Bogusław Radziwiłł (; 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. The ...

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

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

'', or nobility. He was of the Radziwiłł

magnate The term magnate, 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, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. He was a descendant of the famous knight, Zawisza the Black. Following the death of Janusz Radziwiłł, he briefly served as Grand Hetman of Swedish Lithuania.Matulevičius, A., Tyla, A.
Boguslavas Radvila
'' (in Lithuanian).

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Biography

Born of the mightiest and highest resident family of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

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

Vytautas Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...

, 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. Radziwiłł was Governor of the

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...

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

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England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and

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. 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 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–Lithuania ...

. 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 besieged by forces loyal to the Commonwealth, while Bogusław retreated with his forces to Prussia, where he supported Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, against the Polish king. In the Battle of Prostki on 8 October 1656, Bogusław's forces were decimated by the Commonwealth forces under Hetman Wincenty Korwin Gosiewski. Radziwiłł himself was captured by the Tatars, who initially enslaved him and wanted to transport him to

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. After fierce discussions with the Tatar commanders, he was handed over to Gosiewski. From October to 10 December 1659, he participated in the successful blockade and capture of Strasburg in conjunction with a Polish–Lithuanian force. 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 (; 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 Karolina Radziwiłł was born in 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, who fought for the Crown and the Commonwealth against the Swedes. Bogusław is the archvillain in a novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz, '' 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 (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

in Brandenburg-Prussia. He was the last

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

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

References

Works cited

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Radziwill, Boguslaw 1620 births 1669 deaths Polish people of the Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) People from Gdańsk Generals of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth People from Royal Prussia Polish Princes of the Holy Roman Empire Bogusław Radziwiłł Lithuanian Calvinist and Reformed Christians Bogusław Radziwiłł Members of the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Biography

References

Further reading

Works cited