Jerzy Ossolinski
Encyclopedia
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
szlachcic
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
, Crown Court Treasurer from 1632, voivode of Sandomierz
Sandomierz
Sandomierz is a city in south-eastern Poland with 25,714 inhabitants . Situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship , previously in Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship . It is the capital of Sandomierz County . Sandomierz is known for its Old Town, a major tourist attraction...
from 1636, Reichsfürst (Imperial Prince) since 1634, Crown Deputy Chancellor from 1639, Great Crown Chancellor from 1643, starost of Bydgoszcz (1633), Lubomel (1639), Puck
Puck, Poland
Puck is a town in northwestern Poland with 11,350 inhabitants. It is in Gdańsk Pomerania on the south coast of the Baltic Sea . Previously in the Gdańsk Voivodeship , Puck has been the capital of Puck County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999.-History:The settlement became a marketplace...
and Bolim (1647), magnate
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
, politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
. Famous for being extensively educated, skillful politician and speaker.
Biography
He was sent with diplomatic missionDiplomatic mission
A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one state or an international inter-governmental organisation present in another state to represent the sending state/organisation in the receiving state...
s to the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1633. He negotiated with Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
ians of Duchy of Prussia in 1635 and led another diplomatic mission to Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
and his parliament in Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
(Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
Ratyzbona) in 1636. As a leader of the pro-Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
faction at the royal court, he found an ally in the second wife of Władysław IV Waza, Cecilia Renata of Austria
Cecilia Renata of Austria
Archduchess Cecilia Renata of Austria was Queen of Poland as consort to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's King Władysław IV Vasa.-Biography:...
, daughter of Ferdinand II. In 1639 and 1641 he once again negotiated with envoys from the Duchy of Prussia. A Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, he opposed Protestants and advocated limiting their rights and privileges. In his pro-Habsburg and anti-Protestant stance he was allied with Chancellor Albrycht Stanisław Radziwiłł and Queen Cecilia Renata, first wife of Władysław.
House of Vasa
The House of Vasa was the Royal House of Sweden 1523-1654 and of Poland 1587-1668. It originated from a noble family in Uppland of which several members had high offices during the 15th century....
, arguing for increasing monarch
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
power, although he was known for limiting and withdrawing his support if he knew it was impossible to win. Nonetheless he was among the few who supported Władysław plans in late 1640s to wage an offensive war on the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. He had few friends among the lesser szlachta, whom he mostly disliked and treated the Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
and regional sejmik
Sejmik
A sejmik was a regional assembly in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and earlier in the Kingdom of Poland. Sejmiks existed until the end of the Commonwealth in 1795 following the partitions of the Commonwealth...
s as a 'necessary evil', although he rarely broke any laws.
From 1644 he switched his alignment from pro-Habsburg to pro-French and supported the second marriage of King Władysław with Ludwika Maria Gonzaga
Ludwika Maria Gonzaga
Marie Louise Gonzaga was queen consort to two Polish kings: Władysław IV Vasa, and John II Casimir Vasa...
. During his life he became the enemy of Adam Kazanowski
Adam Kazanowski
Adam Kazanowski was a noble of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1633. Greater Crown Stolnik from 1634, Court Chamberlain and castellan of Sandomierz from 1637, Court Marshall from 1643, żupnik of Wieliczka from 1642, starosta barcicki, borysowski, kozienicki, rumieński, solecki,...
and Jeremi Wiśniowiecki
Jeremi Wisniowiecki
Jeremi Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki was a notable member of the aristocracy of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Prince at Wiśniowiec, Łubnie and Chorol and a father of future Polish king Michał I...
, whose power diminished with the marriage between Władysław and Cecylia in 1637. Rival of bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
and chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
Piotr Gembicki
Piotr Gembicki
Piotr Gembicki , Deputy Crown Chancellor and Bishop of Przemyśl from 1635, Great Crown Chancellor from 1638, Bishop of Kraków from 1642 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.-Biography:...
, whom he eventually forced to retire from politics in 1642, receiving his position of Great Crown Chancellor.
He was not the wealthiest of magnates, his possessions were fairy small - compared to those of Radziwiłłs or Wiśniowiecki
Wisniowiecki
Wiśniowiecki is the name of a family notable in the history of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. They were powerful magnates in Ruthenia of Rurikid or Gediminids descent. The family traditions traces their descend to Gediminids, but modern historians believe there is more evidence for the Rurikid...
s, but almost none of them were mortgaged or loaned. In 1635 he funded the expansion of his family castle in Ossolin
Ossolin
Ossolin is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Klimontów, within Sandomierz County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Klimontów, west of Sandomierz, and east of the regional capital Kielce.The village has a population of...
. Between 1639-1642 he funded the palace
Brühl Palace, Warsaw
The Brühl Palace , otherwise known as Sandomierski Palace standing at Piłsudski Square. It was a large palace and one of the most beautiful rococo buildings in pre-World War II Warsaw.-History:...
in the capital city of Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
.
After the death of Władysław IV in 1648 he supported the election
Elective monarchy
An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by an elected rather than hereditary monarch. The manner of election, the nature of the candidacy and the electors vary from case to case...
of his half brother John Casimir and was instrumental in his election.
Ossoliński also was in favour of treaties with the Cossacks, he took part in the negotiations and was an important contributor to the Treaty of Zborów in 1649.
He was a well regarded speaker and orator (he served twice as the Speaker of the Sejm in 1631 and 1635). He was also an author of:
- Orationess... (1647)
- Mercurius Sarmatiae (1716)
- Pamiętnik (en. The Diary) 1595-1621 (1952)
He also wrote the diaries of the embassy to Germany (published in 1877) and to Rome (1883).
Brother of Krzysztof Ossoliński
Krzysztof Ossolinski
Krzysztof Ossoliński was a Polish-Lithuanian szlachcic .He was Podstoli of Sandomierz since 1618, Podkomorzy of Sandomierz since 1619, Castellan sadecki in 1633, wojnicki in 1636, voivode of Sandomierz Voivodeship in 1638, Starost stobnicki, ropczycki and wolbromski.Brother of Kanclerz Jerzy...
(1587–1645), voivode of Sandomierz (1638), and Maksymilian Ossoliński
Maksymilian Ossoliński
Maksymilian Ossoliński was a Polish-Lithuanian nobleman and politician. He was Chamberlain of Sandomierz , Treasurer of the Crown Court , Castellan of Czersk and Starost of Bieck and Malbork.-Biography:...
(1588–1665), chorąży sandomierski (1624), Deputy Court Treasurer.