Michał Kazimierz Pac (; – 4 April 1682) was a nobleman and prominent military leader of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and of one the most influential members of the

magnate The term magnate, 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 ...

Pac family The House of Pac or Pacowie (, , ) was one of the most influential noble families in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Numerous high-ranking Offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officials of the Commonwealth came from their ra ...

. Educated by

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 ...

and

Mikołaj Krzysztof "the Orphan" Radziwiłł Mikołaj is the Polish cognate of given name Nicholas, used both as a given name and a surname. It may refer to people: In Polish (or Polish-Lithuanian) nobility: * Mikołaj Kamieniecki, Polish nobleman and the first Grand Hetman of the Crown * ...

, Pac joined the military at a young age and rose through its ranks to fight against Russian, Turkish, and Swedish armies. Throughout his life, Pac was the

Field Hetman of Lithuania Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

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 ...

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

, as well as Great Hetman. Known for being a devout and ambitious personality of the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

period, Pac was interred below the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Vilnius along with a memorial plaque he commissioned.

Biography

Early life

Michał Kazimierz Pac was born around 1624 in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The son of a court treasurer and

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 ...

Piotr Pac and Elžbieta Šemetaitė, Pac was educated by the

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 ...

and

Braunsberg Braniewo () (, , Old Prussian: ''Brus''), is a town in northern Poland, in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 16,907 as of June 2021. It is the capital of Braniewo County. Braniewo is the second biggest city of ...

, and was brought up by

. In his youth, Pac supposedly fought in a duel with the future king of the Commonwealth,

John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...

, to win over a girl.

Military career

Pac joined the army as a young man and steadily rose through its ranks, becoming a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the

Žemaitija Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' ( Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divi ...

division, and later a division commander chosen by the soldiers themselves. In 1648 he fought against rebellious cossacks within the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. From 1659 to 1563 he was the head of a military camp of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

. In 1663, during the

Second Northern War The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...

(Deluge), when the territory of the Commonwealth was occupied by Russian and Swedish soldiers, Pac was appointed as the

and

voivode of Smolensk Smolensk Voivodeship (; ; ; ; ) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. History The territory of Smolensk was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. During the war with the Russians, abandoned by fellow soldiers, Pac actively wrote letters to the then Great Hetman

Paweł Jan Sapieha Paul John Sapieha () (1609–1665) was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman (szlachcic). Sapieha became a Hussar Rotmistrz in 1633, courtier in 1635, Obozny of Lithuania in 1638, Podstoli of Lithuania in 1645, voivode of the Vitebsk Voivodeshi ...

. Pac led armies against the Russians at

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 ...

(1660) and

(1661). From 1658 to 1659, Pac successfully fought against the Swedes in

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

. Pac thoroughly developed the artillery of the army and strengthened the Vilnius castle with his own funds. He was further promoted to Great Hetman in 1667 and

voivode of Vilnius The Voivode of Vilnius (, ) was a high-ranking Voivode#Commonwealth of Poland–Lithuania, officer in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania who governed the Vilnius Voivodeship from 1413. He was considered as the most influential member of the Lithuanian Co ...

in 1669. In 1673, Pac fought in the decisive Battle of Khotyn against the Turks. Pac plaque in the St Peter and St Paul Church in Vilnius

Known as a "soldier of

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

" (''miles Christi''), Pac was a zealous and ambitious military leader; as the commander, he used to receive the Great Hetman Paulius Sapiega only while lying in bed, and constantly argued with king Sobieski and made fun of him in public. A known ascetic, Pac constantly marinated his body. According to contemporaries, he always wore a sharp iron chain with which he tied his body. Pac also opposed Polish Hetmans leading Lithuanian military forces into battle.

Later years

Pac opposed the election of

Michael Korybut Wiśniowiecki Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

to the throne of the Commonwealth. After the death of Wiśniowiecki, he opposed the election of John III Sobieski, creating an opposition group consisting of the Oginski magnate family and

Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac (; 1621–1684) was a nobleman and statesman of Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Chancellor (1658–1684) of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was the brother of Michał Kazimierz Pac, the Grand Hetman of Lithuania (1667& ...

against the Radziwiłł and Sapiehas. When it was discovered that Pac plotted with

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

against Sobieski himself, he fell from public favor. Michał Kazimierz Pac funded the construction of St. Peter and St. Paul Church in Vilnius, considered to be one of the best examples of

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...

in Europe. Michał Kazimierz Pac died on 4 April 1682 in

Vokė The Vokė is a river in southeast 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 t ...

, near

. He wished for his burial to be accompanied by poor men and monks. Following his wishes, he was interred in the church vestibule and his grave was marked with a Latin inscription ''Hic iacet pecator'' (English: ''Here lies a sinner'').

References

External links

''Pacowie: materyjały historyczno-genealogiczne / ułożone i wydane przez Józefa Wolffa'', 1885, s. 123–137
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pac, Michal Kazimierz 1620s births 1682 deaths Military personnel from Vilnius Michal Kazimierz 17th-century Polish nobility Field Hetmans of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Great Hetmans of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Polish people of the Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) Court Marshals of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Voivode of Vilnius Voivodes of Smolensk 17th-century Lithuanian nobility