Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski - Assessment

Assessment

Some claim Lubomirski was one of the outstanding magnates of the 17th century. He frequently served as a deputy to the Sejm, was an excellent orator, military commander and politician, and had great private ambitions.

Others have a much lower esteem of his accomplishments; he is called prideful and ambitious, he is accused of "weird" (read: traitorous) behavior during the war against Sweden (1655–1660), he presumably contributed to the defeat of the Swedish-allied Transylvanian invaders but he let their leader and his top officials go in exchange for nothing (instead of keeping them prisoners for a ransom, or as political pawns), his "victorious" rebellion against the Polish government prevented the realization of key reforms, what in turn had grave consequences for the Commonwealth in the long term. His only real big accomplishment was the victory at Cudnow, but even that he did not accomplish alone - and he abandoned his army afterwards, seeking praise from the royal court, while the army disintegrated and soldiers went unpaid and wounded were unattended.

Read more about this topic:  Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski

Famous quotes containing the word assessment:

    The first year was critical to my assessment of myself as a person. It forced me to realize that, like being married, having children is not an end in itself. You don’t at last arrive at being a parent and suddenly feel satisfied and joyful. It is a constantly reopening adventure.
    —Anonymous Mother. From the Boston Women’s Health Book Collection. Quoted in The Joys of Having a Child, by Bill and Gloria Adler (1993)