Bartłomiej Nowodworski’s project of military training for nobility

In modern Polish Republic there appeared a number of projects postulating the creation of a new military training system. Many political writers urged for the need to open a school for knights. One of the most interesting projects for training and maintenance of cadets for the so-called foreign contingent was designed by Bartłomiej Nowodworski, a famous knight of Malta and courtier of Sigismund III Vasa. Due to its interesting character the project is worth presenting to a wider circle of historians. Initially Nowodworski presented his concept during local gatherings of the nobility. In 1611 he presented his project during Warsaw Sejm. The project was undoubtedly inspired by the long and painstaking siege of Smolensk, in which Nowodwroski took an active part and during which he could see for himself inadequate preparation of Polish military forces for the execution of regular modern siege operations. A copy of Bartłomiej Nowodworski’s project is kept in the National Library of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences (PAU) and Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) in Kraków, no. 2255, cat. 277-278Bartłomiej Nowodworski’s project of military training for nobility