Zygmunt Unrug (1676–1732), also known as Sigismund von Unruh, was a Polish ''

szlachta 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 the ...

'' nobleman of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

descent who served as a royal

chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

, ''

starosta The starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', german: link=no, Starost, Hauptmann) is a term of Slavic origin denoting a community elder whose role was to administer the assets of a clan or family estates. Th ...

'', and

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

during the period of

Stanisław I Leszczyński Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Stanislaus County, Cali ...

and

Augustus II the Strong Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as Ki ...

. Charged with the crime of

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

after some of his purloined private writings were made public by his political enemies, the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Unrug received refuge from Prussia's Frederick William I after being sentenced to death by the Polish-Lithuanian authorities in 1715. Unrug, who, remained committed to clearing his name during his period abroad, was able to secure support from the

Papacy 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 ...

and the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

; a decade later, the original verdict of guilt was finally rejected by the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

.Morfill, W. R. (1890)
"A Blasphemy Case in Poland in the Eighteenth Century".
''The Academy'' 38 (No. 961): pp. 240-241.

Biography

A ''

'' nobleman by birth, Unrug was born in

Międzychód Międzychód (, german: Birnbaum) is a town in Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, the administrative seat of Międzychód County. It is located on the southern shore of the Warta river, about west of Poznań. Population is 10,915 (2009). His ...

in 1676, one of the twelve children and six sons of

Gniezno Gniezno (; german: Gnesen; la, Gnesna) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. One of the Piast dynasty's chief cities, ...

and

Wałcz Wałcz (pronounced ; german: Deutsch Krone) is a county town in Wałcz County of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. During the years 1975 to 1998, the city was administratively part of the Piła Voivodeship. Granted city ri ...

'' Krzysztof Unrug (Christoph von Unrug) and his wife Bogumiła Jaskólecka. A

(member of the

Bohemian Brethren , image = AgnusDeiWindow.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , caption = Church emblem featuring the Agnus Dei.Stained glass at the Rights Chapel of Trinity Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States , main_classification = Proto-Prot ...

), with German-Polish roots dating back to the 16th century, the privileged Zygmunt Unrug received a Polish education before attending a nearby

university at

Frankfurt on the Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

, and rose to become a ''starosta'' and a royal

. Unrug was notably sent as an ambassador to

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

's Frederick William I, in 1708, shortly before Stanisław's replacement by King

. The well-read and philosophically-inclined Unrug spent a considerable amount of his time poring over the works of various writers and setting down his own ideas privately. Purloined from Unrug's closet, these notes fell into the hands of another nobleman, Andrzej Potockia political enemy who had earlier stood opposite Unrug during the earlier conflict between

and

. With Potocki's uproar about allegedly

blasphemous Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

passages in Unrug's collection of notes, the matter quickly became an affair for the Polish-Lithuanian tribunal at Piotrków. The deliberations carried out at the tribunal returned a verdict confirming Unrug's guilt for the alleged blasphemy. Unrug's insistent protestations of innocence were disregarded; the tribunal ordered the confiscation of Unrug's property (some of it going to Potocki), as well as the burning of the offending notebookwhile Unrug himself was sentenced to death by burning after having his tongue torn out and his right hand cut off.Pollard, Albert Frederick (1892)
''The Jesuits in Poland: The Lothian Essay''.
Oxford Prize Essays. Oxford: B. H. Blackwell; London: Methuen and Co. p. 92. Unrug's timely escape rendered the full execution of the sentence impossible, as Protestant monarch Frederick William granted Unrug his protection 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 ...

. Unrug remained committed to clearing his name during his period abroad. Already supported by Protestants, he was able to secure support from the highest

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 ...

authority, 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 ...

, who rejected the original ruling on the basis of the incompetence of the court, as well as from the influential scholars at the

, who also rejected the Piotrków verdict. The original sentence was finally rescinded by the

in 1726, which ordered that the property earlier seized from Unrug be returned to him. Zygmunt Unrug died in 1732. Unrug's life and the nature of his historic blasphemy case was documented by influential Polish writer

Aleksander Kraushar Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

(Alexander Kraushar) in his two-volume ''Sprawa Zygmunta Unruga: epizod historyczny z czasów saskich, 1715-1740'', first published in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

(

Austrian Poland The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,, ; pl, Królestwo Galicji i Lodomerii, ; uk, Королівство Галичини та Володимирії, Korolivstvo Halychyny ta Volodymyrii; la, Rēgnum Galiciae et Lodomeriae also known as ...

) in 1890.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unrug, Zygmunt 1676 births 1732 deaths People prosecuted for blasphemy Polish diplomats Polish expatriates in Germany 17th-century Polish nobility Polish people of German descent Polish Protestants 18th-century Polish nobility

Biography

Further reading

References