Jan Hieronimowicz Chodkiewicz ( lt, Jonas Chodkevičius, be, Ян Геранімавіч Хадкевіч) (1537 – 4 August 1579) was a 16th-century Polish-Lithuanian noble. He was Grand Pantler of Lithuania 1559, general starost of Samogitia 1563,

Elder of Samogitia The Duchy of Samogitia ( lt, Žemaičių seniūnija, sgs, Žemaitėjės seniūnėjė, pl, Księstwo żmudzkie)Grzegorz Błaszczyk, ''Żmudź w XVII i XVIII wieku: zaludnienie i struktura społeczna'', Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Pozn ...

1564, starost of Telšiai and Plateliai 1566,

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

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 ...

and

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Grand Marshal of Lithuania Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commun ...

1566,

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Traka ...

starost 1569,

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...

Shkloŭ Shklow ( be, Шклоў, ; Škłoŭ; russian: link=no, Шклов, ''Shklov''; yi, שקלאָוו, ''Shklov'', lt, Šklovas, pl, Szkłów) is a town in Mogilev Region, Belarus, located north of Mogilev on the Dnieper river. It has a railway ...

1568,

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 urba ...

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 ...

1574.

Biography

He was one of the most famous Polish-Lithuanian magnates of the 16th century. Raised a

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 ...

he studied at the Universities of

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 ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, and

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...

, and entered in the service of

Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fr ...

from 1552 to 1555. After that he entered the service of the

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power— Ho ...

. In 1558 Jan Chodkiewicz was made

and sent to defend Livonia against Tsar Ivan IV 'the Terrible' who was trying to enforce a passage to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. With the help of Michael Radziwiłł, Great Chancellor of Lithuania, he succeeded in attaching Livonia to

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. But this territory remained for long the main target of Russian attacks. In 1564 he became

, in 1566

and governor of Livonia (1566–78, with headquarter at

Sigulda Sigulda (; german: Segewold, pl, Zygwold, russian: Сигулда) is a town in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, from the capital city Riga. Overview Sigulda is on a picturesque stretch of the primeval Gauja river valley. Because of the reddish De ...

near

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the ...

), and in 1574 Castellan of Vilnius. As his uncle he was a strong opponent to the Union of Lithuania with Poland. The Lithuanian delegation to the meetings preparing the Act of Union between Poland and Lithuania was led by Jan, who insisted in a long impassioned speech on the equality and independence of the two nations. Finally "''bowing to the king's power, he pointed out those parts of the Act of Union which were unacceptable to Lithuania and he stated that he yielded to the King's will only with the deepest sorrow''". In practice the Union of Lublin in 1589 made sure that the Grand Duchy of Lithuania retained its own form of government and separate laws until the end of the joint state in 1795. In 1570 Jan Hieronimowicz converted to

Catholicism 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 ...

and became a great benefactor of the Jesuits. He married the

Krystyna Zborowska before 1559 in Krakow, daughter of

Marcin Zborowski Marcin Zborowski (''c.'' 1495 – 25 February 1565) was a Polish castellan ( pl, kasztelan) of Kalisz (since 1543), voivod (''wojewoda'') of Kalisz (since 1550), voivod of Poznań (since 1558) and castellan of Kraków (since 1562). He was one of ...

of Krakow, and Anna Konarska. She remained Calvinist despite his conversion and raised some of their daughters in that religion despite their father's will. They had issue: Hieronim was born at Vilnius in 1559; Aleksander at

Trakai Trakai (; see names section for alternative and historic names) is a historic town and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. ...

in 1560; Jan Karol at Vilnius in 1560-61; Anna at Vilnius in 1562; Zofia at Vilnius in 1564, Elzbieta at Vilnius in 1568; and Aleksandra at Vilnius in 1576. He died on 4 August 1579 and was buried in Vilnius Cathedral.

Marriage and issue

Jan Hieronim married Krystyna Zborowska h. Jastrzębiec (c. 1540-1588), daughter of

h. Jastrzębiec and Anna Konarska h. Abdank, the daughter of Stanisław Konarski h. Abdank and Zofia Lanckorońska h. Zadora, in 1559, and had seven children: *

Aleksander Chodkiewicz Aleksander Chodkiewicz ( lt, Aleksandras Chodkevičius, , ; ca. 1475 – 28 May 1549) was a Ruthenian noble from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia and Samogitia, founder of the Supraśl Orthodox Monastery. He inherited vast possessions fro ...

(1560-1626), voivode of Troki, married Eufemia Sienieńska h.

Dębno Dębno (german: Neudamm) is a town in Myślibórz County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship in western Poland. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 13,443. After the Migration Period, the area was populated by West Slavic peoples sin ...

, the daughter of voivode of Podole Jan Sienieński h. Dębno and Katarzyna Korniakt h. Krucyni, the daughter of

Konstanty Korniakt Konstanty Korniakt ( gr, Κωνσταντίνος Κορνιακτός, Konstantinos Korniaktos; c. 1517 – 1 August 1603) was a merchant of Greek descent, active throughout Central and Eastern Europe; a leaseholder of royal tolls who collecte ...

h. Krucyni * Jan Karol Chodkiewicz (1561-1621), voivode of Wilno and

, married Zofia Mielecka h.

Gryf Gryf ( Polish for "Griffin"), also known as Jaxa, is a Polish coat of arms that was used by many noble families in medieval Poland and later under the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, branches of the original medieval Gryfita-Świebodzic famil ...

, the daughter of voivode of Podole and Hetman Mikołaj Mielecki h. Gryf and Princess Elżbieta Radziwiłł h. Trąby. His second wife was Princess Anna Alojza Ostrogska h.

Ostrogski The House of Ostrogski ( pl, Ostrogscy, lt, Ostrogiškiai, ua, Острозькі - ''Ostroz'ki'') was one of the more prominent families in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The ...

, the daughter of

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

of Wołyń Prince

Aleksander Ostrogski Prince Aleksander Ostrogski ( be, Аляксандар Астрожскi ) (c. 1571–1603) was a nobleman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Son of voivode of Troki and Hetman Prince Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski and Zofia Tarnowska h. Lel ...

h. Ostrogski and

Anna Kostka Anna Kostka (1575–1635) was a Polish–Lithuanian noblewoman. Anna was the daughter of Jan Kostka and Zofia Odrowąż, and related to Saint Stanislas Kostka. She married Aleksander Ostrogski Prince Aleksander Ostrogski ( be, Аляксан ...

h. Dąbrowa * Hieronim Chodkiewicz (died 1576), unmarried * Zofia Chodkiewicz (died 1576), married

Krzysztof Drohostajski h. Leliwa * Anna Chodkiewicz (died 1626), married Prince Joachim Korecki h.

Pogoń Litewska The coat of arms of Lithuania consists of a mounted armoured knight holding a sword and shield, known as (). Since the early 15th century, it has been Lithuania's official coat of arms and is one of the oldest European coats of arms. It is al ...

* Aleksandara Chodkiewicz, married Prince Adam Wiśniowiecki h. Korybut * Elżbieta Chodkiewicz, married Prince Jan Żyliński and castelan of

Navahrudak Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus. In the Middle A ...

Samuel Wołłowicz h. Bogorya

Ancestry

Sources

Danuta Bogdan, Students of the Republic at the University of Königsberg, in Królewice and Poland, Olsztyn 1993, p 82. Leszek Kieniewicz the Senate for the Stefan Batory Foundation, Warsaw 2000, p 299. Joseph Janowski: Jan Chodkiewicz Hieronimowicz. In: Polish Biographical Dictionary . T. 3: Brozek Jan – Chwalczewski Francis. Cracow : Polish Academy of Learning – Main Ingredients in bookstores Gebethner and Wolff, 1937, pp. 361–363. Reprint: Department of National Theatre. Ossolińskich, Kraków 1989, .

References

External links