The life of Zawisza is shrouded in mystery. However, the few surviving sources allow us to conclude that he earned his legend honestly. Modest beginnings Zawisza’s father, Mikołaj from Garbów, came from middle knighthood. He held the position of Master of the Horse in the Land of Sieradz. This type of official had the…
The first years of the reign of Stanisław II Augustus, who was elected king in September 1764, abounded in events that polarized the political life of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Close to the king, the reformatory political faction called Familia was centered on representatives of the magnate families of Czartoryski and Poniatowski. The direction of the…
This document, known as the Union of Krewo (also, the Act of Kreva), was issued on August 14, 1385 by Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila), Grand Duke of Lithuania, as the outcome of the negotiations he had conducted with the Polish lords acting on behalf of the child queen Jadwiga (Hedwig), and Jadwiga’s mother Elżbieta Bośniaczka (Elisabeth…
Adam Leszczyński’s book has not been in any way distinguished so far – it was published only three months ago. One can be sure, however, that Ludowa historia Polski (A People’s History of Poland) is destined to be among the historical works most often reviewed and recommended – or criticized, in recent years. It certainly…
Since he was a child, he had dreamed of one thing: to become a knight of Christ. To achieve his desire to spread Christianity, he traveled to Jerusalem in 1154. The Polish prince Henry of Sandomierz (Henryk Sandomierski), however, died during another crusade against the pagan tribes of Prussia, in the north of Europe. by…
This act of union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was concluded on October 2, 1413 in the eastern city of Horodło, as a result of the compromise achieved between the incorporative strivings of the Polish side and the separatist policies of Lithuania. The act defined the…
