The Siege and Capture of the Polatsk Fortress by the His Majesty Stephen, the King of Poland – the Use of Cartography in Tactical Planning

The siege of Polatsk is not the first example of the application of cartographic plans in siege operations conducted by the Crown or Lithuanian armies. We should mention the capture of Uła in 1568 or the battle at Latarnia in 1577. Undoubtedly, however, the situation in 1579 is a model material demonstrating the use of cartography for siege purposes at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. At first, before launching military camps, the high command meticulously analysed the fortifications. The pictorial, or landscape, manner was not in use any more – the whole establishment was ridden around once or twice. Thus gathered information was captured on paper and, during the first council of war, constituted the basis for developing the tactics of conquering the fortress. At such a meeting, the locations of military camps were chosen and the way and location of siege operations was decided. We should add that cartographic plans were corrected au courant.

The drawing made for the purposes of a print published in Rome in 1580 (Obsidio et expugnatio munitissimae arcis Polocensis per serenissimum Stephanum Poloniae regem) was probably a compilation of several works, not necessarily authored by one person. What is sure, the plan of the Polatsk fortress used at the council of war was made on August 11. Beyond any doubt, the scheme of the tactical formation arranged around Polatsk on August 29 was also created during the same meeting. Possibly, there was also a map showing the surroundings of Polatsk with marked military camps and sites of conducted siege works. Hence Stanisław Pachołowiecki’s print includes as many as four information layers: the location of military camps, the tactical formation arranged on August 29 around Polatsk (ordre de bataille), fortifications, and the plan of the undertaken siege operations.

An Assessment of the Credibility of Cartographic Sources Presenting the Siege of Polatsk in 1579

This paper presents an analysis of cartographic works made in connection with the siege and capture of the Polatsk fortress by the army of Stephen Báthory in 1579. The aim of the study is to recompare the content of cartographic sources concerning the siege of Polatsk with the preserved plans from the middle 16th and early 17th centuries.
The most accurate and credible plan of Polatsk from 1579 is a print made by Stanisław Pachołowiecki. The outline of the fortifications was presented in a fine way, fundamentally consistent with a plan of the same fortress from the mid-17th century. In comparison, a drawing by Paweł Thurn (Czumthurn) is littered with significant mistakes. It is, therefore, most probable that the drawing was not based on the same model as the print; it might have been patterned after sketches made by an Italian engineer, Petrus Francus.
The analysis conducted indicates that the print of Georg Mack the younger cannot be treated as a cartographic source but only as its author’s imagination about the events that took place at the influx of the Palata river to Daugava. It was based on written information and does not seem to have any foundation in plans made at Polatsk. The instance of a woodcut with the siege of the Starodub fortress that was repeated in a work of Aleksander Gwagnin as the representation of the capture of Polatsk shows that it is necessary to perform critical source analysis every single time.
In the article, the author introduced a heretofore largely unknown plan of the extension of Polatsk kept in Riksarkivet in Stockholm. It has been established that the plan was probably made in the years 1647–1654 in consequence of a fire that destroyed the castles. It depicts the former fortifications with planned bastion works marked in red. In his audacious concept, the military engineer resigned from the natural protection provided by Palata and planned to build bastion fortifications on the other bank of the river. This ring would have been the first defence line of a regular shape and was supposed to provide good defence synchronisation with the Lower Castle. A comparison of this plan with a map form 1707 shows that this concept was not realized.

A Versed Account of the Death of Krzysztof Radziwiłł (1585–1640)  from a Home Chronicle (Sylwa) of Andrzej Lubieniecki

The object of this edition is an anonymous verse Relacyja o żałosnym zejściu Oświeconego Książęcia Krzysztofa Radziwiłła, wojew[ody] wileńs[kieg]o, wielkiego hetmana W[ielkiego] Ks[ięstwa] Litewskie[g]o Anno D[omi]ni 164[0] sub persona Amin[tasa] i Dafn[isa] rozmawiających [An account of the lamentable death of His Grace Prince Krzysztof Radziwiłł, the Vilinian Voivode, Great Hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Anno Domini 1640 given by the persons of Amintas and Dafnis talking with each other] preserved in a home chronicle (so-called sylwa) of Andrzej Lubieniecki, today kept in the collection of the Central Library of Rotterdam (manuscript no. 527).
With regard to its genre qualities, the work may be ascribed to funeral pastorals due to its composition, versification and the names of characters referring to Virgil’s bucolics. One of the characters is named Melibeus, which refers to the 1st eclogue of Maron, in which a shepherd going by the same name bids farewell before his departure for banishment, which may have been a parallel of the Hetman’s death. The loss of the Vilnian Voivode is discussed and mourned by Amintas and Dafnis, who were famous in the antique bucolics for their impressive poetical talent. The author freely uses pastoral and mythological motives, joins pagan and Christian religious plots and refers to specific realities and personal details, as well as precisely indicates the geographical location of the shepherds: near to Birż, the ancestral residence of the Radziwiłł family, were Dafnis learned about Radziwiłł’s death at a market.
The work’s title announces the presentation of the death of the Vilnian Voivode, but information about this event are limited only to the time of Krzysztof Radziwiłł’s death and a short mention of the reaction of his closest relatives.
The main part of the work is carmen amoebaeum, that is a song performed alternately by shepherds introduced in the title. The subsequent parts of the song commemorate specific merits of Krzysztof Radziwiłł, chiefly as an engaged patron of Evangelical Protestants, funding Protestant meetinghouses and schools, and caring of his fellow-believers. The main reason of the mourning, however, was the loss of an active advocate of equality of rights irrespectively of creed, who fought for liberties for men of different religions in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Voivode was also praised for his efforts to facilitate peace, which harmonised well with values emphasised in the bucolics.
Apart from the typical pastoral figures, Amintas’ song also quotes mythological characters and fictional motives. The Hetman’s death is here mourned by pagan gods Apollo and Neptune, as well as by Echo and Pan, nymphs, dryads, satyrs, and fauns. Even the nature laments his departure. Dafnis’ song depicts Radziwiłł’s deification on Olympus and provides an account of the meeting of gods, during which they welcome the deceased Hetman in their circle. In Dafnis’ opinion, Radziwiłł deserved this honour most of all due to his religious demeanour, which is confirmed by Piety introduced in the pagan otherworld. The last part of the song presents Melibeus, looking down on the Earth and the relatives he left. The vision of eternal happiness of Radziwiłł is supposed to be a consolation for his grief stricken family and fellow countrymen. In the conclusion of the pastoral (conclusio), Amintas recognizes the agon of the shepherds to be Dafnis’ victory.