Maxym Kryvonis
Encyclopedia
Maksym Kryvonis (???? - 1648) was one of the Cossack
leaders of Khmelnytsky Uprising
. In the first stage of the uprising he was the leader of the most radical faction of the rebels who rejected all compromises with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
and wanted to drive all Catholics and Jews
out of Ukraine
.
origin ("ein gebohrenen Schott") In this case his real name may well have been not a nickname based on his crooked or broken nose, but a translation of his Scottish family name Cameron
.
of Cherkasy Regiment. His actions in Korsun
and Pylyavtsi
battles in 1648 led to crushing Cossack victories over the Polish armies. His actions against prince Jeremi Wiśniowiecki
at Makhnivka and Starokostiantyniv
were less successful.
Kryvonis earned a reputation among the Poles and Jews for wanton cruelty as the rebels under his leadership perpetrated serious atrocities.
Also there are different accounts of Kryvonis's demise: killed (shot) during the siege of Lviv
, assassinated (poisoned) by Jesuits, killed by orders of Bohdan Khmelnytsky
who loathed him, or perished of plague during the siege of Zamość
in 1648.
, a novel by Nobel
-winning 19th century Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz
. In the 1999 movie
based on the novel he was played by Maciej Kozłowski
.
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
leaders of 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...
. In the first stage of the uprising he was the leader of the most radical faction of the rebels who rejected all compromises with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
and wanted to drive all Catholics and Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
out of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
Origins
The question about his origins remains unresolved. Polish pamphlet published in 1648 states that he was a serf of the Nemyrych family (a hypothesis favoured by Soviet historiography). However, a German source about a meeting with Kryvonis in 1648 says that he is of ScottishScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
origin ("ein gebohrenen Schott") In this case his real name may well have been not a nickname based on his crooked or broken nose, but a translation of his Scottish family name Cameron
Cameron (surname)
Cameron is an English-language surname, which is considered to be a Scottish surname. The name has several origins. One origin is from a Gaelic-language nickname, derived from cam and sròn . Another origin of the surname is from any of the various places called Cameron, especially such places...
.
Khmelnytsky Uprising
Kryvonis was one of the most effective generals of the Uprising. He was awarded the rank of colonelColonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
of Cherkasy Regiment. His actions in Korsun
Battle of Korsun
Battle of Korsun , was the second significant battle of the Khmelnytsky Uprising. Near the site of the present-day city of Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi in central Ukraine, a numerically superior force of Cossacks and Crimean Tatars under the command of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky and Tuhaj-Bej attacked...
and Pylyavtsi
Battle of Pyliavtsi
Battle of Pyliavtsi ; September 23, 1648) was the third significant battle of the Khmelnytsky Uprising. Near the site of the present-day village of Pyliava in south-central Ukraine, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth forces met a numerically superior force of Cossacks and Crimean Tatars under the...
battles in 1648 led to crushing Cossack victories over the Polish armies. His actions against prince 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...
at Makhnivka and Starokostiantyniv
Starokostiantyniv
Starokostiantyniv is a city in the Khmelnytskyi Oblast of western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Starokostiantynivsky Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast...
were less successful.
Kryvonis earned a reputation among the Poles and Jews for wanton cruelty as the rebels under his leadership perpetrated serious atrocities.
Also there are different accounts of Kryvonis's demise: killed (shot) during the siege of Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, assassinated (poisoned) by Jesuits, killed by orders of 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 loathed him, or perished of plague during the siege of Zamość
Zamosc
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...
in 1648.
In literature
Kryvonis (Polish: Maksym Krzywonos) was also a character in With Fire and SwordWith 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...
, a novel by Nobel
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
-winning 19th century Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz
Henryk 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 the 1999 movie
With Fire and Sword (film)
With Fire and Sword is the English title of the Polish film Ogniem i Mieczem, a historical drama directed by Jerzy Hoffman, released in 1999...
based on the novel he was played by Maciej Kozłowski
Maciej Kozłowski
Maciej Kozlowski was a Polish actor, the graduate from the National Film School in Łódź. Mostly known from his roles in Kingsajz, Psy, Kiler, With Fire and Sword and Schindler's List and TV series M jak miłość. Defender in Polish Artists Football Team...
.