Women in the social and cultural space of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Abstract

The position of women in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth depended on the privileged status of the noble state under Louis Andegau and the Jagiellons. The privileges granted to the nobility by Louis Andegavensky and the Jagiellons made them the political representation of the state. A nation of nobles was formed having political and economic superiority over the other states. With the construction of the republic of the nobility and the formation of the ruling layer - the nobility in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the foundations of the economic and social position of noblewomen were created. The position of noblewomen and nobility as a result of the privileges and statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania became the same. To understand the importance of the position of noblewomen in the socio-cultural space of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, it was necessary to compare the situation of women of France Ancien Régime. The ideas, mental currents, and culture flowing from Ancien Régime France were models for the nobility of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The political and economic systems were different. The analysis of the social and cultural space of women in France Ancien Régime, taking into account the role of absolutism, economy based on mercantilism, and the political and economic system of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth allowed to articulate the differences, and from a scientific point of view, the comparative analysis was necessary. Thanks to this procedure on the basis of similarities and opposites, it was possible to show how the legal position, the political system, the situation of economies affected the possibility of women'sactivity in the social and cultural space of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.