Stanisław Żółkiewski

Stanisław Żółkiewski (; 1547 – 7 October 1620) was a Polish nobleman of the Lubicz coat of arms, a magnate, military commander, and Chancellor of the Polish Crown in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who took part in many military campaigns in the Commonwealth and on its southern and eastern borders.

He held high posts in the administration of the Commonwealth, including those of Castellan of Lwów (from 1590), Governor of Kiev Province, and Great Chancellor of the Crown (from 1618).

From 1588 he was also a Field Crown Hetman, and in 1618 was promoted to Grand Hetman of the Crown. He won major battles against Sweden, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and the Tatars.

Żółkiewski's best-known victory was against combined Russian and Swedish forces at the 1610 Battle of Klushino, in whose wake the Poles seized and occupied Moscow.

He died in the 1620 Battle of Cecora against the Ottomans, after allegedly refusing to retreat. The fame of the already renowned Żółkiewski was further boosted by his heroic death. He was one of the most accomplished military commanders of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Life Youth

Stanisław Żółkiewski was born in the village of (then Kingdom of Poland, now western Ukraine) in 1547 to of the Lubicz coat of arms, voivode of Ruthenia, and Zofia Lipska. For his part in the battle he was appointed a Field Crown Hetman, and became the starosta of Hrubieszów. {see painting "Battle of Cecora (1620)" by Walery Eljasz Radzikowski}

After the battle, Żółkiewski's corpse was desecrated by the removal of its head and sent to Constantinople as a trophy of war. His widow bought his body from the Turks and ransomed their son, who had been captured during the battle.

Remembrance Żółkiewski's heroic death – portrayed in several works of art by contemporaries such as and Stanisław Witkowski – boosted his reputation and guaranteed him a place among the pantheon of the most famous of Polish military commanders.

A monument was built at the site of Żółkiewski's death (now in Berezovca in Ocnița District, Moldova) by his son Jan, in 1621. It is inscribed with a motto from Horace: "Quam dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" (How sweet and fitting it is to die for one's country).