Horpyna is a fictional character in the novel '' With Fire and Sword'' by

Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish writer, novelist, journalist and Nobel Prize laureate. He is best remembered for his historical novels, especi ...

. She is a witch living in Waładynka's Devil's Gorge. Her brother, Doniec, is a

Cossack 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 ...

colonel. Horpyna is Bohun's friend. Horpyna is portrayed by Ruslana Pysanka in the 1999

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

by Jerzy Hoffman.

Story

When Horpyna first appeared in the novel, she visited wounded Bohun who was treated by

Rzędzian Rzędzian is a fictional character created by Henryk Sienkiewicz. He appears as the secondary character in '' With Fire and Sword'' and in ''The Deluge''. He is a poor Polish nobleman who serves Jan Skrzetuski. He's cunning and greedy but alway ...

. After capturing

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

, Bohun took

Helena Kurcewiczówna Helena Kurcewicz (full name: Helena Kurcewiczówna-Bułyha, later Skrzetuska) is a fictional character appearing in the novel ''With Fire and Sword'' by Henryk Sienkiewicz as the main female protagonist. She is also mentioned in ''The Deluge'' an ...

to Horpyna's house, the Devil's Valley. Horpyna took care of the wounded girl and told Bohun's fortune. She foretold that Bohun will marry Helena, become a hetman and be betrayed by one of his friends. She also foretold her brother's death and the atrocities of the war in Ukraine. All predictions showed up to be true except for Bohun and Helena's marriage. Horpyna misinterpreted the vision of a hawk above Helena's head - she thought it symbolized Bohun but the hawk was an animal in Jan Skrzetuski's coat of arms. When Bohun left for war, she was to keep Helena in her care until his return. She was shot by

who came with Zagłoba and Wołodyjowski to free Helena. Sienkiewicz placed Horpyna's cave in the gorges around

Valea Adîncă Valea Adîncă (in Romanian; uk, Валя-Адинке, ''Valia-Adynke'', Волядинка, ''Voliadynka''; russian: Валя-Адынка, ''Valia-Adynka''; pl, Waładynka) is a commune in Camenca District, in the northern part of Transnistr ...

which is located in Transnistria.

Description

''She is a brazen−faced giantess who is in friendship with devils, but she is a good−looking woman. When she laughs you would swear that a mare was neighing in the meadow. She has white teeth so strong that she might chew up a breastplate. When she walks the ground trembles.''Sienkiewicz, H. & Curtin J.
With Fire and Sword
, Chapter 32

References

Literary characters introduced in 1884 Characters in novels of the 19th century Sienkiewicz's Trilogy Fictional Cossacks Fictional witches {{novel-char-stub