have changed, dear Reader); Andrea Bajani is a novelist, playwright and journalist from Italy and for once the book blurb is correct - Every Promise is ‘remarkable’; Wioletta Greg from Poland is this year’s perfect ELN poet, taking us on a moving literary journey through her family history with her collection Finite Formulae and Theories of Chance; Evald Flisar is from Slovenia and his novel My Father’s Dreams is, as promised, ‘controversial’, ‘shocking’ and ‘sensual’ (an erotic first for ELN!), whereas Jesús Carrasco from Spain has written the heart-breaking, visceral  novel Out In The Open – compared with Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and, bucking all Spanish trends, it is only 184 pages long.

So, there you have it: my vote in May is for European Literature. And as party leader I encourage you to vote ELN too. See you at the polling booths on May 13th.

Rosie Goldsmith