To Vote a King
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CONTRACTUAL MAJESTY ELECTORAL POLITICS IN TRANSYLVANIA AND POLAND-LITHUANIA 1571-1586 A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History By Felicia Roşu, M.A. Washington, DC May 1, 2009 Copyright 2009 by Felicia Roşu All Rights Reserved ii CONTRACTUAL MAJESTY ELECTORAL POLITICS IN TRANSYLVANIA AND POLAND-LITHUANIA, 1571-1586 Felicia Roşu, M.A. Thesis Advisor: Andrzej S. Kamiński, Ph.D. ABSTRACT Stefan Báthory (1533-1586) was chosen by the orders and estates of Transylvania to be their ruler in May 1571; in December 1575 he was also elected king of the Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth and was crowned as such in May 1576. Although Báthory never returned to his homeland after he took hold of his Polish-Lithuanian throne, he maintained control over the affairs of Transylvania and ruled both countries simultaneously until his death in December 1586. This dissertation analyzes Báthory’s two elections while comparing them to similar phenomena in the rest of Europe and placing them in the larger framework of early modern constitutionalism and civic republicanism. The goals of this dissertation are to unveil the dynamics of electoral politics in sixteenth-century East Central Europe; to illuminate the political language at play during elections; and to clarify the values, intentions, and motivations of political actors—both candidates and voters—in the electoral context. Research findings indicate that electoral politics not only reflected, but also affected the identity, values, and behavior of citizens and rulers in elective constitutional monarchies, particularly at moments when citizens had to rule themselves and prospective rulers had to comply with the conditions of citizens in order to be able to occupy their thrones. Voters and candidates played intricate political roles that forced them to adapt their language and behavior to the complex realities of interregna and elections. iii The research and writing of this thesis is dedicated to everyone who helped and inspired me along the way. I am particularly grateful to Professors Andrzej S. Kamiński, James B. Collins, Gábor Ágoston, and Gerald M Mara for their guidance and continued confidence in my abilities, as well as the entire Department of History at Georgetown University for their generous long-term support of this project. Funding for research and writing was also provided by the U.S. Department of Education, the Cosmos Club Foundation (Washington, DC), and the Institute of Civic Space and Public Policy at Łazarski University (Warsaw, Poland). Many thanks, Felicia Roşu iv TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 Why Poland-Lithuania and Transylvania?........................................................... 2 Why Stefan Báthory?........................................................................................... 7 Intellectual affiliation; themes, questions and hunches ....................................... 9 Premises, assumptions and conceptual framework............................................ 12 Method and paradigms of historical thought ..................................................... 21 Chronological and thematic limits..................................................................... 31 Sources............................................................................................................... 32 Outline and secondary literature ........................................................................ 44 I. CHOOSING TO ELECT.......................................................................................51 a) Elective monarchies in early modern Europe.................................................... 51 b) “Taking care of ourselves”: choosing to elect................................................... 54 c) “A free prince”: the road to Transylvania’s first election.................................. 73 d) “Orphans”: Poland-Lithuania’s second interregnum......................................... 88 e) An absent king is not a king: pressing concerns before elections ................... 100 Conclusions.......................................................................................................... 110 II. CAMPAIGNING ................................................................................................113 a) The line-up: overview of candidates in 1571 and 1575................................... 115 b) Likes and dislikes: factors influencing voter preferences ............................... 126 Natives versus foreigners................................................................................. 126 The Jagiellonian spell ...................................................................................... 129 Anna Jagiellonka.............................................................................................. 132 The small and weak versus the great and powerful ......................................... 138 Friend or foe of the Turk?................................................................................ 146 The least-favored nation clause ....................................................................... 151 Faith ................................................................................................................. 160 Military skill..................................................................................................... 167 Age................................................................................................................... 171 The fear factor.................................................................................................. 173 c) “Campaigning” tools: means for winning support .......................................... 184 d) Báthory’s early interest in the Polish crown.................................................... 189 e) Strategy and accident: Báthory’s recipe for electoral success......................... 194 Conclusions.......................................................................................................... 201 III. VOTING.............................................................................................................205 a) The theory of voting in European context ....................................................... 207 b) Warsaw 1575: the making of a double election .............................................. 218 v Overview.......................................................................................................... 219 Unanimity and public voting ........................................................................... 229 “Approval voting” and interaction on the election field.................................. 238 Sanior et maior................................................................................................. 248 General characteristics of the 1575 election .................................................... 256 Proposals for voting reform in Poland-Lithuania ............................................ 261 c) Voting methods in Transylvania...................................................................... 272 Conclusions.......................................................................................................... 286 IV. ACCEPTING THE OUTCOME......................................................................292 a) The authority of the Transylvanian ruler ......................................................... 292 “Voivode” or “prince”? Tranyslvania between Vienna and Istanbul .............. 294 Enthronement and the source of the voivode’s authority ................................ 311 Báthory’s nemesis: Gáspár Bekes.................................................................... 324 b) Sealing the election: coronation, rivals and rebels in Poland-Lithuania ......... 345 After the election: the race to the crown.......................................................... 348 After the coronation: from rival faction to “enemies of the Republic” ........... 359 c) Authority and rebellion in elective monarchies............................................... 376 Conclusions.......................................................................................................... 386 V. VICTORY’S PRICE: THE CONTRACT WITH THE ELECTORS ...........390 a) Conflicting promises: the Transylvanian contract........................................... 395 The double oath of 1571 .................................................................................. 399 The Seckler conundrum ................................................................................... 403 The religious liberty clause.............................................................................. 408 b) Contractual majesty in Poland-Lithuania: the Bathorian Articles................... 427 Báthory’s mandate: the Pacta Conventa of 1575-1576.................................... 428 Negotiating the contract................................................................................... 432 Fulfilling the contract....................................................................................... 436 c) Glory, reputation, and “il utile”: the mechanism of promise-keeping............. 455 Conclusions.......................................................................................................... 462 CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................469