An Image of the Khotyn Campaign from the Perspective of a Lithuanian Soldier Poet Stefan Jan Ślizień: Haracz krwią turecką Turkom wypłacony

Abstract

The Khotyn victory in 1673 became an inspiration for many poets. It inspired such well-known artists as Wacław Potocki and Zbigniew Morsztyn, as well as secondary artists like Daniel Kałaj, Mateusz Kuligowski and Samuel Leszczyński. From among many creative writings about the battle of Khotyn there is one that outstands due to its length and detailed presentation. It is a work of future Lithuanian referendary Stefan Jan Ślizień: Haracz krwią turecką Turkom wypłacony first published in Vilnius in 1674. In the introductory poem Do czytelnika łaskawego, the poet adopts the attitude of the real events‘ relator who makes descriptions from the eyewitness’ perspective. Thus, he puts the poem into the circle of poetics of the native heroicum.
Ślizień – who participated in the Khotyn battle – describes battle events in a meticulous way, bringing the recipient closer to the realities. On the pages of the poem, the poet expressively represented the figure of the commander-in-chief – hetman Jan Sobieski, whom he characterized according to the epic principle fortitudo et sapientia.  In addition, as a soldier from Lithuania, albeit fighting along with the Crown troops, he did not forget about the merits of Lithuania on the battlefield: he praises the equipment and courage of the Lithuanian army and appreciates the attitude of the great Lithuanian hetmans, Michał Pac and Michał Radziwiłł, thus showing attachment to the native land.