Piotr Kmita Sobieński (; born 1477 – died 31 October 1553) was a Polish nobleman, Crown Grand Marshal from 1529,

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 ...

and

starosta Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...

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 ...

, starosta of Spisz (1522-1553),

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

Koło Koło () is a town on the Warta River in central Poland with 23,101 inhabitants (2006). It is situated in the Greater Poland Voivodship and it is the capital of Koło County. History Koło is one of the oldest towns in Poland. It was granted ...

and

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 ...

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; , ) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (), situated on the Vistula River near its confluence with the San, in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy ...

. He was one of the wealthiest and most influential nobles in Poland at the time. Among his estates were 28 villages and townships, including

Wiśnicz Wiśnicz is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Małogoszcz, within Jędrzejów County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It lies approximately west of Małogoszcz, north-west of Jędrzejów, and west of the ...

, Sobień and

Lipnica Murowana Lipnica Murowana is a village in southern Poland. It lies approximately south-east of Bochnia and south-east of the regional capital Kraków. It is the seat of the district called Gmina Lipnica Murowana, within Bochnia County. The village is ...

Biography

He was the younger son of nobleman Stanisław Kmita and Katarzyna Tarnowska. He was also the grandson of Jan Kmita and

brother in law A sibling-in-law is the spouse of one's sibling or the sibling of one’s spouse. More commonly, a sibling-in-law is referred to as a brother-in-law for a male sibling-in-law and a sister-in-law for a female sibling-in-law. Sibling-in-law al ...

to Jan Herburt. An educated person, Piotr Kmita gathered a considerable amount of books at his castle in

. He was also an ardent supporter of

Erasmus of Rotterdam Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and theologian, educationalist, satirist, and p ...

. He spent his youth at the court of

Emperor Maximilian I Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed hi ...

, where he distinguished himself for his military valor and humanistic refinement. He fought the

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

in the Battle of Wisniowiec and the Russians in the

Battle of Orsha The Battle of Orsha (, ), was fought on 8 September 1514, between the allied forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, under the command of Lithuanian Grand Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski; and the army of the ...

, and in 1520 he took part in the war against the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

. In 1518, he became Marshal of the Crown Court and in 1522 was a Polish envoy to the Imperial Diet at Nuremberg. In 1524 he defeated the Turkish army in

Terebovl Terebovlia (, ; ; ) is a small city in Ternopil Raion, Ternopil Oblast, western Ukraine. Terebovlia hosts the administration of Terebovlia urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: 13,661 (2001). History Terebovlia is one of t ...

. In 1520 he received from

Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old (, ; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the son of Casimir IV of P ...

the right to collect tributes on the roads to Ustjanowa Dolna. Kmita was one of the most trusted followers of Queen

Bona Sforza Bona Sforza (2 February 1494 – 19 November 1557) was Queen consort, Queen of Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Poland and List of Lithuanian consorts, Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Sigismund the Old, and Duchess of Bari and ...

for the establishment of national factions in Hungary against the Habsburgs and the fight of the nobility for privileges at the end of

Sigismund Augustus Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...

reign. He traveled to Hungary in support of

John Zápolya John Zápolya or Szapolyai (; ; ; ; 1487 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand I, who also claimed the title King of Hungary. He wa ...

, and entered the so-called

triumvirate A triumvirate () or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs (). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are notionally equal, the actual distr ...

Bőny Bőny is a village in Győr-Moson-Sopron county, Hungary. Location, transportation, and climate Bőny is a village in northwest Hungary, located 19 km from the city of Győr. The village is situated in the eastern corner of Győr-Moson-Sopro ...

, alongside

Piotr Gamrat Piotr Gamrat of Sulima coat of arms, Sulima arms (1487 – 27 August 1545) was Archbishop of Gniezno and Primate (bishop), Primate of Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Poland.Nitecki, Piotr (2000) ''Biskupi Kościoła w Polsce w latach 965–1999 ...

and

Andrzej Krzycki Andrzej Krzycki of the Kotwicz coat of arms (also known as Andreas Cricius in Latin; 7 July 1482 – 10 May 1537) was a Renaissance Polish writer and archbishop. Krzycki wrote in prose in Latin and poetry in Polish. He is often considered one o ...

. In 1532 he became castellan of Sandomierz, and starosta of Bőny in 1533. In 1535 he acquired the Sandomierz province, which in 1536 came to be part of the Kraków voivodship. In 1523 he received from Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

the title of Count of

. He was a patron of culture, his court in Wiśnicz was one of the finest centers of

Polish Renaissance The Renaissance in Poland ( , ; ) lasted from the late 15th to the late 16th century and is widely considered to have been the Golden Age of Polish culture. Ruled by the Jagiellonian dynasty, the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (from 1569 part of ...

, gathering the era of the best minds of lawyers, writers and poets. Kmita financed the publishing of poems and writings by

Klemens Janicki Klemens Janicki (Janiciusz, Januszkowski, from Januszkowo) () (1516–1543) was one of the most outstanding Latin poets of the 16th century. Biography Janicki was born in Januszkowo, a village near Żnin, Poland, to a peasant family. He first wen ...

, Stanislaw Orzechowski, and courtier

Marcin Bielski Marcin Bielski (or ''Wolski''; 1495 – 18 December 1575) was a Polish soldier, historian, chronicler, renaissance satirical poet, writer and translator. His son, , royal secretary to king Sigismund III Vasa, was also a historian and poet. He was ...

. He also aroused the admiration of his contemporaries in Europe like

Desiderius Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

, who dedicated his work to him. He was also a strong opponent of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. Kmita died without descendants on 31 October 1553, and his funeral took place a month later. He was buried in the now defunct St. Anthony Chapel in the Wawel Cathedral, in his family mausoleum. He is one of the characters in the historical painting by

Jan Matejko Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Polish painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works include large scale ...

, ''

Prussian Homage The Prussian Homage or Prussian Tribute (; ) was the formal investiture of Albert, Duke of Prussia ( 1490-1568), with his Duchy of Prussia as a fief of the Kingdom of Poland that took place on 10 April 1525 in the then capital of Kraków, Kin ...

''. He married

Barbara Herburt Barbara may refer to: People * Barbara (given name) * Barbara (painter) (1915–2002), pseudonym of Olga Biglieri, Italian futurist painter * Barbara (singer) (1930–1997), French singer * Barbara Popović (born 2000), also known mononymously a ...

who inherited from him, among others, the townships of

Lesko Lesko (or ''Lisko'' until 1926; ; , alias ''Olesco Lescovium''; ) is a town in south-eastern Poland with a population of 5,755 (02.06.2009). situated in the Bieszczady mountains. It is located in the heartland of the Doły (Pits), and its averag ...

and

Zagórz Zagórz (; ) is a town in Sanok County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, on the river Osława in the Bukowsko Upland mountains, located south-east of Sanok on the way to Ustrzyki Dolne, distance. The nearest towns in northeastern Slovakia ...

Latin titles

(1540).

Notes

*"Charles V conceded him the title of Count of Wiśnicz. n:Antoni Mączak. ''Clientele: informal systems of authority in Poland and Europe 16th-18th,'' 1994. p. 268 *"In the Kraków castle he was buried" n:

References

;Attribution *''This article is based on the corresponding article of the Polish Wikipedia. A list of contributors can be found there at the'
History
''section''.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sobienski, Piotr Kmita 1477 births 1553 deaths Piotr 16th-century Polish nobility Crown grand marshals

Biography

Latin titles

See also

Notes

References

External links