Stanisław Rewera Potocki (, 1589–1667) was a Polish
noble
A noble is a member of the nobility.
Noble may also refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Noble Glacier, King George Island
* Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Noble Peak, Wiencke Island
* Noble Rocks, Graham Land
Australia
* Noble Island, Gr ...
,
magnate
The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
and military leader. Together with
Stefan Czarniecki
Stefan Czarniecki (Polish: of the Łodzia coat of arms, 1599 – 16 February 1665) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish szlachta, nobleman, general and military commander. In his career, he rose from a petty nobleman to a magnate hol ...
he was successful in defending the Commonwealth against the invading Swedes and Russians during The Deluge. He was the most trusted advisor of King John II Casimir.
Biography
Early life
Initially a lukewarm member of the
Polish Reformed Church
The Polish Reformed Church, officially called the Evangelical Reformed Church in the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Kościół Ewangelicko-Reformowany w RP'') is a historic Calvinistic Protestant church in Poland established in the 16th century ...
, under the influence of Jesuits and his first wife he converted from
Calvinism
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...
to
Catholicism
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. Potocki was married to Zofia Kalinowska and Anna Mohyła. After careful studies at home and abroad (mostly in France and in the Netherlands) he began his great military career by fighting the rebels with his father and uncles on the side of King Sigismund III at the
Battle of Guzów
The Battle of Guzów () took place on 5 July 1607, at the village of Guzów (Szydłowiec County), Guzów in Szydłowiec County, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The confrontation was between the forces of the Zebrzydowski Rebellion (10,000 inf ...
Stanisław Koniecpolski
Stanisław Koniecpolski (1591 – 11 March 1646) was a Polish military commander, regarded as one of the most talented and capable in the History of Poland in the Early Modern era (1569–1795), history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. ...
Podolia
Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria).
Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...
from 1621,
castellan
A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...
of
Kamieniec Podolski
Kamianets-Podilskyi (, ; ) is a city on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi. Formerly the administrative center of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the city is now the administrative center of Kamianets ...
Bratslav Voivodeship
Bratslav (, ; ) is a rural settlement in Ukraine, located in Tulchyn Raion of Vinnytsia Oblast, by the Southern Bug river. It is a medieval European city and a regional center of the Eastern Podolia region (see Bracław Voivodeship) founded ...
from 1631 and the
Podolia voivodeship
The Podolian Voivodeship or Palatinate of Podolia was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland, from 1434 until 1793, except for the period of Ottoman occupation (1672–1699), when the region was organized ...
from 1636. Potocki became Field Crown
Hetman
''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...
in 1652 and Great Crown Hetman in 1654. He was voivod of Kiev Voivodship from 1655 and voivod of Kraków Voivodship from 1658. Potocki was also
Starost
Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands.
The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...
of
Halych
Halych (, ; ; ; ; , ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; ) is a historic List of cities in Ukraine, city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the Principality of Halych, the historic province of Galicia (Eastern Europe), ...
,
Radom
Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship. Radom is the fifteenth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in its province w ...
,
Krasnystaw
Krasnystaw is a town in southeastern Poland with 18,630 inhabitants (31 December 2019). It is the capital of Krasnystaw County in the Lublin Voivodeship.
The town is famous for its beer festival called ''Chmielaki'' ( means hops, hop), and for i ...
,
Ropczyce
Ropczyce () is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship in south-eastern Poland, situated in the valley of the Wielopolka River (a tributary of the Wisłoka River). The town has a population of 15,098 (). and is the seat of Ropczyce-Sędziszów ...
,
Medyka
Medyka () is a village in Przemyśl County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland, on the border with Ukraine. It is the seat of the municipality (gmina) called Gmina Medyka. It lies approximately east of Przemyśl and east of the r ...
Kolomyia
Kolomyia (, ), formerly known as Kolomea, is a city located on the Prut, Prut River in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast in the west of Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Kolomyia Raion, hosting the administration of Kolomyia urban hromada ...
Władysław IV Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to:
People Mononym
* Włodzis ...
representing the Bratslav province in 1632. He was also the Elector of King John II Casimir in 1648 from the province of
Podolia
Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria).
Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...
. During the
Khmelnytsky Uprising
The Khmelnytsky Uprising, also known as the Cossack–Polish War, Khmelnytsky insurrection, or the National Liberation War, was a Cossack uprisings, Cossack rebellion that took place between 1648 and 1657 in the eastern territories of the Poli ...
, it is believed that Potocki saved the king's life near the town of Zborów. In 1652 he was appointed the Field Hetman of the Commonwealth and two years later he commanded the Polish army against the Russians and Cossacks. In 1655 he fought and won the Battle of Ochmatów. In the same year he was nominated the voivode of Kiev. After the invasion of the Swedish army during the
Deluge
A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood.
The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the biblical book of Genesis.
Deluge or Le Déluge may also refer to:
History
*Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-L ...
he was permanently commanding the army in the East, however not engaging against the Swedes. After the defeat of the Russian-Cossack army under Gródek Jagielloński Potocki was forced to surrender to King
Charles X Gustav
Charles X Gustav, also Carl X Gustav (; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Kleeburg, John Casimir, Count Palatine of Palatinate-Kleeburg, Zweib ...
. He later joined the confederation at Tyszowce. In the 1656–1660 campaigns Potocki was not the supreme commander of the entire forces of the Crown, however he did have control over his division which took part in the battles. He was one of the Hetmans that participated in the Battle of Warsaw in 1656. In 1657 he fought victoriously with
George II Rákóczi
George II Rákóczi (30 January 1621 – 7 June 1660), was a Hungarian nobleman, Prince of Transylvania (1648-1660), the eldest son of George I and Zsuzsanna Lorántffy.
Early life
He was elected Prince of Transylvania during his father' ...
, and took part in the pinning of his troops near Czarny Ostrów. In 1660, acting jointly with
Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski
Prince Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski (20 January 1616 – 31 December 1667) was a Polish noble (szlachcic), magnate, politician and military commander, and Prince of the Holy Roman Empire. He was the initiator of the Lubomirski Rebellion of 166 ...
, Potocki was victorious over the Russian army led by Vasyl Sheriemietiev, forcing him to surrender at
Cudnów
Cudnów is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Jedlnia-Letnisko, within Radom County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately east of Jedlnia-Letnisko, east of Radom, and south of Warsaw
Warsaw, ...
. The last time he fought was against the Lubomirski rebels, suffering a defeat at
Częstochowa
Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...
in 1665. During his entire military career, he participated in 46 battles.
Death
Potocki died on 27 February 1667 and was buried in the Church of the Holy Trinity in
Podhajce
Pidhaitsi (, ; ; ) is a small city in Ternopil Raion, Ternopil Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located approximately south of Berezhany, from Ternopil, and south-east of Lviv. In 1939, Pidhaitsi obtained the formal status of a city.Andrzej Potocki, founded in 1662 the city of Stanisławów.
Legacy
* Stanisławów (former name of the city of
Ivano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk (, ), formerly Stanyslaviv, Stanislav and Stanisławów, is a city in western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast as well as Ivano-Frankivsk Raion within the oblast. Ivano-Frankivsk also host ...