Rycerz chrześcijański wobec zjawiska niewoli tatarsko-tureckiej : na podstawie wybranych utworów staropolskich

Abstract

The author of the following paper deals with the works of Old Polish literature on the Tatar‑Turkish subject matter, in particular the threat posed by the Tatar‑Turkish opponent to the freedom of countries and peoples as well as individuals. Their authors were warning against the possible enslavement of the people and the loss of sovereignty by the Commonwealth. Defending national independence was regarded as a knightly duty. An obligation of a knight was also to free his countrymen and coreligionists from Tatar‑Turkish captivity. The author of this article also brings to attention the works which regard the knights who free captives as role models. Individual accomplishments of the liberators of captives were frequently and readily described in classical Polish literature. John III Sobieski was famed for this when he was still a head commander, as we can see in the works of Samuel Leszczyński, Remigiusz Suszycki and Jan Ślizień. This article demonstrates, on selected examples, that the defense of freedom against the Tatar‑Turkish opponent had a significant place in the Old Polish chivalric ethos.