Wacław Piotr Rzewuski (1706–1779) was a Polish dramatist and poet as well as a military commander and a Grand Crown

Hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

. As a notable

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 ...

and

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 ...

, Rzewuski held a number of important posts in the administration 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 ...

Biography

He was a Field Clerk of the Crown since 1732,

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 ...

Podole Voivodship The Podolian Voivodeship or Palatinate of Podolia was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland, from 1434 until 1793, except for the period of Ottoman Empire, Ottoman occupatio ...

between 1736 and 1762 (with a gap between 1750 and 1756). In 1735 he received the prestigious Order of the White Eagle. A brave soldier, since 1752 he held the rank of Field Hetman of the Crown. A

Castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

of several notable towns, he was an important politician at the Royal Court 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 ...

and was one of the main supporters of the

liberum veto The ''liberum veto'' (Latin for "free veto") was a parliamentary device in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was a form of unanimity voting rule that allowed any member of the Sejm (legislature) to force an immediate end to the current s ...

during the Diet of 1764, when he became known for his dispute with

Szymon Konarski Szymon Konarski (; 1808–1839) was a 19th-century Polish- Lithuanian radical democratic politician and revolutionary, one of the leaders of the November Uprising of 1831. As a politician, he supported the radical idea of social and econo ...

. During the Diet of 1767 (

Repnin Sejm The Repnin Sejm () was a Sejm (session of the parliament) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1767 and 1768 in Warsaw. This session followed the Sejms of 1764 to 1766, where the newly elected King of Poland, Stanisła ...

) he opposed Prince

Nikolai Repnin Prince Nikolai or Nicholas Vasilyevich Repnin (; – ) was a Russian statesman and general from the Repnin princely family who played a key role in the dissolution of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth; the leading figure in the Repnin Sejm, ...

's - Russia's ambassador to the Commonwealth - interfering in Poland's domestic affairs. In response, he was kidnapped along with his son Seweryn and two other prominent Polish politicians by Russian agents and imprisoned in

Kaluga Kaluga (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia. It stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Its population was 337,058 at the 2021 census. Kaluga's most famous residen ...

. Upon his release in April 1773 he was promoted for his merits to the rank of Grand Crown Hetman, but resigned the post in November of that year. Since 1778 he was the Castellan of

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 ...

and the Voivode of Kraków Voivodship. At the end of his life he was also the

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 ...

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 ...

, Ułany, Romanów, Dolina, Drohobycz and

Kruszwica Kruszwica () is a town in central Poland, in the Inowrocław County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. It has a population of 9,161 (2010). Initially founded in the 6th century, Kruszwica is the oldest town in the region and features a medieva ...

. As a writer, Rzewuski authored a number of

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

comedies (including the 1759 play ''Natręt'') and several historical tragedies, including a biography of

Stanisław Żółkiewski Stanisław Żółkiewski (; 1547 – 7 October 1620) was a Polish people, Polish szlachta, nobleman of the Lubicz coat of arms, a magnate, military commander, and Chancellor (Poland), Chancellor of the Polish Crown in the Polish–Lithuanian C ...

(1758). He also published a number of poems and a poetic handbook ''On the Science of Poetry'' (1762). All of his works were published in 1962. He was the great-grandfather of

Ewelina Hańska Eveline Hańska (; 6 January – 11 April 1882) was a Polish people, Polish nobility, noblewoman best known for her marriage to French novelist Honoré de Balzac. Born at the Wierzchownia estate in VolhyniaJuanita Helm Floyd ''Women in th ...

, wife of French author

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...

. Rzewuski owned

Pidhirtsi Castle Pidhirtsi Castle (; ) is a residential castle-fortress located in the village of Pidhirtsi in Lviv Oblast (oblast, province) western Ukraine, located eighty kilometers east of Lviv. It was constructed by Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan between 1 ...

and also the nearby

Olesko Castle Olesko Castle (; ) is located within the borders of present-day Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, Zolochiv Raion in Ukraine. The first historical records of the castle are in a document dated 1390, when Pope Boniface IX gave Olesko and fortress of Tu ...

Wife

Princess Anna Lubomirska (1717 — 1763) was a Polish noblewoman (Polish language: ''

szlachcianka 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, ...

''), Grand Hetmaness of the Crown (hetmanowa wielka koronna), and diarist, who was known for her piety. She married Rzewuski in 1732. On September 14, 1748, while she stayed in Vienna, she was received the Order of the Starry Cross, which was the highest Austrian state badge for women at the time.

Publications

*''Nabożeństwo codzienne świętey pamięci Jeymości pani Anny z Xiążąt Lubomirskich Rzewuskiey Woiewodziny Krakowskiej, Hetmanowey polskiey Koronney, wyięte z książek Jey ręką pisanych'' (Warszawa, 1792), second edition: ''Nabożeństwo codzienne wyjęte z książek jej ręką pisanych'' (Łuck, year unknown)

Children

Wacław Rzewuski had ten children. Five of them survived childhood: * Stanisław Ferdynand Rzewuski (1737–1786), Great Chorąży of Lithuania * Józef Rzewuski (1739–1816), general and member of the

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' ...

Seweryn Rzewuski Seweryn Rzewuski (; 13 March 1743 in Podhorce – 11 December 1811 in Vienna) was a Polish nobleman, writer, poet, general of the Royal Army, Field Hetman of the Crown, Voivode of Podolian Voivodeship and one of the leaders of the Targowi ...

(1743–1811), Field Hetman of the Crown * Teresa Karolina Anna Rzewuska (1742–1787), married Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł * Maria Ludwika Rzewuska (1744–1816), married Jan Mikołaj ChodkiewiczDyspozycje Ludwiki Marii z Rzewuskich Chodkiewiczowej dotyczące dzieci
pp. 73-74.

Notes

1706 births 1779 deaths Waclaw Ruthenian nobility of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Field Crown Hetmans Great Crown Hetmans Secular senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Radom confederates Polish exiles in the Russian Empire 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian dramatists and playwrights Polish male dramatists and playwrights 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian poets Polish male poets 18th-century male writers Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) {{poland-poet-stub