HARVARD UKRAINIAN STUDIES - See also - Harvard University

182 FRANK E. SYSYNdiscuss princes and nobles as distinct orders testifies to the conservatismof political thought in the incorporation lands and to the continuingstrength of regional traditions there.In contrast to the issues of titles and Orthodox grievances, whichdirectly pertained only to a segment of nobles, Kysil's discussion ofmilitary affairs affected all nobles and non-nobles in the incorporationlands. The inability of the government of the Grand Duchy to helpinhabitants of its Ukrainian lands fend off Tatar attacks had predisposedthe nobility of the region towards annexation by Poland. Themore powerful Kingdom, with a proven interest in defending itsUkrainian territories of the Podolian and Ruthenian palatinates fromTatar incursions, seemed more likely to deal with the problem effectively.In 1562-1563, the Diet attempted to substitute for the lack of anarmy in the Kingdom and to deal with the defense problem in thesoutheast by setting up a standing army to be paid from revenue fromroyal lands. The "Wojsko Kwarciane" (named after the quarter of therevenue of the royal lands allotted for their maintenance) normallynumbered between 3,000 and 5,000 men, but was greatly augmentedduring wartime. The troops' pay often came late and their quarteringwas a burden on local landowners, whose estates they frequentlypillaged. To the nobles, the troops often seemed as great a scourge asthe Tatars and Cossacks they were intended to control. Tatar attacks,Cossack rebellions, and frontier violence prompted most palatinates torecruit their own troops, and magnates kept private armies that rivaledthe standing forces. Therefore the nobles of the Ukraine paid taxes,lost revenue from the army's quartering and pillaging, and expendedfunds on additional troops. 37At the Diet of 1641 Kysil faced a body loathe to raise taxes andpacifist because it was fearful that any military activity would lead tothe aggrandizement of royal power. In the late 1630s and early 1640s,unlike the nobles of the Ukrainian lands, the nobles of Little andGreat Poland, Masovia and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania had littlereason to be concerned about military affairs or payments to standingtroops. By contrast, in the late 1630s the nobles of Volhynia and Kievhad shown how vitally concerned they were with military issues. Whenthreatening to block all legislation in an effort to secure rights for the11On the military in this period, see Jan Wimmer, Wojsko polskie w drugiejpołowie XVII wieku (Warsaw, 1965), pp. 11-37.