Janusz Radziwill is a claimant to the Polish Commonwealth throne. He can be found in a random tavern.
He plays a big role in The Secret of the Black Mace, the main quest for the Cossack Hetmanate. He mysteriously knows a lot about the Black Mace, including its location. He uses the player to help him become King of Poland in return for helping the character find the Black Mace.
The hero Victor de la Buscador once served in Radziwill's personal bodyguard.
He is based on a real person, Janusz Radziwiłł (1612–1655), who was a Polish-Lithuanian noble and one of the most powerful people in the Commonwealth, holding several administrative titles such as Field Hetman of Lithuania. However, he later sought to overthrow the Commonwealth government and collaborated with the Swedes during their occupation.
Dialogue[]
I am the Grand Hetman of Lithuania, Prince Janusz Radziwill.
We Radziwill are descendants of the Grand Prince of Lithuania, Gediminas, just as the Jagiellon that ruled the Polish Commonwealth. Compared to us, the kings of today are just newcomers with no right either to the crown of Poland, or to that of Lithuania.
The Polish king is elected by senators. This is the root of all our misfortunes. The Polish Commonwealth shall never become a great nation until a true king reigns from the throne, one who would bear the title by right of blood and not by whim of the gentry.
I need daring people to rise up against the invader and restore Great Lithuania. And I have full right, as the elder of Zmudz, the warlord of Vilna, and the Great Hetman of Lithuania!
Reporting back to King Jan Kasimir[]
If you are in secret talks with Radziwill, I fear I have to disappoint you. These Zmudz Protestants have too high an opinion of their kin, though they are nothing more than arrogant Lithuanian magnates whose purses are as over-stuffed as their ambition.
A horseless gentryman of Poland would become king sooner than any of these Vilna schismatics.
Trivia[]
- Janusz Radziwiłł was a member of the House of Radziwiłł, a prominent noble family hailing from Lithuania.
- Due to Janusz and his cousin Bogusław siding with the Swedes during the Deluge, in modern Poland it is believed that their "only lasting achievement was to tarnish the Radziwiłł family name for years to come". Ironically, another cousin, Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł, was loyal to the Commonwealth and fought against the Swedes, but this is rarely mentioned.
- He died at the age of 43 in 1655, besieged by loyal Commonwealth forces in a castle in Tykocin.
Wikipedia has an article on this subject at: Janusz Radziwiłł (1612–1655) |