Jan Karol Chodkiewicz (1686–1712) – szkic biograficzny młodego magnata
Jan Karol Chodkiewicz (1686–1712) – a biographical outline of the young magnate

Summary/Abstract: Hereby article constitutes an attempt to present the figure of Jan Karol Chodkiewicz from the Supraśl line (1686–1712), the son of Jerzy Karol Chodkiewicz, the starost of Błudeń and Grand Quartermaster of Lithuania, and Marianna Tekla from the Naruszewicz family. The source base for Chodkiewicz’s biographical outline comprise materials stored in the National Archive in Kraków, at the Młynów Archive of the Chodkiewicz family. The variety of documents contained therein made it possible to reconstruct his biography as accurately as possible. From it emerges the figure of Jan Karol, who, orphaned by his father in childhood, was left to the care of his mother, his successive stepfathers and the guardians assigned to him by law, all of whom had possessive inclinations towards the Chodkiewicz estate. Despite this, he received a thorough education at Jesuit schools in both Vilnius and Warsaw during the period of political and military unrest that gripped the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Great Northern War (1700–1721). Due to poor health, he did not actively participate in the political and military sphere of the Polish-Lithuanian state, yet focused all his energy on ensuring the integrity and development of his homeland, for which he had to fight, also in court, and not only with his neighbours, but also with his own relatives as well. Chodkiewicz also managed to ensure the continuity of the Supraśl line, alas his first-born Adam Tadeusz, just like himself, was brought up fatherless from early childhood.

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