Si Deus Nobiscum: A Polish-Lithuanian Scion Quest

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[X] Gemini, the Twins. May 21-June 20, 1552.
[X] Old money.

I do not understand the signs nor do I care all that much.
Also could go either or for the money.
 
[X] Aquarius, the Water-bearer. January 21-February 18, 1552.
[X] New money.

I find the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to be an absolutely fascinating piece of history and it makes me very sad that such an influential factor of world history and the development of modern government is so often forgotten or overlooked.

In other words: YYYEEEEEESSSSSSHHHH!
 
Sertorius said:
Nope, Liberum Veto existed, it just wasn't used. Parliament's acts were formally to be made by unanimous decision from the very beginning and some clever guy noticed one day, that if a single delegate was to block the proceedings, he can nullify the whole session. It's just that there was a certain sense of duty, that prevented this from being abused earlier. If someone didn't agree with the majority decision, he usually sat quiet, which of course doesn't mean that there was no hard political bickering earlier. Plus, the poor soul would be immediately threatened to recant his decision by the other delegates.
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Weren't the kings in earlier times also able to "convince" dissenting voices to drop their vetoes when strong enough?
 
Thyreus said:
Weren't the kings in earlier times also able to "convince" dissenting voices to drop their vetoes when strong enough?
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Of course, yet in the age of elected kings doing so might work against the current monarch. Tyrant and all that jazz.

It's much simpler to let a few trusted or tired delegates do the threatening. A sabre to the face or ten can be a potent argument too. It's why such dissidents often left the proceedings in a hurry to avoid being "persuaded" one way or another.
 
[X] Aries, the Ram. March 21-April 19, 1552.
[X] New money.
 
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  • Voting
    • Scheduled vote count started by Rolman on Feb 7, 2022 at 3:03 PM, finished with 38 posts and 30 votes.
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  • Voting
    • Chargen II. June 27, 1551.
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    • "Whoever is born under the sign of Cancer / will be happy and unhappy like the Crab / for and against / timid / sick / peaceful / quiet / suffers in hope / much consideration of other people / trusts well / is humble and subservient / many sad thoughts / will be innocently lied to often." -- German astrological text, 1527.​

    Jupiter is exalted and Mars falls, under the watchful eye of the Crab and under the aegis of his shell a son was born one rainy night by candlelight at the end of June, Anno Domini 1551. The earth-cracking sun had faded and gave way to a chilly and dank evening when the midwives, dresses splotched with rain, crossed themselves and offered congratulations at the sight of a healthy boy. Water tapped the glass in the windows. Your mother smiled wearily. To be born at all is to live a life of these sensations, to suffer greatly and receive great rewards, to cry out in the dark and be told by others to push-push-push. Natural scientists say that the crab brings forth a personality that is most decisively phlegmatic, in both its primary and secondary attributes. A rock in the river. A slow, deliberate one, one who breathes hard and gasps when in labor rather than screaming and sobbing. It is to keep one's head down, focus on one's own family, to do what's right, to give loyalty and receive it in kind. The Crab, meanwhile, lends a sort of romanticism and passion, they say. An aspiration to lofty ideals and lofty goals (though that does not imply ambition), a prediliction for poetry and flights of fancy. A man in touch with himself, but perhaps with an attached touchiness.

    Or so they say. It's no matter, the physicians may be lying. As for your birth, you will not remember any of it; you were too busy screaming, but you will not remember that, either. Though you may learn how to scream again. Welcome to the world, Son of June.

    What you will come to know, and rather quickly, is the size of your manor, the array of your servants, the quality of your tutors. You are told often and early to be grateful for your privilege, and to understand that the name, honor, and prosperity of the family is, to some extent, great or small, dependent on you. You understand quickly that you are a part of something, very old and steel-strong. Like grandfather's jousting plates.

    You were born...


    RADZIWIŁŁ.​
    [] Into the princely Lithuanian House of Radziwiłł.

    You are the third son of Prince Mikołaj Radziwiłł the Red, a brother to the (at the time of your birth) recently-deceased Queen Barbara and cousin of the influential Prince Mikołaj Radziwiłł the Black. Your father -- "Rudy" -- gives "Czarny" a run for his money in terms of wealth, respect, and titles, with vast tracts of Lithuanian land and noble ears under his control. A year after your birth, your father will be appointed Lithuanian Grand Hetman, making him arguably the most powerful man in the Grand Duchy -- indeed, the very name Radziwiłł signifies prestige and power in Lithuania and beyond still in Poland. Meanwhile, strong pro-Habsburg feeling leaves family cohesion high, as the three cadet branches of the princely line work together frequently and harmoniously to expand familial influence.

    You will be born into one of Lithuania's most powerful magnate families, a son of Prince Mikołaj Rudy.


    SIENIAWSKI.    ​
    [] Into a conservative, pro-Piast family closely associated with the powerful Tarnowscy.

    You are the first surviving son of Hieronim Sieniawski, heir to the Voivode and aging patriarch Mikołaj. The friendship your grandfather formed serving under the great Grand Hetman Jan Amor Tarnowski against the Tatars and Moldavians in the decades leading up to your birth lead to a strong familial bond and alliance, culminating in the Sieniawski family's adoption of Tarnowski heraldry. This association of your family with the Tarnowscy have led to a great increase in familial estates and responsibilities in the years since. Although nominal Calvinists, only Grandfather seems to profess the faith seriously, while the family is united by its strong support for the Piast faction and a strengthened union between the Kingdom and Grand Duchy.

    You will be second in line to head the main branch of the Sieniawscy, powerful friends of the yet greater Tarnowski family.


    TWOROWSKI.​
    [] Into a house of regionally-powerful Podolian landowners.

    Although not necessarily projecting power like the Radziwiłłowie or Tarnowscy, your family is by far the most influential in Halicz or Kameniec and perhaps in all of Podolia. Your grandfather Jan was Voivode of Podolia and died a few years before you were born, but not before marrying the heiress of the once-rival Buczacki family, only strengthening the family's grip over the region. Though Tworowski control over the region is beginning to slowly wane in the years after Jan's death, your family still commands great sway among Pole and Ruthenian alike at the cost of being stereotyped as provincial; Tworowscy would much rather rule Podolia than politick in the Sejm, or so they say. Your father and house head Andrzej, meanwhile, is not without his own troubles.

    A regionally powerful yet traditionally inward-looking family, very prestigious among the tracts of Podolia.


    FIRLEJ.​
    [] Into a magnate family highly influential among the Protestants.

    You are a scion of the House of Firlej, a disparate yet influential interdenominational family smattered across several estates in central Poland, a week's ride or so from Krakow. Several Firlejowie have ascended to voivodeships throughout the region over the years, but your father Jan is quickly gaining influence as a potential leader for the Lutherans and Calvinists of the realm; by the time of your birth, he will be on the cusp of his election to the Senat and then onwards to several Voivodeships. His impassioned oratory and resolute stands for Protestantism will soon make him a powerful man indeed, and you in turn a powerful man's heir.

    Although far from the richest or strongest on this list, the firebrand acts of your father Jan Firlej are allowing him to gain steam in court generally and among its Protestants particularly. You may, in time, find the mantle of leader falling to you.
     
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    • [X] Into a conservative, pro-Piast family closely associated with the powerful Tarnowscy.
     
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