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''Pan Wołodyjowski'' (titled in English as ''Pan Michael'', 1893, and ''Fire in the Steppe'', 1992; other titles used in English discourse include ''Colonel Wołodyjowski'', ''Sir Michael'' and ''Sir Wołodyjowski'') is a
historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...
by the Polish author
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 ...
, published in 1887. It is the third volume in a series known to Poles as " The Trilogy", being preceded by ''
With Fire and Sword ''By Fire and Sword'' () is a historical novel by the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz, published in 1884. It is the first volume of a series known to Poles as The Trilogy, followed by '' The Deluge'' (''Potop'', 1886) and '' Fire in the Step ...
'' (''Ogniem i mieczem'', 1884) and '' The Deluge'' (''Potop'', 1886). The novel's
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
is Michał Wołodyjowski.


Plot summary


Chapters 1–5

Michael Wołodyjowski has retired to a monastery after the death of his betrothed, Anna Borzobogati. At
Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...
. Kharlamp, an acquaintance, goes to see
Andrzej Kmicic Andrzej Kmicic is best known as a fictional character created by Henryk Sienkiewicz featured in the novel ''The Deluge (novel), The Deluge'' (Polish: ''Potop''). He is a typical szlachta, szlachcic (Polish-Lithuanian noble) from the Polish–Lith ...
to get his help in persuading him to leave it. He and Zagłoba make a journey to consult Yan, and it is finally Zagłoba who offers to speak to Wołodyjowski. Making his way to
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, Zagłoba meets his old friend, Hassling-Ketling, a Scot, who now resides in Warsaw after being adopted by a noble in Svyenta in
Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...
, who offers him a bed. Taking place is the
Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
to elect a new King of which Prince Bogusław is a candidate and Zagłoba is determined to raise support against the traitor.


Chapters 6–16

Zagłoba carries a letter from the primate to the monastery of Mons Regius. Michael is now known as Brother Yerzy and is persuaded to leave for the nation's sake and stays at Ketling's house. They are visited by Sobieski, the
hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...
, and a feast takes place and Michael receives a present of a cream-coloured steed. Michael's sister, Mrs Makovetski, visits Warsaw and is invited to stay with Krystina Drohoyovski and Barbara Yezorkovski, of whom her husband is their guardian. Michael is immediately attracted by Krysia but Zagłoba intends that Basia, who delights him, should be the little knight's. He teaches her fencing and she is disconcerted and embarrassed by his adeptness with the sword for whom she develops a strong admiration. Adam Novoveski, a young cavalier, arrives on the scene and pays court to Basia but she has nothing of it and rejects his eventual marriage proposal. Michael meets with Sobieski and is sent with letters to Rushchyts in Russia and the Wilderness beyond. He says farewell to Krysia and an unspoken pact is made between them. Michal leaves and Ketling of Elgin returns to his house from Courland and Krysia is immediately enchanted by his looks and manners. Zagłoba implements his stratagem to set Ketling at Krysia in order to save ‘his little haiduk’ Basia for Michael. Owing to her pact, Krysia resolves to enter a convent and Ketling vows to return to Scotland.


Chapters 17–22

The
Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
continues and on their way back from Warsaw one evening, Zagłoba and Basia encounter Wołodyjowski and his brother-in-law Makovetski. Over time Michael realizes that Krysia no longer loves him and agrees to give her up. However, on learning from Basia that it is Ketling for whom she feels affection, he falls into a rage and rushes off to kill him. Later, Ketling and Michael return having resolved their differences as old friends and Michael, encountering Basia once more, and she reveals her love for the worthy cavalier.


Chapters 23–28

Summer of 1671 finds Michael in Sokol, Basia's paternal villages, happily married and running the estate as efficiently as he does his troops. He is commanded forward to build a stanitsa at Hreptyoff and Basia arrives with Zagłoba to a rousing welcome from the troops. In the evenings the officers discuss their experiences of the Turks and their periods of imprisonment. The time is spent crushing the independent detachments of robbers on both banks of the
Dniester The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...
ravishing the Polish and
Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
n sides. A
Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...
band, under Azba Bey, is wiped out and Basia, who observes the conflict, is chased by some fleeing Cossacks and is helped by the young Lithuanian Tartar, Mellehovich, who falls under her spell. Mrs Boski arrives at Hreptyoff with her daughter, Zosia, journeying to the
Khan Khan may refer to: * Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name * Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by various ethnicities Art and entertainment * Khan (band), an English progressiv ...
to pay her husband's ransom and Michael offers to send letters to Pyotrovich to give to Rushchyts at Rashkoff. Mr Novoveski and his daughter, Eva, are also with the party going to Rashkoff to be reunited with Adam, who ran away from the family home to join the army. Eva immediately recognises Mellehovich and then Novoveski, who calls him Azya, and who raised him alongside his son. However, as the young Tartar is now an officer of the hetman and serving under Michael, his commandant, he is out of the old nobleman's clutches and an old officer, Nyenashinyets, now recognises him as Tugai Beyovich, Tugai Bey's son and so a prince.


Chapters 29–35

Azya reveals his plan—a treacherous one—to Bogush to supposedly bring the
Lithuanian Tatars The Lipka Tatars are a Turkic ethnic group and minority in Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus who originally settled in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the beginning of the 14th century. The first Tatar settlers tried to preserve their Pagan tradi ...
over to the hetman's cause to fight against the Turk but in fact to use these troops to attack the unsuspecting Poles. Basia resolves to reunite Eva and Azya and, speaking to the handsome Tartar, leaves him with the impression that it is she herself who is in love with him. Halim, an old Tartar, brings news to Azya who reveals his plan to kidnap Basia. Bogush travels swiftly from Hreptyoff to his hetman, Sobieski, to inform him of Azya's plan but it is rejected outright. It is now Christmas and old Novoveski is at last reunited with a repentant Adam and the latter is also enchanted by the blue-eyed Zosia Boski.


Chapters 36–50

Adam leaves for Rashkoff after his betrothal to Zosia. Michael agrees to allow Basia to accompany Eva to Rashkoff under the protection of Azya and his Lithuanian Tartars. On the journey Azya commands Halim to occupy Roshkoff and attempts to seize Basia who strikes him in the face with the ivory butt of her pistol. Fleeing back to Hreptyoff as the Lithuanian Tartars slaughter the unsuspecting inhabitants of Roshkoff by the bands of Krychinski and Adurovich. Azya slits Novoveski's throat, keeps Zosia Boski for himself and grants Eva to Adurovich. Zosia, her mother and Eva all are sold off to harems in Turkey and are never seen or heard of again.


Chapters 51–55

After a terrible journey through the wilderness, and losing her horses to wolves and an icy river, Basia makes it back to the fortalice. She collapses exhausted in a fever and Zagłoba sends for a doctor from Kamenyets who revives her from near death. Gorzenski, the commandant at Mohiloff, intercepts Azya's orders to his Tartars and kills the Mazovian infantry as well as sending a message to Yampol, thus saving it from destruction. The Ketlings arrive at Hreptyoff—Sobieski has appointed him commander of the artillery at Kamenyets—and Basia resolves to remain with Michael at Kamenyets as well. The
Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
is slowly gathering his army and Michael writes to the hetman to grant a pardon to all robbers if they join the infantry. Sobieski commands him to defend Kamenyets to the last.


Chapters 56–62

The Turks finally march from
Adrianople Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...
and Adam, now a much broken man, joins his friends at Hreptyoff, and then leads an advance guard against the enemy's chambuls, crossing the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
and advancing as far as Pruth. Adam's dragoons assault Azya's chambul and, capturing him, give him an agonising death by drawing him on a sharpened stake. Basia and Zagłoba join Michalel at Kamenyets which is seething with preparations for its defence against the Turkish invasion. A Council of War is held, joined by Bishop Lantskoronski, Mikolai Pototski,
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
Podolia Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria). Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...
, Lantskoronski, chamberlain of Podolia, Revuski, secretary of Podolia and officers and Michael gives them the courage required to defend the town. Vasilkovski's cavalry dragoons slaughter the leading
janissaries A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted du ...
at Jvanyets, the remnants fleeing back across the Dniester river.


Chapters 63–67

Individual skirmishes now take place outside Kamenyets and Michael, riding on his Wallachian bay, kills Hamdi, a renowned pagan warrior. The Vizir, Sultan and Khan all arrive on the field of battle and Michael is infuriated by a letter sent via an envoy, Yuritsa, on behalf of the town council seeking an armistice. A meeting takes place outside the castle's walls and the dog-brothers’ arrogant demands are roundly rejected. The main threat to the castle is from tunnels and mines. The town is also set on fire by Turkish cannon. Michael and Mushalski resolve to attack the Turkish tunnel being dug through the rock and the mission is successful, except for the loss of Mushalski, the brave bowman, but he returns the next day dressed as a janissary. White flags are spotted from the old castle's battlements the next day and the town surrenders—a message is received that the troops must withdraw from the castle before evening and raise the white flag. The envoys—three commissioners—finally come and state that one of the conditions is for Kamenyets to go to the Sultan forever, who would turn it into the capital of his new province in Central Europe. As the Polish troops leave the castle, a mine explodes and kills Colonel Michael Wołodyjowski, the Hector of Kamenyets and first soldier of the Commonwealth. In the monastery of St. Stanislav, his body is interred in a lofty catafalque, with his lead and wooden coffins lying on top. Father Kaminski conducts the funeral service and Sobieski makes a grand entrance and kneels at the catafalque to pray for his soul.


Epilogue

Sobieski makes camp at Hotin, with grand hetman, Pats, and field hetman Michael Kazimir Radzivill, who take up position on the heights connecting Hotin with Jvanyets. A huge battle takes place after a bitterly freezing night of rain, storm and darkness. The two sides are evenly matched until the weight of the battle is transferred to the centre. The grand hetman, assisted by the voevode of Rus, sends in his
hussars A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...
and the Tartar janissaries—led by Hussein, the white-bearded Kiaya, "Lion of God"—are finally vanquished on the Polish lances, many of them dying in a rugged ravine at the opposite side of their camp. Two old valiant knights—Motovidlo and the bowman Mushalski—are killed, along with Adam Novoveski who dies with a smile on his lips and calm serenity on his face. Cries of “Vivat Johannes victor!” ring out in the captured pagan camp of Hussein Pasha as a Thanksgiving Mass is celebrated by Sobieski and his victorious army.


Major characters


Historical figures

*
John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 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, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...
*
Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki Michael I (, ; 31 May 1640 – 10 November 1673) was the ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 29 September 1669 until his death in 1673 ...
*
Petro Doroshenko Petro Dorofiiovich Doroshenko (; 1627–1698) was a Cossack political and military leader, Hetman of right-bank Ukraine (1665–1672) and a Russian voivode. Background and early career Petro Doroshenko was born in Chyhyryn into a noble ...
*
Mikołaj Potocki Mikołaj "Bearpaw" Potocki (; 1595 – 20 November 1651) was a Polish nobleman, magnate and Field Crown Hetman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1637 to 1646, Grand Hetman of the Crown from 1646 to 1651, governor of Bracław Voivo ...
*
Kara Mustafa Pasha Kara Mustafa Pasha (; ; "Mustafa Pasha the Courageous"; 1634/1635 – 25 December 1683) was an Ottoman nobleman, military figure and Grand Vizier, who was a central character in the Ottoman Empire's last attempts at expansion into both Centr ...


Fictional characters

* Michał Wołodyjowski * Ketling *
Onufry Zagłoba Jan Onufry Zagłoba is a fictional character in the ''Trilogy'' by Henryk Sienkiewicz. Together with other characters of ''The Trilogy'', Zagłoba engages in various adventures, fighting for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and seeking adve ...
* Adam Nowowiejski * Azja * Barbara Jeziorkowska * Krystyna Drohojowska * Ewa Nowowiejska


Film

''Pan Michael'' was adapted to the screen by Polish director
Jerzy Hoffman Jerzy Julian Hoffman (; born 15 March 1932) is a Polish director, screenwriter, and producer. He received the Polish Academy Life Achievement Award in February 2006. Hoffman is best known for his works in ''The Deluge (film), The Deluge'' (1974) ...
in 1968, as ''
Colonel Wolodyjowski ''Pan Wołodyjowski'' (titled in English as ''Pan Michael'', 1893, and ''Fire in the Steppe'', 1992; other titles used in English discourse include ''Colonel Wołodyjowski'', ''Sir Michael'' and ''Sir Wołodyjowski'') is a historical novel by t ...
''. The film was also serialised on
Polish television Television in Poland was Timeline of the introduction of television in countries, introduced on an experimental basis in 1937. It was state owned, and was interrupted by the Second World War in 1939. Television returned to Poland in 1952 and for ...
under the title ''The Adventures of Sir Michael'' (Polish: ''Przygody pana Michała'').


English translation

The novel was first translated to English by
Jeremiah Curtin Jeremiah Curtin (6 September 1835 – 14 December 1906) was an American ethnographer, folklorist, and translator. Curtin had an abiding interest in languages and was conversant with several. From 1883 to 1891 he was employed by the Bureau of Ame ...
as ''Pan Michael'' in 1893. It was translated again in 1992 by W. S. Kuniczak as ''Fire in the Steppe''.


See also

* Lipka rebellion


References

* Henryk Sienkiewicz, ''Pan Michael'', translation from the Polish by Jeremiah Curtin,
Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emil ...
, Boston, 1895 (copyright 1893)
Digital book at HathiTrust Digital Library
* Henryk Sienkiewicz, ''Fire in the Steppe'', authorized and unabridged translation from the Polish by Jeremiah Curtin,
Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emil ...
, Boston, 1917 (copyright 1893, 1898). * Henryk Sienkiewicz, ''Fire in the Steppe'', Hippocrene Books, 1992, . * Jerzy R. Krzyżanowski, ''The Trilogy Companion: A Reader's Guide to the Trilogy of Henryk Sienkiewicz'', Hippocrene Books, 1992, . * Sienkiewicz Trilogy (DVD edition), 2004.


External links


''Digital library version of original English translation of Pan Michael''
available throug
''HathiTrust Digital Library''
*
''Fire in the Steppe''
a
One More Library
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Colonel Wolodyjowski 1888 novels 19th-century Polish novels Novels by Henryk Sienkiewicz Novels set in Warsaw Polish historical novels Polish novels Polish novels adapted into films Sienkiewicz's Trilogy Works set in Silesian Voivodeship Novels set in Russia Novels set in Ukraine Novels set in the 1660s Novels set in the 1670s