I found these prints on the net - they appear to have been made after a painting by old king Jan III Sobieski's painter Altamonte around 1697-8 or so (the original hangs at the Sobieski Palace at Wilanow, Warsaw-Poland). The painting depicted election of the Saxon prince Augustus II der Starke by the nobles of Poland-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1697 (there were many issues with that election and history proved that this king was not appropriate monarch nor commander-in-chief nor statesman for the Commonwealth).
... a nice image of a winged hussar, with a wing not dissimilar to this winged hussar retainer's wing
... a noble rumak (fine riding stallion or gelding) with its tack, this horse appear to be a dapple grey one and some nobles with bows and quivers and warhammers
... horseman and more men with bows, behind them perhaps a hajduk ( musket and war-ax carrying infantryman of Hungarian style)
... noble horsemen
... two nobles - perhaps a winged hussar companion and a cavalry chorągiew (company) with musicians in a background
They were going to fight in the incoming Great Northern War (1700-21), the war that destroyed Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth economy, population and military power.
2 comments:
In haiduk's background You can see someone who looks like janissary, most probably from some private troops.
Great post. There is so few information about late 17th / early 18th century Polish army.
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