Mikolaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł, nicknamed The Black (Lithuanian: Mikalojus Radvila Juodasis, Belarusian: Мікалай Радзівіл Чорны, Latin: Nicolaus Radvil also known as Mikołaj Radziwiłł The Fifth, 1515 – 1565) was Lithuanian noble of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, voivode of Vilnius, Grand Grand Lithuanian Chancellor and the Grand Hetman of Lithuania.
Mikołaj was able to gain much political influence thanks to the romance between his cousin Barbara Rad...
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Mikolaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł, nicknamed The Black (Lithuanian: Mikalojus Radvila Juodasis, Belarusian: Мікалай Радзівіл Чорны, Latin: Nicolaus Radvil also known as Mikołaj Radziwiłł The Fifth, 1515 – 1565) was Lithuanian noble of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, voivode of Vilnius, Grand Grand Lithuanian Chancellor and the Grand Hetman of Lithuania.
Mikołaj was able to gain much political influence thanks to the romance between his cousin Barbara Radziwiłł and King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Zygmunt II August. This made him one of the most powerful Royal advisers. Mikolaj became Marshal of Lithuania, Grand Chancellor of Lithuania, as well as Palatine of Vilnius, gained immense wealth and became the most powerful magnate in the Commonwealth of that time.
The growing influence of the Radziwiłł family was further bolstered when, during a diplomatic mission to Charles V and Ferdinand I, he and his cousin Mikołaj the Red received a hereditary title of Prince (Reichsfürst (SRI)).
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