Wallachian Law as a Tool for Colonising Peripheral Areas: Case Study of the Sandomierz Forest in the 15th and 16th Centuries

Abstract

The uniqueness of Wallachian settlement in the territories of Poland was that it extended beyond its natural mountain and submontane zone. This resulted in the emergence of settlements founded under Wallachian law, including the Sandomierz Forest area. The aim of the article is to examine the economic activity of the residents of these settlements, which was conditioned by the environmental situation. One important problem addressed in this work is the question of reasons for the colonisation backwardness in this region, manifested in the slow pace of the progress of urbanisation, the limited scope of the money economy, and the late development of manorial demesnes, among other factors. These delayed and poorly discernible processes were followed by the evolution of the profile of Wallachian-law settlements, evident in the 16th century. The permeation of elements of Wallachian customs into agricultural settlements was an important adaptation element that has not been properly examined in the literature.