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Marek Sobieski (1628-1652)
Encyclopedia
Marek Sobieski was a Polish
noble (szlachcic
), starosta
(tenant of the Crown lands) of Krasnystaw and Jaworów, older brother of King Jan III Sobieski of Poland. He graduated from Nowodworski College in Kraków and Kraków Academy
, the traveled and studied in Western Europe. After returning to Poland in 1648 he fought against the Cossacks and Tatars at Zbaraż
and Beresteczko. He was taken captive by Tatars in 1652 and then killed by Cossacks.
and his second wife Teofila Zofia Daniłłowiczówna. He was born on 24 May 1628 in Złoczów and spent his childhood in Żółkiew. He grew up in a patriotic family, and his mother often took him and his brother to the grave of her grandfather Stanisław Żółkiewski, Grand Hetman of the Crown, who was killed in the battle of Cecora
in 1620. Zofia Teofila Daniłłowicz taught her sons the inscription upon their great-grandfather's grave: "O quam dulce et decorum est pro patria mori!" (How sweet and glorious it is to die for one's homeland!). On 29 October 1639 Sobieski became Starosta of Jaworów
.
Along with his brother Jan, beginning in 1640, Sobieski studied at the Nowodworski College in Kraków. On 29 April 1642 Sobieski made a speech on funeral of Jakub Zadzik
, bishop of Kraków. The next year, on 2 June 1643, Sobieski made a speech where he thanked absent Władysław IV for everything he had done for Nodworski College. Two months earlier, in April 1643, Marek and Jan Sobieski began studies at Kraków Academy
. In 1644 Sobieski became Starosta of Krasnystaw
.
In 1645 Jakub Sobieski, father of Marek and Jan, prepared special instructions and a guidebook for his sons, who were about to go abroad. Jakub Sobieski, who was inspired by Roman authors, emphasized learning foreign languages and physical exercises. He wanted to prepare his sons to be politics and diplomats.
After completing their studies in 1646, the brothers started to travel around Europe under the tutelage of Sebastian Gawrecki. They departed Żółkiew on 21 February or 25 March 1646. They visited Berlin
, Wittenberg
, Leipzig
, Halle
, Amsterdam
and Paris
, where they arrived on 9 June 1646. They spent the next 16 months in France. In October 1647 Marek and Jan Sobieski went to England and subsequently studied mathematics in the Netherlands
. The brothers had planned to go to Turkey
, but after hearing of the Khmelnytsky Uprising
they decided to return to Poland. Marek and John Sobieski left Brussels on 24 July 1648.
, which at the time was being besieged by Cossacks. In 1648, 1649 and 1650 Sobieski was elected a member of the parliament (sejm walny) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1649 he was among the electors who voted for Jan II Kazimierz as King of Poland. Then, as a head of a chorągiew
husarska
(military unit formed by Hussars) of 100 horse, the young starosta joined the army of Jeremi Wiśniowiecki
.
Sobieski was a member of the Polish defense crew besieged by Cossacks at Zbaraż
from 10 July to 22 August 1649. In 1650 he fought against the Cossacks at Kamieniec Podolski. Marek Sobieski also took part in the Battle of Beresteczko
on 28–30 June 1651. After the Polish victory, due his bravery, he received a saber of Tugay Bey, who had been killed during the battle. In September 1651 he fought at the Battle of Biała Cerkiew. When the Poles, Cossacks and Tatars began negotiations, Marek Sobieski was sent to the Cossack camp as a guarantor of safety for the Cossack leader, Bohdan Khmelnytsky
, who was in the Polish camp.
In 1652 Sobieski fought against the Cossacks near Bracław and during Biała Cerkiew campaign. Marching with Jan Odrzywolski, but without his own hussar banner, Sobieski and his retinue came to the field hetman Kalinowski's camp at Batoh on May 31. Marek Sobieski and Odrzywolski were assigned to command cavalry banners during the subsequent battle, and in that capacity they fought on June 1 and 2. On June 2, during the second day of the Battle of Batoh
after the defeat of Polish cavalry in the field before the Polish camp, Sobieski commanded a cavalry group, perhaps containing wounded filed hetman Kalinowski, that withdrew to the eastern redoubt
in Polish camp, where Cossacks destroyed them after bringing artillery. Following Polish soldier Wespazjan Kochowski
's writings Sobieski might have been the last Polish commander defending the Polish camp against the Cossack-Tatar army. Young commander was taken prisoner or surrendered, to be ransomed in a future as it was practice of the day, by the Tatars or Cossacks. After the battle, the Cossacks paid the Tatars for possession of the prisoners, and killed the Polish captives in retaliation for Chmielnicki’s defeat at Berestechko. Among the 8,000 massacred Polish soldiers was Marek Sobieski. or the number could have been much higher, up to 15,000 killed in action and massacred.
Sobieski's mother returned his body to his home, and to commemorate him she founded the Church of the Assumption of Mary in Żółkiew, which was built between 1653 and 1655. Sobieski was buried there in 1655 on the day the church was consecrated
. His brother, King Jan III Sobieski, commissioned a gravestone by Andreas Schlüter
made from black marble
, which was destroyed after 1945. In 1946 Sobieski's body was taken to the Dominican's Church in Kraków.
in With Fire and Sword
(1884), Antoni Euzebiusz Balicki in Z żaka król (1936) and Jacek Komuda
in novel Bohun (2006).
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
noble (szlachcic
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
), starosta
Starosta
Starost is a title for an official or unofficial position of leadership that has been used in various contexts through most of Slavic history. It can be translated as "elder"...
(tenant of the Crown lands) of Krasnystaw and Jaworów, older brother of King Jan III Sobieski of Poland. He graduated from Nowodworski College in Kraków and Kraków Academy
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
, the traveled and studied in Western Europe. After returning to Poland in 1648 he fought against the Cossacks and Tatars at Zbaraż
Siege of Zbarazh
The Siege of Zbarazh was a 1649 battle of the Khmelnytsky Uprising.The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth forces held their positions besieged in the Zbarazh Castle until in the aftermath of Battle of Zboriv and the Treaty of Zboriv the hostilities paused and the siege ended. These events were...
and Beresteczko. He was taken captive by Tatars in 1652 and then killed by Cossacks.
Childhood and studies
Sobieski was the oldest child of Jakub SobieskiJakub Sobieski
Jakub Sobieski was a Polish-Lithuanian noble, parliamentarian, diarist, political activist, military leader and father of King Jan III Sobieski. Son of castellan and voivode Marek Sobieski and Jadwiga Snopkowska.- Life :...
and his second wife Teofila Zofia Daniłłowiczówna. He was born on 24 May 1628 in Złoczów and spent his childhood in Żółkiew. He grew up in a patriotic family, and his mother often took him and his brother to the grave of her grandfather Stanisław Żółkiewski, Grand Hetman of the Crown, who was killed in the battle of Cecora
Battle of Tutora (1620)
The Battle of Ţuţora was a battle between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Ottoman forces , fought from 17 September to 7 October 1620 in Moldavia, near the Prut River.- Prelude :Because of the failure of Commonwealth diplomatic mission to Constantinople, and violations of the Treaty of...
in 1620. Zofia Teofila Daniłłowicz taught her sons the inscription upon their great-grandfather's grave: "O quam dulce et decorum est pro patria mori!" (How sweet and glorious it is to die for one's homeland!). On 29 October 1639 Sobieski became Starosta of Jaworów
Yavoriv
Yavoriv is a city located in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Yavoriv Raion and rests approximately 50 km west of the oblast capital, Lviv....
.
Along with his brother Jan, beginning in 1640, Sobieski studied at the Nowodworski College in Kraków. On 29 April 1642 Sobieski made a speech on funeral of Jakub Zadzik
Jakub Zadzik
Jakub Zadzik was a Polish Great Crown Secretary from 1613 to 1627, bishop of Chełmno from 1624, Crown Deputy Chancellor from 1627, Great Crown Chancellor from 1628 to 1635, bishop of Kraków from 1635, diplomat, szlachcic, magnate in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
, bishop of Kraków. The next year, on 2 June 1643, Sobieski made a speech where he thanked absent Władysław IV for everything he had done for Nodworski College. Two months earlier, in April 1643, Marek and Jan Sobieski began studies at Kraków Academy
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
. In 1644 Sobieski became Starosta of Krasnystaw
Krasnystaw
Krasnystaw is a town in eastern Poland with 19,615 inhabitants . Situated in the Lublin Voivodeship , previously in Chelm Voivodeship . It is the capital of Krasnystaw County....
.
In 1645 Jakub Sobieski, father of Marek and Jan, prepared special instructions and a guidebook for his sons, who were about to go abroad. Jakub Sobieski, who was inspired by Roman authors, emphasized learning foreign languages and physical exercises. He wanted to prepare his sons to be politics and diplomats.
After completing their studies in 1646, the brothers started to travel around Europe under the tutelage of Sebastian Gawrecki. They departed Żółkiew on 21 February or 25 March 1646. They visited Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Wittenberg
Wittenberg
Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a city in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Elbe. It has a population of about 50,000....
, Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where they arrived on 9 June 1646. They spent the next 16 months in France. In October 1647 Marek and Jan Sobieski went to England and subsequently studied mathematics in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. The brothers had planned to go to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, but after hearing of the Khmelnytsky Uprising
Khmelnytsky Uprising
The Khmelnytsky Uprising, was a Cossack rebellion in the Ukraine between the years 1648–1657 which turned into a Ukrainian war of liberation from Poland...
they decided to return to Poland. Marek and John Sobieski left Brussels on 24 July 1648.
Adulthood
After returning to Poland Sobieski and his brother came to ZamośćZamosc
Zamość ukr. Замостя is a town in southeastern Poland with 66,633 inhabitants , situated in the south-western part of Lublin Voivodeship , about from Lublin, from Warsaw and from the border with Ukraine...
, which at the time was being besieged by Cossacks. In 1648, 1649 and 1650 Sobieski was elected a member of the parliament (sejm walny) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1649 he was among the electors who voted for Jan II Kazimierz as King of Poland. Then, as a head of a chorągiew
Choragiew
Chorągiew was the basic administrative unit of the Polish cavalry from the 14th century. An alternative name until the 17th century was Rota.The name may derive from Slavic word Khorugv ....
husarska
Polish Hussars
The Polish Hussars were the main type of cavalry of the first Polish Army, later also introduced into the Army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, between the 16th and 18th centuries...
(military unit formed by Hussars) of 100 horse, the young starosta joined the army of Jeremi Wiśniowiecki
Jeremi Wisniowiecki
Jeremi Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki was a notable member of the aristocracy of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Prince at Wiśniowiec, Łubnie and Chorol and a father of future Polish king Michał I...
.
Siege of Zbarazh
The Siege of Zbarazh was a 1649 battle of the Khmelnytsky Uprising.The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth forces held their positions besieged in the Zbarazh Castle until in the aftermath of Battle of Zboriv and the Treaty of Zboriv the hostilities paused and the siege ended. These events were...
from 10 July to 22 August 1649. In 1650 he fought against the Cossacks at Kamieniec Podolski. Marek Sobieski also took part in the Battle of Beresteczko
Battle of Berestechko
The Battle of Berestechko was fought between rebellious Zaporozhian Cossacks, led by Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky, aided by their Crimean Tatar allies, and a Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth army under King John II Casimir. It was the largest land battle of 17th century.Lasting from June 28 to June 30,...
on 28–30 June 1651. After the Polish victory, due his bravery, he received a saber of Tugay Bey, who had been killed during the battle. In September 1651 he fought at the Battle of Biała Cerkiew. When the Poles, Cossacks and Tatars began negotiations, Marek Sobieski was sent to the Cossack camp as a guarantor of safety for the Cossack leader, Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Zynoviy Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky was a hetman of the Zaporozhian Cossack Hetmanate of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . He led an uprising against the Commonwealth and its magnates which resulted in the creation of a Cossack state...
, who was in the Polish camp.
In 1652 Sobieski fought against the Cossacks near Bracław and during Biała Cerkiew campaign. Marching with Jan Odrzywolski, but without his own hussar banner, Sobieski and his retinue came to the field hetman Kalinowski's camp at Batoh on May 31. Marek Sobieski and Odrzywolski were assigned to command cavalry banners during the subsequent battle, and in that capacity they fought on June 1 and 2. On June 2, during the second day of the Battle of Batoh
Battle of Batoh
The Battle of Batoh was a battle in 1652 in which Polish forces under Marcin Kalinowski were defeated by Cossacks commanded by Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky. About 8,000 Polish soldiers were taken prisoners and massacred after the battle, including Samuel Jerzy Kalinowski, Zygmunt Przyjemski, Jan...
after the defeat of Polish cavalry in the field before the Polish camp, Sobieski commanded a cavalry group, perhaps containing wounded filed hetman Kalinowski, that withdrew to the eastern redoubt
Redoubt
A redoubt is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, though others are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldiers outside the main defensive line and can be a permanent structure or a...
in Polish camp, where Cossacks destroyed them after bringing artillery. Following Polish soldier Wespazjan Kochowski
Wespazjan Kochowski
Wespazjan Kochowski was one of the most noted historians and poets of Polish Baroque, the most typical representative of the philosophy and literature of Sarmatism.- Life :Kochowski was associated with Małopolska during all his life...
's writings Sobieski might have been the last Polish commander defending the Polish camp against the Cossack-Tatar army. Young commander was taken prisoner or surrendered, to be ransomed in a future as it was practice of the day, by the Tatars or Cossacks. After the battle, the Cossacks paid the Tatars for possession of the prisoners, and killed the Polish captives in retaliation for Chmielnicki’s defeat at Berestechko. Among the 8,000 massacred Polish soldiers was Marek Sobieski. or the number could have been much higher, up to 15,000 killed in action and massacred.
Sobieski's mother returned his body to his home, and to commemorate him she founded the Church of the Assumption of Mary in Żółkiew, which was built between 1653 and 1655. Sobieski was buried there in 1655 on the day the church was consecrated
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
. His brother, King Jan III Sobieski, commissioned a gravestone by Andreas Schlüter
Andreas Schlüter
Andreas Schlüter was a German baroque sculptor and architect associated with the Petrine Baroque style of architecture and decoration.-Biography:...
made from black marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
, which was destroyed after 1945. In 1946 Sobieski's body was taken to the Dominican's Church in Kraków.
Legacy
Sobieski was portrayed by Henryk SienkiewiczHenryk Sienkiewicz
Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz was a Polish journalist and Nobel Prize-winning novelist. A Polish szlachcic of the Oszyk coat of arms, he was one of the most popular Polish writers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905 for his...
in With Fire and Sword
With Fire and Sword
With Fire and Sword is a historical novel by the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz, published in 1884. It is the first volume of a series known to Poles as the Trilogy, followed by The Deluge and Fire in the Steppe , also translated as Colonel Wolodyjowski...
(1884), Antoni Euzebiusz Balicki in Z żaka król (1936) and Jacek Komuda
Jacek Komuda
Jacek Lech Komuda is a Polish writer and historian. He specialized in the period of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and History of Poland , and is the author of several novels and short stories of fantasy/historical novel genre. He is a co-author of the Dzikie Pola role-playing game, and script...
in novel Bohun (2006).