Andrzej Maksymilian Fredro (1620 – 15 June 1679) was a Polish

szlachcic 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 th ...

and writer. He was born in 1620. Fredro studied at the

Cracow Academy The Jagiellonian University ( Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

. He was

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 o ...

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

from 1654 and

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 the

Podolian Voivodeship 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 ...

from 1676. He was

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

of the

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...

(zwyczajny) from 16 January to 11 March 1652 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. At that sejm

Władysław Siciński Władysław Wiktoryn Siciński ( lt, Čičinskas; –1672) was a member of the Polish–Lithuanian nobility and dignitary of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Lord Master-of-the-Table (since 1655) and Lord Vice-Justice (since 1666) of Upy ...

used liberum veto for the first time. Fredro fortified

Przemyśl Przemyśl (; yi, פשעמישל, Pshemishl; uk, Перемишль, Peremyshl; german: Premissel) is a city in southeastern Poland with 58,721 inhabitants, as of December 2021. In 1999, it became part of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship; it was pr ...

in 1658-1660. He died on 15 June 1679. In his political writing, Fredro argues that liberum veto is necessary for a republic as big as the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

. When one region of the Commonwealth falls into crisis, nobles from other regions may not be fully aware of the danger. Decision by majority in the Sejm is dangerous for such a big republic, because it enables the majority to ignore the interests of a particular region which has gotten into difficulty and asks the nation for help.Z. Ogonowski: ''Nad pismami A.M. Fredry w obronie liberum veto.''. In: Z. Ogonowski: ''Filozofia polityczna w Polsce XVII wieku i tradycje demokracji europejskiej.'' Warszawa 1992, p. 26. He was married to Katarzyna Gidzińska.

Works

* ''Gestorum Populi Poloni sub Henrico Valesio'' (1652) * ''Przysłowia mów potocznych'' (1658) * ''Scriptorum seu togae et belli notationum fragmenta'' (1660) * ''Monita politicomoralia'' (1664) * ''Militarium seu axiomatum belli'' (1668) * ''Epistola ad amicum'' (1669) * ''Vir Consilii'' (1730, released after his death)

References

External links

Works by Andrzej Maksymilian Fredro
in digital library

Polona Polona is a Polish digital library, which provides digitized books, magazines, graphics, maps, music, fliers and manuscripts from collections of the National Library of Poland and co-operating institutions. It began its operation in 2006. Colle ...

Secular senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1679 deaths 17th-century Latin-language writers Polish political writers 1620 births

Andrzej Andrzej is the Polish form of the given name Andrew. Notable individuals with the given name Andrzej * Andrzej Bartkowiak (born 1950), Polish film director and cinematographer * Andrzej Bobola, S.J. (1591–1657), Polish saint, missionary and ...

{{Poland-noble-stub Polish educational theorists 17th-century Polish philosophers Military theorists

Works

See also

References

Further reading

External links