Abstract

The article attempts to show the activity of Stanisław Fogelweder in the service of Queen Anne of Austria, the first wife of Sigismund III Vasa. The aim was to reconstruct the scope of his courtly duties and to present an assessments of his activities, which appear in the letters by the monarch herself, her mother Archduchess Maria Anna of Bavaria, and the courtiers of the queen, as well as in the accounts of foreign diplomats. The period of Fogelweder’s life in which he fulfilled his duties as chancellor and secretary to the Habsburgs is among the least discussed phases of his court and diplomatic career in the literature. The scant interest in this period of Fogelweder’s life may be surprising given the surviving source material. His position at the courts of Sigismund III and Anne of Austria can be reconstructed on the basis of his correspondence – especially his letters to Maria Anna of Bavaria and Jan Zamoyski. In the light of these sources, Fogelweder’s duties, apart from typical chancellery work, included attending audiences and delivering speeches on behalf of the queen, accompanying the monarch on her travels, obtaining and transmitting information, on top of acting as an intermediary in establishing the young monarch’s relations with members of the ruling elite, especially Jan Zamoyski. The commencement of his service at the court of Anne of Austria did not end his activities as a royal secretary or interrupt his relationship with Anne Jagiellon and the court of the queen dowager. This is evidenced by entries in the Crown Metric and information contained in royal accounts. Lasting uninterruptedly for four decades, Fogelweder’s court service was based on loyalty and total devotion to the ruling dynasty. He was usually assessed positively. The queen’s confessor Sigismund Ernhofer characterized him as a good man and an extremely hardworking courtier. Archduchess Maria called him a faithful old servant. Georg Schiechel, the queen’s valet, jealous of Fogelweder’s influence, emphasized the importance of his friendship with Zamoyski. Sometimes, however, his close relationship with the monarchical couple had to be the subject of criticism, painful and incomprehensible to Fogelweder.