The 'Execution(ist) Movement' (
Polish language: "''Ruch egzekucyjny''"; also "''egzekucja praw''," "execution of the laws," "''egzekucja dóbr''," "execution of lands," "''popularyści''," "popularists," "''zamoyszczycy''," "
Zamoyskiites") was a
16th-century political movement of lesser and middle nobility (''
szlachta'') in the
Kingdom of Poland and, later, the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
The movement's goal was to reform the country, increasing the power of the lesser and middle nobility so as to dominate the parliament (''
Sejm'') at the expense of the higher nobility (the
magnates), the
priesthood and to a lesser extent, the
monarch. The Executionist Movement succeeded in implementing some of its demands. However, in the early
17th century it declined and lost power before having attained most of its goals. The latter are largely viewed by modern historians as having been potentially salutary, had they been implemented.
The movement's leaders were
Chancellor Jan Zamoyski and ''Sejm'' politicians
Rafał Leszczyński,
Hieronim Ossoliński,
Jakub Ostroróg,
Jan Ponętowski and
Mikołaj Sienicki. Parts of the movement's program received the support of philisophers such as
Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski and
Jan Åaski.
The Execution Movement's demands included:
★ respect for ''
sejmik''
constitutions (legal acts), and
codification of the laws (hence, "execution of the laws");
★ return of
crown lands ("''królewszczyzny''"), often illegally held by
magnates, to the king (hence, "execution of lands");
★ respect for the ''
Incompatibilitas'' law (1504), specifying that some
Offices in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth might not be held together by one person; and for the residence rule, which stipulated that certain district offices might be held only by a person who maintained a residence in that district (territory, county);
★ increasing the power of the ''
Sejm'' (parliament); thus, the law of ''
Nihil novi''
References
★
Violetta Urbaniak, ''Zamoyszczycy bez Zamoyskiego'' (Zamoyszczycy without Zamoyski), Wydawnictwo DiG, Warszawa 1995