Stanisław Michał Ernest Denhoff (; ; 1673 – 2 August 1728) was a

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 ...

aristocrat, Grand Master of the Hunt of Lithuania (from 1697), Grand Chorąży of the Crown (1704–1721),

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 ...

Połock 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 ...

(1721–1728), politician and a military commander (

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 ...

, 1709–1728). He was a

Starost 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 ...

of numerous territories (nowokorczyński, kałuski, kościerski, lubocheński, mozyrski, latowicki, lucyński, zydekański).

Biography

He was born a member of the Denhoff family, a

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the rea ...

of the

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

origin (the German family name was Dönhoff). His place of birth was

Kościerzyna Kościerzyna (; Pomeranian language, Pomeranian and ; former ) is a town in Kashubia in Gdańsk Pomerania region, northern Poland, with 23,327 inhabitants as of June 2023. It has been the capital of Kościerzyna County in Pomeranian Voivodeship si ...

(Berent),

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, in the region of

Royal Prussia Royal Prussia (; or , ) or Polish PrussiaAnton Friedrich Büsching, Patrick Murdoch. ''A New System of Geography'', London 1762p. 588/ref> (Polish: ; German: ) became a province of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, which was annexed follow ...

. He was Grand Master of the Hunt of Lithuania since 1697. He was one of the organizers and a marshal of the

Sandomierz Confederation The Sandomierz Confederation was an anti- Swedish confederation, formed on 20 May 1704 in defense of the King of Poland, August II the Strong. It was formed in reaction to the Warsaw Confederation, and its marshal was Stanisław Ernest Denhoff. T ...

in 1704, which supported the election of

Augustus II the Strong Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the H ...

(Augustus II of Poland) to the Polish throne. In recognition of his support he became a Grand Chorąży of the Crown in 1704, and a knight of the Order of the White Eagle, that honor awarded to him in 1705 by Augustus II. He remained an Augustus' supporter even during his short

abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the Order of succession, succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of ...

, and after his return, he received further royal favors. In 1709 he received the office of the

. That year, he was also one of the participants of the

Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava took place 8 July 1709, was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. The Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeated the Swedish army commanded by Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld. The battle would l ...

. In 1710 he served as the

Sejm Marshal The Marshal of the Sejm (, ) is the speaker (chair) of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament. The office traces its origins to the 15th century. In modern Poland, the full title is Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (). ...

and presided over the General Council of Warsaw that confirmed

Augustus II Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the H ...

as the king. He also served as the Marshal of the Sejms on 5–19 April 1712 and 31 December 1712 – 21 February 1713 in

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 ...

. In 1717 however he joined the opposition against Augustus, dissatisfied with the resolutions of the Sejm Niemy which reduced the power of the hetmans. He was the

of the

Połock Voivodship Polotsk or Połock Voivodeship (; ; , ) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (Grand Duchy of Lithuania) since the 15th century until the partitions of Poland in 1793. History The voi ...

since 1721. He died on 2 August 1728, and was buried in

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

Marriage and issue

Stanisław Michał married Joanna Denhoffówna h. Denhof in 1709 and Countess

Maria Zofia Sieniawska Countess Maria Zofia Czartoryska née ''Sieniawska'' (15 April 1699–21 May 1771) was a Polish szlachcianka (noblewoman). By birth she was member of powerful Sieniawski family and by marriage she was member of House of Dönhoff and House of ...

h. Leliwa in 1724 and had one daughter: * Konstancja Denhoff (died 1791), married Józef Rogaliński h. Łodzia and Prince

Janusz Aleksander Sanguszko Janusz Aleksander Sanguszko (; 5 May 1712, Lubartów – 14 September 1775, Dubno) was a magnate in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He held the titles of miecznik and Court Marshal of Lithuania. He was not interested in politics, and spent ...

Lis LIS or LiS may refer to: Computing * LIS (programming language) * Lis (linear algebra library), library of iterative solvers for linear systems * Laboratory information system, databases oriented towards medical laboratories * Land information sys ...

in 1731

Bibliography

* Opis historyczny parafii i miasta Staszów do 1918 r.. Staszów: Parafia Rzymsko-Katolicka, 1990. * Polski Słownik Biograficzny t. 5 s. 115

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denhoff, Stanislaw Ernest Secular senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1670s births 1729 deaths People from Royal Prussia Polish nobility People of Baltic German descent Polish people of German descent Sandomierz confederates (1704) Field Hetmans of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania People from Kościerzyna Stanisław Ernest Denhoff