ZAMOYSKI, JAN. - Polish nobleman, b. in 1542, d. in 1605. He received a thorough intellectual formation at Padua, where in the year 1563 he became "rector of the University of Jurists."
His career, a very brilliant one, began with the office of secretary to King Sigismund Augustus. In that capacity, he made a detailed inventory of the archives of the Kingdom, and thereby came to a perfect knowledge of the national tradition. In the three consecutive interregna, after the extinction of the Jagiellonian dynasty in 1572, Z. succeeded in barring the way to the Polish throne to the Habsburg candidates. During the first interregnum, under his decisive influence the Polish constitution was changed, creating a noble democracy and considerably limiting the power of the King. Nevertheless Z. collaborated closely with Stephen Báthory (1576-86), who gave him his niece in marriage, and appointed him successively grand chancellor and grand hetman (supreme military commander), thereby conferring on him the direction of political and military affairs. Having successfully championed in 1587-88 the election of Sigismund III Vasa against his Austrian rival, Z. became estranged from the new King, who soon allied himself with the Habsburgs. The complete rupture between him and the King was averted mainly through the efforts of the apostolic nuncio; nevertheless Z. remained until his death the head of the opposition, while keeping himself within the limits of legality. Moreover he did not hesitate to help Sigismund III in the solution of the problem of religious union with the Ruthenians, as also in the defense of the southern and eastern frontier and of Livonia. In his foreign policy, especially in the project of the anti-Ottoman league and in the affairs of Moldavia, Z. was not always in agreement with the Holy See. Nevertheless he was highly esteemed in Rome, where his lofty qualities, his sincere devotion to the Church and his part in the Catholic restoration were appreciated. An enlightened patron of Renaissance culture, and himself a distinguished humanist, full of interest in questions concerning education, Z. founded in the year 1594 in his city of Zamość, entirely rebuilt, the University which became a new hearth of Latin civilization in Eastern Europe.