Aleksander Wietrzyk Part I, II, III, IV, V Tr. Anna Witowska - Ritter The family of Maria Kazimiera
Maria Kazimiera is undoubtedly one of the most famous Polish royal figures. She is known to the general public as 'Queen Marysienka' and featured in many historical publications. Some of them present her in a rather superficial way as a wife of famous King and Commander-in-Chief Jan III Sobieski. In that light, Marysienka often appears as a woman who made good use of her beauty, and was attached to her husband, but never honestly loved him. Historians have accused her (often wrongly) of excessive ambition, narrow-mindedness, despotism and more concern for trivia than important matters. Her fame outlived her due to famous "erotic" letters that her royal husband wrote to her. The Queen also left a legacy of extensive correspondence. Only recently have some historians started to express opinions that this beautiful woman had a good heart and amazing intellect.
Maria Kazimiera d'Arquien was born on June 28, 1641 in Nevers, France. This year was the 360th anniversary of her birth. Her parents, Henry de la Grande Marquis d'Arquien and Francois de la Châtre, were married in 1634. Maria's parents belonged to the impoverished nobility, but their family ties were quite impressive.
We know very little about the childhood of Maria Kazimiera. It is known that she had six siblings: two brothers and four sisters. Two of her sisters became nuns but the rest of her siblings, like her, took residence in
The father of the future queen, Marquis d'Arquien, served as a captain in the army of the Orleans Prince Gaston, the brother of Louis XIII. His wife supervised work for Princess Maria Gonzaga and supervised the ladies of her court in Nevers. Marquis d'Arquien had a rather interesting youth with lots of alcohol and women. Later, this aristocrat lost most of his money and lived on the generosity of various European magnates. He moved to
In late 1645 Maria Gonzaga took a trip to
It is hard to tell what the girl's life was like in the immediate years that followed the crowning of Maria Luisa as the Queen of Poland. It can be assumed however, that she was raised by one the court ladies. Probably around that time people started to call her "Marysienka". Residing in
In 1648 Vladislavus IV died and his widow got very ill. Young Marysienka spent long hours by her bed ardently praying for her patron's recovery. After several months the Queen recovered and supported the election of her brother-in-law Jana Kazimierz to the throne. A year later, she was already married to the new King of Poland.
The times were uncertain and the Queen sent her goddaughter to Nevers, so the girl could advance her education. Little Maria Kazimiera was admitted to the pre-monastery school supervised by the nuns of Saint Ursula. At the same time Marysienka's aunt, Countess de Maligny, taught her good manners and proper court conduct.
The situation in the
Once powerful, the
In 1651 the war broke out again. In Beresteczko the Poles defeated the troops of Bohdan Chmielnicki. In that battle Jan Sobieski, the future King of Poland and the future husband of Marysienka, was wounded.
The peace in
All high-ranking soldiers were taken prisoner and murdered by Tatars according to the orders of Bohdan Chmielnicki. Among the casualties was Marek Sobieski, the brother of Jan Sobieski.
At the age of 12 Maria Kazimiera returned to
In her teenage years her brightness and intelligence made her the most distinguished among all the young ladies at the court. "As a child, she was unusually beautiful - growing up, she shined like a star. People were losing their heads for her".
When she was 13, she got a part in a royal ballet and played a young reaper surrounded by nymphs. Famous poet of the time Andrzej Morsztyn, noticed her and enchanted by her beauty, he dedicated several strophes to her. The poet emphasized that:
Together joined in that angelic body. Humor and brains of unusual quality.
What the poet wrote was undeniably true. Her beauty was written about and praised even by unbiased people. Not being very tall, she had excellent proportions ("Of medium height, neither plump nor skinny"). Her biggest beauty assets were her dark eyes and thick, dark hair. A few years later one of the secretaries of the French ambassador said about her eyes: "When she looks at you favorably, you cannot resist her eyes".
In 1655, young but already famous Jan Sobieski arrived in the
However, during his stay in
The family of Maria Kazimiera
The Times of Swedish Deluge
The spring of 1655 brought misfortunes for the
Nevertheless, life in the
In May, Jan Sobieski attended the Diet in
"With his wealth, youth and good looks, he shined like an example of health and joy of life. (…). He was playful. He could easily get angry and than quickly get over it."
He used his sword very often, liked alcohol, and was very popular with the ladies.
Sobieski played with girls mercilessly until one ball at the King's Castle, when the black eyes of Mary-sienka totally captivated him. The girl was only four-teen years old, but well developed. She made a tremendous impression on the young soldier. Even after many, many years, Sobieski often re-called this special moment, admi-tting that he fell in love with Mary-sienka at first sight, and with a great passion.
He allegedly decided that his life would only make sen-se if it was lived with her.
Why did the future King of Poland fail to ask Marysienka to marry him?
The attraction between the two of them was already mutual. Perhaps the young man did not find the courage to reveal his feelings about the girl to his own mother. Sobieski's mother did not love her younger son as much as his older brother, who was decapitated by Tatars in the battle of Batoh, some three years earlier. She could, out of bitterness, prevent this marriage. Further, the Queen might have not been enthusiastic about giving her favorite girl to Sobieski, whose mother held most of his finances and whose military career was not advanced yet.
It is worth mentioning that Marysienka was not the first and only love of Sobieski. He did not waste time with women, even in his youth. While in
The courtship between magnate Sobieski and little Maria Kazimiera did not last long. The young couple, who had just fallen for each other, were quickly separated by the war.
The war epopee of Sobieski
Led by King Charles Gustav, the Swedish army invaded
The King and the court were exiled to
At the end of 1655, the legitimate King of Poland returned to
Very little is known about Sobieski's service to Charles Gustav. He soon realized his mistake, left the side of the Swedish monarch in March 1656 and joined the Czarniecki troops. As ironic as it sounds, Sobieski benefited from the time spent on the side of the enemy. He saw a modern army in action and became familiar with the efficient way of using various types of troops in the battlefield. He later utilized this experience for the sake of
The traveling royal court
When the young soldier fought with the enemies, the object of his affection was safe in the territories of the German Empire. The royal couple and the court left
During the Glogowek days, Marysienka was introduced to another rich noble man named Jan Zamoyski. He naturally was impressed by her beauty, but did not have time for courtship. When the King decided to return to
Another suitor... The time of Zamoyski's courtship ran parallel with his most significant military successes. Because of this, Maria Luisa was more than enthusiastic to prepare the wedding for her favorite maiden of the court. No one asked the sixteen-year old bride-to-be if she wanted Zamoyski. What the Queen wanted was far more important. And the Queen wanted Zamoyski to be the next King of Poland.
Year 1657 was not good for Sobieski in terms of matters of the heart, but quite decent in the area of military successes. Miss d'Arquien was officially adored by Jan Zamoyski, who at the moment enjoyed more respect and privileges than Sobieski. It was not without significance that Zamoyski was always faithful to the King and Sobieski was not. The Queen also favored Zamoyski. Until the battle of Zamosc, he did not mean much in the political life of
Ordinate Zamoyski held in his hand 142 villages and 9 towns. The city of
If the Queen wanted him to share his life with Marysienka, she probably focused on his political and economic power and his proven loyalty to the Kingdom. She clearly ignored Zamoyski's lifestyle. In the letter the Queen wrote to her friend Mrs. Choisy, she mentioned that Zamoyski promised Marysienka a wedding gift of one million golden coins of local currency. With every year of their marriage he was to add several thousand. And if she loved him dearly, more benefits were to be bestowed upon her.
The time of Zamoyski's courtship ran parallel with his most significant military successes. Because of this, Maria Luisa was more than enthusiastic to prepare the wedding for her favorite maiden of the court. No one asked the sixteen-year old bride-to-be if she wanted Zamoyski. What the Queen wanted was far more important. And the Queen wanted Zamoyski to be the next King of Poland.
The wedding celebration
The wedding took place in the spring of 1658. Shortly before her big day, Maria Kazimiera d'Arquien had a horrible toothache, which she described in detail to her admirer. Zamoyski had to liquidate his harem. The girls received some money from him and returned to their parents.
On March 2, 1658, the marriage contract was signed. Miss d'Arquien agreed to be the wife of ordinate Zamoyski, although her heart belonged to Sobieski. The groom gave a huge, expensive ring to the bride. The next day the couple got engaged. This ceremony was followed by the reception. Later, the bride-to-be took a bath in perfumed water assisted by her girlfriends. Then she was led to the chamber of the groom-to-be to accept his gifts. A beautiful dress, generously embroidered with pearls, was among them.
The wedding was well - attended. The royal couple and a large number of senators were present. The Primate of Poland, Andrzej Leszczysnki, gave the newlyweds his blessing. In the evening, the ball for the newlyweds was held by the King. After the ball, the bride and the groom spend the night separately as the contemporary custom had it. The next day, the bride spent four hours receiving gifts and listening to speeches written for the occasion. Finally, she was taken to her husband. Zamoyski welcomed Marysienka with an exquisite dinner followed by another ball. During the few days of wedding festivities, 300 barrels of Hungarian wine were consumed.
After the wedding, the newlyweds spent a few weeks in
Marriage to Jan Zamoyski
In the wartime tumult when the beautiful Marysienka was getting married to Zamoyski, her future husband Sobieski was fighting against the attack of the Magyar prince Rakoczy. Sobieski was advancing very quickly within the military ranks, and in 1658 he was commanding the corps of cavaliers in
In 1659 he advanced his political career and became elected as a representative to the Diet. He participated in the Diet commsion on Ukraininan affairs.
The end of the Swedish deluge in 1660 was simultaneous with the beginning of the war with
Sobieski proved to be very courageous in battles In one of them, the Russians killed two horses under him. Not only did he survive, but his contribution to the victory was tremendous.
When the war ended, the internal problems escalated and
The plans of Polish King Jan Kazimierz were met with strong protests in
In the spider web; the Queen and her dame
Sobieski, like other magnates, was more than happy to take French money. At first he received 4,800 livres from the Queen Maria Luisa. Then she added another 8,000 and finally made a generous payment of 20,000 livres. Sobieski's appetite for cash might seem weird, because even before receiving the money, he had a nice, profitable estate worth several million in local currency. It should be explained that the magnates of the time rarely had cash, even if their estates brought tremendous profits, for the profit was mostly in crops and livestock.
The Queen perceived Sobeski as a prominent magnate and outstanding soldier and wanted his support in her plans to improve the economic and social situation of
As it happened, Sobieski took residence in Jaworowo, very close to the Zamoyski estate and started corresponding with Marysienka Zamoyski. Initially, they only exchanged their experiences about estate management and advised each other on agricultural matters. Marysienka wanted to know about the
Sobieski, who was not used to any resistance from females, tried to cross the boundaries of friendship. Mrs. Zamoyski ardently protested and did not let him have his way. In one of her letters, she advised him that their friendship should remain "pure and innocent".
In their correspondence dating from 1660 Maria Kazimiera shared her everyday sorrows and joys with Sobieski. She complained about her husband's drinking and his violent behavior. "It has been three days that I have stayed in bed, sick of my husband's drunken brawl" read one of her letters. The rows between the husband and wife were, in fact, quite serious. During one of them, Marysienka did not hesitate to grab a sword and threaten to use it against her husband. She did that in order to save the life of her servant, whom Zamoyski wanted to kill.
Several months after she gave birth to her daughter Kasia, Mrs. Zamoyski shared details on the girl's health with Sobieski. She wrote that the girl was so weak that it was necessary to mix her food with warm beer, to increase its nutritious value.
"Mother" also became a self-acclaimed authority on her "son's" love affairs. When she found out about the fire on Sobieski's estate that destroyed his baths and resulted in horrible deaths of several young sex servants, an upset Marysienka wrote him an angry letter. She reminded Sobieski that poor women took exile at his Jaworowo estate in order to protect themselves from the atrocities of the Ukrainian civil war. Instead of protection, they experienced exploitation and eventual death. "Be careful," - the indignant French beauty wrote - "so they would not sing about you again for taking foreign girls as lovers." Such instructions show clearly that the young magnate had a rather excessive erotic life. Similar to Marysienka's first husband, Sobieski had his own harem, full to capacity. He often exchanged girls - replacing the older ones with younger and more exotic females.