Elżbieta Sieniawska
| Elżbieta Sieniawska | |
|---|---|
| Grand Hetmaness of the Crown | |
Portrait of Elżbieta Sieniawska as Minerva
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| Spouse(s) | Adam Mikołaj Sieniawski |
| Issue | |
| Noble family | Lubomirski family |
| Father | Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski |
| Mother | Zofia Opalińska |
| Born | 1669 Końskowola, Poland |
| Died | 21 March 1729 Oleszyce, Poland |
Elżbieta Helena Sieniawska née Lubomirska (1669 in Końskowola – 21 March 1729 in Oleszyce) was a Polish noble lady, Grand Hetmaness of the Crown (Polish: Hetmanowa wielka koronna) and renowned patron of arts. As an influential woman politician in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the reign of Augustus II the Strong she was deeply embroiled in the Great Northern War and in the Rákóczi's War for Independence. She was considered the most powerful woman in the Commonwealth and called the uncrowned Queen of Poland.
Elżbieta was the only child of Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski by his first wife Zofia Opalińska. Her father, a neostoic known as the Polish Solomon, had a great influence on her education and politics. After her father's death she inherited many of his estates, including Puławy, Łubnice, Siekierki, Czerniaków and many other properties in Warsaw. She was educated in the Visitationist Sisters boarding-school in Warsaw and in 1680 she was admitted at the court as a lady-in-waiting of Queen Marie Casimire. In 1687, she married Adam Mikołaj Sieniawski, Grand Hetman of the Crown, and despite her husband's demands she stayed in Warsaw, where she got involved in a famed romance with Jan Stanisław Jabłonowski. She was reconciled with her husband, but soon after, her affair with Aleksander Benedykt Sobieski became well known. Her financial independence caused conflict with her husband and she was forced to defend her property and income from his interference. Eventually, the hetmaness achieved equilibrium within their marriage, and sometimes even underlined her leadership role in their intimate relations addressing Sieniawski as My dear Maiden in her letters. Monsieur de Mongrillon, secretary of the French Embassy in the period 1694-1698, recalled in his memoirs: she is a true Amazon [...] She smokes like a man. It is said that the Tatar ambassador who came to Poland with peace overtures came to smoke by her bed and she smoked with him.
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