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Krzystof Opalinski

Male 1609 - 1655  (46 years)    Has 34 ancestors and more than 100 descendants in this family tree.

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  • Name Krzystof Opalinski 
    Birth 21 Jan 1609 
    Gender Male 
    Death 6 Dec 1655 
    Burial 7 Jan 1656 
    Siblings 4 Siblings 
    Person ID I371339  Geneagraphie
    Last Modified 14 Sep 2009 

    Father Piotr Opalinski,   b. 1586   d. 13 Jan 1624 (Age 38 years) 
    Mother Zofia Kostanka,   b. Abt 1590   d. 1639 (Age 49 years) 
    Marriage 1607 
    Family ID F147073  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Teresa Konstancja Czarnkowska,   b. Abt 1615   d. 11 May 1650 (Age 35 years) 
    Marriage 28 May 1634 
    Children 
    +1. Jan Karol Opalinski,   b. 1642, Poznan, Polska Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 26 Mar 1695, Poznan, Polska Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 53 years)
     2. Piotr Opalinski   d. Yes, date unknown
    Family ID F147072  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 14 Sep 2009 

  • Photos Photos (Log in)Photos (Log in)

  • Notes 
    • Together with brother Lukasz Opalinski studied in the Lubranski Academy in Poznan (1620-1625), and later abroad at Louvain (1626-1629), Orleans (1629) and Padua (1630). After returning to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the position of starosta he became active on the political scene. Took part in the election sejm of Wladyslaw IV Vasa in 1632, to which he was elected a deputy in February of that year. In 1637, after his father's death, he became the voivode of Pozna He opposed most of W military proposals (from increasing the army to the war against Ottomans), although he supported his idea of sea tariffs. In 1645 he led a diplomatic mission to Paris , where he was a proxy of king W during his marriage to Ludwika Maria Gonzaga , whom she escorted back to Poland afterwards.
      In 1647 he bought Sieraków from his brother and moved there. In 1650 he opened the first modern school in Poland (in Sieraków), using the didactic materials prepared by Jan Amos Komenski (Komenský, Comenius). A Catholic himself, he was critical of the zealotry of the Society of Jesus and supported religious tolerance. He was a patron of writers, scientists and a bibliophile .
      Political rival of starost Boguslaw Leszczynski in the Wielkopolska province.
      When in 1648 Poland elected a new king, Jan Kazimierz Vasa , he joined the opposition against Jan Kazimierz. The king had few friends among the Polish szlachta, as he openly sympathized with Austria and showed disregard and contempt for Polish culture ( Sarmatism ). Due to this, thinking that Jan II Kazimierz was a weak King, or a Jesuit -King, or for any other reasons, many encouraged King Charles X Gustav of Sweden to claim the Polish Crown. During the Swedish invasion ( The Deluge ) Krzysztof Opali and Bogus Leszczy tasked with defence of Greater Poland ( Wielkopolska ), dissatisfied with policies of Jan Kazimierz, decided to surrender together with their pospolite ruszenie of Great Poland to Charles Gustav at Ujscie on 25 July 1655. Many other voivodes of other voivodships followed their suit, especially Janusz Radziwill in Lithuania (although Krzysztof brother, Lukasz Opalinski , remained loyal to the Polish king). Almost the entire country was overrun by the Swedes, before the Jasna Góra resistance and the Tyszowce Confederation which turned the tide against the Swedes.
      Died in 1655 at Wloszakowice at the age of 45. Buried next to his father in the catacombs at church at Sieraków .
      The author of a popular work, often reprinted in this century calledSatyry, albo Przestrogi do naprawy rz i obyczajów w Polszcze nale (Satires, or Warnings Related to the Reform of Government and Customs in Poland) published in 1650, in the aftermath of the Chmielnicki Uprising that spelled the end of the Golden Age of the Commonwealth . The satires, modelled on the Satires of Juvenal , written in unrhymed syllabic verse, are his most famous work. In them he denounced the oppression of peasants (increasing serfdom ) and corruption of Golden Freedoms , visible in the increasing anarchy which was to be found in political life. He also wrote on witchcraft in one the satires, one of the few contemporary voices to correctly identify some of the motives behind the witchcraft persecution and to denounce them. He wrote comedies and tragedies for his school, however they have not survived. His letters to his brother are collected in Listy Kszysztofa Opali do brata 1641-1653 (first edition in 1957).

      Quotes
      "Nierz Polska stoi" - nie kto powiedzia
      Lecz drugi odpowiedzia nierz zginie.
      Pan Bóg nas ma jak b I to prawdy blisko,
      mi lud Polak jest Bo igrzysko.
      "Satyra VI. Na ogo w obron
      "Anarchy supports Poland" - well somebody said;
      But other replied, that with anarchy it will fall.
      God thinks we are clowns, and that's close to truth,
      that among people Pole's the God's Playground .
      "Satire VI. For empty walls in defense"
      Rozumiem, Bóg Polski za nico nie karze
      Wi jak za poddanych srog opresyj
      I gorzej ni niewol Jakoby ch nie by
      Bli nie tylko twoim, ale i cz
      ...
      Zamykam, jakom zacz Bóg Polsk karze
      Najwi za poddanych, ba, i kara b
      Je si Polaku, nie obaczysz kiedy.
      "Satyra III. Na ci i opresyj ch w Polszcze"
      I believe God punishes Poland for nothing
      But for the cruel oppression of her subjects
      Which is worse than serfdom. It's as if the peasant
      Were not your fellow man or a human being.
      ...
      I close as I began; God punishes Poland
      Most for her subjects, indeed, he'll keep punishing
      If you, Pole, will not ever come to your senses.
      "Satire III. On Burdens and Oppressions of Peasants in Poland"



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