Editing Sigismund I the Old (section)

===Crown of the Kingdom of Poland===
[[File:Zygmunt I nadaje szlachectwo profesorom Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego.jpg|thumb|Sigismund grants a noble status to the professors of the [[Jagiellonian University]], 1535. Painting by [[Jan Matejko]]]]

The internal situation in Poland was characterised by broad authorisation of the Chamber of Deputies, confirmed and extended in the constitution of ''[[Nihil novi]]''. During Alexander's reign, the law of ''Nihil novi'' had been instituted, which forbade kings of Poland from enacting laws without the consent of the [[Sejm]]. Sigismund had little control over the act, unlike the senators, whom he personally appointed. Eventually, during his reign, Sigismund benefited from the advice of the local nobility, competent ministers in charge of the royal judiciary system, and the wealthy influential treasurers of Kraków. Although he was reluctant to the parliamentary system and political independence of the nobility, he recognised the authority of legal norms, supported legalism and summoned annual sessions of the Sejm, usually obtaining funds on state defence. However he was unsuccessful at attempting to create a permanent fund for defence from the annual income tax. Despite this, in 1527 he established a conscript army and the bureaucracy needed to finance it. He set up the legal codes that formalised [[serfdom]] in Poland, placing the peasants into the private estates of nobles.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://wielkahistoria.pl/to-nie-szlachta-upowszechnila-w-polsce-panszczyzne-ziemianie-wzieli-przyklad-z-najpotezniejszej-instytucji-w-kraju/ |language=pl |title=To nie szlachta upowszechniła w Polsce pańszczyznę. Ziemianie wzięli przykład z najpotężniejszej instytucji w kraju |website=wielkahistoria.pl |author=Kamil Janicki |date=2 September 2021 |access-date=19 January 2024}}</ref>

[[File:Giovanni Maria Mosca, medaglia di sigismondo I di polonia.JPG|thumb|left|175px|Medal featuring the profile of Sigismund I, by [[Giovanni Maria Mosca]]]]

Likely related to tax matters was an unsuccessful attempt on the life of the king, made on 5 May 1523. The identity of the would-be assassin - who shot the ruler while he was strolling in the evening around the cloisters of the [[Wawel castle]] - and his potential supporters was never established. Unclear motives remained after the assassination attempt. Three weeks before the event, Sigismund I introduced a new edict that was very unfavourable and somewhat hostile to the high-ranking nobles and their interests.

Sigismund I achieved several economic successes, including partial debt reduction, separation of accounts of public taxation from the royal treasury, strengthening of the activities of the mint operating in Kraków, and the attempt to organise the processing of income from operating salt mines.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://polishhistory.pl/sigismund-i-the-old-a-good-thrifty-king/ |title=SIGISMUND I THE OLD: A GOOD, THRIFTY KING |website=polishhistory.pl |author=Michał Rzeczycki |access-date=19 January 2024}}</ref> Furthermore, he issued a statute for the [[Armenians in Poland|Armenians]] (1519) and strongly intended to harmonise the judicial system across the country.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://muzhp.pl/kalendarium/statut-ormianski |language=pl |title=Statut ormiański |website=muzhp.pl |access-date=19 January 2024}}</ref>

Between 1530 and 1538 the king issued two statutes defining the rules for the selection of the monarch, which permanently established the election ''viritim''. The laws held that all social groups, regardless of their wealth, could watch the election process (''unusquisque qui vellet''), and the election was to be free (''electio Regis libera'').

Sigismund successfully organised the agricultural economy, looked after the development of the royal cities and recovered numerous goods of the treasury belonging to the crown that were under lien. During the financial activities, the King received full support of his wife, Queen Bona, who aimed to expand the royal estates by purchasing and improving economic efficiency. In 1514 he set up the [[Council of Four Lands]] and put [[Abraham of Bohemia]] in charge of it.<ref>{{Cite web|title=YIVO {{!}} Bohemus, Abraham Judeus|url=https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Bohemus_Abraham_Judeus|access-date=2024-01-19|website=yivoencyclopedia.org}}</ref>