Sejmiki szlacheckie wobec konfliktów prywatnych Jeremiego Michała Wiśniowieckiego (1612–1651)

Abstract

Prince Jeremi Wiśniowiecki fought several high-profile conflicts with representatives of the power elite, some of which he provoked himself. He stood up for the titles of Lithuanian-Ruthenian kniazi against the Crown Sub-Chancellor Jerzy Ossolinski, he waged a dispute with Katarzyna Eugenia of Tyszkiewicz and her second husband, Grand Marshal of Lithuania Aleksander Ludwik Radziwill over custody of Janusz Wiśniowiecki’s children, and caused brawls with the Crown Court Marshal over Rumno and Crown Standard-Bearer Aleksander Koniecpolski over Hadziacz, forcibly seizing estates used by them. In all these conflicts Jarema sought support from the sejmiks (mainly those of Malopolska), which often took his side or remained neutral, even when he committed lawlessness. Analyzing Wiśniowiecki’s letters to the nobility and guidelines for the deputies of the various noble assemblies, it can be seen that he treated sympathy and popularity among the nobles as a tool of his private interests. [Translated by Stefan Kubiak]