Krzysztof "Piorun" Radziwiłł

Prince Krzysztof Radziwiłł, epithet "Piorun" ("Lightning") (Template:Langx, 1547–1603) was a Reichsfürst of the Holy Roman Empire and a member of the nobility of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.<ref name="vle">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He was cup-bearer of Lithuania from 1569; Field Hetman of Lithuania from 1572; Castellan of Trakai, Deputy Chancellor of Lithuania from 1579; Voivode of Vilnius Voivodeship from 1584; Lithuanian Grand Hetman from 1589; and Starost.<ref name="vle"/>

Life

Radziwiłł family coat of arms: Trąby

Radziwiłł was one of the most talented commanders in the service of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the wars against Muscovy and Sweden, and won the Battle of Kokenhausen.<ref name="vle"></ref> He received the epithet "Piorun" (translated as "Lightning" or "Thunderbolt") for his deadly and very successful cavalry raids against Ivan the Terrible's forces in Russian Tsardom territory during the Livonian War, forcing it to capitulate.Template:Cn

His achievements, combined with his powerful Radziwiłł family backing, helped him rise to his various voivode and starost offices and further increased his family's wealth.<ref name="vle"/>

Like his father, brother, and nephew, he was an ardent Calvinist and adherent of the Polish Reformed Church, and defended it against the rise of the Counter-Reformation.<ref name="vle"/>

References

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