254 ANARCHIA
they were called 'extraordinary'. On the death of the king, the Sejm was auto-
matically convoked by the Primate acting as Interrex or 'Regent', whose task it
was to prepare the election of a successor. This meeting was called the Sejm
konwokacyjny or 'convocational assembly'. When the new king had been
elected, the Sejm met again, first to confirm the terms of the king's contract in
the Pacta Conventa at the Sejm elekcyjny (Electoral Assembly), and then to hear
him swear the coronation oath at the Sejm koronacyjny (Coronation Assembly).
(The failure of the king-elect to accept the Pacta Conventa or the oath as they
stood would have required the immediate cancellation of the Coronation, and
the calling of a new election.) Ever since 1505, when the constitution of Nihil
Novi was passed, the Lower Chamber had enjoyed parity of status with the
Senate. Through the Pacta Conventa, it held the ultimate check on the conduct
of the king. As the servant of the dietines, it expressed the will of the noble citi-
zens of the Republic, and controlled the vital spheres of military finance and
state taxation. It was the more powerful element in the Sejm, therefore, and, as
such, the highest authority in the state. These arrangements, completed in time
for the accession of the first elected king in 1573, prevailed until 1791.
During the three centuries of its existence, the Sejm conducted some 230 ses-
sions. 147 of these were held in the Royal Castle in Warsaw; 38 in Piotrkow; 29
in Cracow; 11 in Grodno (in response to a Lithuanian demand in 1678 to hold
every third session in the Grand Duchy); 4 in Lublin; 3 in Thorn; 2 in
Sandomierz; 2 in Radom; and 1 in each of several accidental localities. The very
last session, assembled in Grodno to confirm the Second Partition, terminated
its deliberations on 23 November 1793.^6
A Royal election in Poland was something rather special. In theory, every
nobleman of the Republic was entitled to attend, and in practice, anything
between ten and fifteen thousand usually did. They assembled on horseback on
the Wola Field near Warsaw, forming up in serried ranks round the pavilions of
their respective provinces. Any Catholic nobleman — citizen or foreigner — was
eligible to present himself as a candidate. Each of the provinces discussed the
matter beforehand in the dietines, and generally came to Warsaw with some
idea of their preferences. Yet the process whereby this horde of armed horsemen
reached a unanimous decision from dozens of candidates and viewpoints can
only be described as one of collective intuition. At the start of the day, the spon-
sors of each leading candidate would form a claque to publicize their cause.
Deputations would move from pavilion to pavilion, testing the drift of the gen-
eral mood, canvassing their clients, reporting back to their own provincial pavil-
ion to decide what move to make. All the while the Marshal of the Crown would
ride back and forth, urging the doubters to throw in their lot with the front run-
ners, begging the losing parties not to resist unduly, cajoling them all to settle
their differences and make their common choice. If he was lucky, by the evening,
the name of the expected winner would be raised aloud; one by one the
provinces would swell the chanting into a gigantic roar; and at last, swords
raised to the sky, the nobility of the Republic would acclaim their King. As often