How did the deputies of 1548 Sejm persuaded king Zygmunt August to relinquish the intention of marrying Barbara Radziwiłłówna?
In the article I analyse the speeches delivered in the Sejm of Piotrków in 1548 which aimed at persuading king Zygmunt August to relinquish the intention of marrying Barbara Radziwiłłówna. The most extensive and conspicuous one, given by Andrzej Górka, contains some of the arguments raised also by other deputies, namely evocation of divine power and citing the authority of the monarch’s ancestors. Górka makes use of such rhetorical means as repetitions, evaluative epithet, metaphor or rhetorical question, and, similarly to the other speakers, he uses imperative verbs first of all, ‘plead’ and ‘advise’. All of the deputies’ addresses are firm and, simultaneously, adhering to the rules of language etiquette of the time.