several years before the union of lublin, the polish "obrona potoczna" was reformed, as the sejm (national parliament of poland) legislated in 1562–1563 the creation of "wojsko kwarciane" (named after "kwarta" tax levied on the royal lands for the purpose of maintaining this formation). this formation was also paid for by the king, and in the peacetime, numbered about 3,500–4,000 men according to bardach; brzezinski gives the range of 3,000–5,000. it was composed mostly of the light cavalry units manned by nobility (szlachta) and commanded by hetmans. often, in wartime, the sejm would legislate a temporary increase in the size of the "wojsko kwarciane".