Daniel Czapliński, a
Polish noble of
Drogosław coat of arms. He was a deputy
starosta
Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands.
The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...
of
Chyhyryn and a
rotmistrz
Rittmaster () is usually a commissioned officer military rank used in a few armies, usually equivalent to Captain. Historically it has been used in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries.
A is typically in charge of a s ...
in the forces of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
. He is best known as a personal foe of
Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Zynoviy Bohdan Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky of the Abdank coat of arms (Ruthenian language, Ruthenian: Ѕѣнові Богданъ Хмелнiцкiи; modern , Polish language, Polish: ; 15956 August 1657) was a Ruthenian nobility, Ruthenian noble ...
with whom he got into a dispute over property and Khmelnytsky's wife -
Helena Chmielnicka, the so-called "
Helen of the steppe" (this is what
Franciszek Rawita-Gawroński called her because of the conflict). Czapliński seduced Chmielnicki's wife, tried to kill his son, and organized an assassination attempt on Khmelnytsky.
[Description of the attack from Khmelnytsky's own account: ''Jechałem w kupie z pułkownikiem swojem. Zajechawszy mnie z tyłu, między wsią, w polu jeden żołnierz p. Daszewski, ciął mnie umyślnie szablą po szyjej, a że była u mnie misiurka, rozciął mi oną misiurkę na dłoń wszerz (...) Wymowę uczynił: „Jam – powiada – rozumiał, że to Tatarzyn”. A obok w wojsku z panami jechałem. Jeśliż to nie czyja umyślna sprawa?'' Quote from: W. Biernacki ''Żółte Wody, Korsuń 1648'', Bellona, Warszawa 2004.] This is sometimes seen as one of the main trigger of the
Khmelnytsky Uprising
The Khmelnytsky Uprising, also known as the Cossack–Polish War, Khmelnytsky insurrection, or the National Liberation War, was a Cossack uprisings, Cossack rebellion that took place between 1648 and 1657 in the eastern territories of the Poli ...
.
In 1649, during the uprising, he took part in the
defense of Zbarazh (1649) and the
Battle of Berestechko
The Battle of Berestechko (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Битва під Берестечком, Polish language, Polish: ''Bitwa pod Beresteczkiem''; 28 June – 10 July 1651) was fought between the Cossack Hetmanate and Crimean Khanate ag ...
(1651). In 1653 he was elected as the deputy to the
Crown Tribunal
The Crown Tribunal (, ) was the highest appellate court in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland for most cases. Exceptions were if a noble landowner was threatened with loss of life and/or property, when he could appeal to the Sejm court (Parliament ...
from Lublin.
In popular culture
He was portrayed by
Henryk Sienkiewicz
Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish epic writer. He is remembered for his historical novels, such as The Trilogy, the Trilogy series and especially ...
in ''
With Fire and Sword'' (''Ogniem i mieczem''). In the
movie adaptation of the novel he was played by
Jerzy Bończak.
General bibliography
* J. Kaczmarczyk, ''Bohdan Chmielnicki'', Łódź 1988, s. 39–40.
External links
References
Ruthenian nobility of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
1640s births
1660 deaths
{{Poland-noble-stub