King John III Sobieski is remembered as the commander of the victorious armies on the battlefield at Vienna. Yet this brave and talented commander was also a man of deep feelings, as evidenced by his love letters to his wife, Marie-Casimire de la Grange d’Arquien (Marysieńka). by Piotr Abryszeński Marie-Casimire came from the old…
Screams, gunshots, and the burning of thatched roofs. Yet this was not a full pitched battle. When faced with the weakness of the state, the 17th-century Polish nobility settled their differences by fighting. by Antoni Olbrychski Duels Duels in Poland are a complicated issue. Scholars of 17th-century society emphasize that violence in this period…
An alchemist known all over Europe, he was diligent in his research and performed many complex physical and chemical experiments. In his writings he often described the life-giving “philosophical salt” hidden in the air, which is why he is considered one of the discoverers of oxygen and thus a pioneer of modern chemistry. by Piotr…
The Battle of Kircholm turned out to be one of the most impressive victories of the Polish-Lithuanian army from the Commonwealth. The hussars literally obliterated the three times more numerous enemy with very small losses on their side. by Piotr Abryszeński The 17th century turned out to be a century of wars for the…
The course of the boundary between Moldavia and the Polish Crown was, on the surface at least, quite clear, especially in comparison with a fuzzier Polish-Ottoman demarcation further to the east. For most of its course, it ran along the rivers of White Cheremush, Kolachin and the Dniester, extending from the hilly and forested landscape…
Moving from little Belluno to Venice – was this a necessity for an ambitious painter of the Baroque era? Especially if we take into account the fact that his father was a local painter who used to paint the folds of cloaks worn by saints. Dolabella ended up in the workshop of Antonio Vassilacchi and…
