Henrician Articles

Polish  Artykuly Henrykowskie  (1573) statement of the rights and privileges of the Polish gentry (szlachta) that all elected kings of Poland, beginning with Henry of Valois (elected May 11, 1573), were obliged to confirm and that severely limited the authority of the Polish monarchy. After King Sigismund II Augustus died (July 1572), Henry of Valois, duc d'Anjou and the future Henry III of France, emerged as the favourite