Bogusław Radziwiłł ( lt, Boguslavas Radvila; 3 May 1620 – 31 December 1669) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

ly magnate and a member of the Polish-Lithuanian ''

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...

'', or nobility. He was of the Radziwiłł

magnate The magnate term, 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 ...

family. By birth he was an Imperial Prince of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

.''Encyclopedia Americana'', 1919
/ref> He was a descendant of the famous knight,

Zawisza the Black }), he was revered as a brave knight. A monument to Zawisza at Golubac Fortress bears the inscription: "In Golubac, his life was taken by the Turks in 1428, the famous Polish knight, the symbol of courage and honor, Zawisza the Black. Glory to the ...

Biography

Born of the mightiest and highest resident family of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

(as well as a blood descendant of King Casimir IV of Poland, and

Kęstutis Kęstutis ( la, Kinstut, ; – 3 or 15 August 1382) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He was the Duke of Trakai and governed the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 1342–1382, together with his brother Algirdas (until 1377), and with his nephew Jogaila ...

and

Vytautas Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

, monarchs of Lithuania), Radziwiłł was the owner of Biržai,

Dubingiai Dubingiai ( pl, Dubinki) is a town in Molėtai district in Lithuania. It is situated near Lake Asveja, the longest lake in the country. The town has 208 inhabitants as of 2017. History The settlement was first mentioned in 1334, when Teutonic kn ...

, Słuck, and Kopyta, the great Standard-bearer of Lithuania since 1638, the Master of the Stables of Lithuania since 1648, and the

Starost The starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', german: link=no, Starost, Hauptmann) is a term of Slavic origin denoting a community elder whose role was to administer the assets of a clan or family estates. Th ...

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

. Radziwiłł was Governor of the

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the Prussia (region), region of P ...

(Brandenburg-Prussia) (''generalny gubernator Prus Książęcych'') since 1657. From 1637 to 1648 Radziwiłł studied abroad, in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. For several decades, the interests between the Radziwiłł family and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had begun to drift apart, as Radziwłł were less satisfied with the magnate status of the family and its immense wealth and began craving more political power. Together with his cousin Janusz Radziwiłł in 1654 during

The Deluge The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is the Hebrew version of the universal flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the microc ...

, or

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

invasion of Poland, Bogusław Radziwiłł began negotiations with King

Charles X Gustav of Sweden Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...

aimed at breaking the Commonwealth and the

Polish–Lithuanian union Polish–Lithuanian can refer to: * Polish–Lithuanian union (1385–1569) * Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795) * Polish-Lithuanian identity as used to describe groups, families, or individuals with histories in the Polish–Lithuanian ...

. They signed a treaty according to which the Swedish–Lithuanian union was founded and the Radziwiłłs were to rule over two duchies carved up from the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (this was also confirmed in another treaty, the treaty of Radnot). The Swedish defeat and eventual retreat from the territories of the Commonwealth abruptly ended the plans of Janusz and Bogusław. The former died at

Tykocin Castle The Tykocin Royal Castle is a 15th-century castle located on the right bank of the river Narew in Tykocin, Poland. It fell into ruin in the 18th century and its reconstruction began in 2002. History The castle – then located on a border area ...

besieged by forces loyal to the Commonwealth, while Bogusław retreated with his forces to Prussia, where he supported

Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg Frederick William (german: Friedrich Wilhelm; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is ...

, against the Polish king. In the

Battle of Prostki The Battle of ProstkI was fought near Prostki (German: ''Prostken''), Duchy of Prussia (today in Ełk County, Poland) on October 8, 1656, between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and allied Crimean Tatars commanded by hetman Wincen ...

on 8 October 1656, Bogusław's forces were decimated by the Commonwealth forces under

Hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military co ...

Wincenty Korwin Gosiewski Wincenty Aleksander Korwin Gosiewski '' de armis'' Ślepowron (c. 1620 – 29 November 1662) – was a Polish nobleman, general, Field-Commander of Lithuania from 1654, Grand Treasurer of Lithuania and Lithuanian Great-Quartermaster since 1652 ...

. Radziwiłł himself was captured by the

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

s, who initially enslaved him and wanted to transport him to

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. After fierce discussions with the Tatar commanders, he was handed over to Gosiewski. Boguslaw married Anna Maria Radziwiłł, the only daughter of his relative and collaborator, the late prince Janusz. In turn, this couple had only one surviving child, a daughter,

Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł Princess Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł ( lt, Liudvika Karolina Radvilaitė; 27 February 1667 – 25 March 1695) was a magnate Princess of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and an active reformer. Life Ludwika K ...

. Both Bogusław's and Janusz's lines of the Radziwiłł family became extinct by the next generation. In Poland it is believed that Bogusław's and Janusz's only lasting achievement was to tarnish the Radziwiłł family name for years to come with their treason, eclipsing the deeds of other Radziwiłłs like

Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł Prince Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł () (26 October 1625 – 14 November 1680) was a Polish– Lithuanian noble and magnate. He is sometimes referred to as ''the first'' Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł, to distinguish him from the othe ...

, who fought for the Crown and the Commonwealth against the Swedes. Bogusław is the

archvillain In literature, an archenemy (sometimes spelled as arch-enemy) is the main enemy of someone. In fiction, it is a character who is the protagonist's, commonly a hero's, most prominent and most-known enemy. Etymology The word ''archenemy'' someti ...

in a novel by

Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish writer, novelist, journalist and Nobel Prize laureate. He is best remembered for his historical novels, especi ...

, ''

'', which is mandatory school reading in Poland, and is also the basis for a very popular eponymous film. Bogusław died in exile in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

in Brandenburg-Prussia. He was the last

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

male member of his family. His estates and the task to protect the

Polish Reformed Church The Polish Reformed Church, officially called the Evangelical Reformed Church in the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Kościół Ewangelicko-Reformowany w RP'') is a historic Calvinistic Protestant church in Poland established in the 16th century, ...

passed to his only daughter, Princess Ludwika Karolina.

Biography

References

Further reading