Jeremi Wiśniowiecki

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Jeremi Korybut Wisniowiecki

Noble family	Wiśniowiecki
Coat of Arms	Korybut
Parents	Michał Wiśniowiecki Regina Mohyła
Consorts	Gryzelda Konstancja Zamoyska
Children	Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki
Born	1612
in
Died	July 20, 1651
in	Pawołcz, Poland

Jeremi Michał Koribut Wiśniowiecki (1612- August 20, 1651) was a notable member of the gentry of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, prince at Wiśniowiec, Łubny and Chorol and a father of future Polish king Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki. A notable magnate and military commander, Wiśniowiecki was a heir of one of the biggest fortunes of the state and rose to several notable dignities, among others he was made the voivode of Ruthenian Voivodship after 1646.

Korybut Coat of Arms

Orphaned at the age of seven, he was raised by his uncle, Konstanty Wiśniowiecki. Attended a Jesuit college, briefly an academy in Italy, gained military experience in the Netherlands. In 1631 he returned to the Commonwealth and took over from his uncle the management of the huge estates of his father, which included a large part of what is now Ukraine. The capital of his estate was located at a fortified manor at Łubnie. Because of its size, Wiśniowiecki's estate was often named the Łubnie state, as it exceeded in size most of the states of Europe of that time. There he fielded a private army of between 2000 and 6000 soldiers and from there he headed the colonisation of the steppes on the eastern side of the Dnieper River.

He gained military experience in several wars and campaigns. During the Smolensk Campaign of 1633-1634, he accompanied Aleksander Piaseczyński's southern army and took part in several battles, among them the siege of Putywl. The following year he served in the units of Adam Kisiel and Łukasz Żółkiewski. After the war he engaged in a conflict for the estate of Dowmontów against another notable magnate, Samuel Łaszcz. Although Jeremi was victorious, the conflict caused much opposition to his - almost independent - rule in much of the Ukraine. It was one of the reasons why in 1636 the Sejm opposed the marriage of Polish king Władysław IV Waza with Wiśniowiecki's sister, Anna. Jeremi himself married Gryzelda Zamoyska, daughter of Chancellor Tomasz Zamoyski in 1639. At that time he also engaged in a political campaign to preserve ancient nobility titles and nullify the newer ones, which gained him the enemy in form of another powerful magnate, Jerzy Ossoliński.

In 1637 he fought under Hetman Mikołaj Potocki against a Cossack rebellion of Pavel Pavluk and the following year against the rebellion of Dymitr Hunia, then against Tatars in 1640-1646. Together with Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski he took part in the victorious battle of Ochmatów, in which they dealt a terrible defeat to the Crimean Tatars of Toğay bey (Tuhaj Bej). In 1641, after the death of his uncle Konstanty Wiśniowiecki, Jeremi became the last adult male of the Wiśniowiecki family and inherited all the remaining estates of the clan, despite a brief conflict with Aleksander Ludwik Radziwiłł who also claimed the inherited land.

In 1644 after a false news of the death of Adam Kazanowski he besieged and captured his estate of Rumnia, for what he was sentenced to exile. After he presented strong claims to Rumnia, he gained support from local sejmiks and then from Sejm and king. In 1646, after the death of Koniecpolski, he became the voivode of Ruthenia. He invaded and took over the town of Hadziacz which was claimed by son of Koniecpolski, Aleksander Koniecpolski. Then, together with Janusz Tyszkiewicz, he invaded and took over the starostwo kaniowskie from Samuel Łaszcz. After the threat of civil war he negotiates a settlement with Aleksander Koniecpolski over Hadziacz.

Sarcophagus and cadaver of Jeremi Wiśniowiecki in a monastery on Święty Krzyż mountain near Kielce

He refused to support king Władysław, even through the king offers him the position of Field Hetman. He supported colonisation of Transdnieper (Zadniestrze) which led to many conflicts with Cossacks inhabiting this area. He fought against Cossack again during Chmielnicki Uprising in 1648-1651, commanding defence of Zbaraż in 1649, and in the battle of Beresteczko in 1651. He was the owner of large estates in Volhynian, Ruthenian and Kyiv Voivodships. Under his management, the estate would flourish, however, his conversion to Catholicism from Orthodox religion increased tensions in Ukraine.