“Flood” ( Polish Potop ) is a historical epic novel by the Polish writer Henryk Sienkiewicz , based on historical events related to the Swedish invasion of the Commonwealth , known as the Swedish Flood .
| The flood | |
|---|---|
| Potop | |
| Genre | Historical novel |
| Author | Henryk Senkevich |
| Original language | Polish |
| Date of writing | 1884 - 1886 |
| Date of first publication | |
| Cycle | |
It was first published from December 1884 to September 1886 in the newspapers Slovo, Czas and Dziennik Poznański . In 1886 it was published as a separate book.
The three-volume novel is the second part of the historical trilogy of Senkevich, which, in addition to The Flood, includes the novels Fire and Sword and Pan Volodyevsky . The duration of the novel lasts from 1654 to 1657 , the action takes place against the backdrop of the Polish-Swedish war of 1655-1657 .
Content
Contents
The novel unfolds a wide panorama of the life of the Commonwealth of the middle of the XVII century . Described in detail the course of the war, at the first stage of which, as a result of the numerous betrayals of the Polish magnates, the Swedes practically seized Poland. Particular attention is paid to the heroic defense of the Yasnogorsky Monastery (1655), where the Czestochow Icon of the Mother of God, especially revered in Poland, is stored and the role this defense played in raising the national spirit. The incipient resistance eventually led to the revival of the country and the complete expulsion of the invaders.
Against the backdrop of dramatic historical events, the fate of the young Colonel Andrzej Kmitsitz, who at the beginning of the Swedish “flood” joined the pro-Swedish forces, being misled, is a red thread; however, he then went over to the side of the patriots and redeemed guilt through numerous military exploits.
Characters
The book acts as fictional characters - the main character of the book Andrzej Kmitz, whose prototype could have been Orsha nobleman Samuil Kmitich , his beloved Olenka (Alexandra) Billevich and the see-through characters of the entire trilogy - Michal Volodyevsky, Jan Skeshetsky and Onufry Zagloba ; and real historical faces:
- Jan Casimir , the Polish king.
- Karl X Gustav , Swedish king.
- Augustine of Kordetsky , rector of the Yasnogorsky monastery.
- Janusz Radziwill , Lithuanian magnate and great Lithuanian hetman .
- Bohuslav Radziwill , cousin of Janusz.
- Jan Zamoyski , a Polish nobleman.
- Jerzy Lubomirski , crown marshal, Polish tycoon.
- Stefan Czarniecki , Polish commander.
- Pavel Jan Sapega , Lithuanian magnate, later the great Lithuanian hetman.
- Krzysztof Opalinsky , Poznan governor.
- Jerome Radzievsky , Polish defector to the Swedes, one of the organizers of the Swedish invasion.
- Sadovsky, Vaclav Ferdinand, colonel of the Swedish army, Czech, Lutheran.
Movie Flood
- In 1913, the dumb black-and-white film Defense of Czestochowa (directed by Edward Puchalsky ) was created, in which the events of the novel are only partially described, since the authorities of the empire forbade the director to involve soldiers in the filming.
- In 1915, the film The Flood was directed by Pyotr Chardynin (premiered on April 14, 1915 ), whose adviser was Pukhalsky.
- In 1974, the Polish director Jerzy Hoffman based the book on the same film . The role of Kmitsitsa was played by actor Daniel Olbrychsky .