Kobieta z drugiego planu. Katarzyna Konstancja z Niszczyckich Towiańska i jej polityczna działalność w burzliwych czasach przełomu XVII i XVIII w.

Abstract

A woman in the background. Katarzyna Konstancja Towiańska, née Niszczycka, and her political activity in the turbulent period of the late 17th and early 18th century The article deals with the figure of Katarzyna Konstancja Towiańska, née Niszczycka, a relative of Primate Michał Stefan Radziejowski. Its purpose is to shed light on Towiańska’s activities and her unofficial influence on the clergyman’s political endeavours in 1680–1705. They were associated with the events of the interregnum following the death of John III in 1696, when Radziejowski found himself in the party supporting the French candidate. Towiańska played a key role during the interregnum from the point of view of canvassing for support, then the split election and finally the Łowicz Rebellion. In the following years, during the reign of Augustus II, Towiańska engaged in political manoeuvring, at one time declaring allegiance to the monarch, at another showing deference to his opponents and even favouring the idea of dethroning the monarch and electing his successor, designated by Charles XII. However, Towiańska’s political activity in the background was much broader in scope and included patronage for offices and in the affairs of the clergy, matchmaking in marriages that determined political sympathies, and attendance at public events in the presence of the king. For services rendered, Towiańska and her family received specific favours from their protector, Primate Radziejowski, in the form of official patronage, landed estates, bequests and legal protection. Concluding the article, the author sums up Towiańska’s political successes and failures, and addresses the opinion about her as the cardinal’s mistress and her influence on Radziejowski’s political plans.