Sarmatism

As Sarmatism is referred to in general the culture of the Polish nobility in the 17th and 18th centuries. The starting point is the self-designation of the szlachta and the magnates, who traced their origin genealogically to the people of the Sarmatians.

This was associated with the struggle for special class privileges and a clear - even religious - delimitation with neighboring peoples. With this constructed past the leading noble representatives wanted to secure their exclusive right to rule in the Aristocratic Republic, as well as their veto legally defined in Liberum unlimited personal freedom, even and especially to the king of their choice. The Sarmatism found its way into the visual arts, architecture, literature and popular culture. Critics of this concept, which made it at least partly responsible for the demise of the double state and the divisions of the late 18th century, accused the nobles megalomania, lack of tolerance towards dissenters and infidels and class selfishness.