Wacław Potocki (; 1621–1696) was a Polish

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

(''

szlachcic The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social class, a ...

''), moralist, poet, and writer. He was the podczaszy of

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

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

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

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'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

(Polish

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

) towards the end of the

Polish Golden Age The Polish Golden Age (Polish language, Polish: ''Złoty Wiek Polski'' ) was the Renaissance in Poland, Renaissance period in the Kingdom of Poland and subsequently in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which started in the late 15th century. H ...

, and of many political and religious conflicts.

Life

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

Arian Arianism (, ) is a Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is considered he ...

Christian sect of the Polish brethren. It is likely that he attended the Polish brethren

Racibórz Racibórz (, , , ) 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 the residence of the Duchy of Racibórz, Du ...

academy. After The Deluge (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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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

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 ...

uprisings in 1638, took part in the Battle of Beresteczko in 1651, and in the wars against Sweden (1656–1657). Between 1665 and 1666 he supported the

rokosz A rokosz () originally was a Meeting, 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 calle ...

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 166 ...

. Later he supported kings

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 ...

and Jan III Sobieski. 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 a monarch who is elected, 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, ...

. 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 () () 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), Ropa River. Due to its rich history, it is often ...

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. 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. His epigrams were written around 1670 and 1695, and first published in 1907. He translated John Barclay's Argenis (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 male poets Baroque writers

Life

Works

See also

Notes

External links