Olbracht Łaski (died 23 November 1604) was a Polish nobleman, an

alchemist Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim ...

and courtier during the reign of Stephen Batory. Łaski was suspected of plotting to seize the Polish throne in 1575, following the brief reign of Henry Valois. This episode is featured in the

opéra-comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

Le roi malgré lui ''Le roi malgré lui'' (''King in Spite of Himself'' or ''The reluctant king'') is an opéra-comique in three acts by Emmanuel Chabrier of 1887 with an original libretto by Emile de Najac and Paul Burani. The opera is revived occasionally, but ...

'' by Emmanuel Chabrier (first performed on 18 May 1887). Łaski was particularly notable for his fine beard, which

Holinshed Raphael Holinshed ( – before 24 April 1582) was an English chronicler, who was most famous for his work on ''The Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande'', commonly known as ''Holinshed's Chronicles''. It was the "first complete print ...

noted was of "such length and breadth, as that lying in his bed, and parting it with his hands, the same overspread his breasts and shoulders, himself greatly delighting therein, and reputing it an ornament." Łaski arrived in

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 b ...

in April 1583. The French ambassador, Michel de Castelnau suggested that his visit was prompted by a desire to persuade the

Muscovy Company The Muscovy Company (also called the Russia Company or the Muscovy Trading Company russian: Московская компания, Moskovskaya kompaniya) was an English trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major chartered joint s ...

to refrain from selling arms to Ivan the Terrible. He was provided with lodgings at Winchester House, Southwark. Łaski convinced John Dee to visit Poland.

Footnotes

References

Count Albert Laski
* Ryszard Zieliński, Roman Żelewski (1982) ''Olbracht Łaski: Od Kieżmarku do Londynu'', Warsaw: Czytelnik,

Footnotes

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Further reading