dc.description.abstract | The Jeleński family of the Korczak coat of arms had been a well-known family in the history
of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth since the second half of the 16th century. During
the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski, however, the family rose to prominence in the
Lithuania, holding the Senate seat of the Castellan of Nowogród, which was passed down to
the members of the family. It was, in fact, thanks to Stanisław August that Rafał, as well as his
brother Gedeon, were raised to the senatorial seat as the first among the Jeleński family. The
family was also, or maybe first and foremost, extremely influential in the Minsk Voivodeship,
particularly in the Mazyr County, where the various members of the family as well as their
relatives and kinsmen held almost absolute power in the local administration. Nonetheless,
little has been written about this family’s influence in this area and in the Commonwealth in
general — except for biographical notes in the Polish Biographical Dictionary and mentions
in books of heraldry. The only mentions included singular instances regarding historic events
in the Commonwealth. It should, however, come as no surprise, since the representatives of
the family never amounted to anything more than — however influential — supernumeraries
on the political stage of the Commonwealth. Nonetheless, due to their mutual interests with
the Radziwiłł and Sapieha families, as well as their close ties with many old Lithuanian noble
families, such as the Medeksza, Obuchowicz, Kościałkowski, Lenkiewicz, Rdłutowski, Romer,
or Wolbek families, in addition to remaining in Stanisław August’s sphere of influence, the
Jeleński family aspired to count among the elite of the Lithuanian province, one whose opinion
should be taken into consideration.
The study is founded upon the analysis of the Jeleński Family Archive, stored at the National
Historical Archives of Belarus (NGAB) in Minsk. Thanks to that archive, it has been possible to
reconstruct the genealogy of the family as well as indicate its role and influence in the public
life of the Minsk Voivodeship during the reign of Stanisław August. The monograph discusses
the political engagement of the two most important representatives of the family: Gedeon and
Konstanty Ludwik, counted among the elite of their times. They were not only skilled politicians,
but also initiators of cultural and scientific development in Lithuania. Both of them betrayed deep interest in the issues of governance and broadly understood political thought — a topic
which has been discussed in the first part of this monograph.
The monograph consists of five chapters. The first chapter, entitled The Jeleński Family, Its
Genealogy, Multiplication, Connections — A Biographical Perspective, introduces the Jeleński
family and provides a biographical perspective. According to all sources, the Jeleński family is
descended from the Tatars, and Teodor, the progenitor of the family, came from Lithuania to
Poland in 1549 as a knight in the service of Zygmunt August, fighting to defend the Commonwealth,
which is probable but impossible to verify. Three important figures were supposed to
be descended from Teodor: Paweł, who held the office of the Lithuanian Field Guard, as well as
Maciej and Adam, commanders of infantry regiments who made names for themselves in the
Livonia, Moscow and Prussia war expeditions. From these three descend the next generations
of the Jeleński family, who founded the Jeleński Family Archive and who settled in Dunajczyce
and Tucha, which can be regarded as the family nests of the Jeleński family (both were bestowed
upon them by Zygmunt III). Moreover, the chapter touches upon the career paths of the selected
members of the family and delineates the network of family relationships in the form of longer
biographical notes constructed on the basis of the primary sources available in the archive which
have been cross-referenced with other studies, books of heraldry and primary sources.
The research findings are presented in a graphic form in chapter two, which includes the
genealogy of the Jeleński family. Chapter three: Between the Familia and the King’s Party; Between
the Radziwiłł and the Sapieha Families and subsequent Between Politics and the Household
serve as an introductory section while at the same time discussing the two most important
factors which influenced the family’s position in the public life. The latter issue constitutes the
subject of the fifth chapter: The Public Life of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of
Lithuania — From the Convocation Sejm (1764) to the Fall of the Polish Statehood (1795). During
that time, many members of the Jeleński family remained active in the political sphere, while
Gedeon, the most ambitious of the politicians in his family, became the most influential. The
members of the family were chosen to be deputies and representatives for more powerful parties;
nonetheless, they held no autonomous political power. In 1772, they aligned themselves with
Stanisław August. During election sejmiks which elected county and voivodeship officials, the
Jeleński family always invoked the good of the Commonwealth, under the motto “for the good
of the motherland”. The common good, however, was often perceived by the Jeleński family
from the perspective of the prosperity of their own province — both on a smaller scale, i.e. the
Mazyr County, and on a grander scale, i.e. the Minsk Voivodeship and the entire Lithuania. That
is why their efforts were mostly concentrated on bringing prosperity to the Mazyr County first,
followed by the Minsk and Nowogród Voivodeships, and finally the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
itself. Sometimes, however, the good of their province and the good of the entire Commonwealth
did not completely align, complicated by the private affairs of the Jeleński family, which both
remained at the forefront of their minds and influenced their subservient political nature. Moreover,
all members of the Jeleński family — and Gedeon most of all — were uniquely talented
with regard to securing their “rewards.” | pl_PL |