Stanisław Antoni Szczuka h. Grabie (1654 – 19 May 1710) was a Polish noble (

szlachcic The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the 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 class, a ...

), talented politician and political writer. Stanisław Antoni was son of a serviceman Stanisław Szczuka h. Grabie and Zofia Szpilewska de domo Neronowiczów. His father was taken hostage by Russians during the Russo-Polish War. Stanisław Antoni had two siblings: brother Gracjan Michał and sister Anna. He married Konstancja Maria Anna Potocka h. Piława on 6 February 1695, the daughter of

starost 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 Janów Bogusław Potocki h. Piława. He was a Recorder of the Crown (referendarz koronny) in 1688, deputy of

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 ...

Ducal 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 ...

in 1690, Deputy Chancellor of Lithuania from 1699. Szczuka was born to a middle-class

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 ...

family and educated in

Wilno 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 ...

and

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. Because of his own ability and hard work he achieved high offices in the

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

. He began his political career in 1675 as secretary of King

Jan III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...

. In 1696 he became an adviser to

August II Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the H ...

. In 1706 he changed sides and became a supporter of

Stanisław Leszczyński Stanisław I Leszczyński (Stanisław Bogusław; 20 October 1677 – 23 February 1766), also Anglicized and Latinized as Stanislaus I, was twice King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and at various times Prince of Deux-Ponts, Duk ...

. He was a notable political writer and Sejm orator. He also proposed the opening of public schools free of charge. As

Sejm Marshal The Marshal of the Sejm (, ) is the speaker (chair) of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament. The office traces its origins to the 15th century. In modern Poland, the full title is Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (). ...

he led the extraordinary

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 17 November 1688 to 1 April 1689, and the pacification Sejm between 16 and 30 June 1699, in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. He died on 19 May 1710 in

and was buried in

Szczuczyn Szczuczyn (; ) is a town in Grajewo County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland. As of 2004, it has a population of 3,602. History The town is located in the north-eastern outskirts of Mazovia, which has been part of Poland since the establishment of ...

. To sum up, Antoni Stanisław Szczuka (1654–1710) was a notable figure in Polish history, known for his integrity and dedication to the king. He served as Crown Referendary and later became Grand Lithuanian Chancellor under August II. His granddaughter, Marianna Potocka, possibly commissioned a portrait of him in Polish attire, although the painting lacks resemblance to him. Despite this, it gained popularity and was engraved multiple times in the 19th century.

Works

* ''Respons posła bez interesu na informację paszkwilową pseudo ministrów status'' (1688) * ''Responsum illustrissimis et excellentissimis dominis comiti Weling et secretario status Hermelino, legatis Sueciae, gratulantibus pacem Saxonicam serenissimo Stanislao regi Poloniae, nomine eiusdem'' (1706) * ''Contestatio gratiarum sacrae regiae majestati Sueciae, a senatorio et equestri ordine Poloniae, per... exhibita, in Saxonia in pago Alt-Ransteda'', brak miejsca wydania (1706) * ''Eciipsis Poloniae Orbi Publice Demonstrata'' (1709) * ''Powitanie od Izby poselskiej króla Jegomości... na sejmie roku 1699''

Marriage and issue

Stanisław Antoni married Konstancja Maria Anna Potocka h. Piława on 6 February 1695 and had five children: * August Michal Szczuka * Marcin Leopold Stefan Szczuka (1698–1728),

of Wąwolnica, owner of and

Biłgoraj Biłgoraj (, ''Bilgoray'', ) is a town in south-eastern Poland with 25,838 inhabitants as of December 2021. Since 1999 it has been situated in Lublin Voivodeship; it was previously located in Zamość Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located sou ...

and Wieksznie * Jan Konsty Szczuka (died 1726), owner of Biłgoraj, married Princess

Salomeja Sapieha The House of Sapieha (; ; ; ) is a Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish-Lithuanian noble and magnate family of Ruthenians, Ruthenian origin,Энцыклапедыя ВКЛ. Т.2, арт. "Сапегі" descending from the medieval boyars of ...

Lis LIS or LiS may refer to: Computing * LIS (programming language) * Lis (linear algebra library), library of iterative solvers for linear systems * Laboratory information system, databases oriented towards medical laboratories * Land information sys ...

* Wiktoria Szczuka, married general and

miecznik Swordbearer ( Polish: ''miecznik'') was a court office in Poland. Responsible for the arsenal of the King and for carrying his sword. Since the 14th Century an honorable title of the district office, in Kingdom of Poland and after Union of Lublin ...

of the Crown Jan Stanisław Kątski h. Brochwicz, the son of voivode of Kijów (

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, also Kiev) Marcin Kazimierz Kątski h. Brochwicz * Maria Anna Szczuka

Bibliography

* Polski Słownik Biograficzny Vol. 47 p. 469 * Bibliografia Literatury Polskiej – Nowy Korbut, t. 3 Piśmiennictwo Staropolskie, Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, Warszawa 1965, s. 309-310 *

References

External links

* http://www.wilanow-palac.pl/antoni_stanislaw_szczuka_zaufany_sekretarz_jana_iii_sobieskiego.html * http://www.bilp.uw.edu.pl/ti/1862/foto/nn16.htm * http://www.bilgoraj.lbl.pl/hist/wlasciciele/stanislaw_szczuka.php
Works by Stanisław Antoni Szczuka
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 ...

*https://www.wilanow-palac.pl/antoni_stanislaw_szczuka_zaufany_sekretarz_jana_iii_sobieskiego.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Szuszka, Stanislaw Antoni Secular senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1650s births 1710 deaths 17th-century Polish nobility Polish political writers Lithuanian vice-chancellors