Topic: First royal elections in Poland

Author of the script: Marcin Dyś

Target group

5th grade student of elementary school.

Core curriculum

5th grade of elementary school.

X. The beginnings of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Student:

2) explains the circumstances of adoption of the Henrician Articles and presents the principles of royal elections; discusses the course and results of the first royal elections;

3) describes the reign of Stephen Báthory (…).

The general aim of education

Students learn why and how the royal elections, i.e. the election of the king by the nobility in Poland, took place.

Key competences

• communication in the mother tongue;

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Learning outcomes

Student:

• describes what royal elections in Poland were and how they looked like;

• describes the first Polish elected kings – Henry III of France and Stephen Báthory;

• explains what the Henrician Articles and pacta conventa were;

• explains the influence of Henry III of France and Stephen Báthory on the Polish nobility;

• characterises the elements of noble clothing from the 16th century.

Methods / techniques

• exposing methods: talk, explanations and comments from the teacher;

• programmed methods: using e‑textbook; using multimedia;

• problematic methods: activating methods: discussion, activity in groups;

• practical methods: exercises concerned, working with text, working with illustration.

Forms of work

• collective activity;

• activity in groups (in pairs);

• individual activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• interactive whiteboard or traditional blackboard;

• tablets/computers;

• notebook and crayons/ felt‑tip pens.

Before classes

Students should recall the circumstances in which the change of the ruling dynasty took place in Poland.

Lesson plan overview (Process)

Introduction

1. The teacher gives the students the subject, explains the students the lesson objective and the criteria for success.

2. Referring to the homework, the teacher asks which dynasties sat on the Polish throne and under what circumstances they took over the power. Students do Exercise 1 and Exercise 2, sorting the names of the dynasties in chronological order and assigning kings to them.

Realization

1. The teacher asks the students what democracy consists in and what its principles are. Then, the teacher introduces the students to the subject of royal elections as an unusual and nowhere else unprecedented election of king by part of his subjects. The teacher tells the students why such a situation occurred (the childless death of Sigismund II August, who had not indicated his successor) and what is the difference between royal elections and previous elections.

2. The teacher describes the course of the royal elections, introducing such terms as the elective camp, the senator's s shed. Students fulfil Task 1.The teacher provides feedback and checks the correctness of completed tasks.

3. The students, working in pairs, play the role of noblemen and reflect on the question: What kind of king they would like to elect? Their task is to select the features as well as promises and commitments of the future king that would decide about their support. Then the teacher introduces and explains the concepts of Henrician Articles and pacta conventa in relation to the students' exercise. The teacher also mentions the document of the Warsaw Confederation on religious freedom.

4. The teacher describes the first royal elections, characterises King Henry III of France and his short reign. Students fulfil Task 2, Task 3 and do Exercise 3. Then the teacher describes the reign of Stephen Báthory and his influence on Poland. Students do Exercise 4, they also learn about the elements of Stephen Báthory's outfit (Task 4). When doing exercises and tasks, the teacher uses tents or a set of cards in three colours: green, yellow and red. Students use the cards to indicate to the teacher whether they are having difficulty in fulfilling the tasks (green – I’m doing great, yellow – I have some doubts, red – I need help).The teacher provides feedback and checks the correctness of completed tasks.

Summary

1. The teacher starts a discussion of whether royal elections made sense and whether it „paid off” to replace the hereditary monarchy. Students do Exercise 5, pointing out the good and bad sides of royal elections and hereditary power.

2. The teacher assesses the students' work during the lesson, taking into account their input and commitment. For this purpose, he may prepare an evaluation questionnaire for self‑assessment and assessment of the teacher's work and other students.

3. The teacher gives homework for volunteer students (it is not an obligatory part of the script): “Each of the elected rulers had to undertake to comply with the provisions of Henrician Articles, usually supplemented by additional conditions contained in the pacta conventa. They constituted the basis for the political system of the Commonwealth. Look at the provisions of Henrician Articles and pacta conventa, explain what were the nobility's demands being condition for election of a particular candidate for the king.”

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

First royal elections in Poland

In 1572 King Sigismund Augustus died without male issue, failing to appoint his successor. Under the Piast Dynasty the throne was hereditary (the right of succession belonged to the eldest son of the reigning sovereign). Under the Jagiellons, the throne was elected, but only within the dynasty. The candidate was chosen from the sons of the deceased monarch. The monarch was elected by the mighty and the choice was confirmed by the nobility. During the interregnum, the Polish nobility announced that it would elect a new ruler by voting at the election sejm. However, a set of rules was developed that the king‑elect had to swear to respect (the so‑called Henrician Articles). They included, among others, a commitment that the king‑elect will not seek to introduce a hereditary monarchy in Poland. The nobility were guaranteed all rights and privileges. If the king violated them, the nobility had the right to terminate their obedience, i.e. to invoke rebellion, called rokosz. The king‑elect also had to swear to respect the so‑called pacta conventa, i.e. the promises pledged by the the king. The Henrician Articles and pacta conventa became a condition for the throne to be taken over by the king‑elect and the basis for the functioning of the election monarchy in the Commonwealth. The Polish‑Lithuanian Commonwealth thus gained a republican character with the king being the lifetime president elected by the nobility. After the death of the king, an interregnum was proclaimed. An interrex was formally the head of the state (it was always the primate of Poland), but in fact the full power in the state was taken over by the nobility. Henry, the son of the French king (of the House of Valois), was the first ruler of Poland to be elected on the basis of the royal elections in Poland. He soon abandoned Poland upon inheriting the French throne when his brother died, and Stephen Báthory, Prince of Transylvania (formerly part of Hungary, currently part of Romania) was elected. Then there were three kings from the Swedish Vasa dynasty (related to the Jagiellons on the distaff side): Sigismund III Vasa and his two sons: Władysław IV Vasa and John II Casimir Vasa.