Remarks on estate and political consciousness in the interregnum after Louis of Anjou

Abstract

The interregnum after the death of Louis of Anjou (1382-1384) was an important period for the development of the social and political consciousness of active social groups in medieval Poland. The main sources of information on these issues are documents produced during public meetings and discussions. The Chronicle of John of Czarnkow also provides a lot of interesting information. An important component of the social consciousness of that time was the concept of political community (lat. communitas) at the local and national level. They were used to emphasize political unity and attachment to the idea of the common good. The noble landowner communities formed in the second half of the 14th century confederated in 1382, and two years later they also opened up to townspeople. The political community of the Kingdom composed of representatives of the nobility and townspeople turned out to be a short-lived entity, existing until the end of the interregnum. Later it was reduced to nobility.