Paweł Jan Działyński (1594–1643) was a voivode of Pomerania from 1630 to 1643. He succeeded Samuel Konarski, and was himself followed by Gerhard Dönhoff, a member of the

Dönhoff family The House of Dönhoff (Polish: Denhoff, sometimes also Doenhoff) was an old and influential German nobility, German noble family, which later also became part of the Szlachta, Polish nobility. History It was first mentioned in 1282, in the Cou ...

Biography

Działyński was the son of Mikołaj Działyński and Katarzyna Dulska. He married Jadwiga Czarnkowska, with whom he had daughters Katarzyna and Jadwiga and sons Adam, Jan, and Kazimierz. He was educated at the Jesuit College in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

, and in

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

. He became the

starosta Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...

of Bratiańsk in 1613 with the permission of the

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

. He was also starost of Jasieniec,

Kowal Kowal may refer to: * Kowal (surname), a surname *Kowal (town) Kowal is a town in Włocławek County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 3,478 inhabitants (2004). History Kowal was the birthplace of Casimir III the Great, the last P ...

and

Skarszewy Skarszewy () is a town in Starogard Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It is located within the ethnocultural region of Kociewie in the historic region of Pomerania, south of Gdańsk. Population: 6 809 (30 June 2005). In ...

. Between 1604 and 1613 he was the delegate of regional

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 ...

Chełm Chełm (; ; ) is a city in eastern Poland in the Lublin Voivodeship with 60,231 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is located to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some from the border with Ukraine. The ...

to the Polish

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

. From 1630 on he was the under treasury of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

. He was nominated as the voivode of Pomerania on 16 May 1630. Between 1637 and 1638 he mediated the conflict between

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

and king

Władysław IV Vasa Władysław IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and claimant of the thrones of Monarchy of Sweden, Sweden and List of Russian monarchs, Russia. Born into the House of Vasa as a prince ...

over the share of tariffs taken at the port that was reserved for 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 ...

. He was known for his fervent opposition to the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

; in 1624 he founded an order of

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friars in Nowe Miasto, despite protests from local Lutherans, and built churches there and in Łąki Bratiańskie. He died on 17 July 1643 in Bratian and was buried in

Nowe Miasto Lubawskie Nowe Miasto Lubawskie (; ) is a town in northern Poland, situated on the Drwęca, River Drwęca. The total population in June 2018 was 11,062. Nowe Miasto Lubawskie is the capital of Nowe Miasto County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Geogr ...

in the basilica crypt. His wife commissioned a funerary banner in his honor, which was stabilized via preservation in 1999; a full restoration began in 2024 at the Arkona Conservation Workshop in Krakow. In 1795,

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, and as Stanisław August Poniatowski (), was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuani ...

chose 20 figures from Polish history to honor with bronze busts, to be displayed at the Warsaw Castle. Some confusion at the time of creation makes it unclear whether he or

Paweł Działyński Paweł Działyński (; born 1560 – died 1609) of Ogończyk coat of arms, son of Paweł and Krystyna Kostczanka, was a Polish people, Polish courtier, royal secretary, ambassador and starost (governor) of Bobrowniki and Radzyń Chełmiński, Rad ...

is represented. The bust is in the Knights Hall at the

Royal Castle, Warsaw The Royal Castle in Warsaw ( ) is a state museum and a List of Historic Monuments (Poland), national historical monument, which formerly served as the official Castle, royal residence of several List of Polish rulers, Polish monarchs. The person ...

, and i
viewable online
The date of death on the bust is 1642; Paweł Jan died in 1643 and Paweł died in 1609.

References

1594 births 1643 deaths Polish nobility People from Royal Prussia Prussian nobility Paweł Jan {{Poland-noble-stub