“Because of God’s imminent judgement I step onto a path of eternity” – an edition and a content analysis of the Great Crown Hetman Adam Mikolaj Sieniawski’s will

Abstract

The paper is an edition and analysis of the testament of the Grand Crown Hetman Adam Nicholas Sieniawski, one of the most powerful magnates of the early eighteenth century. He reached the highest of offices, holding both the mace great crown, Castellan of Cracow as well as a number of important and lucrative counties. At the time of his death he left a huge fortune which he left to his family and parts of his assets were also distributed between his closest associates, servants as well as to the Church. The structure of the will was in line with the convention ars moriendi and refers also to the issue of the funeral ceremony. Through an interesting shift of individual parts and phrases addressed to his family, especially his daughter, the edited document allows for a meticulous exploration of the attitudes towards the captain of temporality, relations both of patronage and clientelism in nature and thus complements our information about the life of one of the most important figures in Saxon times.