Zygmunt Unrug

Who was Zygmunt Unrug?

Zygmunt Unrug, also known as Sigismund von Unruh, was a Polish szlachta nobleman of German descent who served as a royal chamberlain, starosta, and ambassador to the Kingdom of Prussia during the period of Stanisław I Leszczyński and Augustus II the Strong.

Charged with the crime of blasphemy after some of his purloined private writings were made public by his political enemies, the Protestant Unrug received refuge from Prussia's Frederick William I after being sentenced to death by the Polish-Lithuanian authorities in 1715. Unrug, who, remained committed to clearing his name during his period abroad, was able to secure support from the Papacy and the Sorbonne; a decade later, the original verdict of guilt was finally rejected by the Diet of Grodno.