Feudal Duties of the Population in the Light of Old Polish Law. The Case of Public Transport and Traffic Duties

Feudal Duties of the Population in the Light of Old Polish Law. The Case of Public Transport and Traffic Duties Article · January 2020 CITATIONS 6 READS 54 2 authors, including: Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: The Hundredth Anniversary of Regaining Independence of Poland (1918-2018) View project Local Law of Self-Government Units in Poland View project Marcin Konarski 65 PUBLICATIONS 140 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE All content following this page was uploaded by Marcin Konarski on 02 March 2021. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Source: Acta Iuridica Olomucensia Acta Iuridica Olomucensia Location: Czech Republic Author(s): Marcin Konarski Title: FEUDAL DUTIES OF THE POPULATION IN THE LIGHT OF OLD POLISH LAW. Feudal duties of the population in the light of old polish law Issue: 1/2020 Citation style: Marcin Konarski. "FEUDAL DUTIES OF THE POPULATION IN THE LIGHT OF OLD POLISH LAW.". Acta Iuridica Olomucensia 1:22-35. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=932831 The Central and Eastern European Online Library The joined archive of hundreds of Central-, East- and South-East-European publishers, research institutes, and various content providers You have downloaded a document from CEEOL copyright 2021 CEEOL copyright 2021 22 23 AIO, 2020, Vol. 15, No. 1 © Palacký University Olomouc, 2020. ISSN 1801- 0288 FEUDAL DUTIES OF THE POPULATION IN THE LIGHT OF OLD POLISH LAW. The case of public transport and traffic duties Marcin Konarski Konarski, Marcin. Feudal duties of the population in the light of old polish law. Acta Iuridica Olomucensia, 2020, Vol. 15, No. 1, s. 22–35. Abstract. The aim of this article is to analyse issues related to the public duties to provide transport services and traffic facilities in old Polish law. As is commonly known, the population was obliged to provide tributes and labour services to the ruler and the collection of tributes and the enforcement of the performance of all obligations was based on coercion; the application of coercion required a legal sanction. The transport and traffic obligations under consideration, apart from the tributes, were the heaviest burdens that the serfs had to bear, both in the case of fulfilling this obligation in the system of ducal [public] law (ius ducale) and serfdom‑agricultural (private) legal system. In the latter case, such duties were usually included in the applicable standard of weekly work, and were often required outside the standard. The subject of the analysis are only transport and traffic services of a public nature, i.e. those required under ducal law. The author presents individual categories of these duties, referring to the relevant literature and citing the provisions of selected normative acts which regulate these public duties. Key words: economic history, feudalism, old Polish law, ducal law obligations, Volumina Legum, public transport and traffic duties, Podvodas CEEOL copyright 2021 CEEOL copyright 2021 22 23 AIO, 2020, Vol. 15, No. 1 © Palacký University Olomouc, 2020. ISSN 1801- 0288 1 Introduction Transport and traffic duties of both European and Polish population derive their origins (which is something I will draw attention to later on in the article) from the ancient times and the early Middle Ages,1 while the obligation to provide means of transport for the army in the mobilisation systems of the 19th and 20th centuries, analysed in this article, had a similar meaning as in the Middle Ages, i.e. in the opinion of O. Balzer it meant “the obligation to provide a prince (duke), or some official, with a cart or a carriage/coach, together with a team and possibly a coachman, so that he could move from one town to another”.2 The transport and traffic duties that are the subject of our analysis can be divided into public services, which are of interest to us, and those which I call “private”,3 which will be not discussed in this article. Let us say only at this point that these “private” transport services were provided by peasant serfs and the farms as a separate form of unpaid labour services [pańszczyzna], and therefore resulted directly from serfdom,4 regulated by the norms of rural 1 The oldest information on this duty comes from ancient Persia and Greece, see WIELOPOLSKI, Alfred. Zarys gospodarczych dziejów transportu. Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Komunikacji i Łączności, 1975, p. 115. 2 BALZER, Oswald. Historia ustroju Polski. Lwów: Towarzystwo Biblioteka Słuchaczów Prawa UJK we Lwowie, 1933, pp. 160-161. Cf. NOWAK, Tadeusz. Wojskowość polska w latach 1138-1340. In SIKORSKI, Janusz (ed). Zarys dziejów wojskowości polskiej do roku 1864, Volume I. Warszawa: Wy‑ dawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1965, p. 101. 3 Cf. RUTKOWSKI, Jan. Historia gospodarcza Polski, Volume I. Poznań: Księgarnia Akademicka, 1947, p. 46. 4 On the origins of the institution of serfdom and the organisation of the control over land [wład‑ ztwo gruntowe], see: HEGEL, Georg, Wilhelm, Friedrich. Wykłady z filozofii dziejów, translated by A. Zieleńczyk, Warszawa: Gebethner i Wolff, 1919, pp. 386-409 and 418-430; RUTKOWSKI, Jan. Poddaństwo włościan w XVIII wieku w Polsce i niektórych innych krajach Europy. Poznań: Poznańskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk, 1921, p. 13; GRABSKI, Władysław. Historia wsi w Polsce. Warszawa: Kasa im. Mianowskiego, 1929, pp. 111-122; MANTEUFFEL, Taduesz. Geneza feodalizmu. In Pa‑ miętnik V Powszechnego Zjazdu Historyków Polskich w Warszawie 28 listopada do 4 grudnia 1930 r. Referaty, Lwów: Polskie Towarzystwo Historyczne, 1930, p. 29; MANTEUFFEL, Tadeusz. Problem feodalizmu polskiego. Przegląd Historyczny, 1948, no. 37, pp. 62-71; MAŁOWIST, Marian. O niektó‑ rych problemach rozwoju feodalizmu. Przegląd Historyczny, 1948, no. 37, pp. 72-82; ARNOLD, Sta‑ nisław. Uwagi o początkach ustroju feudalnego w Polsce. Przegląd Historyczny, 1950, no. 41, pp. 9-20; KULISZER, Józef. Powszechna historia gospodarcza średniowiecza i czasów nowożytnych, Volume I, translated by W. Głuchowski. Warszawa: Książka i Wiedza, 1961, pp. 54-65; MĄCZAK, Antoni. Rozwój folwarku pańszczyźnianego. In ZIENTARA, Benedykt, MĄCZAK, Antoni, IHNATOWICZ, Ireneusz, LANDAU, Zbigniew. Dzieje gospodarcze Polski do 1939 r., Warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna, 1965, p. 156. Cf. WEBER, Max. Gospodarka i społeczeństwo. Zarys socjologii rozumiejącej, translated by D. Lachowska. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 2002, p. 192. CEEOL copyright 2021 CEEOL copyright 2021 24 25 AIO, 2020, Vol. 15, No. 1 © Palacký University Olomouc, 2020. ISSN 1801- 0288 law derived from feudal law.5 Private transport and traffic services were required already in ancient times to transport weapons, cloth and equipment of the ruler, and in the early Middle Ages, when they were initially used to bring grain, wood or manure from the castle,6 etc., and their importance increased in the period of shaping the manorial‑serfdom economy in Poland in the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries.7 Such obligations were usually included in the applicable standard for weekly work, and were often required outside the standard. Transport services of the rural population were mainly used to transport grain from manors to local markets (the co‑called small roads within a radius of up to 35 kilometres) and more distant market centres (the so‑called large roads over 150 kilometres), especially to ports on navigable rivers and to large cities.8 Transport duties were extremely damaging to draught animals and equipment, often causing days of 5 Rural law was created within the scope corresponding to both public and judicial law, as a result of obtaining immunities and the location of villages, which began to be legally distinct. As S. Kutrzeba emphasises, „the basis of this law was either Polish land law or German law; in villages incorporated on the basis of this law, Russian or Lithuanian law; and, finally, in villages located on Wallachian law, Wallachian law“, KUTRZEBA, Stanisław. Historia źródeł dawnego prawa polskiego, Volume II. Lwów: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1925, p. 317-318; KUTRZEBA, Stanisław. Historia źródeł dawnego prawa polskiego, Volume II. Lwów: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1925, p. 318. 6 Cf. ĆWIEK, Zbigniew. Z dziejów wsi koronnej XVII wieku. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo PWN, 1966, pp. 155-156; WAJS, Hubert. Powinności feudalne chłopów na Mazowszu od XIV do początku XVI wieku (w dobrach monarszych i kościelnych). Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1986, p. 111, 113, 116-117. 7 Cf. RUTKOWSKI, Jan. Historia gospodarcza…, p. 281; RUSIŃSKI, Władysław. Drogi rozwoju fol‑ warku pańszczyźnianego. Przegląd Historyczny, 1956, no. 4, pp. 617-655. 8 See RUTKOWSKI, Jan. Studia z dziejów wsi polskiej XVI‑XVIII w. Warszawa: Państwowe Wyda‑ wnictwo Naukowe, 1956, p. 227-228; FALINOWSKA‑GRADOWSKA, Alicja. Świadczenia podda‑ nych na rzecz dworu w królewszczyznach województwa krakowskiego w drugiej połowie XVIII wieku. Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1964, p. 122; RUSSOCKI, Stanisław, KAMLER, Mar‑ cin. Hasło: podwody. In MĄCZAK, Antoni (ed). Encyklopedia historii gospodarczej Polski do 1945 roku, Vol. II. Warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna, 1981, p. 93. In the Middle Ages, roads were divided into rural and public roads. “The oldest list of Polish law”, i.e. the „Book of Elbląg“, defines the rural road as one that leads from village to village, but does not define the state road. The duke guaranteed peaceful movement on public roads, and he ordered severe sanctions for any disturbance of the pe‑ ace. Thus, there was a legal difference between the public road and the rural road, as the former was covered by ducal peace (mir książęcy), while the latter was not, see WYROZUMSKA, Bożena. Drogi w ziemi krakowskiej do końca XVI wieku. Kraków: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1977, p. 14, 17. For more about the legal institution of road obligation, see ROSSET, Adriana. Drogi i mosty w średniowieczu i w czasach odrodzenia. Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Komunikacji i Łączności, 1974, pp. 163-165. CEEOL copyright 2021 CEEOL copyright 2021 24 25 AIO, 2020, Vol. 15, No. 1 © Palacký University Olomouc, 2020. ISSN 1801- 0288 separation of peasants from their own farms,9 thus constituting one of the heaviest obliga‑ tions arising from the serfdom with which the rural population had to face for centuries.10 In the early Middle Ages, the burden of transport and traffic services on peasant farms varied in character and scope. The obligations to which the free rural population (liberi),11 and the peasants fixed to the ground (ascriptitii)12 were obliged towards the reigning mo‑ narch can be divided into three categories. Thus, the peasant population was obliged to pay tributes,13 duties and tolls, and – what is of most interest for us – provide the public and 9 See ĆWIEK, Zbigniew. Z dziejów wsi…, p. 154. Cf. BOROWSKI, Stanisław. Kształtowanie się rolnic‑ zego rynku pracy w Wielkopolsce w okresie wielkich reform agrarnych 1807-1860. Poznań: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1963, p. 74. 10 The volume of such journeys was usually determined by inventories but many supplications contain complaints that peasants were coerced to make different journeys in excess of the inventories. The inventories specified how many times a year and at what distance peasants should travel for the manor without deducting serfdom duties and how many days they should be deducted from their serfdom duties in the event of increased demand for transport, see FALINOWSKA‑GRADOWSKA, Alicja. Świadczenia poddanych…, pp. 122-125. Cf. ĆWIEK, Zbigniew. Z dziejów wsi…, pp. 154-160; PODWIŃSKA, Zofia. Powinności związane z gospodarką rolną wśród ciężarów prawa książęcego. Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej, 1967, no. 1, pp. 15-24. A. Próchnik drew attention to the extremely damaging nature of the provision of podvodas, see PRÓCHNIK, Adam. Dzieje chłopów w Polsce. Lwów: Ludowe Spółdz. Tow. Wydawnicze, 1922, p. 16. Cf. WYSŁOUCH, Seweryn. Posługi komunikacyjne w miastach Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego na prawie magdeburskim do połowy XVI w. Wilno: Instytut Naukowo‑Badawczy Europy Wschodniej, 1936, pp. 50-51. 11 K. Buczek points out that liberi did not have any rights to land because otherwise they would not have been different from knights or they would have formed a transitional group between knights and peasantry, BUCZEK, Karol. O chłopach w Polsce piastowskiej (Część pierwsza). In BUCZEK, Karol. Studia z dziejów ustroju społeczno‑gospodarczego Polski piastowskiej, Volume III, prepared by W. Bukowski. Warszawa‑Kraków: Societas Vistulana, 2010, pp. 82-83. 12 See SZELĄGOWSKI, Adam. Chłopi dziedzice we wsiach na prawie polskim do końca XIII wieku. Lwów: Z druk. Wł. Łozińskiego, 1899, p. 22; WOLFARTH, Włodzimierz. Ascripticii w Polsce. Wrocław‑Kraków: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1959, p. 5. 13 Among the levies, the most distinctive was the cereal levy known as osep, as well as the cattle levy, which was most often paid in pigs, and a levy known as narzaz, collected from peasants who used forests to graze pigs in oak and beech forests which were under the control of the ruler. Narzaz was transplanted to Poland, either by Mieszko I or Bolesław I the Brave, most probably from Bohemia via Silesia and Lesser Poland, see BUCZEK, Karol. O narzazie. In BUCZEK, Karol. Studia z dziejów ustroju społeczno‑gospodarczego Polski piastowskiej, Volume II, W. Bukowski. Kraków: Societas Vis‑ tulana, 2006, p. 201. Poradlne was one of the levies regulated by ducal law (ius ducale), paid in nature, whose name came from the taxation unit, i.e. an area of arable land called radło. and this levy can be found under the names “powołowe”, “krowne”, “wieprzowe” and “gąsiorowe” but all these terms refer to the same levy. In 10th – 12th centuries these terms were synonymous, and the taxation base was not only a unit of arable land (radło) but also a unit of draught animals used in agriculture, i.e. a pair CEEOL copyright 2021 CEEOL copyright 2021 26 27 AIO, 2020, Vol. 15, No. 1 © Palacký University Olomouc, 2020. ISSN 1801- 0288 traffic services.14 It should be noted, however, that in the relevant literature these duties are often not differentiated, so sometimes the authors interchangeably use this kind of terms.15 Let me point out, however, that in my opinion, public transport services include primarily povoz (the powóz in Polish), prevod or conductus (the przewód) and podvoda (the podwód), while public traffic services include first of all the obligation to build and maintain roads and bridges as well stations or statios (the stan). 2 Public Transport Duties Let us first discuss the transport duty known as prevod. 16 One can can distinguish between ordinary (peasant) prevod and knight’s prevod (conductus militaris, conductus more nobilium).17 The distinction between the two terms is related to both who had this obligation (its subjective scope) and what he was obliged to (the material scope of the obligation). The subjective scope of this obligation is connected with the fact that apart form the peasants, also knights had to bear this burden.18 of oxen. In 14th century the term poradlne started to be used to refer to the permanent (annual) land tax introduced by Casimir III the Great, modelled on the Czech berna. It was paid by the Nobility and the Church in the amount of two units of grain and 12 groszy (24 grosze in monastic estates) from every łan of peasant land, with folwark land exempt from this tax. In certain regions (especially Ma‑ zovia, Cuyavia and, partially, the Lublin region) it was known under a different name – podymne, see SZAJNOCHA, Karol. Jadwiga i Jagiełło. 1374-1413. Lwów: Nakładem Karola Wilda, 1855, pp. 100102; BUCZEK, Karol. Powołowe‑poradlne‑podymne. In BUCZEK, Karol. Studia z dziejów ustroju społeczno‑gospodarczego Polski piastowskiej, Volume II, prepared by W. Bukowski. Kraków: Societas Vistulana, 2006, pp. 213-243; MODZELEWSKI, Karol. Chłopi w monarchii…, pp. 66-76. 14 See PIEKOSIŃSKI, Franciszek. Ludność wieśniacza w Polsce w dobie piastowskiej. Kraków: Nakładem własnym, 1896, p. 166. 15 For example F. Piekosiński does not use the divisiom of these duties into transport and traffic duties, referring instead to all of them as public duties, see PIEKOSIŃSKI, Franciszek. Ludność wieśniac‑ za…, pp. 170-172. S. Wysłouch included in the traffic duties the duties related to the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges, the statio duty (“stans” and “stations”), as well as podvodas, see WYSŁOUCH, Seweryn. Posługi komunikacyjne…, p. 1. 16 The institution of prevod was already known in Poland in early 11th century. It was part of the first and the oldest forms of servitude towards the ruler and also towards lords who were granted the oldest immunity, see RUSSOCKI, Stanisław. Powinność przewodu na tle posług transportowych Pol‑ ski piastowskiej. Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej, 1965, no. 2, pp. 244-255; TYMIENIECKI, Kazimierz. Historia chłopów polskich, Vololume II. Warszawa: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1966, pp. 94-95. 17 Cf. TYMIENIECKI, Kazimierz. Przypisańcy w gospodarstwie feudalnym. Roczniki Historyczne, 1963, no. 29, pp. 186-187. 18 Cf. RUSSOCKI, Stanisław. Powinność przewodu…, pp. 250-256. CEEOL copyright 2021 CEEOL copyright 2021 26 27 AIO, 2020, Vol. 15, No. 1 © Palacký University Olomouc, 2020. ISSN 1801- 0288 According to K. Buczek ordinary (peasant) prevod was a duty, under ducal law, to trans‑ port, in stages, loads of goods, and, in particular, to provide draught animals (horses, oxen), as such loads were usually transported using carts which were a possession of the monarch.19 In terms of its organisation, the only difference knight’s prevod and peasant’s prevod was that did not bypass villages and knights’ manors but also did not bypass villages obliged to provide peasant prevod. 20 By contrast, according to F. Piekosiński, the difference in question is that the term ‘kni‑ ght’s prevod’ referred “only to some things in the duke’s court, namely to game, fresh bread, fresh fish, wine and to prisoners of war and kłodniks (or militem captivum compedibus com‑ peditum) i.e. soldiers put in the stocks), to wet nets (rete madidum) and to gold. When these things or persons were transported to the duke’s court, knights had the same obligations to provide prevod as peasants”.21 Prevod was therefore a duty to deliver, to the duke, or to some official, either riding horses for deputies or the duke’s messengers, or to a cart or carriage together with the team and possi‑ bly a coachman, so that he could get from one town to another.22 In consisted in the transport in stages, which meant that individual settlements took the transport to the nearest village, which was not fully or partially exempt from this obligation, and the obligation was difficult to bear.23 Incidentally, as we will see later, prevod seems to be identical to another transport duty – powoz (vectigal). Powoz was more of a traffic (rather than transport) nature and consisted in the obligation to carry persons involved in the journeys of the duke and his officials and peasant servants.24 K. Buczek draws attention to the fact that the terms conductus – prevod were used in two meanings. The first covered the obligation to guide (ducere, educere) or transport the ruler along with his retinue and convoy of vehicles through a specific area, e.g. a castellany, during his travels around the country, while the second meaning of the term covered the obligation to 19 See BUCZEK, Karol. Publiczne posługi transportowe i komunikacyjne w Polsce średniowiecznej. Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej, 1967, no. 2, p. 266. 20 See ibidem, p. 270. 21 PIEKOSIŃSKI, Franciszek. Ludność wieśniacza…, p. 57. S. Russocki makes a similar claim, Powin‑ ność przewodu…, p. 250. 22 Cf. KORTA, Wacław. Powinności transportowo‑komunikacyjne. In INGLOT, Stefan. Historia chłopów polskich, Volume I. Warszawa: Ludowa Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza, 1970, p. 103. 23 See BUCZEK, Karol. K. Publiczne posługi…, p. 259. In the 14th century The duty of knight’s pre‑ vod was already disappearing, see KACZMARCZYK, Zdzisław. Monarchia Kazimierza Wielkiego, Volume I. Poznań: Jan Jachowski Księgarnia Akademicka, 1939, p. 165. Cf. RUSSOCKI, Stanisław. Powinność przewodu…, pp. 257-263. 24 See MODZELEWSKI, Karol. Chłopi w monarchii wczesnopiastowskiej. Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1987, p. 95. CEEOL copyright 2021 CEEOL copyright 2021 28 29 AIO, 2020, Vol. 15, No. 1 © Palacký University Olomouc, 2020. ISSN 1801- 0288 transport certain objects needed by the duke, using a staged system. In contrast with prevod, the carriages were pulled not to the nearest village, but to the nearest station of the ruler.25 In the light of such interpretation, the doubts, mentioned above, concerning the identity of the terms “podvoda” and “povoz” should be considered resolved and one should support K. Buc‑ zek’s approach. Such a view seems to confirmed by K. Modzelewski who claims that “povoz” “may be associated with… ad hoc statio services”.26 The duty to provide povoz dissapeared when immunity became common in the 13th century, merging with the duty to provide podvodas. When distinguishing between different transport and traffic burdens in old Poland mentio‑ ned above, one should emphasise that podvoda consisted in the provision of horses,27prevod was the obligation to provide transport in stages, and povoz was used to facilitate the traffic of the ruler’s convoys when he travelled across the country (accompanied by his mounted entourage).28 Obviously, there is no unanimity in the relevant literature on the exact nature of these duties. For example, K. Buczek is definitely of the opinion that if podvoda had not differed from povoz in any significant way, the documents would have either omitted one of these terms or indicated the identity of these terms.29 According to this author it was, first and foremost, the king and his wife who used podvodas. They also ordered podvoda horses (with or without a cart) to be provided to certain persons. There were also persons who were eligible to podvoda by definition.30 25 See BUCZEK, Karol. Publiczne posługi…, p. 276. 26 MODZELEWSKI, Karol. Chłopi w monarchii…, p. 95. 27 See PIEKOSIŃSKI, Franciszek. O powstaniu społeczeństwa polskiego w wiekach średnich i jego pi‑ erwotnym ustroju, Kraków 1881, p. 170; PIEKOSIŃSKI, Franciszek, Ludność wieśniacza…, pp. 57, 59-60. 28 See BUCZEK, Karol. Publiczne posługi…, p. 276. F. Piekosiński is of diferrent opinion, claiming that “the duty known as povoz meant the provision of just a cart, without the horses”, PIEKOSIŃSKI, Franciszek. Ludność wieśniacza…, p. 60. One should remember about the role of the duke’s cou‑ rt servants called koniarze (horse‑keepers), whose role was to serve the duke’s stables. Their man‑ agers and superiors were called (panowie or gentlemen) konarscy, see: KACZMARCZYK, Zdzisław. Kasztelanowie konarscy. Czasopismo Prawno‑Historyczne, 1949, no. 2, pp. 1-23; URBAŃCZYK, Sta‑ nisław. O wyrazach konarsy, konarski, koniuch, podkonie. Czasopismo Prawno‑Historyczne, 1949, no. 2, pp. 23-27; BUCZEK, Karol. Książęca ludność służebna w Polsce wczesnofeudalnej, Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1958, pp. 29-33. 29 See BUCZEK, Karol. Publiczne posługi…, p. 280. J. Bardach sees these terms as identical and writes that “both povoz and podvoda consisted in the obligation to provide means of transport – horses (oxen) nnd carts to the ruler and his officials for their journey and to transport duke’s possessi‑ ons”, BARDACH, Juliusz. Historia państwa i prawa Polski do połowy XV wieku, Volume I. Warszawa: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1957, p. 144. As far as prevod is concerned, J. Bardach points out it consisted in the duty to provide not only the carts but also the people to serve the transport, ibidem, p. 144. 30 See BUCZEK, Karol. Publiczne posługi…, p. 287. Cf. F. Piekosiński, according to whom that the duty CEEOL copyright 2021 CEEOL copyright 2021 28 29 AIO, 2020, Vol. 15, No. 1 © Palacký University Olomouc, 2020. ISSN 1801- 0288 K. Modzelewski is of the opinion that representatives of the ducal authorities, especially military commanders, had the right to take peasants’ oxen, horses and carts for temporary use as part of podvoda. In principle, they had to be returned to their owners, but there was always a risk of losing the livestock or remaining without draught animals for a long time.31 For podvodas were used for transport over long distances, which was often military in nature, e.g. from Skaryszew in Lesser Poland to as far as Lithuania.32 Public transport duties in the form of podvodas were regulated by by means of land privi‑ leges, provincial privileges, statutes, Sejm constitutions and royal proclamations.33 In addition, the king often specified podvoda duties for individual towns and villages, e.g. because of a lost privilege,34 resolved disputes arising from the obligation to provide podvodas,35 or exempted from the duty of providing podvodas.36 There are many examples in old Polish law of regulating known as podvoda, as one of the most burdensome public duties meant “the obligation to provide horses to be used with carts or for horseback rides”, PIEKOSIŃSKI, Franciszek. Ludność wieśniac‑ za…, p. 59. 31 R. Grodecki, refering to Wincenty Kadłubek’s Chronicles, points out that “on the basis of the custom, each of the lords (quilibet potentum), when travelling across the country, demanded not only hay but also grain from the peasants, using it not only for his own needs but even as bed for horses”, which had signs of manifest abuse. What was abused in the similar way was the “ancient” custom that if there was a need to make an urgent journey on behalf of one of the lords (but not the duke), the emissaries were told to take way horses from peasants; they rode them too fast, thus exhausting them completely. Some of the horses died from exhaustion and some were taken forever. This sometimes led to fights and murders, which was condemned by the duke, who ordered that “whoever has taken or ordered to take a horse – except when a message about the approaching enemy needs to be sent fast – shall be accursed”, GRODECKI, Roman. Początki immunitetu w Polsce. Lwów: Instytut Popie‑ rania Polskiej Twórczości Naukowej, 1930, pp. 22-23. 32 See MODZELEWSKI, Karol. Chłopi w monarchii…, p. 95. 33 See KUTRZEBA, Stanisław. Historia źródeł…, Volume I, pp. 189-199; Wysłouch, SEWERYN. Posługi komunikacyjne…, pp. 18-19. 34 See Materiały do dziejów robocizny w Polsce w XVI wieku, prepared by S. Kutrzeba. Kraków: Nakła‑ dem Akademii Umiejętności, 1911, p. 13. 35 See ibidem, pp. 21, 64. The ruler, administering justice within the jurisdiction of the duke’s court, also judged cases resulting from the ruling or the activities of his officials, and resolved disputes concerning the situation when a village was unfairly made to provide prevod beyond the area it was obliged to serve, see WOJCIECHOWSKI, Zygmunt. Państwo polskie w wiekach średnich. Dzieje ustroju. Poznań: Księgarnia Akademicka, 1948, p. 102. 36 See the exemption of Lublin, on 13 October 1611, made by King Sigismund III from the obligati‑ on to provide podvodas for 10 years due to the great damage caused by several fires. However, the exemption form podvodas did not apply to royal envoys sent to Turks and Tatars. In addition, the king decided that the inhabitants of Lublin “must not bear the burden of services provided because of an invasion or military action”, Wojewódzka Biblioteka Publiczna im. H. Łopacińskiego (Provincial Public Library) in Lublin, manuscript no. 1732. CEEOL copyright 2021 CEEOL copyright 2021 30 31 AIO, 2020, Vol. 15, No. 1 © Palacký University Olomouc, 2020. ISSN 1801- 0288 transport duties through a royal proclamation, starting from the Warsaw Proclamation [Uniwer‑ sał Warszawski] issued by King Sigismund August in 1564, specifying these duties in detail.37 In response to numerous requests addressed to the king concerning the damaging obligation to provide frequent or even continuous podvodas, 38 he decided to regulate this issue by, inter alia, imposing, on towns and villages, the duty to make a contribution towards podvodas, and podvo‑ das for the needs of royal messengers were to be supplied in exchange for a financial reward.39 In accordance with the provisions of the proclamation, burghers were obliged “to give three parts of the szos tax”, and villages were to give 6 groszy per łan, włóka [volok] or źreb [or zrzeb], or 3 groszy per półłanek”.40 The Proclamation ordered the delivery of funds for podvodas to the 37 See Volumina Legum, Vol. II, folium 671-674, Petersburg 1859, pp. 42-44 (hereinafter referred to as: VL). Cf. KUTRZEBA, Stanisław. Podwody miast polskich do roku 1564. Przewodnik Naukowy i Li‑ teracki, 1900, no. 28, s. 506-509; KONARSKI, Marcin. Powinności podwodowe w świetle przekazu pierwszych sześciu tomów „Volumina Legum”. Biuletyn Stowarzyszenia Absolwentów i Przyjaciół Wy‑ działu Prawa Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego, 2019, no. 2 (16), pp. 5-9. VL was the first Polish collection of statutory law, containing the documentation of all royal privileges and parliamentary constitutions between 1347 and 1793. For more about this publication see: WIERZBICKA, Elżbieta. Warszawskie gazety drukowane z lat 1729-1740. Rocznik Historii Prasy Polskiej, 2002, no. 2, pp. 5-44. During the existence of the Duchy of Warsaw VL were recognised as an authentic collection of Polish law, see: Dziennik Praw Księstwa Warszawskiego [Journal of Laws of the Duchy of Warsaw], Volume 2, No.14, pp. 87-88. 38 A. Próchnik drew attention to the fact that the provision of podvodas was extremely damaging, Dzieje chłopów…, p. 16. 39 Cf. the 1549 confirmation, by King Sigismund Augustus, of the privilege for the New City of Warsaw issued by Sigismund I in 1543 concerning podvodas, and King Henry’s confirmation in 1574 of Si‑ gismund Augustus‘ privilege of 1549 releasing the citizens of New Warsaw from the obligation to provide podvodas, Central Archives of Historical Records, Unit No. 1, „Collection of parchment do‑ cuments“, ref. 1674, 1677. However, as M. Czapski notes, messengers, although they received money for the road, still, in the times of Stanisław August, grazed their horses on other people’s meadows and pastures, „and nobody thought at the time there was something wrong about it“, CZAPSKI, Marian. Historia powszechna konia, Volume II. Poznań: J.K. Żupański, 1874, p. 484. 40 In old Polish law, when a village was founded, all its fields were separated from the land of adjacent villages and then divided into units known as łans or włókas [voloks]. These units were granted to peasant farms as their basic equipment. One should remember that łan was not a unit of area but an economic unit. The most common measurement unit was the Flemish łan, also known as łan chełmiński or łany średzki, equal to approx. 16,7-17,5 ha, or approx. 30 morgas; The Flemish łan was particularly often used in the case of higher quality soil. The other type of łan was known as łan frankoński [Franconian łan], equivalent to 22.6-25.8 ha, or 42-43 morgas, occasionally reaching 4243 morgas. However, in practice the size of one łan, being an economic (settlement) unit, varied as this term could have referred to farms of an area ranging from several to well over 10 morgas – the size of one łąn varied within a given demesne or even within one village. What is more, not only CEEOL copyright 2021 CEEOL copyright 2021 30 31 AIO, 2020, Vol. 15, No. 1 © Palacký University Olomouc, 2020. ISSN 1801- 0288 hands of the starost with a receipt on 11 November, i.e. on St. Martin’s Day [11 November – emphasis mine] The supplement to the provisions of the Proclamation was included in another one issued on the subject of podvodas, the Proclamation of Piotrków of 1565.41 In subsequent years, the issue of duties resulting from the provision of podvodas was dealt with by King Stephen Báthory in Proclamation on podvodas of 1576,42 King Sigismund II Vasa in the Constitution of 160143 the Constitution of 1620,44 King Władysław IV Vasa in the Cosntitution of 1647,45 King John III Sobieski in the Constitution of 1677 roku,46 and King Augustus II in 1710.47 Later, after the Poland’s partitions of 1772 and 1793, the provision of public traffic services was regulated by Prussian regulations48 and modern legislation based łans were different in size but also their position in relation to other łans in a given field mattered be‑ cause certain due their location near the edge of the field were exposed to more frequent damage (if cattle entered there) or the reduction to due to terrain conditions. These were substandard łans and therefore subject to fewer obligations, see: WAJS, Hubert. Powinności feudalne chłopów…, pp. 39-41. Cf. BORODA, Krzysztof. Wielkość areału gospodarstw kmiecych na obszarze województwa płockie‑ go w połowie XVI wieku. In MUSZYŃSKA, Jadwiga (ed). Folwark‑wieś‑latyfundium. Gospodarstwo wiejskie w Rzeczypospolitej w XVI‑XVIII wieku. Kielce: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Humanistyczno‑ ‑Przyrodniczego Jana Kochanowskiego, 2009, pp. 21-22. It was as late as 1764 when a constitution – which unified the units of measurement – facilitated the popularisation of the łan amounting to 30 morgas; such was the size of łan nowopolski [new Polish łan], used in the Kingdom of Poland. 41 Cf. VL II, folium 675, Petersburg 1859, p. 44. Cf. the ordinance on tributes and labour services gran‑ ted to the village of Laszki by the administrators of Przemyśl tenuta estate, confirmed by Sigismund Augustus in Lublin on 20 April 1569, see Materiały do dziejów robocizny…, p. 95. 42 See VL II, folium 960-962, pp. 181-182. 43 See ibidem, folium 1518, p. 397. This Constitution provided, in view of the great impoverishment of the population providing podvoda for the sending of royal messengers, that „every person in need of podvoda should pay two grosze for every mile per horse“. Cf. Sigismund III’s exemption, under the former privileges of the burgers of Old Warsaw, from supplying podvodas and horses, Certain Archives of Old Records, unit 1, no. 1, „Collection of parchment documents“, ref. no. 1629. 44 See VL III, folium 377, p. 183. 45 See VL IV, folium 108-109, p. 55. 46 See VL V, folium 470, p. 230. 47 See VL VI, folium 186, p. 92. One should remember that podvodas underlie the origins of postal transport. In the times of August II the Strong, when Poland was included in the traffic network used to send letters and transport passengers by means of the so‑called ekstrapoczta (extra postal service), what was was used was the system of konie rozstawne (change of horses at postal stations), which had been known in Poland for a long time as a component of the institution of podvodas, see PIOTROWSKI, Kazimierz, Józef. O drogach pocztowych i transporcie poczt w Polsce w wiekach XVI‑XVIII. Studia i Materiały z Dziejów Nauki Polskiej. Seria D, 1969, book 5, p. 7. 48 „Vorspann‑Reglement für die Provinz Südpreussen” [Podvodas regulations for for the Province of South Prussia], Berlin, 1 X 1793, The Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw, fonds CEEOL copyright 2021 CEEOL copyright 2021 32 33 AIO, 2020, Vol. 15, No. 1 © Palacký University Olomouc, 2020. ISSN 1801- 0288 on French regulations.49 After the fall of the Duchy of Warsaw in 1815, regulations concerning the provision of podvodas were introduced; they contained a number of new and more specific provisions in comparison with the Prussian regulations of 1793 and the Decree of May 181050. The regulations in question were urządzenia o podwodach wojsku dostarczonych [the rules of podvodas supplied to the army] of 28 May 1817 and 24 May 1823 and the regulation on the supplying the army with podvodas by the citizens of the Kingdom of Poland of 28 October 1831.51 These latter regulations established, for many years. the organisation of and the procedure for the supply of podvodas, mainly for military purposes. 3 Public Traffic Duties As mentioned above, traffic services included, first of all, obligations related to the con‑ struction and maintenance of roads and bridges, as well as the stan (statio or station duty). Here, I will deal with the stan only, because the bridge and road obligations were of dual nature. As we know, road (traffic) services were provided by both the peasant population and the inhabitants of towns and cities.52 The dual nature of these services consists in the fact that it is not possible to determine to what extent that services of the inhabitants and other obligations performed by them towards the maintenance of roads and streets reflected the traffic needs, and to what extent they were a result of urban development needs of rural and urban communities.53 Let us now analyse the obligations provided in connection with the statios (stations) of the ruler (the stan).54 Generally speaking, the stan was a “noun derived form the verb stanąć (to stop, to stay) and meant a stop during a journey or a temporary camp”.55 The stan obligations no. 169, ”Die Einrichtung des Vorspannwesens in Südpreussen überhaupt. Bd. 1”, ref. 1852; www. deutsche‑digitale‑bibliothek.de [retrieved on 12 August 2019]; digital.staatsbibliothek‑berlin.de [ret‑ rieved on 12 August 2019]. 49 The Decree of 22 May 1810 “względem koni i podwód dostarczonych pod transporty i wojskowych” [“concerning horses and podvodas supplied to the army and for transport”] Dziennik Praw Księstwa Warszawskiego [The Journal of Laws of the Duchy of Warsaw], Volume II, No. 18, pp. 195-212. 50 See KONARSKI, Marcin. Publiczne posługi transportowe w okresie Księstwa Warszawskiego w świ‑ etle postanowień dekretu z dnia 22 maja 1810 roku “względem koni i podwód dostarczonych pod transporty i wojskowych”. Czasopismo Prawno‑Historyczne, 2019, no. 2 (71), pp. 113-135. 51 Archiwum Państwowe w Lublinie [The State Archives in Lublin], fond no. 22, „Podwód dostarczania przepisy” [“The regulations for the suppy of podvodas”], ref. 908, cards 4-19, 94-116. 52 Cf. ROSSET, Adriana. Drogi i mosty…, pp. 18-22. 53 See WYSŁOUCH, Seweryn. Wysłouch, Posługi komunikacyjne…, p. 3. 54 See CZACKI, Tadeusz. O litewskich i polskich prawach, o ich duchu, źródłach, i o rzeczach zawartych w pierwszym Statucie dla Litwy, 1529 roku wydanym, Volume I. Kraków: nakładem drukarni „Czasu”, 1861, pp. 75-77. 55 Ibidem, p. 86. The stan was the Polish equivalent of the Latin term statio. However, by the end of the CEEOL copyright 2021 CEEOL copyright 2021 32 33 AIO, 2020, Vol. 15, No. 1 © Palacký University Olomouc, 2020. ISSN 1801- 0288 were mainly ad hoc in nature and were related the duke’s journeys made for administrative purposes,56 and because he was usually accompanied by a military unit, officials and servants the supply of such large number of people was the responsibility of the local population.57 Statios, besides the obligation to build and repair bridges and roads were public obligations which were of a traffic nature. However, according to S. Wysłouch, the term also covered the duty to provide podvodas with guides.58 The obligation was not universal, but only applied to the villages along the route of the monarch’s convoy.59 F. Piekosiński points out that “the ducal stan would not have been a very burdensome tri‑ bute. Among a large number of villages which were obliged to provide it, the burden for each village to feed the duke during his journey could not have been too great. The duke’s journeys could not have been too frequent and one can safely assume that he only exceptionally stayed in the same village twice a year”.60 However, the burden related to the collection of such tribute – and this burden must have existed due to the large number of people (the court, the hunting team) accompanying the duke – was related to the fact that “following the example of the duke in power, also other dignitaries and officials, including those of the lowest rank, demanded the stan from peasants”.61 Nonetheless, one should add that there were occasional exemptions (partial or complete) – through a privilege – from the statio duty.62 As Karol Modzelewski points out, “a large number Middle Ages it had stopped to appear in sources, replaced by the Polish term derived from Latin – stacja, see GĄSIOROWSKI, Antoni. Stacje królewskie w średniowiecznej Polsce. Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej, 1972, no. 2, p. 244. 56 See PIEKOSIŃSKI, Franciszek. Ludność wieśniacza…, pp. 33-34; GĄSIOROWSKI, Antoni. Stacje królewskie…, pp. 244, 245. The bishop visiting his diocese was eligible to use statio services, see DOWIAT, Jerzy, GEREMEK, Bronisław, LALIK, Tadeusz, TRAWKOWSKI, Tadeusz. Kultura Polski średniowiecznej X‑XIII w. Warszawa: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1985, p. 149. 57 See MODZELEWSKI, Karol. Chłopi w monarchii…, p. 86. 58 See WYSŁOUCH, Seweryn. Posługi komunikacyjne…, pp. 16-17, 59, 63-68. 59 See PIEKOSIŃSKI, Franciszek. O powstaniu społeczeństwa…, p. 169. 60 PIEKOSIŃSKI, Franciszek. Ludność wieśniacza…, p. 34. 61 Ibidem. Cf. GĄSIOROWSKI, Antoni. Stacje królewskie…, pp. 248-250, 259-261; MODZELEWSKI, Karol. Grody i dwory w gospodarce polskiej monarchii wczesnofeudalnej. Kwartalnik Historii Kultu‑ ry Materialnej, 1973, no. 1, p. 19. Z. Wojciechowski points out that the statio duty was burdensome, Państwo polskie…, p. 80. 62 What is mentioned here are obviously private and ecclesiastical demesnes, in which the passage of a duke – just like in royal demesnes – posed a risk of devastating them due to the obligation to provi‑ de enough food to the duke and his entourage. As a result, as immunity was developing, ecclesiastical institutions energetically solicited the exemption of their estates from arbitrary burdens related to the duke’s travels, see GĄSIOROWSKI, Antoni. Stacje królewskie…, pp. 250-254; MODZELEWSKI, CEEOL copyright 2021 CEEOL copyright 2021 34 35 AIO, 2020, Vol. 15, No. 1 © Palacký University Olomouc, 2020. ISSN 1801- 0288 of exemptions from the stan in the immunity privileges of Silesia and Lesser Poland did not in fact meant waiving the obligations to provide supplies and services to the travelling duke. The rulers were reluctant to relinquish powers which were an infallible way to satisfy their needs during their travels around the country and hunting trips”.63 But Karol Modzelewski draws attention to the existence of numerous intermediate courts, organised with the ruler’s travels around the country in mind, which meant that the prince did not expose his subjects to ruin - his passage was not a disaster, and people did not hide cattle, because they were not afraid of arbitrary requisitions.64 “A good duke – K. Modzelewski emphasises – stayed where he had servitium determinatum. He did not have to rob his subjects, because could find everything he needed at the place where he was staying”.65 Servitium determinatum meant that the supply and service of the prince on the journey was organised not by arbitrary enforcement of extraordinary burdens, but on the basis of normal, regular, predetermined burdens.66 As K. Modzelewski points out, Bolesław III the Wrymouth “allegedly stayed in places (with servitium determinatum – emphasis mine), which, because of their economic function, were always ready to host the ruler”.67 However, the same author highlights the fact that Bolesłąw III as well as his predecessors, including Bolesław I, must have occasionally set up camps in different villages, choose the stan and ruin the local peasants through requisitions.68 After the Thirteen Years’ War (1454-1466), when the old royal travels - during which he stationed for a few days at each intermediate point - had disappeared, now the king usually stopped only for short breaks to spend the night and feed the animals, and the fact that the king himself stopped choosing statios directly led quickly to the situation whereby the nobility Karol. Grody i dwory w gospodarce…, pp. 19-20; MODZELEWSKI, Karol. Organizacja gospodarcza państwa piastowskiego (X‑XIII w.). Poznań: Poznańskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk, 2000, p. 33. 63 MODZELEWSKI, Karol. Chłopi w monarchii…, p. 87. Cf. WYSŁOUCH, Seweryn. Posługi komuni‑ kacyjne…, p. 49. 64 See MODZELEWSKI, Karol. Organizacja gospodarcza…, p. 25. 65 Ibidem, s. 25. Cf. BUCZEK, Karol. O ustroju społeczno‑gospodarczym Polski wczesnofeudalnej (wiek X‑XIII). Uwagi krytyczne na marginesie prac Karola Modzelewskiego. In BUCZEK, Karol. Studia z dziejów ustroju społeczno‑gospodarczego Polski piastowskiej, Volume III, prepared by W. Bu‑ kowski. Warszawa‑Kraków: Societas Vistulana, 2010, pp. 229-230. 66 Cf. GĄSIOROWSKI, Antoni. Stacje królewskie…, pp. 258-259. 67 MODZELEWSKI, Karol. Organizacja gospodarcza…, p. 25. K. Modzelewski points out that “where the ruler, accompanied by his entourage, often stayed for weeks and returned regularly, requisitions and occasional services cannot possibly have been enough”, because that would have led to plunder of the neighbourhood; consequently “a residential court had to have a permanent and properly deve‑ loped economic base”, MODZELEWSKI, Karol. Organizacja gospodarcza…, p. 57. 68 See ibidem, p. 26. CEEOL copyright 2021 CEEOL copyright 2021 34 35 AIO, 2020, Vol. 15, No. 1 © Palacký University Olomouc, 2020. ISSN 1801- 0288 took over the statios revenue, either in the form of salaries, or in the case of local and staros‑ ta’s offices, or by way of pledges.69 4 Conclusion As we have seen above, transport and traffic duties provided by feudal Polish law from the beginning of the Middle Ages largely lost their raison d’être in the following centuries. The early medieval povoz and prevod merged together into the obligation to supply pod‑ vodas In the case of the statio duty, its nature narrowed down to the obligation to entertain envoys and foreign delegations. Of the many transport and traffic duties, which for several centuries lay with the population of Polish lands, the most durable was the obligation to pro‑ vide podvodas, and, as I mentioned at the beginning, with time it gained a mainly military character. It owed its popularity to the intensified warfare in Europe at the turn of the 19th centuries. However, because of the still extremely destructive obligation to provide this kind of transport service, attempts were made to alleviate the effects of the obligation to provide this type of services, by establishing detailed legal regulations containing very specific provisions concerning cases in which the population was obliged to provide these services, to whom and for what time and distance, etc. The clarifiation of rules in this area ensured a relative sense of legal security for the po‑ pulation - especially during the period of intensified military operations - by limiting cases of enforcing these services from the population, often by means of acts of violence, which were not covered by legal norms. Thus, in the 19th century the procedure of appropriation of property for the benefit of military transport needs was regulated, which can be regarded as a manifestation of the humanisation of the law originating in the Enlightement legal tradition. Marcin Konarski, PhD. Warsaw Management University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8791-884X Email: marcin.konarski@wsm.warszawa.pl 69 See GĄSIOROWSKI, Antoni. Stacje królewskie…, pp. 262-264. Statio duties, as a form of traffic du‑ ties, also refer to the obligation to entertain envoys and foreign delegations, which was not only burdensome for the local population but also sometimes resulted in complaints, the more so because the passages of envoys, officials and lords (with their attendants) involved looting and violence aimed at the local population, see WYSŁOUCH, Seweryn. Posługi komunikacyjne…, pp. 38-44