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 Samogitia or Žemaitija ( Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

1563, Elder of Samogitia 1564, starost of

Telšiai Telšiai (; Samogitian: ''Telšē'') is a city in Lithuania with about 21,499 inhabitants. It is the capital of Telšiai County and Samogitia region, and it is located on the shores of Lake Mastis. Telšiai is one of the oldest cities in Lithua ...

and

Plateliai Plateliai ( sgs, Platelē; pl, Płótele) is a town in Samogitia, Lithuania. It is situated on the west bank of Lake Plateliai, the largest lake in Samogitia. The town with the population of about 1,100 people is the center of an elderate in Pl ...

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 co ...

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 co ...

1566, Kaunas 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: ...

on Shkloŭ 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 urb ...

castellan 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 Ca ...

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 name ...

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 o ...

, and entered in the service of Emperor Charles V 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 Kingdom of Lithuania, Lithuania, which was established as an Absolute monarchy, absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three Duke, ducal D ...

. 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 ...

. With the help of Michael Radziwiłł, Great Chancellor of Lithuania, he succeeded in attaching Livonia to Lithuania. But this territory remained for long the main target of Russian attacks. In 1564 he became Elder of Samogitia, 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), and in 1574 Castellan of Vilnius. As his uncle he was a strong opponent to the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

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, castellan 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 The Cathedral Basilica of St Stanislaus and St Ladislaus of Vilnius ( lt, Vilniaus Šv. Stanislovo ir Šv. Vladislovo arkikatedra bazilika; pl, Bazylika archikatedralna św. Stanisława Biskupa i św. Władysława, historical: ''Kościół Kated ...

Marriage and issue

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

, the daughter of

voivode of Podole The Podolian Voivodeship, uk, Подільське воєводство or Palatinate of Podolia was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland, since 1434 until 1793, except for the period of Ottoman occup ...

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 collected ...

h. Krucyni *

Jan Karol Chodkiewicz Jan Karol Chodkiewicz ( lt, Jonas Karolis Chodkevičius, be, Ян Караль Хадкевіч ; 1561 – 24 September 1621) was a military commander of the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, who was from 1601 Field Hetman of Lithuania, and from 1 ...

(1561-1621), voivode of Wilno and

, married

Zofia Mielecka file:POL COA Gryf.svg, Gryf coat of arms of the Mielecki family Mielecki (plural: Mieleccy, feminine form: Mielecka) was a family of knights, a branch of the Gryfici (Świebodzice), Gryffin Clan. The founders and former owners of the City of Mielec ...

h. Gryf, the daughter of

and Hetman Mikołaj Mielecki h. Gryf and Princess

Elżbieta Radziwiłł Elżbieta or Elžbieta may refer to: * Elżbieta, Lublin Voivodeship, a village in eastern Poland * Elżbieta-Kolonia, a village in eastern Poland * Elżbieta, a Polish given name equivalent to Elizabeth * Elžbieta, a Lithuanian given name equ ...

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 fa ...

, 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 ...

Wołyń Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. The ...

Prince Aleksander Ostrogski 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 in 1592. She inherited the city of Jarosław as we ...

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

Krzysztof Drohostajski h.

Leliwa Leliwa is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by several hundred szlachta families during the existence of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and remains in use today by many of the descendants of these families. The ...

* 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 als ...

* Aleksandara Chodkiewicz, married Prince

Adam Wiśniowiecki Adam Wiśniowiecki (c. 1566 – 1622) Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth szlachcic and magnate. Supported False Dmitriy I during the Muscovy Time of Troubles, famous, together with Konstanty Wiśniowiecki (1564-1641), for being the 'finders' ...

h. Korybut * Elżbieta Chodkiewicz, married Prince Jan Żyliński and

castelan 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 ...

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 ...

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