Hieronim Chodkiewicz

Who was Hieronim Chodkiewicz?

Hieronim Chodkiewicz was a noble from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, who was Elder of Samogitia from 1545 until his death. He was son of Aleksander and brother of Hrehory and Yurii Chodkiewiczs. Due to the political success of Chodkiewicz and his brothers, the Chodkiewicz family became the second wealthiest family in the Grand Duchy after the Radziwiłłs according to a military census of 1567 – a significant increase from 1528 when their father Alexander was 11th on the list. Chodkiewicz distanced himself from his Eastern Orthodox roots—he possibly converted to Catholicism around 1530 and to Lutheranism around 1550.