“Fire and Sword” ( Polish. Ogniem i mieczem ) is a historical novel by the Polish writer Henryk Sienkiewicz .
| Fire and sword | |
|---|---|
| Ogniem i mieczem | |
| Genre | Historical novel |
| Author | Henryk Senkevich |
| Original language | Polish |
| Date of writing | 1883 - 1884 |
| Date of first publication | |
| Cycle | |
It was first published in the journal "Friend of the People" in 1884. In the same year it was published as a separate book.
“Fire and Sword” was the first historical novel of the writer, who had previously published only a few short stories and short stories. The novel opens the historical trilogy of Sienkiewicz, which also includes " The Flood " and " Pan Volodyevsky ." The novel takes place between 1647 and 1651 , during the revolt of Bohdan Khmelnitsky . The purpose of the book, as well as the entire trilogy, was, according to the writer, "strengthening the hearts" of the Poles in the difficult period of the division of the country and the defeats of national uprisings. The novel immediately gained immense popularity.
In 1999, the Polish director Jerzy Hoffmann made a film from the book. Despite the fact that the book opens the trilogy, it was the last film version, films based on the novels “ Pan Volodyevsky ” and “ The Flood ” were shot back in 1969 and 1974 .
Content
- 1 Contents
- 2 characters
- 3 See also
- 4 References
Contents
The novel describes in detail the course of the uprising of the Ukrainian Cossacks under the leadership of Bohdan Khmelnytsky against the Commonwealth . The battle under the Yellow Waters is described, the battles near Korsun and Pilyavtsy, ending with the victories of the rebels, are mentioned. Much attention is paid in the book to the struggle among the Poles, which was waged by the "peaceful party", which advocated the pacification of the rebellion, it is represented on the pages of the book by Senator Adam Kisel ; and the “party of war", which was for the suppression of the rebellion, the ideological leader of which was Prince Jeremiah Wisniewiecki . The image of the latter, one of the key characters in the novel, is idealized in the book.
The siege of Zbarazh by the army of Khmelnitsky is described in detail. The epilogue of the book describes the battle of Berestechko , which ended in crushing defeat and death in the quagmire of the Cossack army.
Characters
The book acts like fictional characters - the protagonist of the book, Jan Skshetsky (who nevertheless had a historical prototype of Nikolai Skshetusky ), his beloved Elena Kurtsevich, his servant Redzyan (in other translations of Zhenjiang), Longin Podbipyatka (in other translations - Subbipent), and the central characters of the entire trilogy - Michal Volodyevsky and Zagloba ; and real historical persons:
- Jeremiah Wisniewiecki , prince, Polish tycoon, the main military opponent of Khmelnitsky.
- Bogdan Khmelnitsky , leader of the uprising.
- Jan Casimir , the Polish king.
- Tugai Bay , Tatar Murza, an ally of Khmelnitsky.
- Adam Kisel , Polish Senator, Head of the “Peace Party”.
- Ivan Bogun , Cossack colonel.
- Ivan Vygovsky , General Secretary (Chancellor) of the Zaporizhzhya Army.
- Maxim Krivonos , Cossack Colonel
- Janusz Tyszkiewicz , Governor of Kiev.
- Jerome Radzievsky , Polish deserter to the Swedes, one of the organizers of the Swedish invasion.
See also
- Fire and sword (film)
- Mount & Blade. Fire and sword - a computer game inspired by a book. In the game you can meet the original characters of the novel, whose visual image has been copied from the film adaptation.