Jan Hieronimowicz Chodkiewicz (, ) ( – 4 August 1579) was a 16th-century Lithuanian noble. He was Grand Pantler of Lithuania from 1559, Elder of Samogitia (1564–1579),

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

(1566–1578),

Grand Marshal of Lithuania Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation) ...

(1566–1579),

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Shklow Shklow is a town in Mogilev Region, Belarus, located north of Mogilev on the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It serves as the administrative center of Shklow District. It has a Train station, railway station on the line between Orsha and Mogilev. In 20 ...

1568,

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 ...

Vilnius 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 ...

(1574–1579). He was the elder of

Telšiai Telšiai (; Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Telšē'') is a city in Lithuania with about 21,499 inhabitants. It is the capital of Telšiai County and Samogitia region, and it is located on the shores of Lake Mastis. Telšiai is one of the ol ...

and Plateliai from 1566, of Rumšiškės from 1568, and of

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

from 1569.

Early life

He was one of the most famous Lithuanian magnates of the 16th century. He was raised a

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

. He studied at the Universities of

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

(which he entered in 1547),

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

(1550), and

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

. He served in the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V from 1552 to 1555. He returned to Lithuania in 1555.

Military service

From 1559, Jan Chodkiewicz defended the Livonian Confederation with the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army against the Muscovites during the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) concerned control of Terra Mariana, Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom ...

. He hired 1,200 cavalry at his own expense to defend Livonia. With the help of Michael Radziwiłł, Grand Chancellor of Lithuania, he succeeded in attaching Livonia to

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. But this territory remained for long the main target of Russian attacks. In 1564, he became Elder of Samogitia, in 1566

and governor of Livonia (1566–78). As governor of Livonia, he was headquartered at

Sigulda Sigulda (; ; Polish Zygwold) is a town in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, from the capital city Riga. Overview Sigulda is on a picturesque stretch of the primeval Gauja river valley. Because of the reddish Devonian sandstone which forms steep r ...

near

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

. The Lithuanian nobles obliged Chodkevičius in the Brasta sejm to implement the union between Livonia and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, as well as to join it with

and Swedish-occupied

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. As a result, Chodkevičius managed to reach an agreement with Livonian representatives in the sejm of

Cēsis Cēsis (; (, , , ) is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Central Vidzeme Upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja River valley, and is built on a series of ridges above the river, overlooking the woods below. Cēsis was selected to b ...

. Livonia was given his coat of arms. During the battles with the Muscovite army in 1568, he led the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army in the Battle of Ula. In 1578, he participated in the Livonian campaign of Stephen Báthory, the ruler 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 ...

, to retake

Polotsk Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it has a pop ...

Union of Lublin and thereafter

During the preparation of the documents of the

Union of Lublin The Union of Lublin (; ) was signed on 1 July 1569 in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. It replaced the personal union of the Crown of the Kingd ...

(1569), he persistently defended the state interests of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and led its delegation. Just like his uncle, he was a strong opponent to 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–Lithuania ...

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

. The Lithuanian delegation to the meetings preparing the Act of Union between Poland and Lithuania was led by Jan, who insisted in a long impassioned speech on the equality and independence of the two nations. Finally "''bowing to the king's power, he pointed out those parts of the Act of Union which were unacceptable to Lithuania and he stated that he yielded to the King's will only with the deepest sorrow''". In practice the Union of Lublin in 1569 made sure that the Grand Duchy of Lithuania retained its own form of government and separate laws until the end of the joint state in 1795. He supported the candidacies of the French Henri de Valois, the Russian Ivan IV the Terrible, and the Hungarian

Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory (; ; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) as well as Prince of Transylvania, earlier Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576). The son of Stephen VIII Báthory ...

to the throne of the ruler of the Republic of the Two Nations. In 1574, he became Castellan of Vilnius. Due to health problems and military failures, he refused the position of Governor of Livonia and was dismissed in 1578. He converted to Roman Catholicism from Protestantism in 1572. He became a great benefactor to the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

. He contributed to the founding of

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in Central and Ea ...

and supported the chronicler Maciej Stryjkowski.

Family

He married the

Krystyna Zborowska before 1559 in

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 ...

, daughter of Marcin Zborowski,

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 Krakow, and Anna Konarska. She remained Calvinist despite his conversion and raised some of their daughters in that religion despite their father's will. They had issue: Hieronim was born at Vilnius in 1559; Aleksander at

Trakai Trakai (; see Trakai#Names and etymology, names section for alternative and historic names) is a city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania or just from the administrative limits of the Lithuanian capi ...

in 1560; Jan Karol at Vilnius in 1560–61; Anna at Vilnius in 1562; Zofia at Vilnius in 1564, Elzbieta at Vilnius in 1568; and Aleksandra at Vilnius in 1576. He died on 4 August 1579 and was buried in

Vilnius Cathedral The Cathedral Basilica of St Stanislaus and St Ladislaus of Vilnius, also known as Vilnius Cathedral is the main Catholic cathedral in Lithuania. It is situated in Vilnius Old Town, just off Cathedral Square. Dedicated to the Christian saints ...

Marriage and issue

Jan Hieronim married Krystyna Zborowska h. Jastrzębiec (c. 1540–1588), daughter of Marcin Zborowski h. Jastrzębiec and Anna Konarska h. Abdank, the daughter of Stanisław Konarski h. Abdank and

Zofia Lanckorońska Zofia is a Slavic given name of Old Greek origin, meaning wisdom. It is a variant of Sofia. Famous people with the name Zofia: * Anna Zofia Sapieha (1799–1864) * Maria Zofia Sieniawska * Zofia Albinowska-Minkiewiczowa (1886–1971) * Zofia Balt ...

h. Zadora, in 1559, and had seven children: *

Aleksander Chodkiewicz Aleksander Chodkiewicz (, , ; ca. 1475 – 28 May 1549) was a Ruthenian noble from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, founder of the Supraśl Orthodox Monastery. He inherited vast possessions from his father Ivan Chodkiewicz, which made him 11th we ...

(1560-1626), voivode of Troki, married Eufemia Sienieńska h. Dębno, the daughter of

voivode of Podole 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 Europe, Central, Southeastern Europe, Southeastern and Easter ...

Jan Sienieński h. Dębno and Katarzyna Korniakt h. Krucyni, the daughter of

Konstanty Korniakt Konstanty Korniakt (, Konstantinos Korniaktos; c. 1517 – 1 August 1603) was a merchant of Greek descent, active throughout Central and Eastern Europe; a leaseholder of royal tolls who collected customs duty on behalf of the king. During his lif ...

h. Krucyni *

Jan Karol Chodkiewicz Jan Karol Chodkiewicz (; 1561 – 24 September 1621) was a Polish–Lithuanian identity, Polish–Lithuanian military commander of the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, who was from 1601 Field Hetman of Lithuania, and from 1605 Grand Hetman of Lit ...

(1561-1621), voivode of Wilno and

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, ...

, married Zofia Mielecka h. Gryf, the daughter of

and Hetman Mikołaj Mielecki h. Gryf and Princess Elżbieta Radziwiłł h. Trąby. His second wife was Princess Anna Alojza Ostrogska h.

Ostrogski The House of Ostrogski (; ; ) was one of the more prominent families in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The family spanned from the 14th century Rut ...

, the daughter of

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 ...

of Wołyń Prince Aleksander Ostrogski h. Ostrogski and

Anna Kostka Anna Kostka (1575–1635) was a Polish–Lithuanian noblewoman. Anna was the daughter of Jan Kostka and Zofia Odrowąż, and related to Saint Stanislas Kostka. She married Aleksander Ostrogski in 1592. She inherited the city of Jarosław as w ...

h. Dąbrowa * Hieronim Chodkiewicz (died 1576), unmarried * Zofia Chodkiewicz (died 1576), married

Krzysztof Drohostajski h. Leliwa * Anna Chodkiewicz (died 1626), married Prince Joachim Korecki h.

Pogoń Litewska The coat of arms of Lithuania features an armoured knight on horseback, wielding a sword and carrying a shield with a Jagiellonian cross. This emblem is known as ''Vytis'' (). Since the early 15th century, it has served as the official coat of ...

* Aleksandara Chodkiewicz, married Prince Adam Wiśniowiecki h. Korybut * Elżbieta Chodkiewicz, married Prince Jan Żyliński and castelan of Navahrudak Samuel Wołłowicz h. Bogorya

Ancestry

Sources

Danuta Bogdan, Students of the Republic at the University of Königsberg, in Królewice and Poland, Olsztyn 1993, p 82. Leszek Kieniewicz the Senate for the Stefan Batory Foundation, Warsaw 2000, p 299. Joseph Janowski: Jan Chodkiewicz Hieronimowicz. In: Polish Biographical Dictionary . T. 3: Brozek Jan – Chwalczewski Francis. Cracow : Polish Academy of Learning – Main Ingredients in bookstores Gebethner and Wolff, 1937, pp. 361–363. Reprint: Department of National Theatre. Ossolińskich, Kraków 1989, . *

References

External links

Genealogy of Chodkiewicz family.

Full interactive family tree
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chodkiewicz, Jan Hieronimowicz Secular senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Jan Hieronim Chodkiewicz Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism Polish Roman Catholics Hetmans People from Livonia 1530s births 1579 deaths 16th-century Lithuanian nobility 16th-century Polish nobility University of Wittenberg alumni Leipzig University alumni University of Königsberg alumni Burials at Vilnius Cathedral Lithuanian Roman Catholics Duchy of Livonia Grand Marshals of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Elders of Samogitia 16th-century Polish landowners