Wacław Potocki (; 1621–1696) was a Polish

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

(''

szlachcic The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in th ...

''),

moralist Moralism is any philosophy with the central focus of applying moral judgements. The term is commonly used as a pejorative to mean "being overly concerned with making moral judgments or being illiberal in the judgments one makes". Moralism has st ...

, poet, and writer. He was the

podczaszy Deputy cup-bearer () was since the 13th century a court office in Poland and later in Lithuania. Deputy cup-bearer was the deputy of the cup-bearer, with the time more important than his superior. Since the 14th–16th century an honorable court ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

from 1678 to 1685. He is remembered as one of the most important Polish

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

artists. His most famous works are: ''Transakcja wojny chocimskiej'' (also known as ''Wojna chocimska'' or ''The Chocim War'') and his collection of epigrams, ''Ogród fraszek'' (''Garden of Rhymes''). They give a vivid picture of ideas and manners among the

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...

(Polish

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest ...

) towards the end of the

Polish Golden Age The Polish Golden Age was the Renaissance period in Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, roughly corresponding to the period of rule of the King Sigismund I the Old and his son, Sigismund II Augustus, the last of the Jagiellonian Dynasty monar ...

, and of many political and religious conflicts.

Biography

Wacław Potocki was born to a minor szlachta family, belonging to the

Arian Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...

Christian sect of the

Polish brethren The Polish Brethren (Polish: ''Bracia Polscy'') were members of the Minor Reformed Church of Poland, a Nontrinitarian Protestant church that existed in Poland from 1565 to 1658. By those on the outside, they were called " Arians" or " Socinians" ( ...

. It is likely that he attended the Polish brethren

Racibórz Racibórz (german: Ratibor, cz, Ratiboř, szl, Racibōrz) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County. With Opole, Racibórz is one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia, being t ...

academy. After

The Deluge The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is the Hebrew version of the universal flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the microc ...

(the Swedish invasion and occupation of Poland from 1655 to 1657), the Polish brethren were sentenced to be exiled from the Commonwealth for their support of the invading Swedes. Wacław was given a choice between exile and conversion to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, and he reluctantly chose conversion. His wife, however, refused at first, and for many years he feared for her life. He then worked on his estate in Łuzna in the

Podkarpacie Subcarpathian Voivodeship or Subcarpathia Province (in pl, Województwo podkarpackie ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along w ...

region of the Commonwealth. He participated in the fight against the

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 ...

uprisings in 1638, took part in the

Battle of Beresteczko The Battle of Berestechko ( pl, Bitwa pod Beresteczkiem; uk, Берестецька битва, Битва під Берестечком) was fought between the Ukrainian Cossacks, led by Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky, aided by their Crimean Ta ...

in 1651, and in the wars against Sweden (1656–1657). Between 1665 and 1666 he supported the

rokosz A rokosz () originally was a gathering of all the Polish ''szlachta'' (nobility), not merely of deputies, for a ''sejm''. The term was introduced to the Polish language from Hungary, where analogous gatherings took place at a field called Rákos ...

Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski Prince Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski (20 January 1616 – 31 December 1667) was a Polish noble ( szlachcic), magnate, politician and military commander, and Prince of the Holy Roman Empire. He was the initiator of the Lubomirski Rebellion of 1 ...

. Later he supported kings

Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki Michael I ( pl, Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, lt, Mykolas I Kaributas Višnioveckis; 31 May 1640 – 10 November 1673) was the ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 29 September 1669 un ...

and

Jan III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobie ...

. He argued for the reform of the Commonwealth political system, and for stabilisation through the introduction of an hereditary monarchy instead of the

elective monarchy An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by an elected monarch, in contrast to a hereditary monarchy in which the office is automatically passed down as a family inheritance. The manner of election, the nature of candidate qualifications, and the ...

. When the Polish brethren were exiled after the Deluge for the support they gave to invaders, he supported them, and for this he was criticized by some Catholic szlachta. He outlived his wife and children: two of his sons died during the wars, and his daughter, rumoured to have inherited his literary talent, died young. He lived with his family until his death in 1696, and was buried in

Biecz Biecz () (german: Beitsch) is a town and municipality in southeastern Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Gorlice County. It is in the Carpathian Mountains, in the Doły Jasielsko-Sanockie, by the Ropa River. Due to its rich history, it is oft ...

Works

He started writing around 1646, mostly for his own pleasure, and initially with no intention of publication, but he was convinced to share his works by his relative,

Samuel Przypkowski Samuel Przypkowski (Przipcovius, Pripcovius) (1592–19 April 1670, Königsberg) was a Polish Socinian theologian, a leading figure in the Polish Brethren and an advocate of religious toleration. In ''Dissertatio de pace et concordia ecclesiae'', ...

. He wrote many classic poems and novels about the life of the szlachta. During his lifetime only ''Poczet herbów'' (''Herbary'') and two shorter works were published. His most famous work, ''Transakcja wojny chocimskiej'' (''The Progress of the War of Chocim''), was written during the period 1669–1672, and first printed in 1850. It is his biggest novel, and is generally considered to be the best epic novel written in the Commonwealth. Historically accurate, though somewhat idealizing the Polish heroes, it describes the battle of Chocim in 1621 and is based on the diaries of

Jakub Sobieski Jakub Sobieski (5 May 1590 – 23 June 1646) was a Polish noble, parliamentarian, diarist, political activist, military leader and father of King John III Sobieski. He was the son of castellan and voivode Marek Sobieski and Jadwiga Snopko ...

. His epigrams were written around 1670 and 1695, and first published in 1907. He translated John Barclay's

Argenis ''Argenis'' is a book by John Barclay (poet), John Barclay. It is a work of historical allegory which tells the story of the religious conflict in France under Henry III of France and Henry IV of France, and also touches on more contemporary Engli ...

(1621), published in 1697.

Notes

External links

Wacław Potocki in Virtual Library of Polish LiteratureWacław Potocki
at poezja.org *

– Scans of a Polish poetic translation by Wacław Potocki, Warszawa 1697 {{DEFAULTSORT:Potocki, Waclaw 1621 births 1696 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism Converts to Roman Catholicism from Unitarianism People from Gorlice County 17th-century Polish nobility Polish Roman Catholics Polish male writers Polish poets Baroque writers

Biography

Works

See also

Notes

External links