Janusz Radziwiłł ( lt, Jonušas Radvila; 2 July 1579 – 3 December 1620) was a noble and magnate of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

. He was the deputy

cup-bearer A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person must have been regarded as ...

of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

since 1599, the

castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

since 1619, and the starost of Borysów. Radziwiłł also held the title of ''

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) of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. He married Zofia Olelkowicz Słucka on 1 October 1600. She died in 1612, and was canonized by the Belarusian Orthodox Church as saint ''Sofia of

Slutsk Slutsk ( officially transliterated as Sluck, be, Слуцк; russian: Слуцк; pl, Słuck, lt, Sluckas, Yiddish/Hebrew: סלוצק ''Slutsk'') is a city in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2022, its population i ...

'' thanks to her charity and miracles on the grave. Zofia's large estate (seven castles and palaces and some thirty-two villages) contributed to the already significant Radziwłł's wealth.Peter Paul Baje
Short history of the Radziwill Family
His second marriage was to Elisabeth Sophia of Brandenburg, daughter of

John George, Elector of Brandenburg John George of Brandenburg (german: Johann Georg von Brandenburg; 11 September 1525 – 8 January 1598) was a prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1571–1598). Early life Born as a member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was th ...

, on 27 March 1613 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. It was during Radziwiłł's life that the interests between his family and the

Polish Crown The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Korona Królestwa Polskiego; Latin: ''Corona Regni Poloniae''), known also as the Polish Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, includ ...

began to drift apart, as the Radziwiłłs sought to increase their wealth and power, safeguard Protestantism and support ethnically Lithuanian culture. In 1606 he joined the opposition against King

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...

and became one of the leaders of the Zebrzydowski's Rokosz. This '' confederatio'', an armed and legal rebellion, was aimed at weakening the king. Janusz Radziwiłł is one of the characters on the painting by

Jan Matejko Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Poles, Polish painting, painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works includ ...

: ''

Kazanie Skargi ''The Sermon of Piotr Skarga'' or ''Skarga's Sermon'' ( pl, Kazanie Skargi) is a large oil painting by Jan Matejko, finished in 1864, now in the National Museum, Warsaw in Poland. It depicts a sermon on political matters by the Jesuit priest P ...

'' (The Sermon of

Piotr Skarga Piotr Skarga (less often Piotr Powęski; 2 February 1536 – 27 September 1612) was a Polish Jesuit, preacher, hagiographer, polemicist, and leading figure of the Counter-Reformation in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Due to his oratoric ...

Notes

External links

* Anastazja A. Skiepjan
Pogrzeb Janusza Radziwiłła (1579–1620)
Klio, Vol 40, No 1 (2017). {{DEFAULTSORT:Radziwill, Janusz 1579 births 1620 deaths People from Vilnius Secular senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Polish Calvinist and Reformed Christians Polish Princes of the Holy Roman Empire Polish rebels Lithuanian Calvinist and Reformed Christians Janusz 1579 17th-century Polish landowners