Władysław Wiktoryn Siciński ( or ''Čičinskas''; – ) was a member of the Polish–Lithuanian nobility and dignitary 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 ...

. Lord Master-of-the-Table (since 1655) and Lord Vice-Justice (since 1666) of

Upytė Upytė is a small village in Panevėžys district municipality in northern Lithuania. It is situated some 12 km southwest of Panevėžys on the banks of Vešeta Creek. It is now the capital of an elderate. In 1987 it had 580 residents. In ...

, he was among the deputies of the

Trakai Voivodeship Trakai Voivodeship, Trakai Palatinate, or Troki Voivodeship (, , ), was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1413 until 1795. History Trakai Voivodeship together with Vilnius Voivodeship wa ...

nobility to the

Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The General Sejm (, ) was the bicameral legislature of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was established by the Union of Lublin in 1569 following the merger of the legislatures of the two states, the Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland and the ...

of 1652 which took place during the

Khmelnytsky Uprising The Khmelnytsky Uprising, also known as the Cossack–Polish War, Khmelnytsky insurrection, or the National Liberation War, was a Cossack uprisings, Cossack rebellion that took place between 1648 and 1657 in the eastern territories of the Poli ...

. He is credited with using 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 ...

'' for the first time in Polish-Lithuanian history during the Sejm. Some historians have speculated that he might have acted on orders from Janusz Radziwiłł, though Wisner observed there is no evidence to support this theory. After the

partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign ...

, writers searched for causes of the collapse of the state. They blamed

Golden Liberty Golden Liberty (; , ), sometimes referred to as Golden Freedoms, Nobles' Democracy or Nobles' Commonwealth ( or ''Złota wolność szlachecka'') was a political system in the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Kingdom of Poland and, after the Unio ...

and ''

'' for creating anarchy and disorder that led to the downfall and Siciński, a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

and a provincial man, became the villain of history who sacrificed the greater good for his narrow self interests. In 1850s, local residents of Upytė claimed that a certain

mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...

was the body of Siciński. It was placed in a special cabinet in the local church. After the

Uprising of 1863 The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last in ...

, Governor General of Vilna

Mikhail Muravyov-Vilensky Count Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov (; 12 October 1796 in Moscow – 12 September 1866 in Saint Petersburg) was a Russian imperial statesman of the 19th century, most known for brutally putting down of Polish and Lithuanian uprisings and leading s ...

ordered the mummy to be secretly buried to quell local superstitions. The order was carried out in August 1865.

Legend in literature

Siciński became legendary as an incredibly cruel landlord in Lithuanian folk legends and is a popular character in Lithuanian and Polish literature. Appearances in fictional works include: *

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 ...

, a ballad ''Popas w Upicie'' (1825) * Juljan Mickevicz, ''Sycynski Poseł Upitski'' (1828) * Adam Krechoviecki, ''Veto'' (1889) * Jan Kupiec, a poem ''Seimelis Jasuose'' (1904) *

Maironis Maironis (born Jonas Mačiulis, ; – 28 June 1932) was a Lithuanians, Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest and the greatest and most-known Lithuanian poet, especially of the period of the Lithuanian press ban. He was called the Bard of Lithuanian Na ...

, a ballad ''Čičinskas'' (1919) * Teofilis Tilvytis, a poem ''Prasmegęs dvaras'' (1949) * Vytautas Misevičius, ''Čičinskas'' (1959) * Juozas Marcinkevičius, a dramatic poem ''Čičinskas'' * Kostas Astrauskas, a drama ''Čičinskas'' (1974–1975)

References

External links

* Michał Dankowski
Czy Siciński działał sam?
Members of the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1610s births 1672 deaths 17th-century Lithuanian nobility 17th-century Polish landowners Polish landlords {{poland-noble-stub