Jerzy Radziwiłł (; 1480 – April 1541), nicknamed "Herkules", was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman. He was Deputy Cup-Bearer of Lithuania from 1510,

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

of Kiev Voivodeship from 1510, Field

Hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

of Lithuania in 1521,

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

Trakai Trakai (; see Trakai#Names and etymology, names section for alternative and historic names) is a city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania or just from the administrative limits of the Lithuanian capi ...

from 1522, castellan of

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

from 1527, Marshal of the Court from 1528, Grand Hetman of Lithuania from 1531,

Starost Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...

Hrodna Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, from Minsk, about from the border with Poland, and from the border with Lithuania. Grodno serves as the ad ...

, Namiestnik of

Maišiagala Maišiagala is a historic town in Vilnius district municipality, Lithuania. It is located about northwest of Vilnius city municipality near the Vilnius–Panevėžys highway. According to the 2021 census, it had a population of 1 562, a decreas ...

, Mereck,

Utena Utena () is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the ...

, Mozyrsk,

Lida Lida is a city in Grodno Region, western Belarus, located west of Minsk. It serves as the administrative center of Lida District. As of 2025, it has a population of 103,262. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuanian name ''Ly ...

, Skidal, , Kryńsk and Oziersk. He was a progenitor of the

Biržai Biržai (, also known by several alternative names) is a city in northern Lithuania. Famous for its reconstructed Biržai Castle manor, the whole region is renowned for its many traditional-recipe beer breweries. Name The exact origin of th ...

– Dubingiai (also known as

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

) Radziwiłł family line. He was renowned for his military achievements and as a talented politician.Peter Paul Baje
Short history of the Radziwiłł Family
He took part in various conflicts against

Muscovy Muscovy or Moscovia () is an alternative name for the Principality of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 *Muscovy duck (''Cairina mosch ...

, the

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

and the

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

. Achieving around 30 military victories, he has been referred as the Lithuanian

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

. In 1526 as a member of the Lithuanian Council of Lords he unsuccessfully petitioned the

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old (, ; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the son of Casimir IV of P ...

for the renewal of a Kingdom of Lithuania under the rule of Sigismund the Old's son,

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...

. In the 1530s, acting with his brother Jan Radziwiłł, he was in almost total control of Lithuania's internal affairs. As a member of influential Radziwiłł family, Jerzy worked to increase his family estate. With his death it was inherited by his only son Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł. He had two daughters, of which the younger

Barbara Radziwiłł Barbara Radziwiłł (, ; 6 December 1520/23 – 8 May 1551) was List of Polish royal consorts, Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as consort of Sigismund II Augustus, the last male monarch of the Jagiellon dynasty. Barbara, a great b ...

became mistress and later

queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

to King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund Augustus, which greatly strengthened the Radziwiłł family's position in Poland and Lithuania.

Marriage and issue

He married Barbara Kiszka h. Dąbrowa and later Barbara Kola h. Junosza. They had three children: * Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł (1512–1584), who would later become Grand Hetman of Lithuania, married to Katarzyna Tomicka from Iwno h. Łodzia * Anna Elżbieta Radziwiłł (1518–1558), married Symeon Holszański Dubrowicki h. Hipocentaur and

marszałek Marszałek (, , , ) was the title of one of the highest officials in the Polish royal court since the 13th century, and in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since the 15th century. It was the highest-ranking of all court officials and was considered ...

Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...

Piotr Kiszka h. Dąbrowa (died 1550) in 1548 *

(1520–1551), married Stanisław Gasztołd and after his death in 1547 secretly married

king of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

and was crowned the queen consort the following year, despite protests by the

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

and the Senate

References

1480 births 1541 deaths

Jerzy Jerzy is the Polish version of the masculine given name George. The most common nickname for Jerzy is Jurek (), which may also be used as an official first name. Occasionally the nickname Jerzyk may be used, which means "swift" in Polish. Peop ...

Great Hetmans of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Court Marshals of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Field Hetmans of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Voivodes of Kiev {{Lithuania-noble-stub