The Shape of the Queens’ Bound Estates in Late Medieval Poland

Abstract

According to old customs and Polish law, it was customary for the husband to securea dowry for his wife after the wedding. These estates belonged to the woman, who – afterher husband’s death – could manage, use or sell them without the permission of others.The situation was similar for queens, who also received a dowry as security for their estatesfrom their husbands. From the time of the Piast dynasty until the 16th century, therulers could easily decide on their own wives’ provisions, but it was only the HenricianArticles that introduced the control of the states over the king’s marriage, and thus theruler had to obtain the consent of the Sejm to provide for his wife. The queen had theexclusive right to use the bindings and thus secured the functioning of her court and the monarch’s own needs. The ruler also administered the possessory domain and often exercised judicial functions in the landed estates that were part of it. This article looks at the shape of the queens’ bound estates in late medieval Poland – when they are fi rst grasped, whether their shape changed over the years, and what they looked like when two queens resided in the country at the same time.