Walenty Łukawski of

Nieczuja coat of arms Nieczuja is a Polish coat of arms that was used by many '' szlachta'' families in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. History Blazon Gules, a Brunâtre stock or tree stub, with three lopped branches on the dexter, and two on the sinister ...

(c. 1743 – 10 September 1773) was a Polish ''

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 ...

'' (

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

), ''

rotmistrz __NOTOC__ (German and Scandinavian for "riding master" or "cavalry master") is or was a military rank of a commissioned cavalry officer in the armies of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A ''Rittmeister'' is typic ...

'' and a member of the

Bar Confederation The Bar Confederation ( pl, Konfederacja barska; 1768–1772) was an association of Polish nobles (szlachta) formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia (now part of Ukraine) in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish� ...

, who led the abduction of

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarch ...

. The abduction took place on 3 November 1771 in

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 ...

. Łukawski led a team of 29 men, only one of whom, Jan Kuźma, actually left with the King as the abduction proceeded, since the others either fled or were arrested, including Łukawski himself. Łukawski and Cybulski were tried by 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 ...

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

s and were sentenced to death, despite the King's pleas to spare their lives (in 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 ...

, the king had no right of clemency for those sentenced by the Sejm). Kuźma was sentenced to exile for life. Łukawski was executed publicly in Warsaw on 10 September 1773. He was

beheaded Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

, quartered and burned in the presence of twenty thousand people. His wife, Marianna, was forced to watch the execution and died three days later from the shock.

References

Egzekucja porywaczy króla Stanisława Augusta Poniatowskiego
Year of birth missing 1773 deaths Executed Polish people People executed by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 18th-century Polish nobility Regicides People executed by Poland by decapitation People executed for kidnapping {{Poland-noble-stub