Adam Kazanowski
Adam Kazanowski | |
---|---|
Court Marshal of the Crown | |
Kazanowski | |
Wife | Elżbieta Słuszczanka |
Father | Zygmunt Kazanowski |
Mother | Elżbieta Humnicka |
Adam Kazanowski (c. 1599 – 25 December 1649) was a
Biography
Early life
Together with his brother, Stanisław Kazanowski (starost of Krosno, Jaworów and Przedbor), Adam was raised with
Royal titles and wealth
As a sign of friendship, Władysław bestowed many favours, positions and gifts to Kazanowski, who soon had his own palace in Warsaw. He soon became the richest magnate in Poland, and owned close to half of the Praga district in the capital. A contemporary writer, after his death, wrote: Never has Poland seen so much wealth in a private hand of a single man. Those many favours, especially coupled with both Kazanowski and Władysław lavish spending, raised many protests from the Commonwealth's parliament. They had, however, little effect on both Kazanowski and Władysław.
Opinion and influence
Kazanowski was viewed by many as a greedy, arrogant magnate with a 'bad influence' on the king, but he always remained close to Władysław. When Władysław's royal treasury ran dry once, Adam Kazanowski loaned him his money and mortgaged many of his goods, saying My liege, I cannot become poor when I am near to you, but I will not be rich without you. This friendship gave him enough political leverage to remain an important player in the Commonwealth's politics. Privy to the king's thoughts and secrets, and organiser of many lavish parties and festivities, he was marginally interested in the 'great (foreign) politics', but he was a powerful player in the smaller court intrigues. He knew many secrets of the royal court, and could influence Władysław to be friendly or not towards various newcomers, envoys and other visitors to the court.
His influence did diminish after 1637, when Władysław married
Death
Kazanowski died in 1649 and was buried in
See also
References
- ^ pl:Adam Kazanowski (ok. 1599-1649)
- ^ Kazanowscy Archived April 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
External links
- (in Polish) internautica.pl Portrait of Adam Kazanowski in red żupan by Peter Danckerts de Rij (display at Wawel Castle)