Choragiew pancerna rotmistrza Jozefa Hulewicza

Chorągiew (; literally: "banner") was the basic administrative unit of the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

and Lithuanian cavalry from the 14th century. An alternative name until the 17th century was '' Rota''. Topórska vlajka

14th to 17th centuries

Between the 14th and 17th century the ''Chorągiew'' was composed of smaller sub-units – the '' Poczet''. Types of ''Chorągiew'' were: * Chorągiew ziemska (District banner), formed by knights of a district. * Chorągiew rodowa (Clan banner), formed by

clans A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

. * Chorągiew nadworna (Court banner), formed by troops of the King.

15th century (2nd half) to 18th century (1st half)

In the cavalry, since the second half of the 15th century until the first half of the 18th century, a ''Chorągiew'' was formed according to the "companion system" (system zaciągu towarzyskiego). See: ''

Towarzysz Companion (Polish: ''Towarzysz'' ), plural: ''towarzysze'') was a junior cavalry officer or knight-officer in the army of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from the 16th century until its demise in 1794. Name During the 20th century, ''towa ...

'' (companion). Types of ''Chorągiew'' were: * Chorągiew husarska (Hussar banner), formed by Hussars. * Chorągiew lekka ("Light" banner), formed by light-cavalry. * Chorągiew pancerna ("Armoured" banner), formed by

Pancerni Armoured companion (Polish: ''Towarzysz pancerny'' , plural: ''towarzysze pancerni'') was a medium-cavalryman in 16th to 18th century Poland, named after their chainmail armor. These units were the second-most-important (and successful) cavalry in ...

. * Chorągiew tatarska (Tatar banner), formed by

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

. * Chorągiew wołoska (Vlach banner), light cavalry, not only formed by

Vlachs "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...

. * Chorągiew kozacka (Cossack banner), light cavalry, not only formed by

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

. Typical family/village clans of the Chorągiew Rodowa who provided men for battles consisting of approximately 100 men were: * Topór, Dołęga and

Gryf Gryf (Polish for " Griffin"), also known as Jaxa, is a Polish coat of arms that was used by many noble families in medieval Poland and later under the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, branches of the original medieval Gryfita-Świebodzic fami ...

Gallery

File:Chorągiew grodzieńska.JPG, District Banner of the Land of

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

(1613–1619) File:Choragiew-husarska.png, A Hussar banner during the Battle of Kircholm in 1605 File:Kłuszyn 1610.JPG, A Hussar banner during the

Battle of Kluszyn The Battle of Klushino, or the Battle of Kłuszyn, was fought on 4 July 1610, between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia during the Polish–Muscovite War, part of Russia's Time of Troubles. The battle occ ...

in 1610

References

* PWN Leksykon: Wojsko, wojna, broń, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2001,
''Winged Hussars''
Radoslaw Sikora, Bartosz Musialowicz, ''BUM Magazine'', October 2016. Military history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Polish cavalry {{Europe-mil-stub