Stanisław Żółkiewski

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Stanisław Żołkiewski on the oil painting "King Báthory bei Pleskau " by Jan Matejko , 1872 (fragment)

Stanisław Żółkiewski (* 1547 in Lviv , † 7. October 1620 in Cecora, Moldavia ) was a Polish aristocrat , magnate , officials in the civil service , military leader , statesman and royal secretary from the house Żółkiewski .

From 1613 he was Grand Hetman and from 1618 Grand Chancellor of the Polish Crown , thus uniting the most important offices of Poland-Lithuania in one hand.

Life

Żółkiewski held numerous civil state offices in the administration of the I. Rzeczpospolita . From 1590 he was castellan of Lemberg, in 1608 he was appointed voivod of Kiev , later the offices of grand hetman and grand chancellor of the Polish crown followed.

As early as 1588 he was appointed to the military office of a field hetman of the crown (until 1613). Żołkiewski achieved several military successes in the wars of Poland against Tsarism Russia , the Kingdom of Sweden , the Ottoman Empire and the Khanate of Crimea .

Stanisław Żółkiewski attended schools in Lviv, was very well read and spoke several languages. He was secretary to the Polish king Stephan Báthory . Between 1594 and 1596 he crushed the Cossack uprising of Sewerin Naliwaiko . In the Battle of Guzów he was victorious in 1607 over the confederation of voivod Mikołaj Zebrzydowski and in 1610 over Russian troops in the Battle of Kłuszyn . As a result of his successful campaign, Żołkiewski took the Russian capital Moscow , while Tsar Vasily IV Shuisky was captured by Poland. He supported the election of the Polish prince Władysław IV. Wasa , as Russian tsar and the idea of ​​a personal union between the I. Rzeczpospolita and the tsarist Russia.

Between 1608 and 1618 he was voivode of the Kiev Voivodeship and from 1612 a teacher and mentor of Stanisław Koniecpolski , who later successfully succeeded him in the office of grand hetman. Both took part in military campaigns in the Danube principalities and Ukraine in 1612 and 1617 . Despite his age of more than 70 years, he continued his military career in the service of I. Rzeczpospolita undiminished.

On October 7, 1620 Stanisław Żółkiewski fell during the Polish retreat after the Battle of Cecora near the river Prut in the fight against the Turks . His body was violated, his head was cut off and sent to Constantinople as a war trophy for the sultan . His widow later bought the body free, as did the son, who had been taken prisoner by the Turks after the battle. Żółkiewski was buried in the family crypt in Żółkiew . His death gave rise to legends about a Christian knight who fell fighting the pagans in order to protect the “Holy Faith” .

estate

Noble coat of arms of the von Żołkiewski family
  • Początek i progres wojny moskiewskiej (The Beginning and Course of the Muscovite War) - His memories describing the Polish campaigns against Moscow (Russia) and diplomatic activities. Written in the third person, they were a brief account of the Polish-Russian War from 1609 to 1618 .
  • Żółkiewski was the namesake of the city of Żółkiew, today Schowkwa (Ukraine). In 1594 he built a fortification and a castle in a settlement that had existed since the 14th century.

References

literature

  • Miroslaw Nagielski (Red.): Hetmani Rzeczypospolitej Obojga Narodów. Bellona, ​​Warsaw 1994, ISBN 83-11-08275-8 (Contains an overview of all Polish-Lithuanian hetmans at the time of the Rzeczpospolita).
  • Michael J. Mikoś: Polish Baroque and Enlightenment Literature. An Anthology. Slavica Publishers, Columbus OH 1996, ISBN 0-89357-266-7 , pp. 104-108 (Contains a short biography and "Satire III: Burden and oppression of the peasants in the aristocratic republic").

Web links

Footnotes

  1. Michael J. Mikoś: Polish Baroque and Enlightenment Literature. An Anthology. Slavica Publishers, Columbus OH 1996, ISBN 0-89357-266-7 , pp. 104-108