Aleksander Józef Lisowski HNG (c. 1580 – October 11, 1616) was a Polish–Lithuanian noble (

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 t ...

), commander of a

mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...

group that after his death adopted the name "''

Lisowczycy Lisowczyks or Lisowczycy (; also known as ''Straceńcy'' ('lost men' or 'forlorn hope') or (company of ); or in singular form: Lisowczyk or ) was the name of an early 17th-century irregular unit of the Polish–Lithuanian light cavalry. The Lis ...

''." His

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

was ''Jeż'' (Hedgehog).

Early years

He came from a moderately wealthy noble family originating from

Lisewo Lisewo (german: Lissewo, 1942-45: Lissen) is a village in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship in north-central Poland. The village is the seat of Gmina Lisewo, a part of Chełmno County. Lisewo is situated 33 km north of Toruń and 20 ...

in the

Chełmno Voivodeship The Chełmno Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland since 1454/1466 until the Partitions of Poland in 1772/1795. Together with the Pomeranian and Malbork Voivodeships and the Prince-B ...

of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

. The Lisowskis moved to the