Prince Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł (,

Exonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...

: ''Charles Stanislaus'': 27 February 1734 – 21 November 1790) was a Polish–Lithuanian

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

, diplomat and prince of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

. He is frequently referred to by his well-known

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ) is a descriptive nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym in that it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name without the need for explanation; it may beco ...

Panie Kochanku ("My Beloved Sir")The sobriquet "Panie Kochanku" ("My Beloved Sir") comes from his favorite form of informal addressing to others to distinguish him from his earlier namesake. Prince Radziwiłł held several important posts; from 1752 he was the Master Swordbearer of the

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, and in 1757 he became one of the first recipients of the Order of the White Eagle. From 1762 he was

Voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

. Radziwiłł was born on 27 February 1734 to General-Hetman

Michał Kazimierz "Rybeńko" Radziwiłł Prince Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł (, ; 13 June 1702 – 15 May 1762) was a Polish-Lithuanian noble. A member of the aristocratic Radziwiłł family, he was frequently referred to by his sobriquet (known from his idiolect ...

and Princess Urszula Franciszka Wiśniowiecka and spent his childhood in

Nieśwież Nyasvizh or Nesvizh is a town in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Nyasvizh District. Nyasvizh is the site of Nesvizh Castle, a World Heritage Site. In 2009, its population was 14,300. As of 2025, it has a populat ...

, in 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, ...

, which was then part of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. In 1767 he became Marshal General of the Radom Confederation and, the following year, Marshal of the

Bar Confederation The Bar Confederation (; 1768–1772) was an association of Polish nobles (''szlachta'') formed at the fortress of Bar, Ukraine, Bar in Podolia (now Ukraine), in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish–Lithuanian C ...

. After its fall in 1772 he emigrated, but in 1777 returned to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and resumed all his previous posts after having first pledged his loyalty to Polish King

Stanisław II Augustus Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, Kherson Oblast, a coastal village in Ukraine * Stanislaus County, ...

, whom he had previously opposed. During the

Great Sejm The Great Sejm, also known as the Four-Year Sejm (Polish language, Polish: ''Sejm Wielki'' or ''Sejm Czteroletni''; Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Didysis seimas'' or ''Ketverių metų seimas'') was a Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwea ...

from 1788 until his death in 1790 he was a leading opponent of reform, King Stanisław Augustus and his allies; the members of the so-called '' Familia'' political party headed by the

Czartoryski family The House of Czartoryski (feminine form: Czartoryska, plural: Czartoryscy; ) is a Polish princely family of Lithuanian- Ruthenian origin, also known as the Familia. The family, which derived their kin from the Gediminids dynasty, by the mid-17 ...

. Radziwiłł was the wealthiest

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 ...

in Poland-Lithuania, in the second half of the 18th century. However, he was popular among the poorer

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

. Suffering from

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess Adipose tissue, body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classifi ...

and the after-effects of

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

, in the spring of 1790 Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł moved to the town of

Biała Podlaska Biała Podlaska (; ) is a city in the Lublin Voivodeship in eastern Poland with 56,498 inhabitants It is the capital of Biała Podlaska County, although the city is not part of the county (it constitutes a separate city county). The city lies on ...

in the

Crown of the Kingdom of Poland The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (; ) was a political and legal concept formed in the 14th century in the Kingdom of Poland, assuming unity, indivisibility and continuity of the state. Under this idea, the state was no longer seen as the Pat ...

, where he died on November 21 leaving no issue to inherit his enormous wealth.

Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz ( , ; 6 February 1758 – 21 May 1841) was a Polish poet, playwright and statesman. He was a leading advocate for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's Constitution of 3 May 1791. Early life and education Julian Ursyn Ni ...

stated that Radziwiłł was a ''"citizen with a heart of stone whose sacrifices for the Polish nation were remarkable and unforgettable"''. Radziwiłł was also immortalized in '' Rejtan, the Fall of Poland'', an

oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...

by the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

artist

Jan Matejko Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Polish painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works include large scale ...

, finished in 1866, depicting the protest of

Tadeusz Rejtan Tadeusz Reytan (surname also alternatively spelled as ''Rejtan'', and rarely ''Reyten''; ; ; 20 August 1742 – 8 August 1780) was a nobleman from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was a member of the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commo ...

against the

First Partition of Poland The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...

during the Partition Sejm of 1773. Both a depiction of a historical moment, and an

allegory As a List of narrative techniques, literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a wikt:narrative, narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political signi ...

for the surrounding period of

Polish history The history of Poland spans over a thousand years, from Lechites, medieval tribes, Christianization of Poland, Christianization and Kingdom of Poland, monarchy; through Polish Golden Age, Poland's Golden Age, Polonization, expansionism and be ...

, the painting is one of Matejko's most famous works, and an iconic picture of an emotional protest.

Pantler A pantry is a room or cupboard where beverages, food, (sometimes) dishes, household cleaning products, linens or provisions are stored within a home or office. Food and beverage pantries serve in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen. Etymolog ...

Horeszko, from the

epic poem In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...

Pan Tadeusz ''Pan Tadeusz'' (full title: ''Sir Thaddeus, or the Last Foray in Lithuania: A Nobility's Tale of the Years 1811–1812, in Twelve Books of Verse'') is an epic poem by the Polish people, Polish poet, writer, translator and philosopher Adam Micki ...

'' by

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

, was loosely based on Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł. The prince owned a house on the ''Rue Neuve des Bons Enfants'' in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The street is now called Rue Radziwill.

Notes

References

Citations Bibliography * * "Radziwiłł, Karol Stanisław 'Panie Kochanku'" ("Karol Stanisław 'My Dear Sir' Radziwiłł"), ''Encyklopedia Polski'' (Encyclopedia of Poland), Kraków, Wydawnictwo Ryszard Kluszczyński, 1996, , p. 564. * D. Sidorski, „Panie Kochanku”, Katowice 1987, s. 34. * Mariusz Machynia, Valdas Rakutis, Czesław Srzednicki, Oficerowie wojska Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego. Spisy, Kraków 1999, s. 81, 470. * Urzędnicy centralni i dygnitarze Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego XIV-XVIII wieku spisy opracowali Henryk Lulewicz i Andrzej Rachuba, Kórnik 1994, s. 146. * Diarjusze sejmowe z wieku XVIII.T.III. Diarjusze sejmów z lat 1750, 1752, 1754 i 1758, Warszawa 1937, s. 131. * Diarjusze sejmowe z wieku XVIII.T.III. Diarjusze sejmów z lat 1750, 1752, 1754 i 1758, Warszawa 1937, s. 244. * Materiały do dziejów bezkrólewia po śmierci Augusta III i pierwszych lat dziesięciu panowania Stanisława Augusta Poniatowskiego, t. I Lwów 1857, s. 45-49. * Teresa Zielińska, Radziwiłłowie herbu Trąby-dzieje rodu, w: Radziwiłłowie herbu Trąby, Warszawa 1996, s. 22. Uwaga! Teresa Zielińska mylnie nazywa Radziwiłła marszałkiem generalnym konfederacji radomskiej na Litwie, Panie Kochanku był marszałkiem konfederacji generalnej (koronnej), marszałkiem litewskim był Stanisław Brzostowski. * Wykaz polskich lóż wolnomularskich oraz ich członków w latach 1738-1821 poprzedzony zarysem historji wolnomularstwa polskiego i ustroju Wielkiego Wschodu Narodowego Polskiego: uzupełnienia i aneksy, opracował Ludwik Hass, b. r. w., s. 113. * Janusz Iwaszkiewicz, Wykaz dóbr ziemskich skonfiskowanych przez rządy zaborcze w latach 1773-1867, Warszawa 1929, s. 5, 15. * Volumina Legum, t. IX, Kraków 1889, s. 470. * Мальдзіс А. І. Беларусь у люстэрку мемуарнай літаратуры XVIII ст. — Мн.: Мастацкая літаратура, 1982. — С. 115 * Kawalerowie i statuty Orderu Orła Białego 1705-2008, 2008, s. 189. * Бантыш-Каменский Н.Н. Списки кавалерам российских императорских орденов Св. Андрея Первозванного, Св. Екатерины, Св. Александра Невского и Св. Анны с учреждения до установления в 1797 году орденского капитула, 2005, s. 149. {{DEFAULTSORT:Radziwill, Karol II Stanislaw 1734 births 1790 deaths People from Nyasvizh People from Nowogródek Voivodeship (1507–1795) Karol II Stanislaw Secular senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Generals of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Bar confederates Radom confederates Voivode of Vilnius Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)

See also

Notes

References