Bogusław Radziwiłł ( lt, Boguslavas Radvila; 3 May 1620 – 31 December 1669) was a Polish

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

ly magnate and a member of the Polish-Lithuanian ''

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 ...

'', or nobility. He was of the Radziwiłł

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 ...

family. By birth he was an Imperial Prince of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

.''Encyclopedia Americana'', 1919
/ref> He was a descendant of the famous knight, Zawisza the Black.

Biography

Born of the mightiest and highest resident family 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 Partitions of Poland, partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire, Habsburg Empire of ...

(as well as a blood descendant of King Casimir IV of Poland, and Kęstutis and

Vytautas Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

, monarchs of Lithuania), Radziwiłł was the owner of Biržai, Dubingiai, Słuck, and Kopyta, the great Standard-bearer of Lithuania since 1638, the Master of the Stables of Lithuania since 1648, and the Starost of

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

. Radziwiłł was Governor of the

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 region of Prussia establish ...

(Brandenburg-Prussia) (''generalny gubernator Prus Książęcych'') since 1657. From 1637 to 1648 Radziwiłł studied abroad, in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. For several decades, the interests between the Radziwiłł family and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had begun to drift apart, as Radziwłł were less satisfied with the magnate status of the family and its immense wealth and began craving more political power. Together with his cousin Janusz Radziwiłł in 1654 during The Deluge, or Swedish invasion of Poland, Bogusław Radziwiłł began negotiations with King

Charles X Gustav of Sweden Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...

aimed at breaking the Commonwealth and the

Polish–Lithuanian union Polish–Lithuanian can refer to: * Polish–Lithuanian union (1385–1569) * Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795) * Polish-Lithuanian identity as used to describe groups, families, or individuals with histories in the Polish–Lithuanian ...

. They signed a treaty according to which the Swedish–Lithuanian union was founded and the Radziwiłłs were to rule over two duchies carved up from the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (this was also confirmed in another treaty, the treaty of Radnot). The Swedish defeat and eventual retreat from the territories of the Commonwealth abruptly ended the plans of Janusz and Bogusław. The former died at

Tykocin Castle The Tykocin Royal Castle is a 15th-century castle located on the right bank of the river Narew in Tykocin, Poland. It fell into ruin in the 18th century and its reconstruction began in 2002. History The castle – then located on a border area ...

besieged by forces loyal to the Commonwealth, while Bogusław retreated with his forces to Prussia, where he supported

Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg Frederick William (german: Friedrich Wilhelm; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, h ...

, against the Polish king. In the Battle of Prostki on 8 October 1656, Bogusław's forces were decimated by the Commonwealth forces under

Hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military ...

Wincenty Korwin Gosiewski Wincenty Aleksander Korwin Gosiewski '' de armis'' Ślepowron (c. 1620 – 29 November 1662) – was a Polish nobleman, general, Field-Commander of Lithuania from 1654, Grand Treasurer of Lithuania and Lithuanian Great-Quartermaster since 1652 ...

. Radziwiłł himself was captured by the

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

s, who initially enslaved him and wanted to transport him to

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

. After fierce discussions with the Tatar commanders, he was handed over to Gosiewski. Boguslaw married Anna Maria Radziwiłł, the only daughter of his relative and collaborator, the late prince Janusz. In turn, this couple had only one surviving child, a daughter,

Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł Princess Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł ( lt, Liudvika Karolina Radvilaitė; 27 February 1667 – 25 March 1695) was a magnate Princess of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and an active reformer. Life Ludwika K ...

. Both Bogusław's and Janusz's lines of the Radziwiłł family became extinct by the next generation. In Poland it is believed that Bogusław's and Janusz's only lasting achievement was to tarnish the Radziwiłł family name for years to come with their treason, eclipsing the deeds of other Radziwiłłs like

Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł Prince Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł () (26 October 1625 – 14 November 1680) was a Polish–Lithuanian noble and magnate. He is sometimes referred to as ''the first'' Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł, to distinguish him from the other ...

, who fought for the Crown and the Commonwealth against the Swedes. Bogusław is the archvillain in a novel by

Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish writer, novelist, journalist and Nobel Prize laureate. He is best remembered for his historical novels, espe ...

, '' The Deluge'', which is mandatory school reading in Poland, and is also the basis for a very popular eponymous film. Bogusław died in exile in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was ...

in Brandenburg-Prussia. He was the last

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

male member of his family. His estates and the task to protect the Polish Reformed Church passed to his only daughter, Princess Ludwika Karolina.

Biography

References

Further reading