Aleksander Benedykt Sobieski was born on 6 September 1677, while his parents were sojourning in Gdańsk. According to the family tradition, he received a nickname—‘Minionek’. The birth of the Prince was celebrated with an opulent two-day feast. The boy’s godparents were Pope Innocent XI (born Benedetto Odescalchi) and Katarzyna Radziwiłł née Sobieska.
Marie Casimire wanted her middle son to begin education around his sixth birthday, but the boy protested and Jan III interceded for him, asking that education not be forced on the boy to leave his ‘fantasy unspoiled’. Thus, Aleksander received his lessons later, together with his younger brother, Konstanty. The young princes learned rhetoric by correspondence under the direction of Marcin Winkler, mailing their assignments to Cracow. Jan III also read the works. Since 1685, the boys were instructed by Jesuit Maurizio Vota, who enjoyed a significant influence as a courtier of the King. He intended to teach the boys the basics of history along with politics and geography. His pupils were treated to descriptions of particular countries of Europe, including their history, geography, and political systems. Vota was later replaced by Remigian Suszycki, a specialist in philosophy and law. The course he offered was a summary lecture limited almost to mere definitions and based on a question and answer pattern. The form did not invite independence in thought or pursuit of knowledge. On the one hand, the program was limited in content; on the other, it was overburdened with details. The boys’ education also included elements of military theory and engineering, taught first by engineer François Charles Hocquart and then by Cavalier de Neufmaison. Lectures in theoretical science were accompanied with lessons in courtly abilities—dancing and conversation, particularly in French and Italian.
Following the example of his father Jakub, Jan III prepared an educational guideline for his younger sons. It specifies the list of required readings and educational expectations in geography, philosophy, and history, as well as military theory. The document also includes a detailed timetable for the boys to follow—reveille at 7 AM, then bath, prayers, and breakfast; then lessons (from 8 AM until 10 AM), mass, and dinner. From 3 PM on, another two hours of lessons. The guideline indicates that the boys attended fewer lessons in a day than Jan Sobieski and his elder brother had. The princes spent far more time with their parents, accompanying them both in travels with the court (which made learning impracticable) and in courtly amusements. The educations of the younger Sobieskis was, for the most part, a formality, and, as a result, neither their parents nor their teachers managed to inculcate them with a strength of character or responsibility for themselves and their fate.
Aleksander completed his education by taking part in the expedition to Moldavia in 1691. The campaign ended in failure, and both its progress and the young age of the Prince precluded him from playing a significant part in it. A lot seems to suggest that he did not even keep a record of the expedition, which he was expected to do according to the family tradition.
Aleksander was said to have been the prettiest of Jan III’s sons. Already as a child, his looks and wit set him out from his siblings. Claimed to be favoured by his mother, he was certainly the most intimate friend of his sister, Teresa Kunegunda.
Foreigners visiting the Polish court believed that the middle prince was popular with the nobility and would gain the crown after his father. Despite showing much promise, the growing Sobieski mostly indulged in the pleasures of life. He was popular with ladies: among his supposed early conquests was Elżbieta Sieniawska née Lubomirska, friend of the Queen, a woman of superior intelligence and energy. Their affair occurred during the King’s final years and surely blossomed after his death. Upon her departure from Poland in 1698, Marie Casimire named the cautious and resourceful Sieniawska the protector of the princes she had left behind.
Due the influence of primarily French sources, it was commonly assumed in the past that the Sobieskis desired that Aleksander ascend the throne upon the death of Jan III. Such plans were ascribed particularly to Marie Casimire. However, there seems to be no indication of any effort on the part of the mother or both parents to elevate the middle prince to the throne. Yet, perhaps because of the rumours purposefully circulated at the court, relations between the princes became tense—even if that is not uncommon in family relations. A lot seems to suggest that after the death of Jan III the brothers had reconciled.
After the election failure of 1697, Aleksander tried to tie himself to the court of Augustus II to represent the interests of his family before the new monarch. However, the Prince could not settle at the court and promptly departed for Rome to live close to his mother. He spent several years travelling through Italy and France, returning every so often to his native country by way of his elder brother’s court in Oława or through Wrocław, where the Sobieskis owned a house they used during their frequent journeys between their properties in the Rus’ and western Europe. Wrocław served as their haven and allowed them to retain autonomy by evading the direct control of the head of the family—Prince Jakub.
Marie Casimire sought to insure Aleksander’s future by pushing him toward a career in the clergy and considered pursuing a cardinalship for her son. When the Prince rejected that idea, the Queen began a search for a suitable candidate for his wife. Her letters reveal a whole list of princesses fitting the bill due to their rank, age, and dowry. Even if a match seemed likely, Aleksander rejected every candidate. At times, he would make his mother indignant by acting against tradition—claiming not to know the candidates and demanding to see them before he would decide if he liked them. Marie Casimire’s reasoning about the need of settling to make assurances for the future, or to produce heirs, did not convince him. Perhaps realising that, given the already weak position of the Sobieskis, to secure a suitable bride, if it were possible at all, would not be easy and could mire him in completely futile negotiations. At the same time, he indulged himself by developing less formal bonds with numerous ladies. To his mother’s anguish, he had affairs with two former mistresses of Augustus II: Anna von Lamberg, Countess Esterle, and Urszula Lubomirska née Bokum, Duchess of Těšín. It was said that Esterle contributed financially to the Sobieskis’ renewed attempt at claiming the Polish throne.
After the outbreak of the Great Northern War, Aleksander supported his elder brother Jakub’s pursuit of the crown. As 1704 drew nearer Augustus II, fearing that the Sobieskis might succeed, ordered the kidnapping of Prince Jakub, also taking Konstanty, who would not leave his brother. Aleksander strove to have his brothers freed and, hoping to provoke at least a diplomatic intervention on their behalf, sent letters to European courts accusing Wettin of lawlessness. He also supplicated influential figures in Poland, most significantly Primate Michał Radziejowski, and finally personally addressed Karl XII himself. Following the imprisonment of his brothers, Aleksander became the most viable candidate to the throne, but—against his mother’s advice and to her anguish—he rejected the opportunity, most likely because he did not harbour such ambitions. He also believed that as king, he would find it no easier to free his brothers, as the Swedish monarch would then withdraw his support, seeing the Polish throne already occupied. In the past, writers accused Aleksander of shirking from the responsibilities of ruling, but in all likelihood he hoped his decision might force Karl XII to intercede on behalf of the imprisoned. He may have also realised his own precarious position and sought to avoid the fate of mere puppet for the Swedes. Yet, he failed to achieve his goal: Karl XII sided with Stanisław Leszczyński and had him elected. Aleksander received assurances from the new Polish monarch that the crown would be passed on to Jakub upon leaving prison. However, the document leaked to third parties, possibly contributing to an extension of the imprisonment of the Sobieskis, with Jakub still seen as a menace, even after Leszczyński’s electoral victory. Aleksander also contemplated a military exhibition that would free his brothers by force. He pursued Swedish support only to eventually abandon the plan, perhaps due to his mother’s fears concerning his brothers’ survival.
Aleksander spent the final months before his brothers’ release in Saxony. Afterwards, he visited German courts to give thanks to all who offered him support, even limited. Heeding the advice of Empress Eleonor, Jakub Sobieski’s sister-in-law and protector of the family as well as more distant relatives, he then moved to Rome. For a while, he continued to travel, but eventually moved in with his mother for good, making good on a promise he made to her when his brothers were still in captivity. It seems likely that Aleksander’s frantic activity in that period made clear to the enemies of his family that, in spite of his previous slumber, the Prince might eventually become a serious political opponent.
Since 1709 Aleksander—using the pseudonym Armonte Calidio—attended the Roman Arcadia, an academy established by Tuscan literary figures which welcomed foreigners, especially as patrons. Wishing to become a part of the circle, Sobieski financed the publication of a volume of writings by the academy’s secretary, Giovanni Maria Crescimbeni. This indicates the Prince’s at least cursory involvement in contemporary debates among Italian artists primarily over the questions taste and style in poetry. Members of the Arcadia opted for a simple and clear style, rejecting Baroque intricacies, burdensome ornamentations, and rhetorical twists; they looked back to antique inspirations and supported the rise of the idyll.
Aleksander did not limit his contribution to financing the activity of other Arcadians, but wrote verse in Latin himself. The Prince took an active part in various events in Roman cultural life—aside from meetings of the academy and social functions, these included participating in masquerades and carnival processions.
The most important aspect of Aleksander’s patronage of the arts was his involvement in organising a theatre at Marie Casimire’s court in Rome. The Queen’s letters indicate that her own role in this venture was limited to establishing the institution and financing the performances. The first of those took place before the son moved in with her for good, but it was precisely his arrival that gave the project a much-needed boost. He received support from Maria Kazimiera, the eldest daughter of Prince Jakub, who lived with her grandmother in Rome at the time. She also took part in the performances, dancing or acting the role of a nymph.
Dramas and musical plays staged in that period mostly drew from burlesque and consisted of solo displays, with performances often composed of unrelated scenes devoid of any plot, most often those that the audience liked the most. Aleksander’s theatrical activities bear out his fondness for history and mythology. Perhaps he related to his own childhood memories of watching performances organised by the Piarist and Jesuit schools, based on themes from antiquity. These plays mostly served as propaganda, inspiring awe at Jan III’s achievements or faith in Poland’s glorious future under the reign of his sons. Roman plays were staged as noble dramas, stirring hearts and minds as the Catholic doctrine ordered, with ethical themes serving the audience’s moral uplift. At his mother’s court, Aleksander became the director as well as stage and costume designer, but most of all the inspiration behind the plays and plots. He tried to combine text with music, forcing the actors to create a relatively consistent plot—a novelty in the theatre of the period. His ideas and suggestions also aided the playwright Carlo Sigismondo Capece, who served at the Queen’s court as a secretary. The music for the plays was written by Domenico Scarlatti, whose Thetis on Skyros was performed in the theatre, as were Orlando or Orlando, or the madness of jealousy, and later, Iphigenia in Tauris and Iphigenia in Aulis, as well. Other performances included Ptolemy and Alexander, the story of a younger brother who, though favoured by his mother Cleopatra, gave the crown away to his elder sibling—perhaps a distant reference to the experiences of Aleksander himself. Correspondence suggests that not all of the titles staged at the Sobieski theatre are known today; their authorship has also not been established.
The role of the bandmaster at the Queen’s court was performed by Anastasio Lingua. The Sobieskis also employed Sylvius Leopold Weiss, a famous composer and lute player. His father was a musician in Wrocław, and the son most likely began his career there. The younger Weiss was considered a major talent, a foremost lute player of the period, endowed with superlative technique. Most of his works are sonatas. It was Aleksander that recognised his talent and summoned him to Rome. The Prince sought to employ the best performers. Since 1711, female parts in plays were performed by a singer called Tilla and the Silesian Anna Maria Giusti. As costume and stage designer, the Prince is thought to have cooperated with Filippo Juvara, a famous architect and stage designer whose services were in demand among contemporary theatre operators. According to Marie Casimire, the Sobieski theatre matured thanks to Aleksander’s efforts and could successfully challenge the most famous Venetian stages of the era.
The Sobieski theatre closed up in 1714, when Marie Casimire left Italy with her granddaughter; at that time, Aleksander was already very ill. The illness had probably pestered him ever since his arrival to Rome. He complained of health issues even before, prompting Marie Casimire to advise him to travel to Rome under the assumption that his problems were caused by the Silesian climate and that he would improve in the city on the Tiber. However, Aleksander’s health continued to decline, often causing him to stay in bed throughout the day. He was weak and in pain. Descriptions suggest that the Prince was suffering from gout. In spite of all efforts at obtaining a remedy that would alleviate Aleksander’s ailing, he only grew weaker. He is said to have tried using tablets that initially seemed to have improved his condition, but in the end appeared to only make matters worse. He had trouble breathing and doctors claimed water was collecting in his lungs. At one point he was apparently unable to walk or stand up by himself. Dietary habits did not help, either—the broth that Marie Casimire thought would nourish and fortify him, or the alcohol that Aleksander always liked to drink. In the Summer of 1714, the illness progressed at an even greater pace, preventing Aleksander from embarking on a long-planned trip to Germany. He may have been hoping to travel to Silesia, as well. He also promised his mother and niece that he would join them after the trip in their new home in France.
After the departure of the two ladies, the Prince suffered the final collapse. He thinned dramatically and, possibly anticipating his impending demise, decided to take vows, joining the Capuchins, an order which his father used to hold in particular esteem. There have been rumours that he would become a cardinal, finally fulfilling his mother’s plans for his career. On 19 November, to the shock of his closest of kin—both brothers, the Queen, and Princess Maria Kazimiera—Aleksander died. At the Pope’s behest, cardinals Giuseppe Sacripandi and Fabrizio Paulucci and Capuchin monks kept vigil at his bedstead. In accordance with the Prince’s final will, they burned letters from his secret casket. Correspondence suggests that no one—least of all the two Marie Casimires, grandmother and granddaughter, who were the last to see him—believed Aleksander’s illness to be as grave, indeed, that he was at death’s doorstep. His mother would not have left him had she realised his tragic condition. This has been confirmed by figures related to her Roman court, who stressed the pace with which the illness had developed.
At the behest of Clemens XI, the body of the Prince was embalmed. Aleksander wished to be buried modestly, but the Pope organised an immensely solemn ceremony modelled on funerals of the camerlingos, which took place on 27 November 1714 at the Church of Santa Maria della Concezione. In the evening, a procession was formed, composed of secular and monastic clergy with candles, the Swiss Guards, and members of the Papal court on mules and horses, along with the Pope’s nephew, Cardinal Alessandro Albani. His Holiness observed the procession from the Quirinal. The body of the Prince, dressed in the cloak of the Order of the Holy Spirit, was carried into a richly lighted church adorned in black. There, in a bid to fulfil the wish of the departed at least to an extent, the cloak was taken off, and the body was laid to the grave dressed in the humble garb of a Capuchin monk.
The solemn funeral of a prince who led such a joyful life respected the common belief that his illness and death, and most of all his decision to become a monk, were all a form of atoning for his sins. This seemed to have been the Pope’s final courtesy for the family of Jan III to whom Europe and Christianity owed so much.
Translation: Antoni Górny
