Prince Jerzy Ossoliński h. Topór (15 December 1595 – 9 August 1650) was a Polish nobleman (''

szlachcic The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in th ...

''), Crown Court Treasurer from 1632, governor (''

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

'') of

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Provi ...

from 1636, ''

Reichsfürst Prince of the Holy Roman Empire ( la, princeps imperii, german: Reichsfürst, cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised as such by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors o ...

'' (Imperial Prince) since 1634,

Crown Deputy Chancellor Chancellor of Poland ( pl, Kanclerz - , from la, cancellarius) was one of the highest officials in the historic Poland. This office functioned from the early Polish kingdom of the 12th century until the end of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwea ...

from 1639, Great Crown Chancellor from 1643, sheriff ('' starost'') of

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

(1633), Lubomel (1639), Puck and Bolim (1647),

magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

, politician and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

. Famous for being extensively educated, he was a skillful politician and a persuasive public speaker.

Biography

Bellotto Entry of Jerzy Ossoliński into Rome in 1633

He was sent with

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

s to the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

in Rome in 1633. He negotiated with

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

ians of

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the Prussia (region), region of P ...

in 1635 and led another diplomatic mission to

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Ferdinand II and his parliament in

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

(Polish: ''Ratyzbona'') in 1636. As a leader of the pro-

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

faction at the royal court, he found an ally in the first wife of

Władysław IV Waza Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to: Famous people Mononym * W ...

, Cecilia Renata of Austria, daughter of Ferdinand II. In 1639 and 1641 he once again negotiated with envoys from the Duchy of Prussia. A

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, he opposed

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

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. Jerzy_Ossoliński

In 1643 he was appointed Chancellor of the Crown. A close royal adviser, he often supported king Władysław IV Waza from the

House of Vasa The House of Vasa or Wasa Georg Starbäck in ''Berättelser ur Sweriges Medeltid, Tredje Bandet'' pp 264, 275, 278, 291–296 & 321 ( sv, Vasaätten, pl, Wazowie, lt, Vazos) was an early modern royal house founded in 1523 in Sweden. Its memb ...

, arguing for increasing

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

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's plans in the late 1640s to wage an offensive war on the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. He had few friends among the lesser szlachta, whom he mostly disliked and treated the

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...

and regional

sejmik A sejmik (, diminutive of ''sejm'', occasionally translated as a ''dietine''; lt, seimelis) was one of various local parliaments in the history of Poland and history of Lithuania. The first sejmiks were regional assemblies in the Kingdom of Pol ...

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 Marie Louise Gonzaga ( pl, Ludwika Maria; 18 August 1611 – 10 May 1667) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania by marriage to two kings of Poland and grand dukes of Lithuania, brothers Władysław IV and John II Casimir. Together w ...

. During his life he became the enemy of

Adam Kazanowski Adam Kazanowski (c. 1599 – 25 December 1649) was a noble of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1633, Greater Crown Stolnik from 1634, Court Chamberlain (''podkomorzy koronny'') and castellan of Sandomierz from 1637, Court Marshall from ...

and

Jeremi Wiśniowiecki Prince Jeremi Wiśniowiecki ( uk, Ярема Вишневецький – Yarema Vyshnevetsky; 1612 – 20 August 1651) nicknamed ''Hammer on the Cossacks'' ( pl, Młot na Kozaków), was a notable member of the aristocracy of the Polish–Lith ...

, whose power diminished with the marriage between Władysław and Cecylia in 1637. Rival of

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

and

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Piotr Gembicki Piotr Gembicki (10 October, 1585 – 14 July, 1657), Deputy Crown Chancellor and Bishop of Przemyśl from 1636, Grand Crown Chancellor from 1638, Bishop of Kraków from 1642 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Biography Piotr Gembicki was bo ...

, 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 very small compared to those of Radziwiłłs or

Wiśniowiecki The House of Wiśniowiecki ( uk, Вишневе́цькі, ''Vyshnevetski''; lt, Višnioveckiai}) was a Polish-Lithuanian princely family of Ruthenian-Lithuanian origin, notable in the history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. They we ...

s, but almost none of them were mortgaged or loaned. In 1635 he funded the expansion of his family castle in Ossolin. Between 1639–1642 he funded the

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

in the capital city of

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. After the death of Władysław IV in 1648 he supported the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

of his half brother John Casimir and was instrumental in his election. Ossoliński also was in favour of treaties with the

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

, 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'' (''The Diary'' or ''Memoires'') 1595–1621 (1952) He also wrote the diaries of the embassy to Germany (1877) and to Rome (1883). Brother of

Krzysztof Ossoliński Krzysztof Ossoliński (28 April, 1587 – 24 February, 1645) was a Polish–Lithuanian '' szlachcic'' (nobleman). He was Podstoli of Sandomierz since 1618, Podkomorzy of Sandomierz since 1619, Castellan sadecki in 1633, wojnicki in 1636, ...

(1587–1645), voivode of Sandomierz (1638), and Maksymilian Ossoliński (1588–1665), chorąży sandomierski (1624), Deputy Court Treasurer.

Marriage and issue

Jerzy married Izabella Daniłłowicz h. Sas in 1620 in

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

and had four children: * Prince Franciszek Ossoliński (died 1648), married to Katarzyna Działyńska h. Ogończyk * Princess Urszula Brygida Ossolińska, married to Samuel Kalinowski h. Kalinowa (died at the

Batih massacre The Batoh (Batih) massacre (Polish: ''Rzeź polskich jeńców pod Batohem'') was a mass execution of Polish captives after the Battle of Batih on near Ladyzhyn (now in Ukraine). It was carried out by Ukrainian Cossacks under the command of Hetm ...

), son of Hetman

Marcin Kalinowski Marcin Kalinowski (c. 1605 – 1652) was a Polish magnate and nobleman ( szlachcic), Kalinowa coat of arms, Field Crown Hetman. He was the son of Walenty Aleksander Kalinowski who fell at the Battle of Cecora (1620). He began his studies in ...

* Princess

Helena Tekla Ossolińska Princess Helena Tekla Lubomirska ''née'' Ossolińska (died 1687) was a Polish szlachcianka, noblewoman, wife of Aleksander Michał Lubomirski (d. 1677), Aleksander Michał Lubomirski since 1637. Callot Helena Tekla Lubomirska

(died 1687), married to Prince Aleksander Michał Lubomirski * Princess Anna Teresa Ossolińska (died 1651), married to Zygmunt Doenhoff, son of

Kasper Doenhoff Prince Kasper Doenhoff (german: Kaspar von Dönhoff, pl, Kacper Denhoff, 1587–1645) was a Polish nobleman of Baltic-German extraction, a Reichsfürst of the Holy Roman Empire and Governor of Dorpat Province within the Polish–Lithuanian Co ...

Bibliography

* Błażejewski Stanisław, Kutta Janusz, Romaniuk Marek: Bydgoski Słownik Biograficzny. Tom III. Bydgoszcz 1996. , str. 107-109 * Bohomolec Franciszek
''Życie Jerzego Ossolińskiego, kanclerza wielkiego koronnego, lubelskiego, lubomskiego, lubaczowskiego, bogusławskiego, brodnickiego, ryckiego, derpskiego, adzielskiego, stanisławowskiego i bydgoskiego starosty''
T. 1 i 2 Kraków 1860 *

Ludwik Kubala Ludwik Kubala (9 September 1838 in Kamienica, Limanowa County, Kamienica - 30 September 1918 in Lviv, Lwów) was a Polish historian. Lived in Kraków and Lwów, fought in the January Uprising. In 1880-1881 he published a historical treaty that is ...

''Szkice historyczne''
seria 1, wyd.3 Kraków 1896; ''Jerzy Ossoliński'' Lwów 188
T. 1T. 2''Jerzy Ossoliński''
wyd. 2 rozszerzone, Warszawa

Ossolineum Ossoliński National Institute ( pl, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, ZNiO), or the Ossolineum is a Polish cultural foundation, publishing house, archival institute and a research centre of national significance founded in 1817 in Lwów (now L ...

1924. * Polski Słownik Biograficzny t. 24 s. 403 * A True Copy of the Latine Oration of the Excellent George Ossolinski, Count Palatine of Tenizyn, and Sendomyria, Chamberlain to the Kings Maiestie of Poland, and Suethland, and Embassadour to the Kings most Excellent Maiesty. As it was pronounced to his Maiestie at White-Hall by the said Embassadour, on Sunday the 11. of March, 1620.

External links

Ossolinski Gallery of Portraits

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ossolinski, Jerzy 1595 births 1650 deaths Polish Princes of the Holy Roman Empire Jerzy Polish people of the Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618)