Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski, of Szreniawa coat of arms (c 1616-67)


Marshal of the regular Seym in Warsaw 1 II-29 III 1643


Grand Marshal of the Crown from 1650, Field Hetman of the Crown from 1657.


In the 1644 Seym he declared his opposition to the royal plans of a war with Turkey. An excellent military commander during the wars with the Cossacks, Swedes, Hungary and Russia (1648-60); (e.g. in 1657 he crushed Gyorgy Rakoczy's army and entered Transylvania, in 1660 he made the Russians surrender at Cudnow). Averse to the policy of Jan Kazimierz aimed at strengthening the royal power, he defended the 'golden freedom' principle. Accused of treason by the king, he was deprived of his offices and sentenced to banishment by the Seym Tribunal. By his inspiration two Seyms were broken - in 1665 (by Piotr Telefus and Władysław Ło¶) and in 1666 (by Kasper Miaskowski and Teodor Łukomski). In 1665 he mounted a rebellion and heading the mercenary troops and mass levies he defeated the royal army at Czestochowa and in 1666 at M±twy (where Jan Sobieski was in command of the royal troops). The Łęgowice agreement reappointed him to offices, made the king give up his plans of vivente rege election and indirectly led to the abdication of the monarch (1668). One of the most prominent Polish magnates of the mid-17th century. A frequent Seym deputy. A great orator, military commander and politician of great personal ambitions. Father of Hieronim Augustyn Lubomirski


Portrait of Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski, 17th c.

painted by Jan de Herdt
oil canvas; 102cm x 87cm
The National Museum in Warsaw (cat. no 6915/TC/76)