Chicken War

The derisive name was coined by the magnates, who for the most part supported the King and claimed that the conflict's only effect was the near-extinction of the local chickens, which were eaten by the nobles gathered for the rokosz at Lwów, in Ruthenian Voivodeship.

[3] At the start of his reign, King Sigismund I the Old inherited the Kingdom of Poland with a century-long tradition of liberties of the nobility that was confirmed in numerous privileges.

During the rule of his predecessor, Alexander I, the statute of "Nihil novi" had been instituted, effectively forbidding kings of Poland to promulgate laws without the consent of the Parliament.

[citation needed] Supported by his Italian consort, Bona Sforza, he began buying up land and started several agricultural reforms to enlarge the royal treasury.

However, the lesser and middle strata of the nobility called a rokosz, or semi-legal rebellion, to force the King to abandon his reforms.