Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

Get access

Aristocratic nation
(931 words)

1. Concept

The term aristocratic nation, found in Polish sources from around the mid-16th century (naród szlachecki), denotes a structural characteristic that was prominent throughout the eastern reaches of Central Europe in the Late Middle Ages and the transition to the early modern period: the unusually high degree of aristocratic influence on the construction of the state. Between 1300 and 1500, as estates-based constitutions became consolidated in Poland, Bohemia, and Hungary, the nob…

Cite this page
Bahlcke, Joachim, “Aristocratic nation”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_016589>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20160321



▲   Back to top   ▲