THE LITHUANIAN UNION 121eastern provinces; the inadequacy of existing military, financial, and adminis-
trative practices - all pointed to the need for fundamental change and rapid
agreement. But there was added urgency. The King's third marriage had failed.
A divorce was not possible. An heir could not be born. The Jagiellons were sure
to die out. The King, tired and sick, roused himself for the last great effort of
his life. He alone could break the hesitations of the Lithuanian magnates. In the
last decade, he had tried many devices to unite the different traditions which
divided the two parts of his realm. In 1559, he had instituted a Sejm for the
Grand Duchy, and in 1564 provincial sejmiki on the Polish model. At the same
time he made great concessions, surrendering all prerogatives of the Grand
Duke which limited the property rights of the nobility, and extending full legal
privileges to Orthodox gentry. He knew, of course, that habits do not change
overnight, and that the representatives of the Lithuanian Sejm and Sejmiki had
been selected by the magnates under the threat of the knout. He watched at
Lublin how the three leading Lithuanians-Mikotaj Radziwill 'The Red', Jan
Chodkiewicz, and Ostafi Wollowicz - simply ordered the rest of their delega-
tion to hold their tongues. After one month of formalities, and a further month
of crossed purposes, the King summoned Radziwill and Chodkiewicz to appear
in person in the Senate and explain themselves. When they fled in the night, he
reacted angrily. In the following days, three provinces of the Grand Duchy -
Podlasie, Volhynia, and Kiev - were incorporated into the Korona. Two
Podlasian officers who refused to swear allegiance to the Polish crown, were
promptly stripped of their lands and offices. The implication was clear. If the
Lithuanian lords refused to behave like Polish noblemen and debate the issue
openly, the King would turn on them with all the fury of a Lithuanian autocrat.
In April, the leading lords of the Ukraine reappeared - Ostrogski, Czartoryski,
Sanguszko, Wisniowiecki - and took their places in the Polish Senate. On 17
June, Chodkiewicz himself reappeared, and, in the name of his peers, tearfully
implored the King 'not to hand them over to the Polish Crown by hereditary
will, to the slavery and shame of their children'. Sigismund-August replied, also
in tears: 'God dwells where Love is, for such is his Divine Will. I am not lead-
ing Your Lordships to any forced submission. We must all submit to God, and
not to earthly rulers.' It was the moment of decision. Chodkiewicz accepted the
terms of the proposed Union. The Senate rose to its feet and roared its thanks.
Poland and Lithuania were to be joined together, 'freemen with free, equals
with equal'. There was to be one Rzeczpospolita, one 'Republic' or
'Commonwealth'; one indivisible body politick, one king, elected not born; one
Sejm; one currency. The Lithuanians were to keep their own law, their own
administration, their own army, and the titles of their princely families. The
details were amicably edited. The King laboured incessantly for hours on end,
day after day. These are great matters', he said, 'which are to last for centuries;
they require long deliberation and good counsel.' Finally, on 1 July 1569, the
Act of Union was sealed. Standing at the front, hat in hand and surrounded by
the clergy, Sigismund-August received the oaths of loyalty from each of the sig-