The magnates arose as the wealthiest and most politically powerful
social class, part of the nobility (
szlachta), of the
Kingdom of Poland and
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, around 16th century. Some traced their ancestry to
Gediminas, a
Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1316, the
Gediminids. Their powers waned after the Commonwealth loss of independence following its
final partition in 1795, but they would remain a significant power in the culture, politics and economy of the Polish territories until
World War II. Magnates (or higher nobility) vied for political power with the lesser and middle nobility (
Ruch egzekucyjny in the late 16th century, and the reform movement of the
Great Sejm in the late 18th century) and the
King. To be counted among the magnates, one should have a large estate, and political influence at least on the scale of a
province, if not national. Regional differences abounded, with the estates being much larger in the east, where the wealthier magnates were also much more likely to have their own
private armies. The eastern territories were more independent from the central power, and the large estates there, known as
latifundia, with private cities and armies of the magnates, gave rise there to the term
królewięta ("little kings") used for the wealthiest of them - the developing
aristocracy. The magnates in the
Royal Prussia had their fortunes build not around their own lands, but the royal grants (
królewszczyzny). The magnates tried to avoid splitting up of their lands, and some of the wealthiest families were able to protect their lands from division through the
ordynacja system. Magnate residences often became cultural and economic centers for a given region.
Social mobility was present, in a limited fashion, as while the magnates preferred to marry within their own ranks, particularly wealthy of famous lesser nobles were able to join their ranks over time; this was the case with the
Koniecpolski family,
Ossoliński family and the
Zamoyski family. From the late 16th century the influence of the magnates on Commonwealth politics rose sharply, through their participation in the administrative system (see
offices of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth) and their control over the lesser nobility, which allowed them to influence the parliaments (local
sejmiks and the national
sejm walny) of the country. From the second half of the 17th century, the magnates emerged as the victors in the struggle for power in the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, leading some scholar to refer to this period as a time of the magnate
oligarchy. As
Norman Davies noted, at that time "political life [of Poland] was reduced to the feuds, fortunes, and the follies of a few families". Faced with the weakness of the king and parliament, the magnates were even able on occasion to start border wars (
Magnate Moldavian Wars, the
Dimitriads) or civil wars (Radziwiłł's rebellion during
The Deluge, and the Sapieha's-centered
Lithuanian Civil War of 1700). Some magnates were also
elected as kings of the Commonwealth; namely
Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki and
Stanisław August Poniatowski (a relative of the Czartoryski family). All members of the szlachta were equal under the law, therefore "
magnate" (, ) was not an official title but rather a position of
social class, based on
wealth. Several magnates
held high feudal titles or peerage ranks such as
prince or
count. With few exceptions, mostly dating from the
Union of Lublin, and special privileges permitting some Lithuanian magnates to use them, such titles were forbidden by law. Titles from the
offices in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth however were very popular. The wealthiest of magnates would wear
crimson and
scarlet items of clothing, leading to a nickname for that elite group,
karmazyni (the "crimson ones"). ==Families==