Unia Lubelska a problem rywalizacji o przywództwo w elicie politycznej Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego

The paper presents the problem of power struggle among the leading Lithuanian magnates in the context of the preparation and conclusion of the Union of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the Crown of Poland in 1569. Three centres contended to play a major role in Lithuanian policy before the Union of Lublin: The Radziwiłłs, with their undisputed leader – Chancellor, and Voivode of Vilnius, Mikołaj known as “the Red”; the Chodkiewicz family, among whom the starost of Samogitia, Jan Chodkiewicz, grew to be the most active figure even before the Sejm in Lublin; and a representative of Orthodox Church adherents, Knyaz [prince] Jerzy Olelkowicz Słucki, who did not hold any prestigious offices. The aspirations of Prince Słucki stemmed from the fact that he was the closest relative of Sigismund II Augustus, the last representative of Jagiellonian dynasty on the Polish-Lithuanian throne. While Radziwiłł “the Red” was against the new, stricter union with Poland, the other two magnates opposed him, supporting the idea of a new union. Since the King supported the project of further political rapprochement between Poland and Lithuania since the Sejm of 1562/63, the support for the union brought Chodkiewicz a number of promotions and royal endowments in the 1560s (all the more so as the monarch wanted to pit the Chodkiewicz family against the Radziwiłłs, who were all-powerful in Lithuania at that time). Jan Chodkiewicz was also able to take advantage of the obstruction that “Red” used during the Lublin Sejm (when he forced the Lithuanians to secretly leave Lublin), and it was ultimately he who played a major role in completing negotiations on the union and signing the new union in 1569. Although “Red” did not return to Lublin to finalise the union deliberations, he quickly regained the King’s trust. He was supported by the younger generation of the Radziwiłłs, including his son Krzysztof and his nephew Mikołaj Krzysztof, who had sworn an oath of union in Lublin. Prince Słucki’s plan, on the other hand, failed completely. Słucki, as a result of his absence from the Sejm in Lublin due to illness, lost his chance to gain an exceptional position in the new Senate (as the king’s closest relative). The Union of Lublin did not change the balance of power in Lithuania. Mikołaj “the Red” Radziwiłł and Jan Chodkiewicz remained the most influential Lithuanian magnates in the following years.