Krzysztof Warszewicki
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Krzysztof Warszewicki (1543–1603, also known as ''Christopher'' or ''Christophorus Varsevicius'') was a Polish noble, courtier, diplomat, politician, orator and writer. He was described in a 1960 article in journal ''
The Polish Review ''The Polish Review'' is an English-language academic journal published quarterly in New York City by the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America. ''The Polish Review'' was established in 1956, as a successor of the ''PAU Bulletin''. It ...
'' as a "very prominent politician and prolific political-juridical writer", a "typical Renaissance statesman" and a "zealous Catholic".


Biography

Warszewicki was born in a Polish noble (''
szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, 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 ...
'') family whose name originated from their estate of Warszewice. His father, Jan, was 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
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 ...
. He was the younger brother of Jesuit and writer . He studied at
University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...
. While abroad, he joined the royal court at the Vienna as a page, and became a royal secretary of
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I (10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of rulers of Croatia, Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek ...
. During that time he visited a number of countries, including the United Kingdom, and learned languages including French, Spanish, German, and Italian. By the 1560s he returned to Poland, where he served as a secretary to the
bishop of Poznań A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...
, . Later he became the
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...
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 ...
. He served as a Polish diplomat in several diplomatic mission (to
Muscovy Muscovy or Moscovia () is an alternative name for the Principality of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 *Muscovy duck (''Cairina mosch ...
and
Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
during the reign of
Stefan Batory Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...
), accompanying Batory during the
Siege of Pskov The siege of Pskov, known as the Pskov Defense in Russia (), took place between August 1581 and February 1582, when the army of the Polish king and Grand Duke of Lithuania Stephen Báthory laid an unsuccessful siege and successful blockade of the ...
and acting as one of the principal Polish negotiators for the subsequent
Truce of Yam-Zapolsky The Truce or Treaty of Yam-Zapolsky (Ям-Запольский) or Jam Zapolski, signed on 15 January 1582 between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia, was one of the treaties that ended the Livonian War. It followed t ...
of 1582. In his political activities during the period of
royal elections An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by a monarch who is elected, in contrast to a hereditary monarchy in which the office is automatically passed down as a family inheritance. The manner of election, the nature of candidate qualifications, ...
, Warszewicki supported the monarchs, in particular, Henry of Valoise, and later,
House of Hapsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...
candidates for the Polish throne. That last decision ended up badly for him; when the Hapsburgs lost the elections, he suffered from royal disfavor and exile which may or may not have been voluntary (sources vary).


Works, views and assessment

Warszewicki was a vocal critic of the system of royal free elections and
Golden Freedoms 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 and, after the Union of Lublin (1569), in the Polish ...
in the Polish Kingdom. He supported strengthening the royal power of that of the nobility. He has been described as one of the most famous writers of the Polish
counter-reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...
camp. He also supported the idea of a
Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
against the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. Warszewicki published a number of works, including a work of poetry, and his only work in
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
, ''Wenecya'' (1572), a guidebook to Venice; his other works were in
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
. He published his thoughts on diplomacy in ''De Legatoet Lagatione'' (1595). His later major work, ''De optimo statu libertatis'' (1598), focused on political issues; one of its main themes was the concept of
liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...
. Those two works have been described as "his two major contributions to Renaissance political literature". Other works of his include ''Turcicae Quatuordecim'' (1598) and ''De Cognitione'' (1600). Warszewicki also authored five works focused on theological issues: ''Dialogus de morte'' (1581), ''Clypeus spiritualis'' (1582), ''De factis et dictis Jesu Christi'' (1583), ''Pro Christi fide et Petri sede'' (1583), and ''De morte et immortalitate animae'' (1599). While most of his works were printed and reprinted in Poland and the Holy Roman Empire, some of his works saw reprints as far as Venice, Spain, France, Sweden, and Rome. Both in Poland and abroad, Warszewicki was a respected orator. He spoke at the coronation ceremony of Henry of Valoise in 1574, and, in 1576, gave a funerary oration at the funeral of the
Emperor Maximilian II Maximilian II (31 July 1527 – 12 October 1576) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1564 until his death in 1576. A member of the Austrian House of Habsburg, he was crowned King of Bohemia in Prague on 14 May 1562 and elected King of Germany (Kin ...
. His funerary oration for the king Stefan Batory (d.1586), ''Vita, Res Gestae et Obitus Stephani Regis Poloniae'', has been described as "very popular". Another royal funeral at which he spoke was that of
Catherine of Austria, Queen of Poland Catherine of Austria (; ; 15 September 1533 – 28 February 1572) was one of the fifteen children of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. In 1553, she married Polish King Sigismund II Augustus and became Queen consort ...
(d. 1572). His speech from the Yam-Zapolsky negotiations, ''Christophori Warszewicii ad Stephanum re gem Poloniae oratio, qua cum Joanne Magno Moscorum duce XV Januarii ad Zapolskiam confectam pacem gratulatur'', was quickly reprinted in Poland and Germany. Polish historian described Warszewicki as a controversial figure among modern historians, some of whom consider him an influential writer, while others see him as more derivative.


References


Further reading

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External links


Works by Krzysztof Warszewicki
in digital library
Polona Polona is a Polish digital library, which provides digitized books, magazines, graphics, maps, music, fliers and manuscripts from collections of the National Library of Poland and co-operating institutions. It began its operation in 2006. Colle ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warszewicki, Krzysztof 1543 births 1603 deaths 16th-century Polish writers 16th-century Polish male writers 17th-century Polish writers 17th-century Polish male writers 17th-century Polish nobility Polish courtiers Polish rhetoricians Ambassadors to the Tsardom of Russia