Splendid Encounters VII, Lithuania, Vilnius 27-28 September 2018: A refused legation. ‘Why did the primate of the Kingdome impede the papal peace-making initiative?’ The case of Mikołaj Prażmowski (1668-1669) (original) (raw)

Abstract

This paper will illustrate the reasons of refusing the papal legation of Clement IX in the matter of John Casimir Vasa’s abdication (1668) and Michael Korybut Wiśniowiecki’s election, by the primate of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Mikołaj Prażmowski, together with the political practice he had undertaken in order to achieve it. After the arrival of the official information regarding the decision of the royal abdication of John Casimir Vasa to Rome, the cardinal protector of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Virginio Orsini presented to the Pope the idea of sending a legate, a latere, to PolandLithuania, in order to guarantee peace and advantage for Catholic progresses in the upcoming interregnum and of the new king’s election. This project was then very seriously considered by Clement IX, who consulted with Apostolic Nuncios in Poland-Lithuania (Galeazzo Marescotti) and in Wien (Antonio Pignatelli). The whole issue of the prospective legation, boycotted by the primate, Mikołaj Prażmowski, has not been mentioned in the existing literature yet. The ceremonial aspect of the papal diplomat’s participation in the abdication of John Casimir Vasa (1668) and election of Michael Korybut Wiśniowiecki (1669), seems to be crucial for the position of the primate, Mikołaj Prażmowski, refusing to comply with the precedence rules traditionally granted to the representatives of the Holy See during similar ceremonies, based on a generally accepted ‘international ordum. Prażmowski emphasised the traditional qualification of the Gniezno archbishops as papal legati nati, standing above the Nuncios in the hierarchy of Apostolic diplomacy. It seems that the primate considered it superior also to the legate a latere authority. Based on the diplomatic dispatches of the Apostolic Nuncios and their instructions, this paper will show the problematic relations of Mikołaj Prażmowski with papal diplomats in Poland-Lithuania, as well explain the origins of his attitude towards the unrealised papal legacy.

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