What is it about?
This essay scrutinizes how the notion of the common good was interpreted within two distinct urban communities of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in Royal Prussia and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. While the discourse surrounding the common good held significant weight in Polish–Lithuanian political and moral deliberations, urban culture was largely overlooked. This was primarily due to the prevalent belief in the moral inferiority associated with urban and commercial activities. Despite this, the essay presents two case studies demonstrating how the principle of the common good, or “bonum commune,” was actualized in the Commonwealth’s cities.
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Why is it important?
This chapter provides a new perspective on the discourse of the common good in an East Central European context, where cities and towns have traditionally been excluded from the analysis of political culture. The examples provided are Danzig (Royal Prussia) during the city’s dispute with King Stephen Báthory and Slutsk (Grand Duchy of Lithuania) during the period of Prince Bogusław Radziwiłł’s ownership. The common good was tightly interwoven with self-interest in urban socio-political and economic life. These two values bolstered each other, creating a potential symbiosis between the common good and individual benefit. Attempts to secure the common good were not perceived as sacrifices but as pursuits of prosperity and overall well-being.
Perspectives
This work builds on my very first book, which was first published in 2000, The Other Prussia. Royal Prussia and Liberty 1569-1772, and adds the persective of how the common good was regarded in a private noble city, represented here with Slutsk, in the Belorrusian territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which was under the rule and ownership of the Lithuanian magnate Bogusław Radziwiłł (1620-1669), a figure who features in my forthcoming monograph, The Loyalties of a Borderland Prince. Bogusław Radziwiłł (1620-1669) between Poland-Lithuania and Prussia.
Karin Friedrich
University of Aberdeen
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The “Common Good” and Urban Crisis Management in Early Modern East-Central Europe: The Examples of Danzig and Slutsk, October 2023, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004547278_005.
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