Orphan Girl: The Olesnicki Episode: One Body with Two Souls Entwined: An Epic Tale of Married Love in Seventeenth-Century Poland (Volume 85) (The ... in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series) 1649590423, 9781649590428

Citation preview

Anna Stanisławska

Orphan Girl:

The Ole´snicki Episode

VE R S E TR A NS L ATI ON, I N TR OD U CTI ON , A N D COMME NTA RY BY

Barry Keane

The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series, 85

ONE BODY WITH TWO SOULS ENTWINED

The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series, 85

FOUNDING EDITORS Margaret L. King and Albert Rabil, Jr. SERIES EDITOR Margaret L. King SERIES EDITOR, ENGLISH TEXTS Elizabeth H. Hageman

In memory of Albert Rabil, Jr. (1934–2021)

ANNA STANISŁAWSKA

One Body with Two Souls Entwined: An Epic Tale of Married Love in Seventeenth-Century Poland Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode •

Verse translation, introduction, and commentary by BARRY KEANE

2021

© Iter Inc. 2021 New York and Toronto IterPress.org All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America

This book has been published with the support of the ©POLAND Translation Program.

Publication co-financed by the Faculty of Modern Languages of the University of Warsaw. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Stanisławska, Anna, approximately 1651-1700 or 1701, author. | Keane, Barry, 1972- translator, writer of introduction, writer of added commentary. Title: One body with two souls entwined : an epic tale of married love in seventeenth-century Poland : Orphan girl : the Oleśnicki episode / Anna Stanisławska ; verse translation, introduction, and commentary by Barry Keane. Other titles: Transakcyja. Selections. English Description: New York : Iter Press, 2021. | Series: The other voice in early modern Europe: the Toronto series ; 85 | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “The second of three parts of the unique verse epic account of her three marriages, this one, successful but brief, to famed military hero Jan Zbigniew Oleśnicki, by Polish author Anna Stanisławska”-- Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2021021689 (print) | LCCN 2021021690 (ebook) | ISBN 9781649590428 (paperback) | ISBN 9781649590435 (pdf) | ISBN 9781649590442 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Stanisławska, Anna, approximately 1651-1700 or 1701--Poetry. | Women poets, Polish--17th century--Biography--Poetry. | Wife abuse--Poetry. | Stanisławska, Anna, approximately 1651-1700 or 1701--Translations into English. Classification: LCC PG7157.S73 T7313 2021 (print) | LCC PG7157.S73 (ebook) | DDC 891.8/ 514--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021021689 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021021690 Cover Illustration The cover photo, the effect of a photogrammetric survey of the stuccowork to be found in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Tarłów (a village located north of Sandomierz in the south-east of Poland), has been kindly provided by the Sarmatia Virtualis Project (see sarmatiavirtualis.pl). Cover Design Maureen Morin, Library Communications, University of Toronto Libraries.

Contents Foreword

vii

Acknowledgments

ix

Introduction: One Body with Two Souls Entwined The Other Voice Historical Backdrop Stanisławska’s Early Life The Aesop Episode Oleśnicki A Sacral Legacy Old Poland’s Feminist Zeitgeist An Other (and Yet the Same) Voice: A Note on the Translation

1 1 3 6 7 9 13 14 17

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode

19

Commentary

71

Bibliography

93

Index

99

Foreword A lost girl becomes a woman: A first night with a proper man, Who is impossibly handsome, Knowing bodily joy for the first time. (T. XXXIX, S. 357, ll. 5–8) After the experience of her first marriage, an arranged one to a monstrous degenerate, from which she escapes by extraordinary determination, good fortune, and the intervention of powerful friends, Anna Stanisławska will find “bodily joy” for the first time in a marriage to the man she loves—the magnetic, capable, and devoted Oleśnicki, close to her in age and rank and disposition. Here is the perfect end to a story that began badly: a consummation she has earned by the anguish she has suffered and the strength of her desire. It was not an easy road, however; and if we have a love story here in the second of the three episodes of Orphan Girl, the consummation is achieved only after a long series of sometimes comical obstacles are overcome. Those obstacles constitute almost a catalogue of the difficulties besetting those seeking to marry in the early modern world. First, the divorce—technically an annulment, possible because the first marriage (to a spouse who preferred masturbation) was not consummated—had to be finalized. Second, the realization dawns that the lovers are in fact related by blood within a prohibited degree, according to Catholic law, barring marriage—but a dispensation is acquired. Third, as the couple is about to marry, rumors arise that, if true, would rule him out as a spouse: it was said that he had murdered his first wife, and that, to boot, he had a venereal disease. Advised by Anna’s stepmother, they decide to wed nonetheless, fleeing busy Warsaw for a country village to be married by a local priest and to celebrate with a distinctly downscale banquet. And so consummation is achieved. Stanisławska, however, is not fated to be happy. A first disappointment is that the pair of them, however ardent their lovemaking, cannot conceive a child. Then Oleśnicki must go with the Polish army to the eastern borderlands to repel a Turkish invasion, where he performs heroically—and in the aftermath of victory breaks his marriage vows repeatedly with a harem of exotic “local girls.” He returns home, serves in the Polish parliament, or Sejm, then hies off to war again, until called home to tend his father who is seriously ill. There follows the greatest tragedy, and irony, of all: his father recovers, but Oleśnicki falls ill. And dies. And she is bereft; she has lost her lover, and “the ache will remain forever” (T. XLII, S. 464, l. 8). Still young, twice married, fiercely capable, Stanisławska manages the vii

viii Foreword funeral, inherits his property, and will move on: to a third marriage, a tale to be told in the third and final episode of Orphan Girl. In The Oleśnicki Episode, as in The Aesop Episode published in 2016 in the Other Voice series, Barrry Keane’s lucid, witty, and lyrical translation brings vividly to life a true-life story of love, betrayal, and loss from the European heartland more than three centuries ago. His annotations and commentary richly display, moreover, the distinctive social relations and political circumstances that are the dispositive context for this narrative centered on two compelling personalities whose experiences exemplify the restrictions suffered by those seeking to choose or to avoid marriage in a culture bound by traditional norms and religious law. MARGARET L. KING February 18, 2021

Acknowledgments Convinced that the story of Anna Stanisławska speaks challengingly to the uncertain times in which we all find ourselves living, I feel humbled and privileged to have been given the opportunity to continue with the next part of this exceptional poetic text. I have completed both the translation and its accompaniments largely thanks to the cajoling and encouragement of the ever-inspirational Margaret King, who has so generously steered this project through to completion. And also for their continued great efforts and support, I would like to express my sincerest thanks and appreciation to the wonderful Margaret English-Haskin and her production team. As always, I greatly value the encouragement I have received from my department colleagues, Aniela Korzeniowska, Agnieszka Piskorska, and Dominika Oramus, who have helped me in innumerable ways over the years; and I would also like to mention the unwavering support, friendship and guidance of John Dillon and Michael Cronin of Trinity College, Dublin. A special thanks also to friends Tom Galvin, Mick Kenny, Iain Haggis, and Paul McNamara for their reading of scraps and chunks of the manuscript; their ‘keep going’ meant a lot. I must also make a special mention of my mother, Vera, living in Bray, Ireland, and being devotedly looked after by my sisters, Lynn and Orla, and my brother, Declan. At this time of writing, I can only express the hope that I will get home to see them all soon, and when it is safe to do so. With love and thanks to my wife, Agata, and our girls, Julia and Karolina, who are the positivity notes of every day and the inspiration and restorative joy at the heart of everything I do. With sincerest thanks to the Polish Book Institute and the Faculty of Modern Languages of the University of Warsaw for their funding support of this publication. And this gratitude extends also to Karol Czajkowski of the Sarmatia Virtualis Project, who so kindly made available to me the image of the “Family and Death” painting from the Church of the Holy Trinity in Tarłów, which is featured on the front cover of this book.

ix

Introduction: One Body with Two Souls Entwined The Other Voice In 1685, the once-divorced and twice-widowed Anna Stanisławska (1651–1701) sat down, most emblematically and figuratively, to write out in verse an extended autobiographical poetic work entitled Transaction or the Description of the Entire Life of an Orphan by Way of Plaintful Threnodies, Written in the Year 1685—with its abbreviated title for this and the previous publication being Orphan Girl.1 By this undertaking, Stanisławska would engage in the writing of “terrible verses,” where line after line, rhymed octet after rhymed octet (745 of them, each verse with a syllabic meter of eight), she spoke confessionally and unsparingly about her life, from infancy—the remembrance of the loss of her mother—to the hour when she was standing over the open grave of her third husband, feeling faint from an overwhelming sense of grief. The poem is divided into seventy-seven episodes, each titled “tren,” meaning “trenos” or “threnody” (best understood as a dirge or funerary lament). These threnodies differ in length, as the number of octets constituting each varies.2 Also unique to this work is the fact that a quarter of the octets have brief margin glosses located on their left on the manuscript pages, glosses which illuminate what can often be an impenetrable text.3 What is more, the work is bookended by opening and closing poems to the reader. The opening poem, twenty lines long, is notable for its assertion that this work contains a feminine perspective. The closing poem, twelve lines long, is striking for the heartbroken declaration that there is nothing left to live for; and that Stanisławska’s existence as a desolate widow is but a living state of death. 1. Transakcyja albo Opisanie całego życia jednej sieroty przez żałosne treny od tejże samej pisane roku 1685, ed. Ida Kotowa (Kraków: Polska Akademia Umiejętności, 1935). A later edition exists of the Transakcyja, subtitled Fragmenty (Fragments), ed. Piotr Borek (Kraków: Universitas, 2003). English translation: Orphan Girl: A Transaction, or an Account of the Entire Life of an Orphan Girl by Way of Plaintful Threnodies in the Year 1685: The Aesop Episode, ed. and trans. Barry Keane (Toronto: Iter Press; Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2016). 2. For discussions of the poem as a lament, see Magdalena Ożarska, “Combining a Lament with a Verse Memoir: Anna Stanislawska’s Transaction (1685),” Slavia 81 (4) (2012): 389–404; and Halina Popławska, “ ‘Żałosne treny’ Anny Stanisławskiej” (“The Doleful Laments” of Anna Stanisławska), in Pisarki polskie epok dawnych (Polish Women Writers of Olden Times), ed. Krystyna Stasiewicz (Olsztyn: Wyższa Szkoła Pedagogiczna, 1998), 89–111. 3. In this translation, the margin notes are to be found on the right-hand side of the poem. For a discussion about Stanisławska’s employment of the glosses, and their potential function, see Magdalena Ożarska “Reading the Margins: The Uses of Authorial Side Glosses in Anna Stanisławska’s Transaction (1685),” in Self-Commentary in Early Modern European Literature, 1400–1700, ed. Francesco Venturi (Leiden: Brill, 2019), 369–94.

1

2 Introduction In terms of its biographical sweep and historical perspective, the ambition of this poem is distinguished by the fact that it was written as an emancipatory act of declarative mourning with a woman’s sensibility for a life that Stanisławska herself regarded as having come to its expiration. The widowhood she chose to embrace for the rest of her days—a widowhood begun in her mid-thirties and embraced by the writing of this poem—would be characterized by a life of patronage, good works, court battles over property, and ultimately a cantankerous withdrawal from the world.4 The work, never published and perhaps solely written as a cathartic exercise, was lost to posterity for centuries, having never in fact seen the light of day. In 1890, while pursuing research in the archives of the Imperial Public Library of St. Petersburg, the Polish Slavic scholar, Aleksander Brückner, discovered the manuscript; revealing to the world three years later that the author of his discovery was Anna Stanisławska, surnamed Warszycka by her first marriage, Oleśnicka by her second, and Zbąska by her third. Brückner adjudged the work to be a vivid account of a momentous life, lived in momentous times.5 Following decades of negotiation, the manuscript was brought to the National Library of Warsaw in 1934, where it was edited and published by Ida Kotowa. Most tragically, the manuscript was destroyed in 1944, in the conflagration of the Warsaw Uprising. Had Stanisławska’s poem been published soon after it had been written, and become embedded in the literary canon, then the reception of the work’s literary qualities would surely have looked askance at the formal deficiencies in favor of marveling at its originality and revelatory nature. Even the censoriously minded may have chosen to hail this preeminent other voice: one that had conceived a unique literary outlet for the conveyance of a woman’s personal feelings and remembrances. Although Anna Stanisławska’s unique contribution to the literary life of her homeland is still unknown to many, Orphan Girl is charged with cutting truths and soulful declarations that reveal a girl, and later a woman, at odds with the course of her life and the age in which she lives, albeit wanting traditional happiness (centered by a grounded spiritual conviction and an engagement with religious 4. See Dariusz Rott, Kobieta z przemalowanego portretu: Opowieść o Annie Zbąskiej ze Stanisławskich i jej Transakcyji albo Opisaniu całego życia jednej sieroty (The Woman from a Repainted Portrait: The Story of Anna Zbąska of the Stanisławski Line and her A Transaction, or an Account of the Entire Life of an Orphan Girl); Katowice: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego, 2004), 30–35; Ida Kotowa, “Anna Stanisławska: Pierwsza autorka polska” (Anna Stanisławska: The First Polish Woman Author), Pamiętnik Literacki 1–4 (1934): 267–90; Tadeusz Sinko, “Trzy małżeństwa jednej sieroty” (The Three Marriages of an Orphan Girl), Czas 109 (1935): 5. 5. See Aleksander Brückner, “Wiersze zbieranej drużyny: Pierwsza autorka polska i jej autobiografia wierszem” (Gathered Poems: The First Polish Woman Author and Her Autobiography in Verse), Biblioteka Warszawska 4 (1893): 424–29; Brückner, Dzieje literatury polskiej w zarysie (A Concise History of Polish Culture; Warsaw: Gebethner i Wolff, 1908), 1: 449–50.

Introduction 3 devotion) more than—but not exclusively over—wealth, title and prominence, all of which Stanisławska happened to possess in abundance. This Cinderella hope on the part of the poetess—a hope partly fulfilled on her marriage to her second husband, Jan Zbigniew Oleśnicki, the protagonist of this episode, though tempered by a hard-edged, world-weary matter-offactness—was born of a childhood optimism that what awaited her in life could only ever be joyous. Little did the young Stanisławska know that she would spend much of the life apportioned to her vainly hoping for felicitous outcomes. In fact, it would be her fate to rail against Malign Fortune for taking such pleasure in all the iniquities and calamities that swiped the legs from under her whenever an opportunity presented itself.6

Historical Backdrop Central to the Polish Baroque was Sarmatism, a belief in the idea, derived from religious fervor, that the gentry of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were guardians of the Catholic faith and protectors of the territories where the faith was thought to flourish most. Among the beliefs of the nobility, Poland’s very location, a buffer for Europe against incursions from the idolatrous east, was a part of God’s divine plan. While in Poland the prevailing liberal and heroic spirit championed the individual over monarchical absolutism and shaped viewpoints that were far from the murderous religious intolerance seen elsewhere in Counter-Reformation Europe, the ruling classes became over time swept up in an expression of religious exaltation that led them, convinced of their sanctified position, to accelerate a process of curtailing the mercantile and agrarian classes, from whom during the Renaissance so much creative and intellectual thought had sprung.7 With neglect of craft, trade and agriculture, a prevalent characteristic of local, regional, and national elites, disregard for commercial and agricultural imperatives led to the exploitation of privilege; although this neglect was countered

6. For a discussion on the motif of Fortune in Polish Renaissance and Baroque literature, see Jacek Sokolski, Bogini, pojęcie, demon: Fortuna w dziełach autorów staropolskich (Goddess, Idea, Demon: Fortune in the Works of the Authors of Old Poland; Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego, 1996). 7. For an illustration of Polish Sarmatism pertaining to its characteristics and cultural heritage, see Janusz Tazbir, “The Culture of the Baroque in Poland,” Organon 18–19 (1982–1983): 161–75; Tazbir, Prace wybrane, tom. 4, Studia nad kulturą staropolską (Selected Works, vol. 4, A Study on the Culture of Old Poland; Kraków: Universitas, 2001). See also Maria Bogucka, The Lost World of the “Sarmatians”: Custom as the Regulator of Polish Social Life in Early Modern Times (Warsaw: Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of History, 1996); and Zbigniew Kuchowicz, Obyczaje staropolskie XVII–XVIII wieku (Old Polish Traditions and Customs in the 17th and 18th Centuries; Łódź: Wydawnictwo Łódzkie, 1974).

4 Introduction somewhat by the nobility’s readiness to throw themselves selflessly into battle.8 The situation was made more acute by the fact that the freedom of the gentry, and in particular of the magnates, was a freedom that was technically boundless; hence there was constant pushback against the power of the king, who, once having been elected by the chivalrous class, owed too much to too many. It was an Arthurian conundrum; one where notions of round-table equality meant that the king’s “knights” felt that they could go their own way; a sensibility which also impeded the formalization of a standing army. The nobility could declare themselves campaign ready if they felt like it, and it was only their general fervor and the lingering memory of the Swedish invasions of 1655–1660, known as the Potop (“Deluge”), that harnessed this collective responsibility in the face of the grave threats confronting them on the eastern and southeastern borders of the Commonwealth. The potential for calamity had been perceived long before the existential crises of the seventeenth century beset the nation. Writing in 1570, the preeminent poet of Renaissance Poland, Jan Kochanowski, in his tragedy Odprawa posłów greckich (The Dismissal of the Greek Envoys), had much to say about national paralysis, which was already a looming prospect. In the play, Ulysses delivers a speech to the Trojan Assembly, charged with having to decide whether or not to return Helen to the Greeks. In his speech, Ulysses decries the path of moral degradation that Troy has taken: “Their example makes rotten the multitude who follow in their path. / Indeed, they are followed by a suite of parasites. / By their notorious luxury and indolence, they fatten like pigs.”9 First performed in the presence of King Stefan Batory and his queen, Anna Jagiellonka, at the wedding of his royal chancellor, Jan Zamoyski, to Krystyna Radziwiłłówna, the play must have caused quite a stir among those present because of its thinly veiled attack on the Polish system of government and the increasingly corrupt ruling gentry. This same sentiment must also have been present in the ether at the time of the coronation of Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, an event that took place on September 29, 1669. To the chagrin of Jan Sobieski, the king’s military commander, or hetman, and his cohort of malcontents,10 who had seen the defeat of their favored candidate for the Polish throne, Henri d’Enghien, prince of Condé, Wiśniowiecki emerged victorious in the royal election. Wiśniowiecki had made promises to guarantee the existing state of affairs with regard to the liberum veto, a parliamentary device that gave each member 8. See Jan Stanisław Bystroń, Dzieje obyczajów w dawnej Polsce: Wiek XVI–XVIII (Customs and Traditions in Old Poland: 16th-18th Centuries), vol. 1, 2nd ed. (Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1976). 9. Jan Kochanowski, The Dismissal of the Greek Envoys, ed. and trans. Barry Keane (Warsaw: Sub Lupa; London: The Polish Cultural Institute, 2018). 10. Daniel Stone, The Polish–Lithuanian State, 1386–1795 (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2001), 234.

Introduction 5 of the Sejm, or “Diet,” the right to defeat by his vote alone any measure under consideration. This same vote could both dissolve the Sejm and invalidate all acts passed during its session.11 The new king would display a singular inability to make the kinds of military and administrative preparations that were essential in order to counter the Cossack-Tatar raids threatening to overrun the Polish Right Bank. Sobieski, tasked with the defense of the Commonwealth, was greatly alarmed by the actions of the Cossacks, who, under the leadership of General Petro Doroshenko, had several years earlier accepted the protection and support of the Ottoman Empire. In vain, Sobieski petitioned Wiśniowiecki to strengthen the stronghold of Kamieniec in Podolia, on the Commonwealth’s eastern flank. Although he was able to free thousands of prisoners bound for Turkish slave markets, Sobieski had to sue for peace with the Ottoman sultan, subsequently surrendering Podolia in the Treaty of Buczacz (1672), which stipulated that the Commonwealth would have to pay a hefty annual tribute. The blame for this national humiliation was placed at the feet of Wiśniowiecki, and an incensed Sobieski threatened to march on the royal seat, which by that stage was being propped up by a toothless military confederation. Ultimately, it was the king’s wife, Queen Eleanora, having engaged the papal nuncio and a clutch of senators for support and counsel, who brokered a compromise that entailed Sobieski staying his hand.12 As a component of this peacemaking, the penal terms of the treaty arising from the Podolian capitulation were subsequently rejected by the Sejm. It was generally feared that an occupied Podolia meant that it was only a matter of time before the Ottomans and their proxy forces would launch an incursion deep into the heart of the Commonwealth. War was declared, taxes levied, and an army of forty-thousand strong was raised. The king made declarations that Podolia would be retaken, and that they would rid the Commonwealth of the Ottoman threat once and for all. In terms of Sobieski’s military role in the events that unfolded, it would very much be a case of cometh the hour, cometh the man. Sobieski’s tactics were outstanding and presaged his greater military achievement before the walls of Vienna years later.13 The front tiers of the infantry approached the Ottoman encampment on the evening of November 10, 1673, but held back before the fortifications, actuating cat-and-mouse activity with sporadic rifle engagement and surprise attacks. The disoriented defenders manning the embankments found themselves on tenterhooks; and to make matters worse (for the defenders), they were frozen to the bone, with the temperatures 11. See Paweł Jasienica, Polska anarchia (The Polish Anarchy; Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 1988); Adam Zamoyski, Poland: A History (London: Harper Press, 2009), 169–88. 12. See Norman Davies, God’s Playground: A History of Poland, vol. 1: The Origins to 1795 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981; New York: Columbia University Press, 1982), 357–62. 13. For an account of the battle and its aftermath, see Zamoyski, Poland: A History, 189–205.

6 Introduction having plummeted in the night. The conditions were ripe for an attack; and it was precisely in the somnolent hour of dawn that Sobieski at the head of his charging forces stormed through the camp, sending Hussain Pasha, the Ottoman commander, fleeing for his life. The remnants of the retreating Turkish army were pursued as far as the Dniester River, where they desperately attempted to scramble across the only bridge capable of carrying large numbers and attendant burdens. The bridge was ripped to pieces by mortar fire (although it may also have collapsed under the weight); and Sobieski’s army spent the rest of the day chasing down and slaughtering the scattered enemy.14 The seismic nature of the victory, known as the Battle of Khotyn (or Chocim), was mirrored by an equally seismic turn of events. Somewhat late in the day, Wiśniowiecki had decided to make what he must have felt would be a morale-boosting contribution to the campaign by travelling to Lwów in order to review the troops. On his arrival in the city, however, he fell violently ill from food poisoning and died soon after. That Sobieski would lead the Commonwealth to victory the following day cleared the path for him to be elected king in the royal election of 1674. It was understandably felt that the nation was in dire need of an experienced and inspiring political leader, one who would set all military affairs in order. Due to Sobieski’s determination to continue to lead the campaign in the east, however, he would not be crowned king until 1676, one year after the death of his cavalry officer, Jan Zbigniew Oleśnicki, the second husband of Anna Stanisławska.

Stanisławska’s Early Life Anna Stanisławska was born in 1651.15 Her father, Michał Stanisławski, had distinguished himself both as a soldier and in countless other roles in royal diplomacy 14. Tazbir writes (“The Culture of the Baroque in Poland,” 168) that this protracted conflict with the Ottoman Empire and their auxiliary forces of the Tatars and Cossacks ultimately contributed to the Orientalization of Sarmatian (that is, Polish) culture: “Poland’s geopolitical situation made her particularly vulnerable to oriental culture which in the eastern territories of Europe constituted an almost native, not merely imported civilization. Poland’s territorial expansion on the one hand, and the expansion of the Ottoman state, on the other, led to direct contacts with the world of Islam. Many Poles had spent years in Turkish or Tatar captivity. A considerable number of fugitives from justice would go to the south-eastern confines of the Commonwealth, to Zaporozhe, where, living among the Cossacks, they would adopt oriental customs and habits. Lastly, the trade linking the Baltic and the North Sea with the Black Sea led through Poland. The south-eastern Polish voivodships were the gateway through which the influences of Asian culture and art flowed into Poland, and the towns which lay on that route were Brody, Kamieniec Podolski and Lvov.” 15. For biographical accounts of Stanisławska’s life, see Barry Keane, Introduction to Anna Stanisławska, Orphan Girl, 1–16; Kotowa, “Anna Stanisławska”; Maya Peretz, “In Search of the First Polish Woman Author,” The Polish Review 38 (4) (1993): 469–83; Rott, Kobieta z przemalowanego portretu. See also Sinko, “Trzy małżeństwa jednej sieroty,” 5; and Stanisław Szczęsny, “Anny ze Stanisławskich Zbąskiej

Introduction 7 and national politics. He was not only voivode, or governor, of Kiev and a magnate in the possession of great wealth, but since his grandmother was Jan Sobieski’s great-aunt, he was also related to Poland’s future king. Stanisławska’s mother was Krystyna Borkowa Szyszkowska, and her family had kindred links with both the powerful Potocki and Zebrzydowski families. By rights, Stanisławska should have had every expectation of a happy childhood, but her mother died when Stanisławska was only three years old. Perhaps as a response to the death of Stanisławska’s infant brother, Piotr, she was sent to live with and be educated by the Dominican nuns in their cloister in Gródek near Kraków, where her great aunt on her mother’s side, Gryzelda Dominika Zebrzydowska, was the prioress. Tragically, the affectionate and attentive Gryzelda died following an outbreak of bubonic plague, and Stanisławska would never experience such motherly affection again. In 1667, Michał removed his daughter from the convent and brought her home to the recently acquired family estate of Maciejowice, located on the right bank of the Vistula River, midway between the southern outskirts of today’s Warsaw and the regal town of Puławy. Rapturous at the prospect, little did the young girl suspect that her being brought home had not been inspired by sentiment, and that her father was not looking to make amends for all the years they had not spent together. A number of years previously, in 1663, Stanisławska’s father had married again, his new wife being Anna Potocka Kazanowska-Słuszka, a confidant of Jan Sobieski and a strong-willed woman who was determined to marry off her stepdaughter as soon as possible. Undoubtedly preoccupied with the turmoil in the country, Michał fell in readily with these plans and found what should have been an ideal candidate for a son-in-law in the person of Jan Kazimierz Warszycki, son of Stanisław Warszycki by his first marriage to Helena Wiśniowiecka. Stanisław was Castellan of Kraków and a distinguished senator. As a magnate of great substance, he was also a church benefactor. Like Stanisławska’s father, Stanisław Warszycki had earned a formidable reputation for military success and martial courage during the Swedish invasions.

The Aesop Episode Both fathers agreed on terms, which must have anticipated the strengthening of bonds between the two great houses. If there had been reports of the young man’s wantonness and comportment, his failings must have been played down or opowieść o sobie i mężach: Glosa do barokowej trenodii” (Anna Zbąska of the Stanisławski Family: A Tale about Her Life and Her Husbands: A Gloss to a Baroque Threnody), in Pisarki polskie epok dawnych (Polish Women Writers of Olden Times), ed. Krystyna Stasiewicz (Olsztyn: Wyższa Szkoła Pedagogiczna, 1998), 69–87.

8 Introduction explained away. Whatever the regret that later followed, this marriage was principally a mercantile decision where factors of political influence and future income predominated, and this ill-considered bartering of his own daughter may have later gnawed at Michał’s conscience, or at least that is what Stanisławska believed had been the case. Stanisławska, too, must have heard of Warszycki’s aberrations; and the poem sees Anna begging her father to release her from the arrangement. But bolstered by the singular determination of his new wife, Michał gave the heartfelt pleadings of his daughter no truck whatsoever. Stanisławska’s disquietude proved justified, for Jan Kazimierz, described throughout the account as Aesop, was a monstrous-looking degenerate who feared only his father’s chastisement and beatings, which were frequent; and must have contributed inevitably to the young man’s physical and psychological ailments. Stanisławska’s father, who as a leader of men and presumably a good judge of character, would come to realize that he had been greatly deceived as to both the suitability of the candidate for his daughter’s hand and to the conditions in which she would live, with it emerging soon after the wedding feast that her newly acquired father-in-law intended to live with the couple; although it may just have been that Stanisław understandably wished to be present in the house in order to protect Stanisławska from his son. With “Aesop” being only capable of self-pleasure, the marriage remained unconsummated. What is more, he was violent and cruel towards Stanisławska, and seems to have settled on a strategy of hounding his wife to death. Stanisławska, in turn, could only hope against hope that her father would rescue her. But disastrously, her father took ill with dysentery on a military expedition in the east and died in Podkamień (modern Ukraine) soon after. The news of her father’s death was deliberately kept from her on the orders of Stanisławska’s father-in-law, who feared that as an heiress to great wealth and lands, Stanisławska might take action to free herself of her marital bond. From what Stanisławska relates, her father had already been considering options to retrieve her, and before his death had appointed Jan Sobieski as Stanisławska’s guardian. Over the course of the next several months, Stanisławska was entangled in a dispute with her stepmother over inheritance rights, and as a result she was able to meet Sobieski under false pretenses. During this meeting, Sobieski advised Stanisławska to mend bridges with her stepmother. It would prove to be sagacious advice, and her stepmother would become her stalwart adviser and companion in the years to come. Although Stanisławska rails against the machinations of Fortune throughout her work, benevolent serendipity played its part when, in June 1669, a royal election was held in Warsaw following the abdication (in 1668) of Jan II Kazimierz Waza, which brought the Waza dynasty to an end. Stanisławska coaxed her fatherin-law into allowing her to join them in Warsaw, perhaps once again claiming

Introduction 9 that the protracted issues pertaining to her inheritance needed further resolution. Having positioned themselves at the very heart of the campaign to elect Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, who was favored by many of the Polish nobility, the Warszyckis agreed to allow Stanisławska to reside in a nearby convent. Once inside the walls, Stanisławska claimed sanctuary, a move which was then supported by Sobieski, who, as part of the faction of malcontents, threw all his support behind Stanisławska. It could not have been lost on Sobieski that his actions greatly vexed and shamed deeply a family that had singularly been attempting to thwart his ambitions. Free from the clutches of father and son, who planned stratagems to kidnap her, or worse, Stanisławska was free to instigate annulment proceedings. Sobieski appointed lawyers to represent Stanisławska, who argued that she had been married against her will. Witnesses were produced, but the testimony of her stepmother proved crucial. Magnanimously injuring her own reputation, Stanisławska’s stepmother testified to the roles played by herself and her husband in forcing Stanisławska to marry. Her testimony tipped the scales in Stanisławska’s favor and secured the judgment, which was later upheld by Rome. The divorce— for Stanisławska refers to the judgment as such, although clearly an annulment and not a divorce was the available remedy in this instance—created quite a stir in the royal court and elsewhere; indeed, in other times it could have led to soulsearching in many quarters on the legality of arranged marriages. But in spite of the fact that Stanisławska was made the subject of cruel verses, which poked fun at her rather unusual status as maiden (stories about the non-consummation of the marriage must have circulated) and divorcée, few paid attention to the legal technicalities upon which she had won her annulment. Freedom came at a price, however, as Stanisławska was ordered by the court to return a lengthy inventory of gifts which she had received; and her aggrieved ex in-laws made sure that every last trinket was returned.

Oleśnicki For the age in which she lived, Stanisławska was an incomparable memoirist, revealing more of her private life than would even have been deemed prudent until recent times. The foibles, failings and ridiculousness of the people that inhabit her world are laid bare; as are her hopes, unsparing judgments and disappointments. In these terms, the account is unvarnished, and the facts presented unburnished. This is particularly true for her tortuous doubts about the merits and wisdom of marrying again. And though at the beginning of this episode Stanisławska uniquely enjoys the privilege and agency of being able to choose her own future husband, she legitimately wonders what lies behind her suitor’s winning smile and dashing cavalier charm. It is entirely possible she never found a satisfactory answer to this question.

10 Introduction From June until September in 1669, while Stanisławska was waiting out her time in the cloister, still living in fear of what her now ex father-in-law may plot and do, she began to receive a number of amorously presented proposals of marriage, with suitors writing poetry and serenading her from beneath her window. But one innamorato, Jan Zbigniew Oleśnicki, stood metaphorically head and shoulders above the rest in terms of his vigorous suitability, his station, and his determination to bag his bride.16 Belonging to a venerated lineage,17 his home was the estate of Szczekarzowice, situated not far from Stanisławska’s estate of Maciejowice. In any other circumstance, it could almost have been a case of local boy meets local girl.18 Oleśnicki was Sobieski’s dashing chief cavalry officer and a young widower who was reputed to have poisoned his first wife. Aside from the rumors of him having committed uxoricide, there was also a cloud of venality and dissolution hanging over Oleśnicki’s reputation: not necessarily frowned upon, but certainly gossiped about. In literary association, thinking of the devious character in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Anna could be said to wonder: Is he a Wickham?; And will the charm morph into something else once they are married? From what Stanisławska relates, there was every reason to suspect that there were skeletons in her beloved’s closet, and that something unseemly was lurking beneath the veneer of his magnetism. Even though Stanisławska initially rejected his proposal of marriage, by the year’s end Oleśnicki had settled his betrothed’s debts, this following a preambular agreement signed in Kraków on October 10, 1669 in the company of families and guardians.19 They would be married sometime in June 1670, but not before having had to go to great lengths to secure a dispensation from Rome following the discovery that they were blood-related. Here was yet another juicy tidbit for the gossiping aristocracy attending the engagement celebrations. Ultimately, on the 16. Bystroń maintains that serenading was not uncommon; Dzieje obyczajów w dawnej Polsce, 162. 17. For a history of the Oleśnicki line, see Jacek Pielas, Oleśniccy herbu Dębno w XVI–XVII wieku: Studium z dziejów zamożnej szlachty doby nowożytnej (The Oleśnicki Family of the Dębno Herb in the 16th and 17th Centuries: A Study of the History of a Wealthy Noble Family; Kielce: Wydawnictwo Akademii Świętokrzyskiej im. Jana Kochanowskiego, 2000). On the importance of lineage amongst the Polish nobility, see Bystroń, Dzieje obyczajów w dawnej Polsce, 166. 18. For a descriptive account of courtship and marriage in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Poland, see Alojzy Sajkowski, Staropolska miłość: Z dawnych listów i pamiętników (Love in Old Poland: From Letters and Diaries; Poznań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, 1981); see also Kuchowicz, Obyczaje staropolskie XVII–XVIII wieku, 256–69, and Bystroń, Dzieje obyczajów w dawnej Polsce, 119–55. 19. For a discussion on prenuptial contracts in this era, see Anna Penkała, “Szlacheckie kontrakty małżeńskie jako źródła do badań biograficznych i majątkowych na przykładzie intercyzy przedślubnej Antoniny Rzewuskiej i Piotra Miączyńskiego” (Artistocratic Marital Contracts as Sources for Biographical and Property Research, Based on the Prenuptial Contract of Antonina Rzewuska and Piotr Miączyński), Rocznik Lubelskiego Towarzystwa Genealogicznego 6 (2014/2015): 153–69.

Introduction 11 advice of Anna’s stalwart stepmother, both bride and groom thought it best to exchange vows in a village setting, with no invitees; meaning, no wagging tongues. Also prior to their exchanging of vows, Stanisławska had insisted on writing a prenuptial agreement, signed in Warsaw on May 4, 1670, which stated that her husband would entail all his wealth and estate upon her in the event of his death. Whatever may have been thought or said of his waywardness and inconstancy, Oleśnicki seems to have been genuinely enamored with the object of his cupidity. From what we may discern from the account, Stanisławska was also greatly taken with her paramour, and was more than happy to list his virtues and all the characteristics of his pleasant demeanor. They also settled into their various roles: unsurprisingly given what we know of her emancipatory nature, Stanisławska ran both estates with what we may colloquially describe as a “handson approach,” which included day-to-day management and patronage of the local churches and schools. That said, Anna’s engagement with the estate is only ever mentioned in passing, in keeping with the Sarmatian outlook which looked askance at farming activity on the part of the nobility. In fact, there is little in the work that evokes or celebrates either the pastoral or the agrarian idyll.20 There followed several years of connubial happiness, during which time Anna and her husband were of “One body with two souls entwined” (Dwie dusze w jednym ciele; T. 39, St. 355). Their happy marriage, however, failed to produce a child. And yet, during this period, Oleśnicki was the essence of congeniality itself, and when home (which was rare) and not ill (which was not infrequent), he was a man at one with the community that he had ascendancy over; and clearly, Stanisławska was most pleased to be sharing her life with someone possessed of such a pleasant and winning disposition; and one who was also as capable and invested as her father had been when it came to discharging the affairs of state. Oleśnicki also accompanied Sobieski on numerous campaigns aimed at halting the Ottoman incursions in Ukraine. As a result of his bravery and selfless dedication to the cause, he was hailed universally as someone who epitomized the Commonwealth’s chivalrous outlook, a conviction confirmed by his martial feats during the Battle of Khotyn; in recognition of which Oleśnicki was asked to lead the subsequent victory celebrations. However, when away on these military campaigns, he was less than chivalrous when it came to the preservation of his marital vows of constancy and fidelity. One instance of his waywardness is recounted, but it may have not been the only such occasion. Stanisławska is never to be found pining for her absent husband; and indeed the independence she claims for herself is likely to have been a contributory factor in the deterioration of their marriage. (It is significant that Stanisławska fails in 20. For more on the Sarmatian relationship with the land and its cultivation, see Bystroń, Dzieje obyczajów w dawnej Polsce, 154–58.

12 Introduction this account to relate the course of her own life and daily existence on its own terms.) Such self-empowerment,21 determinedly free of family intervention, was probably what her father-in-law looked upon most with disapproval. If Oleśnicki’s inconstancy when away at war was in accord with the cultural norms of the time, one that allowed men the freedom to indulge in extramarital dalliances,22 it was the fact that what he got up to had become universally known and gossiped about that must have soured affections; and it was more than likely that Stanisławska was exasperated by the notion that her cuckolding husband—who was from her perspective only “the worse for wear”—expected to be waited on hand and foot on his return home. That she wasn’t the attentive nurse was perhaps her own way of responding to the humiliation. The ailing Oleśnicki, for example, upbraids his wife in the account for the inept performance—or the deliberate neglect—of her nursing duties with respect to both his father and himself. Towards the close of 1674, when Oleśnicki was on a military expedition with Sobieski, his father fell ill and was presumed to be nearing his end. Typical of the humanity accorded to Sobieski in this account, he orders Oleśnicki home so that he may pay his last respects; but no sooner does the son arrive than his father rallies. Jan himself falls ill, and following several days of being at death’s door, sometime in mid-January 1675, he passes away. Certainly her father-in-law holds a great deal of bitterness towards Stanisławska; and the unreasonable behavior towards his daughter-in-law by both himself and other members of the family as Oleśnicki slips from life may have had its justification; from his perspective at least. There followed for Stanisławska a period of understandable shock and sadness at the passing of her husband, but she had almost no time for feelings of desolation as it transpired that Oleśnicki’s father, with whom she already had fractious relations, wanted his son to be interred in the family chapel located in the Benedictine Monastery of the Holy Cross on the slopes of the mountain of Łysa Góra in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains. Stanisławska resisted, being determined to have Oleśnicki interred in the more local Church of the Holy Trinity in Tarłów, the adornment of which both she and her husband had funded. More pain would follow for Stanisławska when Oleśnicki’s surviving relatives made recourse to the courts, and threats, in order to reclaim the estate and lands of Szczekarzowice.

21. Alina Kowalczykowa would describe the choice on the part of Stanisławska not to mention her dayto-day accomplishments as characteristic of women’s self-portrayal to leave certain things unsaid; see “Zniewolenie i ślady buntu—czyli autoportrety kobiet: Od Claricii do Olgi Boznańskiej (Constraint and Rebellion—the Self-Portraits of Women: From Claricia to Olga Boznańska),” Pamiętnik Literacki 97 (1) (2006): 146. 22. See Maria Bogucka “Marriage in Early Poland,” Acta Poloniae Historica 81 (2000): 59–65.

Introduction 13

A Sacral Legacy A rather grandiose expression of Oleśnicki’s family credentials had been the church in Tarłów, which, as a familial patron of the church, it had fallen upon Jan to adorn. Yet although the duty was his, it would prove to be a labor of love and commitment to which his wife would devote herself wholeheartedly over the course of several years, and well beyond the duration of their marriage. It is likely that in the time between Oleśnicki’s death and her marriage to Jan Zbąski, less than a year later, Stanisławska devoted a great deal of energy to overseeing the completion of the artwork in the chapel, which involved commissioning artists—most likely from Kraków—and settling with these artists on an overarching vision. Throwing her all into the undertaking, her engagement and singularity of purpose also reflects the extraordinary drive which would be manifested in the writing of Orphan Girl several years hence. Today, as one walks into the Oleśnicki family chapel,23 the after-presence of Stanisławska is palpable, so interlinked are the artworks with the cornerstone themes and factual events of Orphan Girl. It is all especially and impeccably foregrounded in the motif of Danse Macabre, or the Dance of Death, signifying that death unites all.24 Not only in one work, but in a series of interlinked mural paintings, the personification of Death, a decaying cadaver, is seen placing his hand on the shoulders of young and old. One of these paintings, titled “Family and Death” (featured on the cover of this book), seems to be an allegorical representation of Anna and Jan; as he is being led away by Death (that the figure is Jan is denoted by the presence of the Oleśnicki crest). In the painting we see Jan holding Anna’s hand; and he is unwilling to let it go. His anguish is clear in the wretchedness of his countenance, and as he looks back, husband and wife hold each other’s gaze for the last time. Tears can be seen flowing down Anna’s cheek. More heartbreakingly still, the child they never had, or would have, is to be seen pulling at Jan’s robe. An idiosyncratic absence in these paintings—commensurate with their already discussed absence in Orphan Girl—is that of serfs, or the representatives of the mercantile classes: an assurance to the nobility, perhaps, that in spite of the fact that death is the great leveler, their moment of passing from this life to the next would not have to be shared with lowly unfortunates. The locals attending mass may have been chagrined (or relieved) to find that Death was not coming for them: yet their absence was never redressed by Stanisławska, indicating that 23. A fascinating description of the chapel’s artworks and motifs is provided by Aleksandra KoutnyJones, “A Noble Death: The Oleśnicki Funerary Chapel in Tarłów,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 72 (2009), 169–205. 24. For further reading, see Aleksandra Koutny-Jones, Visual Cultures of Death in Central Europe Contemplation and Commemoration in Early Modern Poland-Lithuania (Leiden: Brill, 2015), 16–90.

14 Introduction her independence of mind did not negate the fact that she was a Sarmatian noblewoman who saw no purpose or gain in the mollification of anyone. The Oleśnicki family crypt is located directly under the chapel. It was opened in 2005, and the coffin of Anna was found lying beside that of her congenial cavalier.

Old Poland’s Feminist Zeitgeist As a perceived matriarch of women’s literature in Poland since the discovery of the manuscript by Aleksander Brückner, Stanisławska the historical figure has always been best known for “The Aesop Episode” of Orphan Girl, which so comedically depicts her heroic efforts to secure a divorce from her deranged first husband. The poem’s biographical accounts of Stanisławska as Lady Oleśnicka or Zbąska are less well known, recounting as they do her comparatively more conventional marriages. Yet these episodes have their own quality of importance as they presage later literary accounts by women of a similar stature and station who understood, or at least expected, marital love to be a cradle of mutual affection and a meeting of minds. Given that Stanisławska’s opus remained an unknown work in its era and beyond, we may also say that the feminist spirit of the age that it encapsulated with respect of women’s emancipatory outlook managed to survive. Across the subsequent decades, that spirit was as though ethereally transposed to settle like evening mist over the meadows of early eighteenth-century estates, where creative women thought very seriously about the changes they could bring about which would ameliorate, alleviate, and elevate their circumstance.25 One such figure was Franciszka Urszula Radziwiłłowa (1705–1753),26 who brought to both her poetry and plays, which were privately performed for diversion in her marital residence of Nieśwież (modern Lithuania), the worldview of aristocratic women. That worldview principally proffered cautionary advice to young ladies on the well-trodden paths and hard-earned insights of marital existence, while also providing a confessional perspective, in particular about 25. For further reading, see Maria Bogucka, Women in Early Polish Society, Against the European Background (Aldershot, Hampshire, UK: Ashgate, 2004); Karolina Targosz, Sawantki w Polsce XVII wieku: Aspiracje intelektualne kobiet ze środowisk dworskich (Savantes in 17th-Century Poland: The Intellectual Aspirations of Courtly Women; Warsaw: Retro-Art, 1997); Andrzej Wyrobisz, “Staropolskie wzorce rodziny i kobiety—żony i matki (Old Poland’s Models of the Family and Women—Wives and Mothers),” Przegląd Historyczny 3 (1992), 405–21. Insightful views on this topic can also be found in Bożena Popiołek, Kobiecy świat w czasach Augusta II: Studium z mentalności kobiecej czasów saskich (The Female World in the Era of Augustus II: A Study of Female Mentality in the Saxon Era; Kraków: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Akademii Pedagogicznej, 2003). 26. See Franciszka Urszula Radziwiłłowa, Selected Drama and Verse, eds. Patrick John Corness and Barbara Judkowiak, trans. Corness, introduction by Judkowiak (Toronto: Iter Press; Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2015).

Introduction 15 the challenging position of married life for a woman surrounded by the “spying” eyes of court. Perhaps because of her close relations with her enlightened parents, Franciszka had spurned foppish, pitiful suitors and chosen instead a husband who made an “impetuous advance.” In every sense, it was love at first sight. The fortunate individual was Prince Michał Radziwiłł (1702–1762), who was both governor of Vilnius and Field Commander of Lithuania; who in fact had had to overcome his mother’s disapproval of the match. Like Stanisławska, Radziwiłłowa was an heiress to a massive fortune, and she and her promesso sposo would sign a prenuptial agreement, bequeathing to one another all of their sizable properties. The marriage was a tender affair at the beginning, founded on strong emotions and mutual regard. In time, Franciszka would harbor warranted suspicions about her husband’s fidelity, and conveyed to him in epistolary writings and dedicated poetry complaints about his neglect and indiscretions: “Men often break faith, so I have heard tell.”27 Unlike Stanisławska, who seems to have been locked into the orbits of her marriages, even when, for example, her first husband wanted to throttle her in the bath, Franciszka would lament the fact that a woman in her position had to think of her honor and fidelity. The tenor of her digression boiled down to the idea that a satisfyingly vengeful tryst, or indeed a bevy of gallant lovers, would provide both an overdue redress and a long-awaited sexual release—after all, were wives to wait for their husbands to come home: and when home, would they be up to the task? Ultimately, while the freedom to love is wistfully dismissed in favor of the moral option “to quell the heart,” the married woman was doomed to social entrapment. For Radziwiłłowa, however, this destiny did not mean that the boundaries of connubial limitations should not be extended to their extendable limits: beginning with the insistence on a spouse’s fidelity. It was never going to be either a winnable argument or a plausible expectation. And so, ultimately, Franciszka resigned herself to the undeniable fact that legal unions generally corrode emotional bonds. At such a revelatory juncture, Stanisławska, wife to Oleśnicki, would have interjected to say that the rot starts when the husband is too handsome for his own good. And that unfortunate circumstance is made all the worse when his inevitable conceit is married to soldiering—both on and off the battlefield. A contemporary of Radziwiłłowa, who also possessed a life experience and outlook comparable to that of Stanisławska, was Elżbieta Drużbacka (1695– 1765),28 best known for her Opisanie czterech części roku (A Description of the Four

27. See Radziwiłłowa, Selected Drama and Verse, “Response to a husband,” 357. 28. See Krystyna Stasiewicz, Elżbieta Drużbacka: Najwybitniejsza poetka czasów saskich (Elżbieta Drużbacka: The Greatest Woman Poet of the Saxon Era; Olsztyn, Poland: Wydawnictwo Wyższej Szkoły Pedagogicznej, 1992).

16 Introduction Seasons, 1752).29 A collection of descriptive paeans to nature’s beauty, Opisanie earned the poetess the epithets of Slavic Sappho and Sarmatian Muse. Drużbacka also left an epistolary legacy that outlined her biography, which tells us that she received a courtly education and married the courtier Kazimierz Drużbacki in 1720, with whom she had two daughters. Following her husband’s death in 1740, a passing that also inspired her to write both poetry and creative prose, she chose to be a governess at several courts, but ended her days self-confined in a Bernardine convent. Tragically sharing the fate of the manuscript of Orphan Girl, the original manuscripts of Drużbacka were destroyed in the Warsaw Uprising. Drużbacka’s musings on marriage, echoing the experiences of Stanisławska and reflecting the misgivings of Radziwiłłowa, were formulated along the familiar lines of mutual affection and a sincerity arising from blinkered amorous purpose, and a scenario that precludes the consideration of material aggrandizement. Beyond the circumstances by which an ideal match may come about, Drużbacka invested a great deal of thought in the resolving of one of the most pressing issues of human relations: the prolongation of happiness within marriage. She was able only to arrive at solutions that came up against numerous impediments, such as husbands finding diversion and occupation with people with whom they had no business associating. That said, for all of Drużbacka’s concerns, she maintained that divorce flew in the face of God’s will, and that the veneer of respectability had to be maintained at all costs. There could be no association or veneer of respectability where Salomea Pilsztynowa (1718–1763?)30 was concerned. Her combustible nature, independence of mind, and scandal-filled life cry out for comparison with Stanisławska, who, as we know, was not without her share of scandalous appendages, often for simply refusing to share the fate of so many of her female contemporaries. Also, like the historical legacy of Stanisławska, Pilsztynowa’s lost memoir was discovered at the end of the nineteenth century in the most fortuitous of circumstances.31 What is more, Pilsztynowa, given her reputation of being the first female doctor in Polish history, is also a matriarchal figure of female endeavor. Born in Nowogródek, a small town in today’s Belarus, Pilsztynowa was of the burgher class, and when she 29. See Elżbieta Drużbacka, Wiersze wybrane (Selected Poems; ed. Krystyna Stasiewicz, Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Neriton, 2003). 30. Salomea Regina Pilsztynowa, The Istanbul Memories in Salomea Pilsztynowa’s Diary “Echo of the Journey and Adventures of My Life,” 1760, ed. and trans. Paulina D. Dominik (Bonn, Germany: Max Weber Stiftung–Deutsche Geisteswissenschaftliche Institute im Ausland, 2017); Pilsztynowa, My Life’s Travels and Adventures: An Eighteenth-Century Oculist in the Ottoman Empire and the European Hinterland, ed. and trans. Władysław Roczniak (New York: Iter Press, 2021). 31. The manuscript was found by Ludwik Glatman in the repository of the Czartoryski collection, located in Puławy. See Ludwik Glatman, “Doktorka medycyny i okulistka polska w XVIII wieku w Stambule” (A Polish Lady as a Doctor and Oculist in Istanbul in the 18th Century), Przewodnik Naukowy i Literacki (1894), 926–46.

Introduction 17 came of age, and following what must have seemed at the time to be a sensible arrangement, she was forced by her parents into a marriage with a physician who was a great deal older than she was. This episode marks the last time, however, when anything was forced on Pilsztynowa. What follows in the memoir is an account of her emancipation by way of her attainment of a professional occupation, having acquired from her husband a knowledge of apothecarial and medical practice. The account is all the more colorful for the fact that she accompanies her husband to Istanbul, where she becomes his equal, if not superior: she saves him, for instance, from an accusation of malpractice, which could have led to his execution, and relishes the opportunity of being able to conduct her life on what could be understood as a professional footing far removed from the confinements of her own country and society. Once Pilsztynowa gains a taste for freedom, she flourishes and wins a license to practice, and her interests multiply and dazzle like light through a prism. She explores many aspects of healing and gains respect and status in her newly adopted home. Pilsztynowa would combine her medical knowledge with local practices, and even incorporate occult elements into her diagnostic preliminaries, such as astrology. Throughout Pilsztynowa’s story there are romances, more marriages, and near-death adventures. And in many respects, while it is delightful to juxtapose her experiences and worldview with those of her female contemporaries, she most certainly resembles the male figure of Oleśnicki—one who, as we may imagine, would have had no compunction in abandoning a spouse and embracing a life of unbridled adventure. A speculative conceit, no doubt: but the coalescence of the spirit of the age, in what was a creative and lived sense, could only ever lend itself to such flights of fancy. All options were on the table, and for the first time everything was technically possible. Even if there was a price to be paid, be it individual or collective.

An Other (and Yet the Same) Voice: A Note on the Translation My translation is based on Ida Kotowa’s 1935 edition of the work. Continuing from my efforts with “The Aesop Episode,” I have remained convinced that the power of the account is predicated on the poetic form and a conjuring up of the direct voice of Stanisławska. She was imaginatively present to me for all the years at my keyboard translating this work, and my entire creative input is based on how I imagined her to be as a person. To this end, I emulated the metrical and rhyming scheme of the poem whilst also looking to accentuate the poem’s narrational imperative. I took this judgment further and divided “The Oleśnicki Episode” into smaller titled episodes, a division intended to foreground the poem’s epic and historical sweep and also to support the reading of what is a lengthy poem. Also worth drawing attention to are the gloss margin notes, which can inform and

18 Introduction confuse in equal measure. In this regard, it is important to be mindful of the fact that they are Stanisławska’s contemporaneous explanations of past events; and so, for example, Sobieski is often referred to as “today’s king.” This is because he was king at the time of Stanisławska’s writing of the poem, but in the events that the poem describes, Sobieski’s coronation was some way off. This episode ends at the point where Stanisławska has buried her husband, has been attacked by his relatives, and is despairing of the age where death takes us all. One further episode—or marriage, as the case may be—awaits translation. It is a work that I hope to complete in its entirety. But cognizant of the time it took to complete the first two episodes, I can only hope the coming years will be kind, and that Stanisławska’s Fortune will look benevolently on the endeavor (Stanisławska would not be hopeful). Finally, it remains for me to reiterate that this translation could not have been completed without drawing on the research which has been written on Orphan Girl; and it is certainly my hope that “The Oleśnicki Episode” not only celebrates the legacy of the larger work itself but also the work of the many scholars who have thrown light on the ways and means by which the poetess came to relate both her life’s story and the dolorous distresses of her age.

ANNA STANISŁAWSKA

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode

The Old Man and His Malevolence

(continuing from “The Aesop Episode”)

Threnody XXIX (Stanzas 274–75) 274. I remain pinned to this precipice, Left abandoned and with no choices. The papers I hold in my hands May ring-fence estates and lands, And allow me to step outside; But I have much to think about: With a coronation to be held, I could be the entertainment. 275. This would normally be an event That I would happily attend: To join the ranks amongst my own. Yet I know well what the old man Is plotting, as does King Michał: Having heard the spleen and vitriol, He decrees that the warring parties Should desist from settling scores.

The coronation takes place.

King Michał sends a letter to Master Krakowski.

The Heart Awakens and Hope Stirs Threnody XXX (Stanzas 276–83) 276. As the old man stews in his spite, There is some comfort in the thought “That the good Lord crowns a man’s life Not with death, but a faithful wife!” And though the point may be heartening To those who barter and bargain For the bride and her dowry, I doubt if it applies to me.

21

The will of God.

22 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA 277. I could be that perfect spouse, But firstly I’d have to say “yes.” But will he knock on my door again? Doesn’t he know the rules of the game, Where a “no” is but the first step In the merry dance of courtship? I’ll send to Our Lady this prayer: Let him bang louder on the door!

Oleśnicki takes to the road, having made an offering to Our Lady.

278. In Jaworów, ever-bustling, He meets with my guardian. And on asking about the judge’s Strictures concerning the divorce, He travels to Jaworów He proceeds to pour his heart out: to see today’s king. “She’s free to marry, is she not? So I would be greatly obliged If you gave the lady a nudge. 279. I’ve serenaded and implored. But she has made up her mind, And her answer is a firm ‘no.’ Now I’m a sensible fellow, But the call of love overrules Logic, and sings the song of fools. So I beg for your winning voice; Otherwise, I won’t stand a chance.”

He asks the king to intervene.

280. The serene one listens and nods: His head is bowed; his eyes are closed. He puts himself in the boots Of this hapless suitor, whose plots His Highness, today’s And trysts have left him clutching at straws. king, promises to help He’ll need letters and advice: him in his cause. There can be no beating about The bush, for the lady may not wait.

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 23 281. He sends a flurry of letters, Splurging his heart out on the pages, Saying that once the Sejm has convened, If the Lord is merciful and kind, He will travel here with the hope Of a second crack at the whip. I shall have less to say this time; I won’t even interrupt him!

He writes letters, asking me to give him hope.

282. If I were to give thought to his Suitability, I’d say this: He hails from an esteemed lineage Of soldiers and aristocrats, Whose lands, an occasion of pride, Offer harvests and a fat yield. It boasts a line of strong women Who’ve anchored family and home.

His merits.

283. I meet him not far from Kraków: Such serendipity! My life There and then! Finding my gallant Lost for words. He may be tongue-tied, But he’s dying to blurt something out! Oh wouldn’t it be wasted effort To propose marriage on bended knee, When you need more than just a ring!

The Old Man Is Put in His Place and They Conspire to See Me Married Threnody XXXI (Stanzas 284–96) 284. The great and the good have gathered Where the king-elect will be crowned. Everyone is minding their Ps and Qs, And not slinging insults in my face.

They all descend on Kraków.

24 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA If I’m no longer the harlot, I’m still the one he calls a slut. The old man cannot hold his peace, Decrying life’s great injustice.

Master Krakowski rants and raves.

285. I’d just risen from my slumbers And was rubbing sleep from my eyes, When there was a knock and a call; Before me a man with a scroll, The divorce is official. Sealed by both court and magistrate; A parchment that reveals my fate, Freeing me entirely of blame, Whilst thrashing my father’s good name. 286. The good Lord sends tongues of fire To those who are banging at the door, In their eagerness to share tidbits Of counsel and unwanted advice. Her Highness, the But it is the serene princess, mother of the king, The mother of he who wears the crown, fought hard to secure Who makes touching annunciations my divorce. In support of this helpless wretch. 287. She takes the bull by the horns, And promises to right all wrongs. She won’t take a “no” or a “yes” For an answer. And her letters Will leave no room for confusion. She sternly instructs the old man With a fine choice of expressions: That he practice the art of silence. 288. He promises to end his attacks, But can’t keep himself in check. He thinks that he can use his envoy To make my life a misery.

Master Krakowski promises, but continues with his shenanigans.

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 25 He who’ll smile and glad-hand the lot, Marking time, plotting God knows what! Quite the leap! From lowly servant To esteemed man of the Diet.

Master Krakowski’s representative, a deputy at the coronation, does his dirty work.

289. He’s good at serving, but politics Requires a different set of skills. Finery can give some substance To those who carry airs and graces, But power bestowed is easily lost; Especially for jangled puppets. The old man shows him a new trick, Master Krakowski beats When he thrashes him with a stick. his representative. 290. This esteemed man of the Diet, Stripped to the bone of all pride, Knows that his lot is little more Master Krakowski is Than the fate of a bridled mare: fined for the thrashing. All he can do is trot when bid, And gallop when his rump is whipped. Loyalty is no longer due When you’ve been beaten black and blue! 291. No one is free to thrash an envoy, And the old man is forced to pay A fine, and suffer opprobrium For his actions. This doesn’t stop him Master Krakowski orders me to discuss From showing up at the convent; terms with the And how greatly he is burdened! representative. “My man shall remain in the Diet, And you’ll say nothing about it!” 292. The courts have put him in his place: He can shout till blue in the face, But we must follow our agreement As if it were a sacred contract. Yet there will be stubborn progress,

26 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA With me enclosed in four walls. If life’s a search for what we’ve lost, Then it’s best not to count the cost. 293. Only the Lord senses our needs, When we stumble on bended knees Before the vagaries of chance, Where hope is that broken promise. Feeding festive days, the plate Should be a delight to the palate, But my fate’s a fool’s complement That leaves my lot both numb and spent. 294. My family and guardian Are resolute in their opinion That we should exchange vows as soon As possible: to strike while the iron I agree to marry Oleśnicki. Is hot! I agree to all persuasions, But not without some reluctance. Oh, I listen and nod my head, But I’m knotted and tongue-tied. 295. Their counsels would prove persuasive: “Are you to remain a captive? Juicy gossip can always be found, If you follow someone around. As long as you’re vulnerable, That man will always be able To shout at you in every place. Matrimony will shut those gates!” 296. If sincere advice is given, Then surely it should be taken. I must take what is a bold step, To be steps ahead of Aesop. Is he not in his tower as I speak, Counting the fortune I gave back!

All debts have been paid.

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 27 I wish him well with all his tricks: The papers I hold say we’re quits!

My Love Is My Relative Threnody XXXII (Stanzas 297–301) 297. My wedding day is imminent: And I’m at sixes and sevens. They say I’m listless and confused: But I would call it second thoughts! And now I’m left parrying arguments That trumpet the benefits. What is the rush, for heaven’s sake?! Are our holy priests short of work? 298. They pooh-pooh my protestations As a woman’s “stuff and nonsense.” My guardian plans a banquet, But suddenly thinks better of it When it’s discovered that bride And groom are closely related. The ringing of joyous bells are hushed: Some unions should never be blessed.

His Highness, he who is king today, had planned to hold a wedding banquet for us, but then we discovered that, as cousins, we needed a dispensation from the nuncio.

299. Dispensations cannot be secured For either love or minted gold. So we must send our plea to Rome. The city chosen for the What a shame to send our guests home , engagement celebrates Those who would witness our union, like it’s a wedding. As we would surely spoil their fun. When a king is paying the bill, Guests will eat and drink their fill! 300. This was an engagement banquet To remember: for all the great Had prepared speeches in advance;

28 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA Written with grace and eloquence. The Marshall treated every guest To oratory that few would forget. Wine can give speech a certain tone; And pliant ears will gulp it down.

Today’s Marshall gave back a great ring.

301. One day he will renounce his ring, But today he is in full song. With a flourish, he takes his seat; But not before he lists his titles. And then the Chancellor’s son rises And speaks of a life in holiness. He of the Koryciński lineage Moves all with weepy nostalgia.

I Am Told Horror Stories about My Distant Cousin Threnody XXXIII (Stanzas 302–11) 302. And when we manage to ascertain The crux of the protestation: That cousins should not be wedded, We send letters to Rome. We know that steps must be followed. Letters of great intricacy Are sent to the eternal city: What a lot of stuff and bother; Sure we hardly know each other! 303. Juicy gossip can always be found, If you follow someone around. And our guests find themselves in heaven By this heaven-sent occasion; They tell me all sorts of things about him. To make notes on his countenance Out of concern. And trade their salacious rumors. Oh how they bandy gossip about To willing souls eager for spite!

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 29 304. Now I’d brush this gossip aside, But I am filled with disquiet. If there’s truth to half the stories, I should be saddling a swift horse And fleeing into the blessed night. My enquiries, cautious and discreet, Reveal a riot of revulsions That leaves me with palpitations.

My sense of alarm increases.

305. Guests have the bit between their teeth; With each story worse than the last. “Sure isn’t he a vile sort of a man, They tell me he Having laced his wife’s drink with poison; poisoned his wife, and And stood by as she grabbed her throat.” that he has a venereal And they don’t want to tell me, but . . .  disease. Well he carries the kind of disease That’s a mark of carnal disgrace. 306. But how to believe a single word; In this, the age of falsehood? Truth and lies serve the convenience Of every blessed circumstance. This lot can be smiling to my face, But plotting all sorts of deviousness. Are not piety and prayerfulness Always credible witnesses? 307. They spread gossip and hatch their plots, And now the bride is in their sights. He’s told that I’m apoplectic, And acting like a lunatic. Indeed, never have they seen A more ill-suited pairing! When you are the victim of malice, You understand the power of lies.

They continue with their warnings.

30 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA 308. They clamor for us to break faith With the declarations we’ve made; But when a mob is baying for blood, It’s best to grasp what’s left of truth, And remember that people’s concerns Are often the sport of mud-slinging. Oh how they love to give advice . . .  And then swear us to secrecy! 309. I have not revealed the turmoil Stirring in my heart, but flight is all That I can contemplate at this time. And that would show the lot of them! Those with their smiles and smugness; I should flee far from here. So confident in their advice; Thinking that they could matchmake: That they would match and I would take. 310. Truth be told, I could have stood firm; So I must share some of the blame. But I have learned a hard lesson: I’ll share my thoughts with no one! I have no one to share my feelings of Keeping your own counsel serves best desperation with. When there’s no one you can trust. Let my feelings be mine to keep: I’ll banish their plots and gossip. 311. My world is a world of nightmares, Filled with the screams of night terrors, A poor creature to be pitied, Stared at; laughed at . . . and talked about. And even intimidated. As when a man whom I’d never met, And not wanting to say who he was, Urged me to ride far from this place.

He was a deputy of the Sejm.

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 31

My Stepmother Makes Me See Sense Threnody XXXIV (Stanzas 312–20) 312. I ride to the nearest estate, And when I arrive, I am met By my stepmother, who, being so My stepmother was by Anxious that I consider my choices, my side. Wants to be upbeat and excited. Fussing over her flustered bride, She babbles on about future joys With sincerity in her voice. 313. But I’m impervious to the guff That would see me playing blind man’s bluff! They and their schemes and false promises! Do they really think that the answers Are awaiting me at the altar, Making vows to obey a monster! I’m sure he’s all pleased with himself, But I should really call it off. 314. Afflicted by anxiety, Feeling frayed of mind and body, Swirling in a faintness of grief On the road I fall ill. And a weakening of resolve, I’m at a loss about what to do. Yes, I should; but do I want to?! My stepmother asks She senses that something is amiss; what ails me. “Sure isn’t she marrying by choice?” 315. A burden shared is all about truth: But I should really spare us both! Well if truth’s a bitter pill, Let her be prepared for every ill Deed. Didn’t good people swear blind That my beloved is a diseased

I confide in her.

32 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA Maniac, who gave his wife poison? And here I am: the next in line! 316. Like a secret that’s been bottled Up, my tale sounds like the addled Speech of an inebriated soul. She listens as I cry and wail; But at some point she gets fed up She speaks to me. With such ravings: “What codswallop! You cannot trust that wretched lot; Sure malice is their stock and trade. 317. Not everyone is interested In seeing you happily married. Those who’ve spewed tripe into your ears Resent that you are free to choose. So it’s time to put all such doubts Aside, and pay heed to my words. I love you with a mother’s heart: You’re his bride, and he: your consort. 318. They’ll answer for all their poisons, Which have you dancing the dance Of a fool who is their entertainment. Oh, they say that they are concerned For your future; and then spout lies. But what’s staring you in the face Is that what you see is what you get: And what you see’s a gleaming knight! 319. Who would have thought that in houses Peopled by lords and ladies, Malice’d be the order of the day?! I’d say, know them by what they do! And keep them at arm’s length. Just nod and look interested. When they offer a poisoned cup, Just look like you’re taking a sip.

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 33 320. It’s all in the palms of your hands, Let no one tell you otherwise. You spent your youth in a cloister, Now see the world as your oyster. This is the trail to a treasure That promises a glowing future. So please embrace these new roles, And enjoy your share of the spoils.”

We Are All of One Mind Threnody XXXV (Stanzas 321–27) 321. With such impassioned persuasions Did she rid me of all foolishness: And to her arguments she’d add: “Oh, yes, all smiles should be wide, Even if there is the question Of our young man asking his cousin. No argument’s been better made: Rome is sure to give you the nod!” 322. And with the bit between her teeth, She pens a letter to the poor lad, Who’s at a loss to know the why Of it all. “Both of you, left high And dry, could silence all the gossip If you simply kissed and made up! Yours, a match unique to our age, Has now a chance to turn the page!” 323. She then gives me a talking to, So saying: “You think that you know That truth’s a poke in both eyes: Sure it was all smoke and mirrors. Sometimes you need to be two steps Ahead; weren’t those fiendish gossips

She rids me of melancholy.

She lets Oleśnicki know where we are.

She encourages me to wed in secret.

34 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA Planning to cry foul at the banns! Elope, you must! As soon as you can! 324. There’ll never be a better time, With men having been called to arms. Think of it as a fait accompli, There can be no A wedding with no invitee. hesitation, even though Pay no regard to the fact that it is Advent. It’s Advent. True, customs dictate That spring is when couples should wed: But why waste a propitious date? 325. Warsaw is certainly our best bet. It’s where we’ll find attitudes That are less prim and prudish, Some would even say slower to judge. So with some hope for happiness, Let fortune for once serve our cause. The sooner we take to the road; The sooner you’ll have a husband.” 326. I’ll allow that these were wise words, With us slinking along dark roads, Cloaked and stumbling in the mud. She suggests we take the Intentions merge, there’s an accord Warsaw road. Without saying so much as a word; With us sharing both thought and deed. She is all chatty and cheery; I mutter some rambling prayer. 327. We are mindful to keep my young Man informed of our every plan; Some of the things that we’ve hatched Would never be suspected of our sex. He had to make his way Indeed, my own doe-eyed boy back to Warsaw. Would be amazed at our ingénue; And like us, he’s no wish to wait . . .  Others would tell him to be patient.

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 35

My Lad Braves the Elements for His Love Threnody XXXVI (Stanzas 328–35) 328. Matters are falling into place, As we toast the pope’s common sense. Our petition has been heard: As if they would ever have dared To refuse! Let the local priests Read it as slowly as needs Be—we shall brook no refusal!— And direct their gaze to the seal. 329. O deluging Fortune! So heartless! Always itching to drown the guiltless! With darkening clouds you send rivers Surging over banks and levees. Rulers build walls with the benefit Of foresight; having read depraved Advice. But as for the rest of us, Fortune’s a river we must cross. 330. My lad’s all bustling and business; For having collected the papers, He descends the escarpment, Which takes him to the embankment. The crossing is straightforward enough, But currents will have the last laugh. With turmoil in the firmament, He feels his heart turn icy wet. 331. Has it ever been otherwise? Fear and Love as fencing companions, Leaping nimbly forward, stepping back, Engaged in duels of nip and tuck. Fear and Love yearn always for more, But doesn’t Doubt even the score?

The papers are drawn up in Warsaw.

Fortune looks crossways at an ill-considered crossing.

They almost fainted at the thought of his river crossing.

36 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA Love can only be victorious When it has had its day in church. 332. It was a tumbling night that would sink The heart of any sailor who’d think That crossings are a quixotic Deed; some would say a piece of cake. He crossed the Vistula in darkness, for I was in Looking to the lights on the far side, Praga. This was a good time to change his mind. O wanton depths of the Vistula, That you could be luring this fool! 333. Here before me, like a vision, Euphoria coursing through every vein; That he could’ve braved such elements, To be standing here, dripping wet, I cannot but show him courtesy. He’ll make his bow, I shall curtsy. Perhaps we should keenly embrace; But we can’t rest on our laurels.

He did not tarry for long, it was late.

334. Our talk is of a practical bent, Which means he’ll be crossing a second Time; to bring more of those papers For holding in church registers. He says that tomorrow O most implacable Neptune! Safeguard he will have to cross the Mariners who are foolhardy river once more. Enough to think they can release Damsels from bonds of circumstance. 335. My brave one, weary from exertion; Dropping, on the verge of exhaustion, Wonders if his leaky bucket Has any chance of staying afloat. He returns to Warsaw It’s a crossing he’ll face alone, alone. As no one else will risk their skin. Where he’d boasted of victories, The rafters point to the dark skies.

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 37

A River Crossing Becomes His Quest Threnody XXXVII (Stanzas 336–44) 336. Not without reason do chroniclers Have little to say on floods and swells. That is until the levees break, For then Fortune stands in the dock As a warning to kings and tyrants About dispatching their enemies. Well, the better part of valor, I’d say, is to bolt-shut the door. 337. Sailors have heard every command From those who set out and then drowned. Speeches may do the trick in war, But for rafters they’re just hot air. Oh if love and the persuasions Of reason were contradictions Which refuse to be reconciled, Those smitten would remain beguiled!

The following day, he faces a worse crossing.

I can’t deny his passion.

338. The rafters may be tall spinners Of implausible anecdotes, But as the boat sails into the swell, He crosses the river, They know that his could be a tale facing great danger. That bears the hallmarks of legend; Where caution is thrown to the wind. He surveys the swelling prospect: Outpraying the roar through clenched teeth. 339. Love has undone many a suitor, Where rapture is followed by rupture. Paths that should lead to happiness Echo loudly with hapless sighs. But we cannot be at all surprised

38 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA That so many take up this quest: Cynics may be the great naysayers, But even they appreciate romance. 340. The Fates often have their favorites; And he must have melted their hearts. Love and passion can be beacons That light the way in the darkness, He made his way to us. And can sway those who would rather Not see courage venture further. Oh how relieved he must have been To see the signaling lantern! 341. Both he and the lantern-holders Greet one another like brothers. He’s been extremely fortunate, He asks to stay till the Of that there can be no doubt. next day. But let him no longer tempt fate, Lest he fall foul of the elements. There is much to be said for advice Given by those with expertise. 342. Aquilo, too, is furious At this insolent defiance Of his uncontestable wrath; A flood which sweeps all in its path. But all trials will have been for naught Once again, the waves are very high. If we find our plans frustrated. It seems that to marry on license, All oaths need signatures and seals. 343. What’s the point in life’s great effort, I could not be at home When the dispensations required as the dispensation was Have been delayed yet again? a complicated matter. We’re left with no other option But to pray for God’s intervention.

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 39 And then the Bishop of Poznań Declares that our wedding nuptials Can take place in his diocese.

The Officiate of Poznań, knowing that the dispensation was on its way, granted permission for the wedding to take place.

344. When bishops issue their decrees, Priests are only too happy to please Their higher powers. It’s a fine job He gives the letter to a When you’ve only to smile and nod. priest in his parish. And in keeping with this convention, They must sign what they’re told to sign. Having removed all hindrances, Now we must saddle our horses.

Finding A Church That Will Marry Us Threnody XXXVIII (Stanzas 345–53) 345. In the environs of the diocese, We make our way to the agreed church. The archdiocese of Poznań Shall conjoin cousin with cousin, Playing its part in a grubby Affair. But should I be rubbing My hands with glee? Should a wedding Be celebrating indignity?

I’m worried and concerned.

346. But she who is mother and maid Looks to nip all doubts in the bud: “No one will ever bat an eyelid. Sure hasn’t half the country eloped! My stepmother talks sense. Do you think I walked up the aisle A second time without knowing smiles, Sneers and snickering? Look! She wears Pure white! Is not something amiss?” 347. With such words, she eases my mind, Whereas he remains as determined

40 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA As ever to proceed with our plans— Possessed of a certain knowingness. He lodges our sealed marriage bond, Representing a love entwined: Despite the dangers we’ve courted, He won’t give them a second’s thought.

Oleśnicki.

348. But truth be told, he’s unsettled That his plans have been muddled. Oh yes, these letters clear the way, But he doesn’t want to be explaining Our business to a nosy sexton, Busying himself, jotting down Notes. But love is that joyous heart-leap That adds a pep to our next step. 349. So when we arrive in the village, We go to the parochial house, Where officials attend to us. Like a swarm of busy-bodies, They gather their information; Such as the concelebrant’s name. Then we hand over the letters: We never batted our eyelids! 350. These clerks are bemused and perplexed, Wondering what brought dignitaries To their little corner of the world . . .  “Perhaps this is not above board!” Mumbling something, they huff and haw, Suggesting that something’s awry. But as soon as they see the coins, They become all bustle and business. 351. Now life is a joyous spectacle. Having seen off every obstacle, The bond of friendship that we forge Shall become our bond of marriage.

We travelled to a village church; having written the titles, we hand them to the priest.

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 41 Bells ring out in joyous pealing, Accompanied by the playing Of rhapsodic music, which intones Veni creator spiritus. 352. Now married, in the afternoon We are invited to sit down To a hearty meal of simple fare; All of which was made elsewhere And brought as quick as cart wheels Turn. Our cheery priest is all smiles: He has worked up an appetite For bigos from yesterday’s meat.

The wedding.

The priest tucks in.

353. From the soup to the sweet treats, Everything is served on small plates, As they run about our table. Wine always makes up the shortfall, But pangs of hunger do matter When delight is this whirling clutter. A public wedding is planned for And why be the dissatisfied guest, Maciejowice. When you’re planning a second feast!

Life with My Favonius Threnody XXXIX (Stanzas 354–66) 354. All plaints that I’ve had occasion To hurl at heaven, I consign To the past; for an end to sorrow Means that tears of joy can flow. My own favorable Favonius Will dry eyes that have cried too much From the grimness of hopelessness. Oh that they may see new vistas!

42 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA 355. To those who do not know such bliss: Sharing with the world a happiness That’ll take you through life, hand in hand, Is the true path to contentment. With this joy so placed in our lap, A contented home. It’s right to repeat the proverb: “One body with two souls entwined.” And I shall add, “One heart, one mind.” 356. Bonded for life through “thick and thin,” Succor, comfort and consolation. Coping with the terror of not Knowing where it will all lead to. Where love is in both The mustering of the same mind, hearts. Fierce loyalties that fiercely bind; A shared purpose and an iron will, Plotting a course for the long haul. 357. A most delayed coming of age, This embarking on a new stage; The day we exchanged our vows Was the ending of all horrors. A lost girl became a woman: A first night with a proper man, Who is impossibly handsome, Knowing bodily joy for the first time.

His youthfulness.

358. With a kind word for young and old, He’ll always ask after their health. His reputation precedes him, No one could say a word about him. His fine qualities. His humanity is as plain As day, as is his refinement And gentility. Polite as you Please, with a twinkle in his eye.

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 43 359. He participates in all sittings Of the Sejm, giving short speeches, Proposing ideas, promoting causes. He presides over discussions, Has quiet words in certain ears; Prods, cajoles, and even flatters. He settles disputations . . . quietly; He celebrates life . . . modestly.

Always attending the local Sejm.

360. Virtuousness is his creed and choice; It is the only choice he chooses. He is also the embodiment Of a young-at-heart comportment. Anyone who knows him would say The same thing. Of this I have no Doubt. I too have paused more than once To admire his fine countenance. 361. But cruel Fortune asserts her right, A notion she’ll never retreat From, that she can take all my joys Fortune plays its games with me once more, And then rob me of all solace. allowing gossip to Oh she must be over the moon spread about that my When rumors fly from tongue to tongue, husband is having a That my husband has the life terrible time with me. Of men chained to an awful wife. 362. I do not know who’s spreading this False gossip, but their malicious Ways are for their consciences alone. And yet mud tends to stick when slung. It is good to know foe from friend: Not everyone believes the gossip. Those who smile and then plot your end. But newlyweds have a thick skin; Especially when they’re on cloud nine.

44 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA 363. But he’d certainly be a happier man If he weren’t so sick all the time. His spells of chronic ill-health Leave him bedridden and depressed. After several bouts of illness, he loses his He asks himself whether the life health entirely. He thought he was destined to live Would be as long as he had hoped. Was he deceived, or was he duped? 364. With a determined surge of strength, He’s on his feet, and confident That he will in fact walk this earth For the years we should be assigned. He’s anxious to count the blessings That Heaven will surely send us; No children, no heirs. But though he takes his wife to bed, It seems she cannot fall pregnant. 365. The family crests were crosses meshed, With roots knotted deep in the earth, And branches that entwined more branches; Holding the weight of generations. And yet the shadows that they’ve cast This late hour are aimless and lost, Despairing at their stunted growth; Like stumps with not a shoot in sight.

The family crests are now entwined.

366. And he is the last of his line. With me there’ll be no one coming After him. Oh his parents tried For more, but nature has the right Of refusal. Him being the apple The family line ends with him. Of their eye, they were both happy To have reared this wonderful man. . . . And yet, I can’t give him a son.

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 45

The Gathering Storms of War Threnody XL (Stanzas 367–78)

367. There is no need to stoke the fire, For the lands are a burning pyre, Where the licks of angered flames Have set estates and homes ablaze. He declares a willingness to join the There is no future to behold; army. Only horrors as they unfold Around us. Our world, our idyll, Is threatened by the infidel. 368. In this, an age of fear and chaos, The Turkish hordes charge their horses Across the trembling grasslands South of our homeland, marauding The Turkish war and treaties. And pillaging; replacing each cross With their blood-stained star and crescent. The horde, they take and they loot, They order everybody about. 369. Mothers fear the worst, the infirm Look puzzled; they would surely scream If they knew there was the prospect Of either being butchered or enslaved. They prepare for war. But where there’s courage there is hope, And the hetman has not given up. Today’s king. He cries vengeance for the blood spilt; For the crosses they have toppled. 370. I am fearful of closing my eyes, As my lad mulls over the course Of events. He’s made up his mind. Chosen his path. He must now find My husband prepares for war. His destiny with sword in hand. If I could, I’d have him chained To our bedpost, to keep him home; And not flirting with mortal harm.

46 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA 371. Steadfast, he saddles his horse, A steeliness guiding his choices. Granted the rank of lieutenant, They place banners in his hand: The banners of nobles who would Only ever lead with noble blood. But with lessers as his leaders, He must listen to their orders.

He is entrusted with the banners of the Sandomierz voivodship.

372. Suited in armor, sword in hand, He’ll stand where he’s told to stand. He’ll not be shirking duties, I can’t take the sword Or found wanting when Mars smolders. from his hand. O Venus, run for the far hills! We’ve no need for bewitching spells! But please concoct a potion When he’s safe, and the battle’s won. 373. Parents have this knowing instinct, And my lad’s father told him straight: That this was a battle best missed, Suggesting that he feign sickness. His father can’t persuade him to stay. A father stands in a doorway And beseeches his son to stay. Holding him in the tightest of clasps; He stutters advice through his sobs. 374. But a man is more than just a son When called to fight for his nation. What can a father do but kiss His son’s brow, and solemnly bless So he gives him his blessing. His parting for the unknowable; Insisting that the unthinkable Is unacceptable; that he must Live for more than just his bequest.

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 47 375. O Fortune, I marvel at your cheek! Laughing your head off when you wreak Havoc . . . laughing till your sides ache Whenever anyone falls sick. And how you must enjoy desperate Scenes, which for you are just theater. When men die in war and hearts break, That is all icing on your cake! 376. O Fortune, rest on your laurels! Has he not dodged metal and missiles? . . .  Charged from the front, done his bit, Standing on walls soon blown to bits, Got down on his two knees and prayed, Mounted steed and charged across a field; Picking out some chink in a line That stretches beyond the horizon.

To Fortune.

He reassumes his commission.

377. You clearly won’t be satisfied Until he’s lying face down in the mud. But why have him in your sights When he could be setting to rights He was the leader of a small contingent. Our ills, removed from all menace, Bearing the mantle of office. But for your games, you choose soldiers, Whose fates are but rolls of your dice. 378. I could petition, and entreat, But tears do not matter one bit When you have scores to settle. You care not that they are guiltless. It hardly matters, it’s the game Of allowing young men to go home, Or not! This is last man standing. O Lord, let him stand, let him stand!

48 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA

He Returns for Intimacy and Small Hope Threnody XLI (Stanzas 379–85) 379. Typical for the man that he is, He reports before everyone else. The camp, like a church on Tuesdays, Is empty. Some would say that this He found the camp almost empty, with Is a sign he should not have left! no hetmans and few Leaving his wife feeling bereft. soldiers. So now, consider what we have: Our two hearts conjoined by one love. 380. He gives no thought to what may lie In store for him, to live or die Are but two sides of the same coin In a time of war and famine. But sweet life, all that’s home and hearth, He returns for a short time to me. Should make it easier to regard Such moments shared as being unique, In a time of ill-will and pique. 381. But this moment of happy intimacy Does not sway Fortune’s malevolence, Who would make toasts and speeches If his corpse lay buried in sludge. Well lo and behold, she’s at it Again, toying with calamity! He almost drowns on a A river wave almost swallowed my lad; mission. But he never batted an eyelid. 382. Life in the camp has its humdrum Routine, but to keep our men from Thinking too much, we write letters That’ll have them thinking about us. I inform him about a debt owed That I’d had no hope of being paid.

I let him know about a court case which involved the payment of money owed to me.

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 49 But out of the blue, a judgment States they owe both sum and interest. 383. That is a turn-up for the books! There am I, convinced that the decks Are always stacked against me. But One twist of fate has changed all that. Now I’m paddling in a boat That’s no longer a leaky bucket. How I feel a tidal surge of health, Pondering this unexpected wealth. 384. And now Venus has sent her boat To fetch him back to where I wait, Oars dipping through stilly waters; O stilly waters, once bitter, Now a delight to the palate. I have sweetened them. O Cupid, How we enfold him in our flight; Primed for flight into the delight. 385. He makes it back home; just on time, As I am in great need of him. We need to travel to Kraków So as to collect what they owe. We both travel to Kraków to collect the O Fate, you can be our companion money owed to me. And relish my indignation As I count the coins. This windfall Is a sum so small, it’s pitiful!

I Reluctantly Sing of Victory over the Viperous Hordes Threnody XLII (Stanzas 386–97) 386. I can accept blow after blow, As home always softens the blow.

50 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA Oh, to know that there’s a light ahead, The prospect of a cozy bed; But its walls cannot hold my lad; And I cannot lock out the bad. Uneasy about the lands of his birth, He sheathes sword, mounts horse, and rides forth.

He returns to camp, having won a dispute and entailed Szczekarzowice on me.

387. On reporting to the encampment, The hetman gives him a mounted Party, tasked with reconnoitering He and the cavalry The town of Bar. With good reason. march on Bar, which This town, fearful of being slaughtered, had surrendered. Had opened gates, staged a parade, Rolled out red carpets, bowed heads, And shoved children under their beds. 388. Orders in war are sacrosanct, And they can never be questioned. The hetman tells them to dig ditches, They order him back to And they respond by digging trenches. the army. This is toil with one sole purpose: To demonstrate a sense of purpose. The hetman will inspect the trench, And say that they’ve dug a small ditch. 389. The Lord paves the way for glory When our army scatters the foe; Banishing them from their slinky burrows. Let them slink into the shadows! In these trenches our boys fought For life and limb with all their might. And now our Polish lads fling their Slain enemies into the Dniester. 390. Oh to look upon the throngs of men, As they paint banners and hoist them. Our hussars triumphantly bathe Themselves in pools of spilt blood.

Victory at Khotyn.

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 51 The more modest, plain infantrymen, Celebrate the day by relieving Prisoners of their heads. Pasha’s Lot has been scattered to the winds. 391. Let fame follow! It’s only right That those who bravely stand and fight, Live and die, on this splattered field, Should be a story that is retold. A gauntlet has been laid down for poets, Who must now do this deed justice. Let them choose the right strain and lilt, And praise our heroes to the hilt!

He who died.

392. A day of triumph and bitter grief: Starost Rzeczycki lost his life! He had found himself isolated And was encircled by that lot. It was an end worthy of telling, But heroic tales are not mine; Chroniclers will write their tales, Placing the fallen on pedestals. 393. My quill will admonish me soon, If I dwell on war for too long. Verses that treat a woman’s life Ought to look askance at strife. Triumphant in the And in any case, the victors Turkish tents. Praised the Lord for their victory; And they also made those who had Blasphemed sing His name out loud. 394. But know that I’ll re-find the source Of my inspiration, for Fortune’s Games sent him my heart to wield Our hearts’ bond, now his stalwart shield: A husband protected by his crest, An angel with a cross crest. A soldier who does his fighting best,

52 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA A son chasing a retreating horde . . .  Risking more than I would have liked. 395. He sees the vagrants from afar, Slinking and looking for cover In some gully with a steep incline; He thinks he can take them all on, He is thrown from the saddle. And looks to charge over the edge. But his horse has second thoughts! Sent flying, the hunter, now hunted, Is almost killed by pagan hand. 396. He is wounded as he scrambles Back to high ground, parrying jabs, But how can idolatrous blades He receives a minor cut Do other than scratch or graze from a Turkish sword. When made in idolatrous forges? The Christian sword will do its worst, Besting theirs, delivering the sting. Let them away on broken wing! 397. I could say more about this feat, Yet praising war would just defeat The purpose, which is to pour my heart Out. So I’ll leave war to some poet Who needs the financial rewards Accruing from the flattery of lords, Who, truth be told, could only talk . . .  Never having been in Wallachia.

My Lad Strays and the World and His Wife Come to Know about It Threnody XLIII (Stanzas 398–402) 398. The hetmans review the terrain And decide to scurry on home,

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 53 Leaving the Regimentarz in charge, Whose blood’s still up from battle rage. They set about dispatching pockets Of resistance. Led by Sieniawski, Who has the bit between his teeth, They’re a force to be reckoned with.

The army stays in Wallachia for the winter; the old men do not.

399. He kept the company in high spirits And let the lads off their leash. Who could blame them? They’d had their brush With death, and what else could they wish My husband remains. For but to forget, drink and look; And the local girls were exotic; And though irresistible to others . . .  He was only following orders. 400. So what if he sullied his oath? Aren’t the bonds of marriage just that? Don’t young men have to sow their oats, And their young wives grin and bear it. It was an occasion for people to disparage our His trysts became the stuff of lore. marriage. Having pitched his tent in Rumania, He did what anyone would do; Asking harlots to form a queue. 401. I’m here with my head in my hands, They speak about candles at both ends; Sleeping badly; eating the wrong food, Breathing bad air. The loss of mind! He has set every tongue wagging, And paid the price for shagging Strangers. He’s picked up every pitchFoulness possible from human touch. 402. Having decamped, he rushes home, Out-galloping the weary column. Not only is he feeling homesick; Apparently, he’s been heartsick.

He returned.

54 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA The shames of Wallachia fade, And waywardness must be weighed Against men’s state of mind; being so Far from home’s true comforts and joys.

My Lad Is Now a Man of State Threnody XLIV (Stanzas 403–6) 403. He’s only had a few days to rest, And now he tells me that he must Attend a victory commemoration For the famed Battle of Khotyn, Where he is to read an account In the chamber of the parliament: An occasion festooned and decked out With the standards of great lineages.

He journeys to Opatów for the Sejm.

404. They take this occasion to convey Upon him all that they can give away: Accompanied by great speeches He is a representative at And applause for his courage. the convocation. But he knows that honors come with . . . Conditions! Flattery’s followed By chorus-calls for their man to lead Men once again into the field. 405. Yet again, the man who would be great Is asked to step up to the plate— With his king otherwise engaged, Having inconveniently died— King Michał dies during the Khotyn campaign. Crushing Pasha’s forces to pulp, Who retreat like dogs that whelp, With their tails between their legs. May they release the hunting dogs!

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 55 406. Having bravely defended Lwów, He’s now given administrative Duties that would bring normality To civic life; and a civility. Lwów is redeemed from the Turks. Just to think that now the jewel Of the realm enjoys civic rule. But the shame! Where votes are needed, Favors and debts are horse traded.

My Protector Is Elevated from Hetman to King Threnody XLV (Stanzas 407–10) 407. An election has taken place, Where the love of all that is Good and true is placed on the throne: The election of today’s Elevated from hetman to king. king. I have taken more than one moment To sing his praises in this account. What more could be said about him? We all must be told about him. 408. Such was his fine reputation, That the outcome was a foregone Conclusion. Sure there is no need To look for another candidate Lithuania said no, and Beyond our borders. Oh chancers then they said yes. Can plot and bribe with their coins! But it is the measure of the man That they withdrew their objection. 409. As jubilant people thronged the squares, The joy was instantaneous. Soldiers gleamed in their regalia; My husband Members of the Sejm wore ceremonial represents the army. Dress, and looked as pleased as punch When the king gave a rousing speech.

56 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA It was clear to all and sundry: He was the hope of our country! 410. Fortune rubs her hands with glee; Thrilled with all the unbridled joy. When man has his day in the sun, Greater the joy when it’s undone! They heap praise upon my husband, Fortune knows all that lies in store; and shower him with A lottery with prizes galore. honors. Just look at the prize given me! A family that will never be.

Our New King Takes My Lad Away to War . . . Again Threnody XLVI (Stanzas 411–17) 411. But the king has no wish to wear The crown until the borders are Made safe from the pagan horde; Which means painting fields with their blood, And being vigilant thereafter. He calls on all men to gather Their strength, think of their families; And resist the Turkish advance! 412. He hardly needs to make a speech, Sure they’d all step into the breach. Oh, there’ll be those with their qualms— But I wouldn’t be one to name names! Our Lord will guide the steely heart; And action brings its own reward. For some venerate the god Mars: Others caress the bust of Venus. 413. The king has his finger on the pulse Of the moment, with words that please All and sundry. Death is poetry,

The king makes preparations for war.

Men of standing must choose their course of action.

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 57 But war and truth are the other. A man’s heart never beats louder Than when fighting as a soldier. The speech has them beating their chest; Convinced that war’s a courtly joust. 414. I could say more, but should I? Who would be seen as a busybody? —Shouldn’t we mind our own business, And let others get on with theirs!— My husband prepares But grim Fate, ever the schemer, for war. Who could put court counsels to shame, Lights the fires of war in his heart, And he couldn’t wait to wield his sword. 415. And as he sets off to his war, I am left standing in the doorway, Knowing he’ll be gone any minute, And I’ll be left to contemplate All the terrible things that may Happen to him when he’s away. In Lublin he receives the He rides off with sword and a cross, blessing of the Wooden Which he’ll ask a holy man to bless.

Cross.

416. He’s determined to do his best, The standards are To be pliant, and fight when he must; brought back into As coats of arms dance in the breeze, service. He mingles with his inferiors. The hetman singles him out for Sentry training, a mundane chore. He makes the best of the task, But the orders come thick and fast. 417. He’s been lumped with a rag-tag bunch Of so-called soldiers who couldn’t plunge A sharpened sword into a scarecrow. But now with no women in tow, He is listening to the advice

He must whip soldiers under him into shape.

58 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA That he gives to everyone else: A candle that’s burning at both ends Has only half the life it should.

My Lad’s Father Falls Ill Threnody XLVII (Stanzas 418–24) 418. Indeed, platitudes have their place, But it’s like making sense of dice. Is our time of death an outcome The predestination of That has been somehow set in stone? death. Who’s to know? Our moment of death Could be at home in a warm bed, And not in the tumult of war; Where one cut means that we’re no more. 419. Oh yes, death is inevitable, And yes, it’s unavoidable. And being this, the age of gloom, One weighed down by a sense of doom, My lad hears that his father’s health Someone arrives at the camp to tell him that Has left him not long for this world, his father is gravely ill. And praying that he may see his son. The king senses this; and bids it done. 420. But the king has a job persuading Him to leave the post he’s guarding. The king orders him to “Death is a duty which we all must return home. Attend to. Have no fear, your post, When you get back, will still be here. But now your duties lie elsewhere. Death and burial are a solemn matter, So pay respects to your father!” 421. And so, having been told what to do, He returns from out of the blue.

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 59 I have to admit, I was flustered; And wouldn’t have minded being told. I would have propped his father’s head Up on the pillow, and fixed the bed. But with the sick it’s all hands on deck, Leaving no time at all to hen peck.

He arrives home, not finding me in Szczekarzowice.

422. But having come home to an ailing Father, he also begins complaining: One moment he is standing straight, The day after, he falls ill And a moment later crawling into bed. in his home. Having turned ashen, his face pasty; I wondered if he’d caught a nasty Disease in his military camp. That would certainly leave him limp. 423. But he’s much to prove to his wife, And it seems a great deal to himself. If he could just get out of bed, He wants to journey to He would saddle a horse and ride me in Maciejowice. The distance which would take him home To a wife who is waiting for him. I’m sure he’ll have a great excuse; For going first to his father’s house! 424. When the sands of our time run out, Man cannot hope for more of it. Oh, that is when an extra day Feels like the gift of eternity: Loved ones are never loved more, And we put our affairs in order. So before we pass from all we know, There shouldn’t be a family row!

60 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA

My Favonius Falls Deathly Ill Threnody XLVIII (Stanza 425–40) 425. I am stalked by a vile enemy, Who only wants the end of me, Calling for judgment to be passed. The sentence: to be endlessly sad, My heart is heavy with unhappiness. With a heart that can only be vexed, Knowing too well what’s coming next. And now my lad could soon be dead— All he wants is me by his side. 426. When I hear the ominous news, I scream and run about the place. I refuse to accept what’s being said, But it has this ring of truth. And now I must pack everything I hurried to be by his side. I can think of: every medicine Or herb that may work some magic. And then I’ll race to beat the dark! 427. How unbridled joy can change to grief: This has been the lesson of my life. I’ll let an unsuspecting world know That this can happen to them too. One day you’re the cock of the walk, And then, like the turning of a lock, Body and soul, mind and essence, Find themselves removed from the dance. 428. Oh to be thinking on his death! A fine man, lying stricken in bed! What I wouldn’t have concocted from Herbs to take his illness from him. I summon doctors. His body remained a furnace That was burning with one purpose:

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 61 To leave him so wretched and spent, That he’d almost welcome his end. 429. And so I make this tearful appeal, And I’ll chant if it helps at all. May the good Lord and all the saints Heed my prayer in this hour of need. But you shouldn’t need me to convince You that he deserves a second chance. You’re entitled to turn a deaf ear; But this is a prayer you should hear. 430. It’s all so much more desperate When I see him doing his best To bravely smile through his pain, He must have known Saying soon he’ll be as right as rain. that he was going to die. I can see in his eyes this clarity, This knowing, that there’ll be no happy Ending for either him or me. He’ll wait To say goodbye until it’s too late. 431. He has deteriorated beyond Hope, and I am at my wits’ end. But perhaps a father’s salty tears Can move the Lord to pity us. I would have him brought to our home, I speak to his father. And I beg and plead for help from Anyone I can think of. But no one Cares! So God, please do what you can! 432. How time stops, when a father sees His boy at death’s door. “Who is this?” He asks, not able to grasp the truth. He grasps his legs, he holds each foot; He doesn’t recognize his father. He kisses his hands, gives them a rub: On recognizing his He tries to cry, but can only sob. father, he kisses him. He begs his child to open his eyes; But then asks him to rest easy.

62 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA 433. How to entertain the prospect Of my husband being truly dead. Was this reward for a life guided By piety? I’m beyond horrified! A father gapes at his stricken son, Fighting a fight he cannot win; Rallying for fleeting moments, Slipping under to gurgling sounds. 434. The old man is inconsolable, His son’s illness unexplainable: “Whatever I’ve done, right or wrong, Let my life pass before my son. Put me, before him, in the coffin; And I shall speak for him in heaven. Once I’ve told them all my stories, They’ll say he should stay where he is.”

His father is in a lamentable state.

Lamentation.

435. The pillar of all our prospects Is half-dead in the bed. What next! Fate! You’ve outdone yourself this time! Haven’t you chosen the wrong victim? With the mainstay of our household Gone, how will our hearth glow, walls hold? How can I drink from this bitter cup, When the wine drains my being of hope?! 436. Appalled and aghast, in the end, I should give her a piece of my mind: “Without any effort on your part You could spare me a broken heart; Which is like a cup that’s been smashed. I could barely speak. So take all joys if you insist, But leave him in peace. Leave him be! I’ll settle all debts. Just let me!”

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 63 437. Fortune deserves no respect For wanting to leave me wretched: Blind as a bat, deaf as a post! If I could, I’d give her a taste Of her own medicine. She may whoop When someone even dares to hope, But she’s not a leg to stand on: She’s just a jester with no king! 438. So whoever comes to my aid Shall be forever in my debt. O hard Death! You just pick and choose; For you to win, someone must lose. So if you deliver this blow, Have the grace to destroy me too. Cometh his hour, cometh my time, I shall see my end beside him. 439. It’s almost better that I don’t go in To see him, because I’ll break down Just looking at this poor creature, My visible grief upsets Who was not long before the hare him. In a race with tortoises who’d no plan Other than to let the big fellow win. He screams when he looks at me, Seeing a mirror of his own fear. 440. Eloquence lost! Stricken in bed! His stares leave reams of speeches unsaid: Aren’t you overegging this grief? Shouldn’t women be of sterner stuff: He asks his father to Delighted to be making broth, forgive me for not And thrilled with collecting the pot? having tended upon “O father, forgive her; you must! him with due care. Although it’s sad to be so nursed!”

64 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA

My Favonius Leaves This Life, to My Unending Grief Threnody XLIX (Stanzas 441–49) 441. We all thought he was on the mend, But sometimes the end is the end. You can hold out hope against hope, But such is the power of hope. He rallied before his death. A hard truth stares you in the face: You can tell yourself it will pass, But it’s just another situation Where it is all self-delusion. 442. And as soon as he became ill, His strength left him, and he just fell To pieces. With nightfall, he became A cradle of sweat. He would blame Slipping away, he kisses Himself, and babble some nonsense; my hand. And then he fell into silence. All I could do was wipe his brow: All he could do was gape at me. 443. The horror and dread is beyond My ability to cope. No sound Person could bear to be a witness I enter the room in To the sight of his convulsions. floods of tears. Oh how Fortune must have celebrated, At this, my bitterest defeat. I could have nursed him to health, But she’d made it too difficult! 444. The priest solemnly delivers The last rites, but his soul, ever Resolute, plays a waiting game. The priest, on seeing It may just be a false alarm! him slipping away, And just like his father, my lad’s delivers the last rites. Soul cannot reconcile the facts.

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 65 He is the epitome of youth; And yet there he lies, almost dead! 445. But Death doles out allotted times, And it doesn’t like latecomers. We must know that there is an hour Beyond which we will not be here. A husband can mourn his dying wife; A mother beg for her son’s life. They can swear by leeches or tonic; Death’s seen every trick in the book. 446. Like a wet rag that’s been squeezed dry, He’s limp, whereas we can no longer cry. This awful vigil is exhausting To mind and body, and just when We couldn’t take one more moment, A violent lurch signals his end. He died an hour after I’d left his side. It had been an endless night; He would pass as dawn cast its light. 447. They all see my consternation, And are happy to leave me alone. Sure seeing as she is to blame, Shouldn’t she stay out of the room! They can barely hide their disdain, But agree to fetch me back, when . . . I’m at sixes and sevens waiting, All the while my heart is breaking. 448. I hear shrieks from those who stand By the bed of my stricken lad. His father faints and is picked up Off the ground. But I’ll not drink their cup Of brine. I can read them like books! A cow herd with cold-comfort looks! I’ll scream and cry if I see fit: My grief is not for their benefit!

My poor heart.

A scream fills the house, and this is how I know that he passed.

66 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA 449. The ground under foot swallows Me whole. The sky above me howls! Flaying and screaming gobbledygook; I slap my head to stop the ache. My tongue and my hands lost their use. My feet can’t walk; my hands can’t hold; And yet the heart needs to be held. Making out shadows through the haze, I can do nothing but close my eyes.

I Receive No Sympathy . . . Only Scorn Threnody L (Stanzas 450–56) 450. It is like being hit on the head With a stone, leaving me half-dead. My stomach is heaving, my mind gone, Lost to a world that’s left to spin. They gather around this crumpled wreck, And suggest prodding me with a stick. True, they express some mild concern, Asking me if I’ve drunk too much wine.

I fainted, and remained in the blackness.

451. My eyes and mind had locked the room, Where imaginings were a dim gloom. But if I’d not woken up on time, I’m sure they would have sold my home. My lad’s fate has changed everything: What was his, is what I shall own. They told me I had blacked out; And that it was to be expected. 452. He who is reeling from this bitter Blow offers no comfort or pity. In fact, if these hard looks could kill, His father has things to I’d also be feeling deathly ill. say, but I give as good But does he think that I shall wilt as I get. And start saying it was all my fault:

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 67 “Oh if he’d found a better wife, He would still be living his life!” 453. The old man responds to my outburst With: “We can now see who came first His father worries In your marriage! Spitting in his for me. Face, and celebrating disgrace! We all need to be strong for one Another, and not be bickering. He’s looking down on us all now; Think about what he’d say to you!” 454. I am prepared to leave things lie, But it seems he’s upset when I cry; He can’t abide a sobbing widow. I demand of his father He’ll just tut; or tap the window, that he apologizes for Signaling that it’s time for me to stop. his hurtful talk. Well, I’m entitled to wail and sob In my home! Yes, the house is mine; And this fact explains his dark mien. 455. He resents me. I hate his guts. When I see him, I throw objects. I’m trying to fight back the tears, But it’s not easy when he swears. Bitterness on both sides. Who can blame him; he’s lost his son; He blames me, he thinks I’ve won. This widow has stolen his home . . .  And that’s the shadow in the room. 456. Only silence reigns in this house; We have both said our piece; too much In fact, and now we are both broken, Knowing that too much has been spoken. His father departs. He feels there’s naught to be gained In staying. I’m in agreement. He mounts his horse and bids farewell, I think “good riddance,” but wish him well.

68 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA

I Bury My Husband in Accordance with His Wishes Threnody LI (Stanzas 457–61) 457. It’s time to put affairs in order, But his father screams blue murder. How is this respect for the dead When he’s hounding me instead?! And as for my fellow mourners, They clearly held us in great store: “Though he was the finest of husbands; Widowhood has its benefits.”

All sorts of unpleasantness.

458. I can’t keep my sadness in check, Tears keep streaming down my cheek. I’d almost be happy to just sob, But I’m dealing with a crazed mob Who’d threaten me with all means, fair They threaten to take me to court, to lay siege And foul. It’s true: Hell hath no fury to my home. His father Like a litigious nobody has the bit between his Who has just lost his property.

teeth.

459. The court says “no,” and now he’s stuck; So his son does his dirty work; More of a Cain to my lad’s Abel, He was a great deal less able In war; preferring to pillage, His father sends his son-in-law to take Especially when it was a village. back Szczekarzowice. But this wolf can shout “huff and puff ”! His father was angry I will be happy to call his bluff. 460. There’s even more disappointment For them, as I am determined To ensure that he is interred In a chapel we had adorned. O Tarłów! Hadn’t we so wished That here our lineage would rest?

that I did not bury my husband in the Church of the Holy Cross.

Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode 69 Sure would he want his coffin kept In his crowded family crypt? 461. What else can I expect from them? . . .  They with their unyielding term! Despite his wishes, they still urge Me to bury him in their church: “His loved ones would turn in their grave At the insult. We won’t forgive This! Mark our words!” Mark them I did; And then did as my lad had bid.

Seeing his father’s will weaken, I bury my husband in Tarłów.

I Find No Consolation for My Situation Threnody LII (Stanzas 462–65) 462. If I had a grip on reality, I would know where I am today. Here I send my lad to the Lord, Though I am the one being buried. I was in a terrible state How to describe it, this heartfelt during the funeral. Sense of loss, which festers like guilt. Grief is etched on every face; Comforts only make us feel worse. 463. It’s our shared fate, that awful end, As I behold my lifeless husband. Yes, wives die too, but if only It ended there. The ceremony Lamentation is our lot. Of death is for the lot of us! The infirm; babies, boys and girls. We bury them all! Funerals Will never go out of fashion. 464. Animals know well of life’s depths: Don’t birds cry foul for fallen nests!

70 ANNA STANISŁAWSKA Being so alive, we can’t sense death; But when it looms, we see our end. As when lover loses lover, The ache will remain forever; And there is no consolation That’ll be a comfort to anyone.

My home is broken, there is only grief.

465. I thought my days of orphanhood Were behind me, but I’ve been duped! And now I’m left with the title Of this work; to think on how little It means. Well the world and his wife Should know: I’ve had an awful life; A state of widowhood. Beaten down by a divine hand Whom we all believe to be kind.

Commentary The Old Man and His Malevolence Threnody XXIX (Stanzas 274–75) Stanisławska fulfils her obligations with respect of the judgment and is provisionally (there will be more hurdles ahead) free of her marital bonds. However, the Warszyckis make one more appeal to Rome, which means that Stanisławska must remain in the convent. When this appeal is rejected, the Warszyckis lift their siege of the convent and return home. By rights, Stanisławska should be elated by this favorable turn of events, but she is emotionally exhausted, and feels, perhaps unjustifiably, that her supporters have slunk away so as to distance themselves from the scandal associated with her. However, she enjoys an independent status that equates with widowhood,1 and she has now the freedom and agency to choose a husband for herself. And yet, she spurns the advances of a handsome and dashing suitor, Jan Oleśnicki, who has ostentatiously declared his ardor. St. 274. “The papers . . . the entertainment.” Stanisławska’s status as maid and divorcée made her an easy target for lampooning by her contemporaries, with the peculiarity of her situation mercilessly satirized by poet Jan Andrzej Morsztyn (1621–1693), who encapsulated the social position she now occupied; being simultaneously a maid, an unmarried wife and a widow; with her husband very much in the land of the living: “Pannam, bo męża nie mam, alem przecię żona, / Bo żyje ten, któremum była poślubiona; / Wdowam, bo męża tracę, a to już ku wierze / Trudna, żem wdowa, bo mi śmierć męża nie bierze” (A maid as I’ve no husband, a wife / As he whom I married is alive; / A widow as I’ve lost a husband, it defies belief / Could I be she when death hasn’t taken him from me).2 Unsurprisingly, Stanisławska has every expectation that she will be an object of ridicule at the upcoming coronation of Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki but is determined to attend all the same, knowing that she will have to brave the invectives and insults that are sure to be hurled at her by the Warszyckis, who will also be present. St. 275. “. . . as does King Michał . . . settling scores.” The fact that the newly elected king had to make such a direct intervention indicates the extent to which the fallout from the divorce, exacerbated by alliances, loyalties and enmities, could have led to conflict among the nobility—a nobility that rarely wielded swords against itself. 1. See Maria Bogucka, Staropolskie obyczaje w XVI—XVII wieku (Old Polish Customs of the 16th and 17th Centuries; Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1994), 64. 2. Cited in Kotowa, “Anna Stanisławska,” 271–72.

71

72 Commentary St. 275 (gloss). “Master Krakowski.” Stanisław Warszycki, the father of Aesop, is mostly referred to as “the old man” in the poem proper. In the margin notes, Stanisławska refers to him as “Master Krakowski,” which alludes to his link with Kraków.

The Heart Awakens and Hope Stirs Threnody XXX (Stanzas 276–83) Oleśnicki proves to be a dogged suitor, who resorts to both serenading and the writing of love letters.3 Stanisławska, despite brushing him off, hopes, if not expects, that he will plead his case to her once again. That she is confident of his further pursuit, and is actively considering a married future with this dashing cavalier, is indicated here by her declared admiration of Oleśnicki’s lineage, which takes into account the family’s traditions, achievements in war and peace, and ownership of vast tracts of land. Oleśnicki, in turn, increasingly desperate, travels to Ukraine, where Sobieski is encamped, so as to ask the hetman to persuade Stanisławska, Sobieski’s charge, of the felicity of such a match. St. 276. “That the good Lord . . . a faithful wife!” Unlike what we may see with classical and Renaissance models, the traits and characteristics of a faithful wife are not enumerated here. Stanisławska never describes or sees herself in that fashion. Indeed, the implication at the end of this episode is that she had not been the attendant wife that Oleśnicki had expected she would be. In fact, domestic chores, or even considerations, are absent from the narrative entirely. St. 278. “In Jaworów . . .” A market town in the Ukraine situated thirty kilometers west of the city of Lwów. With sylvan surroundings that were ideal for hunting, Jaworów was favored by Sobieski as a place of residence. St. 278. “She’s free to marry . . . the lady a nudge.” Stanisławska is careful not to be too easily wooed; and an analogous hesitancy is to be found in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, where Juliet so declares: “I’ll frown and be perverse and say thee nay, / so thou wilt woo” (Act II, Scene 2, 96–97). There is a performative theatricality to Oleśnicki’s courting, which also has its parallel in the Ovidian elucidations of Petrarch’s Triumphs (1351–1374), where Love renders the afflicted miserable and confused. Oleśnicki’s declarations also possess a practical bent: he does not describe the beauty which he beholds in Anna; only a compunction to win her hand. Much like “la donna di palazzo” of Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier (1528), as the object of Oleśnicki’s gaze, Stanisławska is instrumental in motivating him to carry out noble or heroic deeds so as to gain her favor. 3. See Kuchowicz, Obyczaje staropolskie, 256–58.

Commentary 73 St. 282. “He hails from . . . family and home.” Oleśnicki is very much the epitome of the chivalrous individual as described by the Renaissance Polish writer, Łukasz Górnicki, who in Dworzanin polski (The Book of the Polish Courtier, 1558), a rifacciamento of Castiglione’s Courtier, contends that a nobleman should possess an easy nonchalance arising from the circumstance of having hailed from a good family, with inheritance secured, and the prospect of glory to come. The Old Man Is Put in His Place and They Conspire to See Me Married Threnody XXXI (Stanzas 284–96) Warszycki the elder used a priest in “The Aesop Episode” (the first part of Orphan Girl) as an emissary in order to discern the lie of the land with respect of Stanisławska’s intended course of action. In this instance, Warszycki asks the same of an unnamed nobleman of lower rank, one whom he is advancing in political life. As hapless a figure as the priest had been, the deputy proves no match for Stanisławska; and ultimately fails in his tasked role as reconnoiterer and gossip collector. To add injury to insult, he ends up being beaten by Warszycki in public for his troubles. However, Warszycki must answer for this outrage, for even as a magnate he is not free to inflict injury on the person of an elected member of the Diet. With Aesop’s father determined to exact maximum satisfaction as compensation for all injuries to his pride, Anna’s protectors are forced to intervene and demand that he desist. They also come to the conclusion that marriage would bring to an end Anna’s dealings with the Warszyckis. St. 284. “The great and the good . . . great injustice.” On September 29, 1669 in Kraków, Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki was crowned King of the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth. The ceremony took place in the Royal Cathedral on Wawel Hill, and was presided over by Jan Sobieski, hetman and future king of Poland. There is no mention in the chronicles of Warszycki causing the kind of ructions that Stanisławska describes here. Perhaps there were so many instances of errant behavior on the part of magnates that anything untoward barely registered with the attendees. St. 285. “. . . my father’s good name.” Even though there had been a conclusiveness to the judgment, it seems that a final “final” judgment was issued. Fortuitously, the paper that is delivered to Stanisławska confirms the annulment, and it is stated in the clearest terms that her father’s decision to force his daughter to marry against her will is the justification for the ruling. St. 286. “. . . the serene princess . . . this helpless wretch.” The mother of the king, Princess Gryzelda Konstancja Wiśniowiecka (1623–1672), the widow of the prince, Jeremi Wiśniowiecki (1612–1651), makes a direct intervention and writes

74 Commentary to Warszycki telling him that he must desist from hounding his ex-daughter-inlaw. Given that Jeremi Wiśniowiecki had been a hero of several wars, and one of the nation’s most powerful magnates, the contents and tenor of the letter must surely have been treated with some import by Warszycki. St. 288. “From lowly servant . . . the Diet.” This is an intriguing episode. Warszycki, magnate and senator, exerts his influence over a member of the lower chamber of the Diet, having instructed this “yes-man” to conduct what could only be described as a negative public relations campaign against Stanisławska. However, when Stanisławska is not universally denounced, Warszycki takes out his anger on the deputy, and beats him publicly. Pertaining to the kind of power which Warszycki may have held over this unfortunate, Daniel Stone offers some insight: “In keeping with the expectations of Polish-Lithuanian noble democracy, magnates needed to cultivate support among local nobles by providing patronage appointments as well as the proverbial bread and circuses.”4 St. 291. “. . . suffer opprobrium . . . about it!” Warszycki was required to pay a fine for the outrage.5 He had committed many other outrages, and enjoyed a reputation in his lifetime for being in league with the devil. Michał Różek cites a contemporaneous account of his violence, which relates how Warszycki had a number of peasants placed face down on the ground and beaten with paddles on their bare bodies. He stood by, smiling and counting the strikes.6 St. 295. “Matrimony . . . those gates!” Stanisławska’s guardians look to persuade her that she should marry as soon as possible; and they are all of one mind as to whom the candidate should be. St. 296. “. . . steps ahead of Aesop . . . we’re quits!” The judgment of the annulment stipulated that Stanisławska had to return all wedding gifts to Aesop, his family and guests. The Warszyckis, making the most of this opportunity to exact a modicum of vengeance, insisted that Stanisławska return every last coin, trinket and garment.

4. Stone, The Polish-Lithuanian State, 194. See also Bożena Popiołek, “Najniższy podnóżek, sługa i więzień pański—klientalne listy proszalne czasów saskich” (Your Lowermost Servant, Yes-Man, And Prisoner—Cliental Supplicatory Letters of the Saxon Period), Krakowskie Studia Małopolskie 16 (2011): 151–66. 5. See Kotowa, “Anna Stanisławska,” 202. 6. See Michał Rózek, Diabeł w kulturze polskiej: Szkice z dziejów motywu i postaci (The Devil in Polish Culture: The Stories and Characters; Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1993), 16–17.

Commentary 75 My Love Is My Relative Threnody XXXII (Stanzas 297–301) An extraordinary impediment to their marriage presents itself. As matters transpire, they are blood-related. Perhaps because of the air of scandal surrounding Stanisławska’s annulment, church leaders were reluctant to ease the way for Stanisławska to enter into another marriage. But by rights this union should not have raised any eyebrows. After all, this was an era when intermarriage amongst an ever-decreasing pool of nobles, anxious to make political alliances, was commonplace. St. 298. “Some unions should never be blessed.” Anna and Jan are blood-related through their kinship with the Lubomirski and Zebrzydowski families,7 and though distant cousins at best, they are required to send a petition to Rome. St. 300.  “. . . an engagement banquet . . . To remember . . .” A banquet is held to celebrate the signing of a prenuptial agreement, witnessed by Stanisławska’s stepmother and other guardians, an agreement which underpins their matrimonial unity.8 In practical terms, Oleśnicki cannot sell any of Anna’s inheritance without the permission of all the guardians who had been assigned to her by her father. What is more, Oleśnicki agrees to pay all of her debts and provide sureties with respect to his future wife’s matrimonial inheritance.9 St. 300. “. . . the great . . . gulp it down.” Stanisławska is not indifferent on the subject of alcohol, particularly as she is often accused by those who wish her ill will of drinking too much. In the same vein, Stanisławska sends up the vanity and excesses of her age, particularly when it comes to speechmakers performing the epithalamium (wedding speech for the bride) in their cups. In this instance, it is Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski (who will years hence, in 1676, be elected Grand Marshall of the Crown), who iterates the considerable achievements of his family, when, in fact, his speech should have focused on listing the achievements of the Oleśnicki and Stanisławski families, not to mention other formulaic topics relating to the couple’s suitability and his certainty of their future happiness together.10

7. See Kotowa, “Anna Stanisławska,” 202. 8. See Rott, Kobieta z przemalowanego portretu, 108–9. 9. See Jacek Pielas, “Zabezpieczenie praw majątkowych Anny Stanisławskiej w intercyzie przedślubnej z 1669 roku” [Securing the Legal Entitlements of Anna Stanisławska in her Pre-nuptial Contract from 1669), Almanach Historyczny 2 (2000): 209–217. 10. For an in-depth analysis of the role of speeches given by magnates and illustrious personages, see Małgorzata Trębska, Staropolskie, szlacheckie oracje weselne: Genologia, obrzęd, źródła (Old Polish Noble Wedding Orations: Genealogy, Rite, Sources; Warsaw: Instytut Badań Literackich PAN, 2008).

76 Commentary St. 301. “He of the Koryciński . . . nostalgia.” A guest whose speech adopted a more somber tone, Piotr Koryciński (1644–1680), the Starost of Rabsztyn, would relinquish his considerable wealth and enter monastic life. I Am Told Horror Stories about My Distant Cousin Threnody XXXIII (Stanzas 302–11) Here the chattering guests are happy to indulge in gossip and the spreading of rumors of various kinds; with victory achieved when they sow doubt in the heart of the young lady. The kernel of the problem is that there is a ring of truth to what is being said, and the bride-to-be is only capable of responding with a horrified silence. There follows a very dramatic flight into the night in the company of her stepmother; it is a flight which seems to have elements of folklore, symbolizing, or at least mirroring, Stanisławska’s terror and confusion. St. 303. “If you follow . . . their salacious rumors.” Stories of husbands poisoning wives abound in the writings of the age. My Stepmother Makes Me See Sense Threnody XXXIV (Stanzas 312–20) Enjoying a close accord, stepmother assures stepdaughter that her own future will be best secured in marriage; which will silence the Warszyckis once and for all. St. 312. “Fussing over her . . . sincerity in her voice.” Stanisławska’s stepmother possesses considerable powers of persuasion, and her role in this account is analogous to the role of nurse figures in ancient Greek literature, who exercise authority over their child charges, but later remain as retainers, offering homespun advice on matters of the heart and as confidants in affairs of love. As illustrated with Euripides’s Andromache and Hippolytus, not only do they possess a similar degree of authority over their charge, but they can affect the plot of the drama by the giving of advice that is listened to.11 We Are All of One Mind Threnody XXXV (Stanzas 321–27) Anna’s stepmother secures an accord between the intended, and all that is left for them to do is to wait for the dispensation to be issued by Rome. She also advises

11. See Helen Pournara Karydas, Eurykleia and Her Successors: Female Figures of Authority in Greek Poetics (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1998).

Commentary 77 that Stanisławska and Oleśnicki marry as soon as possible, even though Advent is not a time when people traditionally marry.

My Lad Braves the Elements for His Love Threnody XXXVI (Stanzas 328–35) Anna awaits her betrothed in Praga, a district of today’s Warsaw, located on the east bank of the Vistula. At the time, Praga was a separate town with its own charter. This extended episode sees Oleśnicki crossing the Vistula River in foul weather in order to bring his betrothed news that Rome has granted them a dispensation, and that they are free to marry. Oleśnicki ends up crossing the river twice, which reflects not only his heroic stature but also mirrors the passion that is waiting to be revealed. This is in every sense a traditional wooing, with a dash of folkloric elements; with the river symbolically representing a boundary between the previous life and the new life that awaits. St. 329. “Rulers build walls . . . a river we must cross.” Where Boccaccio saw Fortune as a force with which man could deal, provided he uses his wit and intelligence to manipulate it to his own advantage, Machiavelli, seen by so many in history as the peddler of depraved political advice,12 stopped short of such a contention. Instead, offering eminently practical insight, Machiavelli maintained that Fortune and man enjoyed a dual coexistence (see The Prince, chapter 25). Machiavelli would go on to describe Fortune as a river in flood from which man must protect himself by means of securing the riverbank. This secured riverbank was symbolic of man’s virtue, acquired by active involvement in political and civic affairs. Given that such associations could be claimed by the life that Oleśnicki led and represented, the symbol of the secured riverbank can be transposed to the boat that takes the cavalier to the other side. St. 330. “The crossing . . .” It is likely that Oleśnicki made his crossing from the salt port of Solec; sól, meaning salt in Polish. Solec had strong links with one of Warsaw’s foundation myths, featuring a mermaid syrenka, a story which allegorically linked Warsaw with Baltic trading cities such as Copenhagen; also a city that is home to a mermaid legend. The image of Warsaw’s Syrenka, brandishing sword and shield, is to be found on a number of the city’s earliest coins. St. 334. “O most implacable Neptune! . . . circumstance.” This episode obtains mythical dimensions, with the cause of the river swell being accredited to the anger of Neptune, the Roman god of stormy waters (equivalent to the Greek 12. See Thomas Fuller, ed., Machiavelli’s Legacy: The Prince After Five Hundred Years (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015).

78 Commentary god, Poseidon). Stanisławska is aware of the allegorical dimensions of Oleśnicki’s heroic escapade, its place in the chivalric tradition; and how it presaged their romantic life together. A River Crossing Becomes His Quest Threnody XXXVII (Stanzas 336–44) Having crossed the river, the hero must win his prize, and it seems that Stanisławska is convinced, thanks to the persuasions of her stepmother, that a hastily arranged marriage, with no invitees, is the best option. Clearly Anna’s stepmother knows that such a course of action is the only way of ensuring that no other impediment will present itself. St. 338. “The rafters . . . to the wind.” The rivermen or “rafters” of the Vistula navigated the river for hundreds of years, passing rivercraft boat-building skills down from one generation to the next. In the late sixteenth century, Sebastian Fabian Klonowic (1545–1602) wrote a poetic chronicle of his journey to Gdańsk on the Vistula River titled Flis, to jest spuszczanie statków Wisłą i inszemi rzekami do niej przypadającemi (The Rafter, that is, the Launching of Boats on the Vistula and its Tributaries), which recounted in witty terms both the journey and the poet’s gleaned insights into the lives of his boating companions, lives which were almost alien to those who did not ply their trade on the river. The world of the Vistula’s rivermen was also wonderfully evoked in later centuries by painters such as Aleksander Gierymski (1850–1901) and Wilhelm August Stryowski (1834–1917). St. 342. “Aquilo, too, . . . in its path.” First mentioned by Seneca in his work of natural philosophy Naturales quaestiones (Natural Questions, 62–64 BC), Aquilo was said to be a strong and cold wind that blew from the north-northeast. In Virgil’s Georgics 3, 196–201, we find that Aquilo blows from Arctic shores, sweeping treetops, land and sea beneath him, and in doing so, creating a billowy water world. Finding a Church That Will Marry Us Threnody XXXVIII (Stanzas 345–53) They marry in the diocese of Poznań, which was in fact a diocese to which Warsaw belonged. Their marriage brings to an end this odyssey-like episode; and from this time onwards Anna becomes the lady of the manor, whereas Oleśnicki will take on the mantle of being one of the foremost personages of his age, distinguishing himself in politics, national diplomacy, and on the field of battle. St. 346. “mother and maid . . .” As discussed earlier (see note to St. 312), throughout this episode Stanisławska’s stepmother is profoundly loyal and caring; and she seems determined that Anna will make decisions that secure her future happiness.

Commentary 79 St. 351. Veni creator spiritus. A moving pre-medieval church hymn attributed to Rabanus Maurus (776–856), and sung during Church services whenever the Holy Spirit is invoked. That Stanisławska spelt the title of the hymn as “wenikreator” suggested to Kotowa that the poetess, despite the strong prevalence of Latinisms in the Polish language, had possessed a poor knowledge of Latin.13 St. 352. “Our cheery . . . bigos from yesterday’s meat.” The simplicity of the feast is pleasing to some, with once again a stock clerical figure, here a ravenous priest, being the source of Boccaccian-like humor, wherein the clergy provide narrative relief. Also, as in keeping with Boccaccio’s stratification, country priests are given the most vulgar situations and are often presented as merry sinners. And yet, well might the priest be content with the heartiness of the meal, as bigos has been wheeled up to the table in a large pot. More of a comfort food (in today’s parlance) than the “feast-for-the-eyes” fare more readily associated with a wedding banquet, bigos is a sauerkraut and meat-based stew. The preparation and serving of bigos in an aristocratic setting following the return of nobles from a hunt was celebratorily described by Adam Mickiewicz (1798–1855) in his epic poem Pan Tadeusz (1834), where “w słowach wydać trudno / Bigosu smak przedziwny, kolor i woń cudną” (No words can tell / The wonder of its color, taste and smell).14

Life with My Favonius Threnody XXXIX (Stanzas 354–66) Stanisławska writes about her husband in affectionate terms. He is the epitome of the Sarmatian outlook, and he seems to have been universally admired. Certainly, there is none of the cruelty that Stanisławska witnessed during the time of her first marriage. The only sadness which Stanisławska reflects on is her failure to become pregnant, and her inability to do so will mean the end of her husband’s family line. This fate was shared by many magnate families who often experienced exceptional reversals of fortune because of the tumultuousness of the times in which they lived. St. 354. “My own favorable Favonius . . .” In Roman mythology, Favonius (Latin for “favorable”) was the counterpart of the Greek Zephyros. The son of the wind god, Aeolus, Favonius was the west wind, promising the beginning of spring and favorable times.

13. Kotowa, “Anna Stanisławska,” 220. 14. Adam Mickiewicz, Pan Tadeusz, or, The Last Foray in Lithuania: A Tale of the Gentry in the Years 1811 and 1812 (Pan Tadeusz, czyli ostatni zajazd na Litwie: historia szlachecka z roku 1811 i 1812 we dwunastu księgach wierszem), bilingual edition, ed. and trans. Kenneth R. Mackenzie (London: Polish Cultural Foundation, 1986), 196–97.

80 Commentary St. 355. “One body . . . one mind.” This is an Aristotelian contention of soulful friendship, but extended to the dizzying delight of sexual union, which also has its parallels with the biblical “one flesh” of Genesis, and the classical bond of amicitia. But in the late seventeenth century in Poland, marriage was not traditionally based on this kind of equality, and the fact that a parity of esteem and actuality existed within the marriage of Anna and Jan may have given rise to a general remonstration, with the result being that many of their society regarded Oleśnicki’s wife as something of a cautionary tale. St. 359. “Sejm, . . .” Often translated as Diet, the Sejm was the bicameral parliament of the Polish kingdom, comprising a lower house of deputies, made up of the lesser nobility szlachta, elected by the local dietines or sejmiki, and an upper house, peopled by senators (comprising voivodes, castellans, and bishops), and this council was presided over by the king. The adoption of unanimity, however: giving a single deputy the right to overturn the decision of the majority, would lead to a national paralysis, often described as the Polish Anarchy. The Sejm met in various locations depending on the purpose. An ordinary assembly could meet in Warsaw over the course of several consecutive days, whereas coronational diets took place in Kraków. A king could also call an emergency diet and decide upon the venue. St. 364. “With a determined surge . . . fall pregnant.” As Maria Bogucka writes, “. . . a woman’s position in marriage certainly depended also on her social status, as well as on the affection she could arouse in her husband and the sexual matching of both mates. The birth of children was a very important element in any marriage.”15 St. 365. “The family crests . . . generations.” The Stanisławski Pilawa coat of arms, which features the one-third cross, a symbolism that merges the Tree of Wisdom with that of the Cross, representing the great sacrificial acts of the age. The Oleśnicki Dębno coat of arms, in turn, had its origins with the town of Dębno, located in the Sandomierz voivodship, whose etymology means “oak forest.”16 The merging of both crests would certainly have anticipated a glorious ending of the Stanisławski line, and a commensurate strengthening of the Oleśnicki family line. Tragically, both lines pass into history with this barren marriage.

15. Bogucka, “Marriage in Early Poland,” 7. 16. See Pielas, Oleśniccy herbu, 15–16.

Commentary 81

The Stanisławski Pilawa Coat of Arms. Courtesy of COADB.com.

The Oleśnicki Dębno Coat of Arms. Courtesy of COADB.com.

The Gathering Storms of War Threnody XL (Stanzas 367–78) Early in 1673, Oleśnicki joined Sobieski on a campaign to halt the Ottoman advance on the Polish Right Bank. Remarkably, almost as if waylaid by her jingoistic recounting of war and martial valor, Stanisławska chooses to say nothing about day-to-day life in her husband’s absence. St. 368. “In this, an age . . . pillaging.” In the autumn of 1671, the lands of Ukraine were overrun by Ottoman forces, strengthened by Cossack and Tatar mercenaries. And as the following year progressed, it was clear that an invasion of the Commonwealth was imminent. With King Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki unable to raise an army strong enough to repel the invader, he chose to appease the enemy by signing the Treaty of Buczacz (1672), which signed away vast tracts of Ukraine and committed the Commonwealth to paying a yearly tribute of 22,000 gold pieces. Such was the sense of shame that the treaty had aroused that it was never ratified by the Sejm.17 St. 369. “But where there’s courage . . . have toppled.” Hostilities resumed in the spring of 1673. St. 371 (gloss). “. . . banners of the Sandomierz voivodship.” Located by the Vistula River, in the southeast of Poland, Sandomierz was a prominent ceremonial and administrative center of the Polish Crown in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Oleśnicki’s family links to Sandomierz stretched back centuries; and Jan was the chamberlain podkomorzy of Sandomierz until his death (a title which he 17. Zamoyski, Poland: A History, 167–68.

82 Commentary seems to have shared with his father), and was also the town’s elector during the royal election of 1669, which saw the elevation of Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki to the Polish throne.18 Sandomierz boasts links with Jan Długosz (1415–1480), the father of Polish historiography, whereas in the twentieth century, Sandomierz was closely associated with the acclaimed writer Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz (1894–1980), whose paean-like expositions of the town were featured in both his memoirs and his fictional and poetic writings. St. 372. “. . . when Mars smolders . . . O Venus, run for the far hills!” This juxtapositional motif of Mars’s call to arms with Venus’s appeal to sexual or romantic endeavor was featured in several artistic compositions of the era, and was also a reflection of the bellicose times, where songs of love were sung alongside songs of war. Stanisławska’s soul-cry wish must indeed have been the great hope of an age all too accustomed to the horrors of war. This hope is illustratively represented in the oil painting of Peter Paul Rubens’s Venus, Mars, and Cupid (1630–1635), which sees Mars quite literally disarmed by the tender sight of Venus breastfeeding their son Cupid, as the god of martial endeavor has removed his helmet and placed his shield on the ground.19 St. 375. “O Fortune, I marvel . . .” Conflicted sentiments are revealed here as to the cause of death in war, and the prescriptions are familiar to the Shakespearean tetralogy pertaining to the relationship of God, Fortune and War. In terms of Stanisławska’s outlook applied to her own situation, she is most focused on Oleśnicki’s fate, and what his death could mean for her own personal happiness.

He Returns for Intimacy and Small Hope Threnody XLI (Stanzas 379–85) This threnody recounts a lull in the conflict; and intimates the kind of epistolary coquettishness which the wives of soldiers away at war engaged in in order to keep them from straying. Here the allurement in the correspondence is of a financial nature. In the letter which Oleśnicki receives from Anna, he is enticed home with the prospect of a large windfall arising from a favorable court judgment relating to a property dispute in which Anna has been involved. Unfortunately, the sum awarded is but a pittance, and this rather vexing disappointment is a prelude to what is a souring of their marriage.

18. See Pielas, Oleśniccy herbu, 350–55; 380–84. 19. See Helen Hillyard, “Peter Paul Rubens, Venus, Mars and Cupid,” in Smarthistory, May 21, 2016, accessed February 1, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/rubens-venus-mars-and-cupid/.

Commentary 83 St. 382. “. . . we write letters . . . thinking about us.” Decades later, towards the end of the Sarmatian era, Franciszka Radziwiłłowa would write in corresponding terms to her husband, during what was one of his extended absences, “I beg you, Michasieńku, my letters are for your eyes only, not to be passed from hand to hand. I think that is how it should be between a husband and wife, not even a mother or a sister should know these things.”20 St. 384. “And now Venus has sent her boat . . .” An extended allusion to Oleśnicki’s crossing of the Vistula. This stanza has a dreamlike quality, and recalls Aphrodite’s seductive power, as when Helen is summoned by Aphrodite to Paris Alexander’s bed, “Come this way; Alexander is calling you back to the house” (Homer, Iliad 3, 390). With the image of the boat, we can also discern echoes of Euripides’s Hecuba, where the chorus of captured Trojan women locate the outset of their troubles in the building of the boat: “. . . for me was fated pain, on the day when Alexander first cut down the pine tree upon Mount Ida for his sea journey to make Helen his bride, the fairest woman the sun’s golden light looks upon” (629–37). In Greek classical literature it is often remarked that women’s only chance of happiness is by living a virtuous and chaste life, and without the excesses of love which Aphrodite may deliver; see, for example, Euripides, Medea, 627–34.

I Reluctantly Sing of Victory over the Viperous Hordes Threnody XLII (Stanzas 386–97) Even though she claims that the poetry of war is best sung by others, Stanisławska does provide a colorful broad-brushstroke account of the Battle of Khotyn. However, the declaration almost reads like a reminder-notation on the part of the poetess to herself that the account should veer away from war and refocus on matters closer to home. St. 386 (gloss). “Szczekarzowice”: The village and estate of the Oleśnicki family. Lying along the Kamienna River and situated within the Sandomierz voivodship, Szczekarzowice bordered the town of Tarłów. Today the village has the name of Czekarzewice. St. 387. “The town of Bar.” A town located on the Riv River in today’s central Ukraine. In 1672, the town was captured by the Ottoman forces, who made it their administrative center. On November 24, 1674, it was liberated by Sobieski. However, the Ottomans recaptured the town a year later, and held it until 1686.

20. Cited by Judkowiak, introduction to Radziwiłłowa, Selected Drama and Verse, 21–22.

84 Commentary St. 389–90. “And now our Polish lads . . . scattered to the winds.” The Dniester River (which flows through today’s Ukraine and Moldova, emptying into the Black Sea on Ukrainian territory) was the natural demarcation line between the Polish Crown and the principality of Moldavia. The Ottoman forces in Khotyn were led by Hussain Pasha, who would perish together with nine tenths of his army, having been driven into the waters of the Dniester River by Sobieski’s light cavalry. St. 391. “It’s only right . . . our heroes to the hilt!” This was an age characterized by the writing of heroic epics, featuring battles which most families had had a personal stake in. Men in this era gained fame as politicians and soldiers, thereby earning for themselves reputations for exceptional national and local engagement. Given the civil nature of warfare, the preparedness of men to confront mortal danger, and the terrifying prospect of lands being overrun, women must have been by both default and design involved in the machinations of war; and either witnesses to or oral scribal chroniclers of the events which were taking place. This outlook is notably exemplified in the English tradition, in the memoir entry of Lady Ann Fanshawe, writing of the English Civil War, that she “had the perpetual discourse of losing and gaining towns and men.”21 St. 392. “Starost Rzeczycki”: Prior to the Battle of Khotyn, Jan Rzeczycki had led several reconnoitering squadrons, which captured Moldavian deserting boyars from Khotyn, who subsequently related the fear of the occupiers, thus emboldening Sobieski in terms of his plan of attack.22 Rzeczycki was enumerated by several chroniclers as one of the most distinguished figures to have fallen in the battle. St. 397. “. . . in Wallachia.” Here Stanisławska conflates Moldavia with Wallachia, the historical region of today’s Romania. Wallachia was at the time, and would remain for more than a century, under Ottoman suzerainty.

My Lad Strays and the World and His Wife Come to Know about It Threnody XLIII (Stanzas 398–402) As mentioned earlier, epistolary evidence suggests that noble wives often had occasion to enjoin their husbands to remain faithful; and we may assume that discretion was the very least that a wife could expect. However, this episode sees 21. Cited in Mary Spongberg, Writing Women’s History Since the Renaissance (Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002), 71. 22. See Marek Wagner, “The Battle of Chocim, 10–11 November 1673,” in Polish Battles and Campaigns in Thirteenth–Nineteenth Centuries, eds. Grzegorz Jasiński and Wojciech Włodarkiewicz (Warsaw: Wojskowe Centrum Edukacji Obywatelskiej, 2016), 133.

Commentary 85 Oleśnicki sowing his oats whilst paying little regard to the hurt and shame he may cause his wife. Those who had warned Stanisławska about Oleśnicki at her engagement party may have had cause to say, “I told you so.” St. 398. “Leaving the Regimentarz . . . Led by Sieniawski, . . .” Sobieski had wanted to press southwards toward the Danube after his victory at the Battle of Khotyn, but the approaching royal election induced both the hetman and the magnates to return home. Mikołaj Hieronim Sieniawski (1645–1683), the Regimentarz “Commander” of the cavalry and the Wielki Chorąży “Standard Bearer” of the Crown, was tasked with conducting a campaign in Moldavia over the winter; and he would lead an army of eight-thousand strong, comprising cavalry, artillery and dragoon formations, to the borders of Wallachia. However, having been thwarted greatly by the harsh winter, Sieniawski chose to rest the army for two weeks in the village of Butuceni, where the men could regain their strength and revive their spirits.23 St. 400. “Don’t young men . . . form a queue.” Oleśnicki’s infidelity is in character with the age in which he lived: one where men, when away, often enjoyed rafraîchissements; leaving their wives to bear the burden of disgrace, especially when the indiscretion was less than discreet. And yet, in spite of the sensational nature of the scandal he has caused, Oleśnicki is not overly remorseful, whereas Stanisławska is rather blasé about the entire matter.

My Lad Is Now a Man of State Threnody XLIV (Stanzas 403–6) So little has his improbity affected his reputation that Oleśnicki is asked to lead the victory celebrations in his family town of Sandomierz. The mood is perhaps not at all as somber as it should have been, given the sudden and unexpected death of King Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki. On an occasion like this, a luminary such as Oleśnicki must have done a great deal of glad-handing to secure votes for Sobieski in the run-up to the royal election. St. 403. “. . . a victory commemoration . . .” Oleśnicki attends an assembly of the Sandomierz dietine in the town of Opatów, a neighboring town of Sandomierz. We can imagine that Oleśnicki was hailed by one and all as the hero of the hour. St. 406. “Having bravely defended Lwów, . . .” Lwów, the multi-ethnic capital of the Ruthenian voivodship, frequently found itself threatened in the seventeenth 23. See Janusz Woliński, “Po Chocimie 1673/1674” (After Khotyn 1673/1674). Przegląd Historyczny 37 (1948): 292.

86 Commentary century. In 1672, the town was besieged by the Ottoman army of Mehmed IV, which miraculously withdrew following the signing of the Treaty of Buczacz. However, the withdrawal proved to be only a re-mustering; and in the summer of 1675, the city was attacked once again by the Ottomans, bolstered by Cossack detachments. Commanding far inferior numbers, Sobieski would roundly defeat the invaders in the Battle of Lwów, which took place on August 24, 1675.

My Protector Is Elevated from Hetman to King Threnody XLV (Stanzas 407–10) Writing years after Sobieski’s coronation, Stanisławska is in a position to compliment the sagacity of those who elected Sobieski, and to hail what would prove to be a most successful reign. More than his kingly attributes, Stanisławska is always at pains to emphasize Sobieski’s humanity and goodness. However, never overly praiseful of the age in which she lived, Stanisławska immediately reflects on her barrenness; a pain she is almost too troubled by to put into words. St. 408. “Such was . . . their objection.” Sobieski’s candidacy was initially resisted by the inimical Lithuanian magnates of the Pac family, who in April 1674, during a Sejm assembly convened to debate the upcoming election, had introduced a bill prohibiting Poles “Piasts” from being elected. However, when the election did take place, from June 19–21, 1674, the bishop of Vilnius, Michał Pac, declared, following bouts of horse-trading negotiations, that Lithuania would support Sobieski’s candidature. St. 409. “As jubilant . . . hope of our country!” As Barbara Milewska-Waźbińska writes, “Sobieski represented two ideals of nobility—a courageous warrior and a settled nobleman,”24 and it was his military successes that would underpin his popularity and fame.

Our New King Takes My Lad Away to War . . . Again Threnody XLVI (Stanzas 411–17) Sobieski decides to delay his coronation in order to continue overseeing the military campaign on the Right Bank. The fact that Oleśnicki is expected to dig ditches and drill greenhorn recruits indicates that the army was settling in for a prolonged stalemate.

24. Barbara Milewska-Waźbińska, “The Attitude towards the Turks in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth under the Reign of Jan III Sobieski,” Nordic Journal of Renaissance Studies 16 (2009): 222.

Commentary 87 St. 415 (gloss). “. . . the blessing of the Wooden Cross . . .” This oblique note refers to the Dominican Church of the Holy Cross in Lublin, built on a hill just outside the walls of the Old Town by its Kraków Gate. Originally constructed of timber, the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of Lublin in 1575, and subsequently rebuilt in the Renaissance style. As the custodian of venerated fragments of the Holy Cross, brought from Kiev to Lublin in the fourteenth century, the church was an important site of pilgrimage, and a place of ceremonial benediction for soldiers journeying to war. In 1991, the largest fragment of the Holy Cross Wood Relic was stolen, and to date has not been recovered. St. 416–17. “He’s determined to . . . life it should.” Much of the army was drawn from an impoverished lower nobility, who by the sheer frequency of war, had come to depend on military service as their only source of income and upkeep. All too often, families were left struggling to ensure a decent burial for their fallen loved ones.25

My Lad’s Father Falls Ill Threnody XLVII (Stanzas 418–24) At the beginning of this threnody, Stanisławska muses about the prevalence of death in what is an age of salty tears; contending that a soldier can go to war and find himself being ripped from this world by a harmless malady; and that our end when it comes is often in circumstances that we had not anticipated. Such musings, echoing as they do the topoi associated with theatrum mundi relating to the earthly struggles of man and the volatility of Fortune, presage the rather bizarre and tragic train of events that are about to unfold. Oleśnicki’s father falls ill, and it is expected that he will soon pass from this life. Sobieski insists that Oleśnicki journeys home to pay his last respects. Following orders to the letter, Oleśnicki goes directly to his father’s house; a decision which Stanisławska is less than happy about; albeit Oleśnicki probably expected to find his father being attended on by his daughter-in-law. Indeed, Stanisławska wonders if her husband will have something to say about her apparent failure to nurse his father. St. 418. “Is our time . . . set in stone?” Stanisławska writes the word ‘predestination’ in the margin gloss to this stanza. For Stanisławska, there seems to be no contingency that can either divert Fortune’s gaze or delay our moment of death. It is fairly clear that predestination in Stanisławska’s description refers more to the machinations of Fortune than the immovability of divine decree. She is probably 25. See Natalia Biłous, “Testamenty wojskowych poległych i zmarłych na Wołyniu w XVII w” (On the Testaments of Soldiers Who Died or Fell in Volhynia in the 17th Century), Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej 64 (2) (2016): 211–24.

88 Commentary also not considering this concept from a theological perspective, wherein predestination was a conviction that you had been chosen for salvation; a persuasion based on subjective experience and the examination of the workings of one’s soul. Predestination in its theological sense must have been an attractive proposition for those facing death on the battlefield; but as Stanisławska writes here, death was the occupation of the age. St. 423 (gloss). “. . . to me in Maciejowice.” Stanisławska was managing both her own family estate in Maciejowice and that of the Oleśnicki estate of Sczekarzowice, where Jan’s seemingly stricken father was in residence. The fact that Anna is not by her father-in-law’s bedside suggests that she had removed herself to her own home in an atmosphere of acrimoniousness.

My Favonius Falls Deathly Ill Threnody XLVIII (Stanzas 425–40) The strangest turn of events takes place. Oleśnicki’s father revives, whereas Oleśnicki himself falls deathly ill, and it soon becomes apparent that there is little prospect of his recovering. The incriminations begin as Oleśnicki’s family gather. Stanisławska is never more isolated and vulnerable than in the scenes that follow. St. 426. “. . . every medicine . . . some magic.” Anna gathers healing medications to take to her ailing husband; like many women of the era who were expected to be household healers, she may have had some knowledge of apothecarial essentials. St. 427. “Body and soul . . . from the dance.” We may tentatively assign what Stanisławska is writing about here to classical conceptions, often allegorical, of wholeness and a nostalgia for beauty in a world that has been shrouded in sorrow and beset by decay. St. 432. “How time stops . . . to rest easy.” This is a very sympathetic depiction of a father’s heartfelt grief as he beholds his stricken son. It is a scene that has echoes of Priam’s lament for Hector. Also like Priam, Oleśnicki’s father will wish to bury his son in accordance with his own wishes and familial traditions. A contemporaneous literary expression of grief can be found in Wacław Potocki’s Periody (Stages; 1674), a cycle of eighteen laments where the poet mourns for his dead son, often in similar tones of disbelief to those conveyed by Stanisławska: “Nie masz wody na ziemi, żeby te pożary / Zgasić miała w mym sercu, tylko grób, śmierć, mary” (There is no water on this earth that can extinguish / the fires in my heart, only a grave, death, and nightmares); Period ósmy (Stage eight).

Commentary 89 My Favonius Leaves This Life, to My Unending Grief Threnody XLIX (Stanzas 441–49) After several days on the verge of leaving this life, and following a brief revival, Oleśnicki passes away. There is no mention of the medical attentions that were administered to him; although he seems to have had a high fever that left him convulsing, delirious, and bathed in sweat. The numbness and disbelief of those present is poignantly depicted. St. 445. “But Death doles out . . . trick in the book.” This reinforces the idea of Stanisławska’s notion of predestination as an “allotted time,” but it also extends to the annunciations to follow: that death is everywhere. But that is not to say that we cannot be dismayed when Death calls, or grieve the loss of those he has taken. Potocki finds comfort in the confidence that his son was elevated into heaven on his death, whereas Stanisławska does not seem to take any comfort from the same; at least as we find in this work. Instead, Death is an act of malevolent Fortune, and just another of the vicissitudes of life for both the dying and those who must mourn their passing.

I Receive No Sympathy . . . Only Scorn Threnody L (Stanzas 450–56) This episode, where the male relatives gang up on Stanisławska, points to the fragility of family bonds through marriage, particularly when there are festering grievances; and in particular when property is the subject of dispute and discord. With no one to help her, it is almost surprising that Stanisławska was not harmed in any way. As things stand, her father-in-law is extremely bitter and angry, and blames Stanisławska for failing to nurse his son back to health. (He, too, had been nursed by Stanisławska, and perhaps had been aware of the shortfall.) It is a measure of the strength of her legal position, however, that Oleśnicki’s father gets on his horse and rides away, leaving Stanisławska in sole residence. St. 450. “My eyes . . . sold my home.” Stanisławska gets her second taste of the vulnerability of “widowhood,” surrounded once again by now estranged and hostile relations; and now they want the property to which she has rightful claim.26 St. 454. “Yes, the house is mine . . . his dark mien.” The nuptial agreement witnessed by Sobieski and her formidable stepmother secured Stanisławska’s position with respect of the Szczekarzowice estate. 26. A comparative insight into the challenges of widowhood elsewhere in this era in the broadest sense can be found in Olwen Hufton, The Prospect Before Her: A History of Women in Western Europe, 1500–1800 (New York: Alfred Knopf, 2011), 221–54.

90 Commentary I Bury My Husband in Accordance with His Wishes Threnody LI (Stanzas 457–61) The funeral coincides with a court sitting, which will decide whether Stanisławska may uphold her claim to the estate of her recently departed husband. Needless to say, emotions run high before the funeral. There are terrible scenes as Oleśnicki’s father hurls abuse at his daughter-in-law, who has doggedly insisted that her husband will be buried in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Tarłów. St. 459. “The court says “no,” . . .” The court finds in Stanisławska’s favor, and she inherits the estate of Szczekarzowice. However, Stanisławska is harangued by Oleśnicki’s brother-in-law, who threatens to lead a raid against the property. The reason why he doesn’t do so points to the strength of Stanisławska’s position from a legal standpoint; and perhaps also the Oleśnicki family had no wish to make enemies of the king-elect, Sobieski, who was still the principal protector of Stanisławska’s interests. St. 460. “O Tarłów! . . . would rest?” The coffins of Stanisławska and Oleśnicki lie side by side in the Oleśnicki chapel crypt of the Church of the Holy Trinity. Even today, Stanisławska is remembered in local celebrations; in 2015, an obelisk in the town square was rededicated to the poetess and patroness. Clearly Stanisławska had a perspicacious sense that her legacy would be intertwined with both the church and its locality. In Stanisławska’s last will and testament, she left 3,000 zlotys for the church in Tarłów, with the stipulation that a mass be said for the soul of her deceased husband once a week, and with a commemorative mass to take place every year on the anniversary his death.27

I Find No Consolation for My Situation Threnody LII (Stanzas 462–65) Stanisławska ponders the prevalence of death, which can strike at any age and at any time. There are no stoic consolations; there is only the declaration that life is a veil of tears, and that the death of a loved one only adds to the pain. There are no circumstances whereby this pain may ease, and life seems only too willing to heap more pain upon what already seems unbearable. For Stanisławska, the widowhood she is presented with is emblematic of the misfortune that has plagued her since the day her mother died.

27. See Jacek Pielas, “Akt ostatniej woli Anny ze Stanisławskich Zbąskiej, pierwszej polskiej poetki, z 7 lipca 1696 roku” (The Last Will and Testament of Anna Zbąska of the Stanisławski Line, the First Polish Female Poet, dated July 7, 1696), Res Historica 46 (2018): 407.

Commentary 91 St. 463. “It’s our shared fate . . . the lot of us!” In many ways, the idea of the universality of death, and specifically the Danse Macabre, was a consolatory nod to egalitarianism and a comfort to those from the lower social strata. However, typical for the poetess, Stanisławska does not look at death from this perspective, but rather combines this outlook with the widespread tradition of the Triumph of Death, so iconically depicted in the painting Triumph of Death (c. 1562), by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.28 In this regard, the poetess aligns our inescapable fate with the cruel realities that capricious Fortune always has in store for a tormented humanity. There is no redemptive hope in these despairing pronouncements; and the times which Stanisławska lived in offered no chink of hope either.

28. For this insight, see Koutny-Jones, Visual Cultures of Death, 55–90.

Bibliography Published Works of Anna Stanisławska (in Chronological Order) Transakcyja albo Opisanie całego życia jednej sieroty przez żałosne treny od tejże samej pisane roku 1685 (A Transaction, or an Account of the Entire Life of an Orphan Girl by Way of Plaintful Threnodies in the Year 1685). Edited by Ida Kotowa, with introduction and critical notes. Kraków: Polska Akademia Umiejętności, 1935. Transakcyja albo Opisanie całego życia jednej sieroty przez żałosne treny od tejże samej pisane roku 1685: Fragmenty (A Transaction, or an Account of the Entire Life of an Orphan Girl by Way of Plaintful Threnodies in the Year 1685: Fragments). Edited by Piotr Borek. Kraków: Universitas, 2003. Orphan Girl: A Transaction, or an Account of the Entire Life of an Orphan Girl by Way of Plaintful Threnodies in the Year 1685: The Aesop Episode. Verse translation, introduction, and commentary by Barry Keane. Toronto: Iter Press; Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2016.

Other Primary Sources Castiglione, Baldesar. The Book of the Courtier. Edited and translated by George Bull. London: Penguin, 1967. Drużbacka, Elżbieta. Wiersze wybrane (Selected Poems). Edited by Krystyna Stasiewicz. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Neriton, 2003. Euripides. Medea; Hecabe; Electra; Heracles. Translated by Philip Vellacott. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, UK: Penguin Classics, 1982. ———. [Plays]. Edited and translated by A. S. Way. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: W. Heinemann, 1978–1980. Original 1912. ———. [Plays]. Edited and translated by David Kovacs. 8 vols. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1994–2008. Górnicki, Łukasz. Dworzanin polski (The Polish Courtier). Edited by Roman Pollak. Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1954. Homer. The Iliad. Translated by Martin Hammond. London: Penguin Classics, 1987. Klonowic, Sebastian Fabian. Flis, to jest spuszczanie statków Wisłą i inszemi rzekami do niej przypadającemi (The Rafter, that is, the Launching of Boats on the Vistula and its Tributaries). Introduction by Stanisław Węclewski. Chełmno: J. Gołkowski, 1862. Kochanowski, Jan. The Dismissal of the Greek Envoys. Edited and translated by Barry Keane. Warsaw: Sub Lupa; London: The Polish Cultural Institute, 2018. 93

94 Bibliography Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Prince. Translated by George Bull. Introduction by Anthony Grafton. London: Penguin Classics, 2003. Mickiewicz, Adam. Pan Tadeusz, or, The Last Foray in Lithuania: A Tale of the Gentry in the Years 1811 and 1812 (Pan Tadeusz, czyli ostatni zajazd na Litwie: historia szlachecka z roku 1811 i 1812 we dwunastu księgach wierszem). Bilingual edition, edited and translated by Kenneth R. Mackenzie. London: Polish Cultural Foundation, 1986. Petrarch, Francis. The Triumphs of Petrarch. Translated by Ernest Hatch Wilkins. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962. Pilsztynowa, Salomea Regina. The Istanbul Memories in Salomea Pilsztynowa’s Diary “Echo of the Journey and Adventures of My Life,” 1760. Edited and translated by Paulina D. Dominik. Introduction by Stanisław Roszak. Bonn, Germany: Max Weber Stiftung–Deutsche Geisteswissenschaftliche Institute im Ausland, 2017. ———. My Life’s Travels and Adventures: An Eighteenth-Century Oculist in the Ottoman Empire and the European Hinterland. Edited and translated by Władysław Roczniak. New York: Iter Press, 2021. Potocki, Wacław. Wiersze wybrane (Selected Verse). Edited by Stanisław Grzeszczuk. Introduction by Janusz S. Grachała. Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1992. Radziwiłłowa, Franciszka Urszula. Selected Drama and Verse. Edited by Patrick John Corness and Barbara Judkowiak. Translated by Patrick John Corness. Introduction by Barbara Judkowiak. Toronto: Iter Press; Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2015. Seneca, Lucius Annaeus. Natural Questions. Translated by Harry M. Hine. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010. Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Edited by Peter Holland. London: Penguin, 2000. Reprinted 2016. Virgil. Georgics. Translated by L. P. Wilkinson. London: Penguin Classics, 1982.

Secondary Sources Biłous, Natalia. “Testamenty wojskowych poległych i zmarłych na Wołyniu w XVII w” (On The Testaments of Soldiers Who Died or Fell in Volhynia in the 17th Century). Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej 64 (2) (2016): 211–24.  Bogucka, Maria. The Lost World of the “Sarmatians”: Custom as the Regulator of Polish Social Life in Early Modern Times. Warsaw: Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of History, 1996. ———. “Marriage in Early Poland.” Acta Poloniae Historica 81 (2000): 51–78. ———. Staropolskie obyczaje w XVI—XVII wieku (Old Polish Customs of the 16th and 17th Centuries). Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1994.

Bibliography 95 ———. Women in Early Polish Society, Against the European Background. Aldershot, Hampshire, UK: Ashgate, 2004. Brückner, Aleksander. Dzieje literatury polskiej w zarysie (A Concise History of Polish Culture). 2 vols. Warsaw: Gebethner i Wolff, 1908. ———. “Wiersze zbieranej drużyny: Pierwsza autorka polska i jej autobiografia wierszem” (Gathered Poems: The First Polish Woman Author and Her Autobiography in Verse). Biblioteka Warszawska 4 (1893): 424–29. Bystroń, Jan Stanisław. Dzieje obyczajów w dawnej Polsce: Wiek XVI–XVIII (Customs and Traditions in Old Poland: 16th–18th Centuries). 2 vols. 2nd ed. Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1976. Davies, Norman. God’s Playground: A History of Poland. Vol. 1: The Origins to 1795. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981; New York: Columbia University Press, 1982. Rev. ed., 2005. Fuller, Thomas, ed. Machiavelli’s Legacy: The Prince after Five Hundred Years. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015. Glatman, Ludwik. “Doktorka medycyny i okulistka polska w XVIII wieku w Stambule” (A Polish Lady as a Doctor and Oculist in Istanbul in the 18th Century). Przewodnik Naukowy i Literacki (1896): 926–46. Hufton, Olwen. The Prospect Before Her: A History of Women in Western Europe, 1500–1800. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1996. Jasienica, Paweł. Polska anarchia (The Polish Anarchy). Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 1988. Karydas, Helen Pournara. Eurykleia and Her Successors: Female Figures of Authority in Greek Poetics. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1998. Kotowa, Ida. “Anna Stanisławska: Pierwsza autorka polska” (Anna Stanisławska: The First Polish Woman Author). Pamiętnik Literacki 1–4 (1934): 267–90. Koutny-Jones, Aleksandra. “A Noble Death: The Oleśnicki Funerary Chapel in Tarłów.” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 72 (2009): 169–205. ———. Visual Cultures of Death in Central Europe: Contemplation and Commemoration in Early Modern Poland-Lithuania. Leiden: Brill, 2015. Kowalczykowa, Alina. “Zniewolenie i ślady buntu—czyli autoportrety kobiet: Od Claricii do Olgi Boznańskiej” (Constraint and Rebellion—the Self-Portraits of Women: From Claricia to Olga Boznańska). Pamiętnik Literacki 97 (1) (2006): 141–58. Kuchowicz, Zbigniew. Obyczaje staropolskie XVII–XVIII wieku (Old Polish Traditions and Customs in the 17th and 18th Centuries). Łódź: Wydawnictwo Łódzkie, 1975. Milewska-Waźbińska, Barbara. “The Attitude towards the Turks in the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth under the Reign of Jan III Sobieski.” Nordic Journal of Renaissance Studies 16 (2019): 222.

96 Bibliography Ó Cuilleanáin, Cormac. Religion and Clergy in Boccaccio’s Decameron. Rome: Edizioni di storia e letteratura, 1984. Ożarska, Magdalena. “Combining a Lament  with a Verse Memoir: Anna Stanisławska’s Transaction (1685).” Slavia 81(4) (2012): 389–404. ———. “Reading the Margins: The Uses of Authorial Side Glosses in Anna Stanisławska’s Transaction (1685).” In Self-Commentary in Early Modern European Literature, 1400–1700, edited by Francesco Venturi, 369–94. Leiden: Brill, 2019. Penkała, Anna. “Szlacheckie kontrakty małżeńskie jako źródła do badań biograficznych i majątkowych na przykładzie intercyzy przedślubnej Antoniny Rzewuskiej i Piotra Miączyńskiego” (Aristocratic Marital Contracts as Sources for Biographical and Property Research, Based on the Prenuptial Contract of Antonina Rzewuska and Piotr Miączyński). Rocznik Lubelskiego Towarzystwa Genealogicznego 6 (2014/2015): 153–69. Peretz, Maya. “In Search of the First Polish Woman Author.” The Polish Review 38 (4) (1993): 469–83. Pielas, Jacek. “Akt ostatniej woli Anny ze Stanisławskich Zbąskiej, pierwszej polskiej poetki, z 7 lipca 1696 roku” (The Last Will and Testament of Anna Stanisławska-Zbąska, the First Polish Female Poet, dated July 7, 1696). Res Historica 46 (2018): 385–418. ———. Oleśniccy herbu Dębno w XVI–XVII wieku: Studium z dziejów zamożnej szlachty doby nowożytnej (The Oleśnicki Family of the Dębno Crest in the 16th and 17th Centuries: A Study of the History of a Wealthy Noble Family). Kielce: Wydawnictwo Akademii Świętokrzyskiej, 2007. Popiołek, Bożena. Kobiecy świat w czasach Augusta II: Studium z mentalności kobiecej czasów saskich (The Female World in the Era of Augustus II: A Study of the Female Mind in the Saxon Era). Kraków: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Akademii Pedagogicznej, 2003. ———.“Najniższy podnóżek, sługa i więzień pański—klientalne listy proszalne czasów saskich” (Your Lowermost Servant, Yes-Man, and Prisoner—Cliental Supplicatory Letters of the Saxon Period). Krakowskie Studia Małopolskie 16 (2011): 151–66. Popławska, Halina. “ ‘Żałosne treny’ Anny Stanisławskiej” (‘The Doleful Laments’ of Anna Stanisławska). In Pisarki polskie epok dawnych (Polish Women Writers of Olden Times), edited by Krystyna Stasiewicz, 89–111. Olsztyn: Wyższa Szkoła Pedagogiczna, 1998. Rott, Dariusz. Kobieta z przemalowanego portretu: Opowieść o Annie Zbąskiej ze Stanisławskich i jej Transakcyji albo Opisaniu całego życia jednej sieroty (The Woman from a Repainted Portrait: The Story of Anna Zbąska of the Stanisławski Line and her A Transaction, or an Account of the Entire Life of an Orphan Girl). Katowice: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego, 2004.

Bibliography 97 Różek, Michał. Diabeł w kulturze polskiej: Szkice z dziejów motywu i postaci (The Devil in Polish Culture: The Stories and Characters). Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1993. Sajkowski, Alojzy. Staropolska miłość: Z dawnych listów i pamiętników (Love in Old Poland: From Letters and Diaries). Poznań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, 1981. Sinko, Tadeusz. “Trzy małżeństwa jednej sieroty” (The Three Marriages of an Orphan Girl). Czas 109 (1935): 5. Sokolski, Jacek. Bogini, pojęcie, demon: Fortuna w dziełach autorów staropolskich (Goddess, Idea, Demon: Fortune in the Works of the Authors of Old Poland). Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego, 1996. Spongberg, Mary. Writing Women’s History Since the Renaissance. Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. Stasiewicz, Krystyna. Elżbieta Drużbacka: Najwybitniejsza poetka czasów saskich (Elżbieta Drużbacka: The Greatest Woman Poet of the Saxon Era). Olsztyn: Wydawnictwo Wyższej Szkoły Pedagogicznej, 1992. Stone, Daniel. The Polish–Lithuanian State, 1386–1795. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2001. Szczęsny, Stanisław. “Anny ze Stanisławskich Zbąskiej opowieść o sobie i mężach: Glosa do barokowej trenodii” (Anna Zbąska of the Stanisławski Family: A Tale about Her Life and Her Husbands: A Gloss to a Baroque Threnody). In Pisarki polskie epok dawnych (Polish Women Writers of Olden Times), edited by Krystyna Stasiewicz, 69–87. Olsztyn: Wyższa Szkoła Pedagogiczna, 1998. Targosz, Karolina. Sawantki w Polsce XVII wieku: Aspiracje intelektualne kobiet ze środowisk dworskich (Savantes in 17th-Century Poland: The Intellectual Aspirations of Courtly Women). Warsaw: Retro-Art, 1997. Tazbir, Janusz. “The Culture of the Baroque in Poland.” Organon 18–19 (1982– 1983): 161–75. ———. Prace wybrane, tom 4: Studia nad kulturą staropolską (Selected Works, vol. 4: A Study on the Culture of Old Poland). Kraków: Universitas, 2001. Trębska, Małgorzata. Staropolskie, szlacheckie oracje weselne: Genologia, obrzęd, źródła (Old Polish Noble Wedding Orations: Genealogy, Rite, Sources). Warsaw: Instytut Badań Literackich PAN, 2008. Wagner, Marek. “The Battle of Chocim, 10–11 November 1673.” In Polish Battles and Campaigns in Thirteenth–Nineteenth Centuries, edited by Grzegorz Jasiński and Wojciech Włodarkiewicz, 127–38. Warsaw: Wojskowe Centrum Edukacji Obywatelskiej, 2016. Wójcik, Zbigniew. Jan Sobieski, 1629–1696. Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1983. Woliński, Janusz. “Po Chocimie 1673/1674” (After Khotyn 1673/1674). Przegląd Historyczny 37 (1948): 288–306.

98 Bibliography Wyrobisz,  Andrzej.  “Staropolskie wzorce  rodziny i kobiety—żony i matki (Old Poland’s Models of the Family and Women—Wives and Mothers).” Przegląd Historyczny 3 (1992): 405–21. Zamoyski, Adam. Poland: A History. London: Harper Press, 2009.

Index Euripides, 76, 83; Andromache, 76; Hecuba, 83; Hippolytus, 76; Medea, 83

Aeolus, god of winds, 79 Aphrodite, goddess of love, 83 (see also Venus) Aquilo, Roman north wind, 38, 78 Austen, Jane, Pride and Prejudice, 10

family crests, 44, 80–81 Fanshawe, Ann, Lady, 84 Favonius, referring to Oleśnicki, 41, 79; literary origins, 79 Fortune, 3, 8, 35, 37, 43, 47, 48, 51, 56, 63, 64, 77, 82, 87, 88, 89

Bar, town, 50, 83 Batory, Stefan, 4 Battle of Vienna (1683), 5 Boccaccio, Giovanni, 77, 79 Brückner, Aleksander, 2, 14 Bruegel, Pieter (the Elder), painter, 91 Buczacz, Treaty of, 5, 81, 86

Gierymski, Aleksander, painter, 78 Górnicki, Łukasz, The Book of the Polish Courtier, 73 guardians, of Stanisławska, 10, 26, 27, 74, 75

Castiglione, Baldesar, The Book of the Courtier, 72, 73 chroniclers of war, 51, 84 Church of the Holy Cross, Lublin, 68, 87 Church of the Holy Trinity, Tarłów, ix, 12, 13–14, 68–69, 90 Cossacks, 5, 6n14, 81, 86

Hetman, 4, 45, 48, 50, 52, 55, 57, 72, 73, 85 (see also Jan III Sobieski) Homer, Iliad, 83 infidelity, 11, 15, 53, 84–85

Dance of Death, 13, 91 (see also Death) Danube, river, 85 Death, 63, 65, 69–70, 88–91; personification of, 13, 63, 65, 89 (see also Dance of Death) Długosz, Jan, 82 Dniester, river, 6, 50, 84 Doroshenko, Petro, general, 5 Drużbacka, Elżbieta, 15, 16 Drużbacki, Kazimierz, 16

Jagiellonka, Anna, 4 Jan II Kazimierz Waza, King, 8 Jan III Sobieski, Hetman and King, 4, 5–6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 18, 22, 27, 45, 55, 56, 58, 72, 73, 81, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 90; advises Oleśnicki, 22, 72; elected king, 55, 86 Jaworów, town, 22, 72 Judge (of divorce process): final judgment of Stanisławska’s divorce, 9, 24, 71, 73

d’Enghien, Henri, prince of Condé, 4 English Civil War, 84 epithalamium (wedding speech), 27–28, 75

Khotyn (Chocim), Battle of, 5–6, 11, 50–54, 83, 84, 85 Klonowic, Sebastian Fabian, The Rafter, 78 99

100 Index Kochanowski, Jan, The Dismissal of the Greek Envoys, 4 Koryciński, Piotr, engagement speech, 28, 76 Kotowa, Ida, editorship of manuscript, 2, 17, 79 Kraków, 7, 10, 13, 23, 49, 72, 73, 80 liberum veto, 4–5 Lubomirski, Stanisław Herakliusz, 75 Lwów, 6, 55, 72, 86; occupation of, 55, 86 Machiavelli, Niccolò, The Prince, 77 Maciejowice, Stanisławska’s family estate, 7, 10, 41, 59, 88 manuscript, discovery of, 2, 14 Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, King, 4–6, 9, 21, 23, 24, 54, 71, 73, 81, 82, 85 Morsztyn, Jan Andrzej, 71 National Library of Warsaw, 2 Neptune, Roman god, 36, 77 Oleśnicki, Jan, the elder, vii, 12, 46, 58–59, 61–69, 82, 87, 88, 89, 90 Oleśnicki, Jan Zbigniew‚ vii, 3, 6, 9–12, 13, 15, 17, 22–23, 27–29, 33–36, 38–40, 41–43, 44, 45–50, 51–55, 57–69, 71, 72–73, 75, 77–78, 80, 81, 82, 83, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90; appeals to Sobieski for help in his wooing of Stanisławska, 22, 72; bravery in battle, 11; congenial demeanor, vii, 11, 42–43; heroic crossings of the Vistula, 35–38, 77–78; infidelity, 53, 84–85; military service, 45–48, 57–58, 81, 86–87; returns home to his ailing father,

vii, 58–59, 87–88; scandalous reputation, vii, 28–29, 76 Oleśnicki family, lineage and history, 10, 23, 73; crypt, 14, 69, 90 Opatów, town, 54, 85 Ottomans, 5–6, 11, 50–52, 81, 83, 84, 86 Ovid, 72 papal dispensation, vii, 10, 27, 35, 38–39, 76–77 Pasha, Hussain, Ottoman general, 6, 51, 54, 84 Petrarch, Francis, Triumphs, 72 Pilsztynowa, Salomea, 16–17 Podolia, region, 5 Polish Anarchy, 80 Potocka-Stanisławska, Anna, Stanisławska’s stepmother, vii, 7, 8, 9, 11, 31–34, 39, 75, 76, 78, 90 Potocki, Wacław, Stages, 88–89 Poznań, archdiocese, 39, 78 Praga, district, town, 36, 77 predestination, 58, 87–88, 89 Puławy, town, 7 Radziwiłł, Michał, 15 Radziwiłłowa, Franciszka Urszula, 14–15, 16, 83 Radziwiłłówna, Krystyna, 4 royal election, 4, 6, 8–9, 55, 82, 85 Rubens, Peter Paul, painter, 82 Rzeczycki, Jan, 51, 84 Sandomierz, town, 46, 80, 81–82, 83, 85 Sarmatism, 3, 11, 79 sejm (diet, Polish parliament), vii, 5, 23, 25, 30, 43, 54, 55, 73, 74, 80, 81, 86 sejmiki (dietines, regional assemblies), 43, 80, 85

Index 101 Sieniawski, Mikołaj Hieronim, Regimentarz, 53, 85 Stanisławska, Anna, vii–viii, 1–3, 6–18, 21–35, 39–54, 56, 57, 59–70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77–78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87–88, 89, 90–91; at odds with Oleśnicki’s father and family, 12, 65, 66–68, 89, 90; attends the coronation, 21, 71; barrenness, vii, 44, 79, 80; confides in her stepmother, 31–34, 39, 76, 78; connubial happiness, 11, 41–43, 79–80; considers flight, 30–31, 76; determines to bury Oleśnicki in Tarłów, 68–69, 90; harassed by Warszycki, 21, 24–25, 71–72, 73, 74; harbors doubts about marriage, 27–33, 75, 76; marriage ceremony, 11, 40–41, 78–79; neglect of nursing duties, 12, 59, 87–88; Tarłów church painting “Family and Death,” 13; unpleasantness before funeral, 12, 68–69, 90; wooed by Oleśnicki, 10, 22–23, 72 Stanisławski, Michał, father of Anna Stanisławska, 6–8, 9, 11, 24, 73, 75 Stanisławski, Piotr, brother of Anna Stanisławska, death, 7 Stryowski, Wilhelm August, painter, 78 Swedish Deluge (“Potop”), 4, 7 syrenka‚ “mermaid of Warsaw,” 77 Szczekarzowice, Oleśnicki family estate, 10, 12, 50, 59, 68, 83, 90 Tatars, 5, 6n14, 81 theatrum mundi, 87 Veni creator spiritus, 41, 79

Venus, goddess of love, 46, 49, 56, 82, 83 (see also Aphrodite) Virgil, Georgics, 78 Vistula, river, 7, 36, 77, 78, 81, 83 Wallachia, 52, 53, 54, 84, 85 Warsaw, vii, 2, 7, 8, 11, 16, 34, 35, 36, 77, 78, 80 Warsaw Uprising, 2, 16 Warszycki, Jan Kazimierz, “Aesop,” 7–9, 26, 72, 73, 74 Warszycki, Stanisław, castellan and senator, father of Aesop, 7–9, 21, 24–25, 26, 71, 72, 73, 74; Master Krakowski, 21, 24, 25, 72 Wiśniowiecka, Eleanora (Maria Josefa of Austria), Queen, 5 Wiśniowiecka, Gryzelda Konstancja, 73–74 Wiśniowiecka, Helena, 7 Wiśniowiecki, Jeremi, 73–74 Zbąski, Jan, marriage to, 13 Zebrzydowska, Dominika Gryzelda, 7 Zebrzydowski, family, 7, 75 Zephyros, god of wind, 79

The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series

FOUNDING EDITORS

Margaret L. King and Albert Rabil, Jr.

SERIES EDITOR

Margaret L. King

SERIES EDITOR, ENGLISH TEXTS Elizabeth

H. Hageman

Series Titles Madre María Rosa Journey of Five Capuchin Nuns Edited and translated by Sarah E. Owens Volume 1, 2009 Giovan Battista Andreini Love in the Mirror: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Jon R. Snyder Volume 2, 2009 Raymond de Sabanac and Simone Zanacchi Two Women of the Great Schism: The Revelations of Constance de Rabastens by Raymond de Sabanac and Life of the Blessed Ursulina of Parma by Simone Zanacchi Edited and translated by Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski and Bruce L. Venarde Volume 3, 2010 Oliva Sabuco de Nantes Barrera The True Medicine Edited and translated by Gianna Pomata Volume 4, 2010 Louise-Geneviève Gillot de Sainctonge Dramatizing Dido, Circe, and Griselda Edited and translated by Janet Levarie Smarr Volume 5, 2010

Pernette du Guillet Complete Poems: A Bilingual Edition Edited with introduction and notes by Karen Simroth James Poems translated by Marta Rijn Finch Volume 6, 2010 Antonia Pulci Saints’ Lives and Bible Stories for the Stage: A Bilingual Edition Edited by Elissa B. Weaver Translated by James Wyatt Cook Volume 7, 2010 Valeria Miani Celinda, A Tragedy: A Bilingual Edition Edited with an introduction by Valeria Finucci Translated by Julia Kisacky Annotated by Valeria Finucci and Julia Kisacky Volume 8, 2010 Enchanted Eloquence: Fairy Tales by Seventeenth-Century French Women Writers Edited and translated by Lewis C. Seifert and Domna C. Stanton Volume 9, 2010

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Sophie, Electress of Hanover and Queen Sophie Charlotte of Prussia Leibniz and the Two Sophies: The Philosophical Correspondence Edited and translated by Lloyd Strickland Volume 10, 2011 In Dialogue with the Other Voice in Sixteenth-Century Italy: Literary and Social Contexts for Women’s Writing Edited by Julie D. Campbell and Maria Galli Stampino Volume 11, 2011 Sister Giustina Niccolini The Chronicle of Le Murate Edited and translated by Saundra Weddle Volume 12, 2011 Liubov Krichevskaya No Good without Reward: Selected Writings: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Brian James Baer Volume 13, 2011 Elizabeth Cooke Hoby Russell The Writings of an English Sappho Edited by Patricia Phillippy With translations from Greek and Latin by Jaime Goodrich Volume 14, 2011 Lucrezia Marinella Exhortations to Women and to Others If They Please Edited and translated by Laura Benedetti Volume 15, 2012 Margherita Datini Letters to Francesco Datini Translated by Carolyn James and Antonio Pagliaro Volume 16, 2012

Delarivier Manley and Mary Pix English Women Staging Islam, 1696–1707 Edited and introduced by Bernadette Andrea Volume 17, 2012 Cecilia del Nacimiento Journeys of a Mystic Soul in Poetry and Prose Introduction and prose translations by Kevin Donnelly Poetry translations by Sandra Sider Volume 18, 2012 Lady Margaret Douglas and Others The Devonshire Manuscript: A Women’s Book of Courtly Poetry Edited and introduced by Elizabeth Heale Volume 19, 2012 Arcangela Tarabotti Letters Familiar and Formal Edited and translated by Meredith K. Ray and Lynn Lara Westwater Volume 20, 2012 Pere Torrellas and Juan de Flores Three Spanish Querelle Texts: Grisel and Mirabella, The Slander against Women, and The Defense of Ladies against Slanderers: A Bilingual Edition and Study Edited and translated by Emily C. Francomano Volume 21, 2013 Barbara Torelli Benedetti Partenia, a Pastoral Play: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Lisa Sampson and Barbara Burgess-Van Aken Volume 22, 2013

François Rousset, Jean Liebault, Jacques Guillemeau, Jacques Duval and Louis de Serres Pregnancy and Birth in Early Modern France: Treatises by Caring Physicians and Surgeons (1581–1625) Edited and translated by Valerie WorthStylianou Volume 23, 2013 Mary Astell The Christian Religion, as Professed by a Daughter of the Church of England Edited by Jacqueline Broad Volume 24, 2013 Sophia of Hanover Memoirs (1630–1680) Edited and translated by Sean Ward Volume 25, 2013 Katherine Austen Book M: A London Widow’s Life Writings Edited by Pamela S. Hammons Volume 26, 2013 Anne Killigrew “My Rare Wit Killing Sin”: Poems of a Restoration Courtier Edited by Margaret J. M. Ezell Volume 27, 2013 Tullia d’Aragona and Others The Poems and Letters of Tullia d’Aragona and Others: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Julia L. Hairston Volume 28, 2014 Luisa de Carvajal y Mendoza The Life and Writings of Luisa de Carvajal y Mendoza Edited and translated by Anne J. Cruz Volume 29, 2014

Russian Women Poets of the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Amanda Ewington Volume 30, 2014 Jacques Du Bosc L’Honnête Femme: The Respectable Woman in Society and the New Collection of Letters and Responses by Contemporary Women Edited and translated by Sharon Diane Nell and Aurora Wolfgang Volume 31, 2014 Lady Hester Pulter Poems, Emblems, and The Unfortunate Florinda Edited by Alice Eardley Volume 32, 2014 Jeanne Flore Tales and Trials of Love, Concerning Venus’s Punishment of Those Who Scorn True Love and Denounce Cupid’s Sovereignity: A Bilingual Edition and Study Edited and translated by Kelly Digby Peebles Poems translated by Marta Rijn Finch Volume 33, 2014 Veronica Gambara Complete Poems: A Bilingual Edition Critical introduction by Molly M. Martin Edited and translated by Molly M. Martin and Paola Ugolini Volume 34, 2014 Catherine de Médicis and Others Portraits of the Queen Mother: Polemics, Panegyrics, Letters Translation and study by Leah L. Chang and Katherine Kong Volume 35, 2014

Françoise Pascal, MarieCatherine Desjardins, Antoinette Deshoulières, and Catherine Durand Challenges to Traditional Authority: Plays by French Women Authors, 1650–1700 Edited and translated by Perry Gethner Volume 36, 2015 Franciszka Urszula Radziwiłłowa Selected Drama and Verse Edited by Patrick John Corness and Barbara Judkowiak Translated by Patrick John Corness Translation Editor Aldona Zwierzyńska-Coldicott Introduction by Barbara Judkowiak Volume 37, 2015 Diodata Malvasia Writings on the Sisters of San Luca and Their Miraculous Madonna Edited and translated by Danielle Callegari and Shannon McHugh Volume 38, 2015 Margaret Van Noort Spiritual Writings of Sister Margaret of the Mother of God (1635–1643) Edited by Cordula van Wyhe Translated by Susan M. Smith Volume 39, 2015 Giovan Francesco Straparola The Pleasant Nights Edited and translated by Suzanne Magnanini Volume 40, 2015 Angélique de Saint-Jean Arnauld d’Andilly Writings of Resistance Edited and translated by John J. Conley, S.J. Volume 41, 2015

Francesco Barbaro The Wealth of Wives: A Fifteenth-Century Marriage Manual Edited and translated by Margaret L. King Volume 42, 2015 Jeanne d’Albret Letters from the Queen of Navarre with an Ample Declaration Edited and translated by Kathleen M. Llewellyn, Emily E. Thompson, and Colette H. Winn Volume 43, 2016 Bathsua Makin and Mary More with a reply to More by Robert Whitehall Educating English Daughters: Late Seventeenth-Century Debates Edited by Frances Teague and Margaret J. M. Ezell Associate Editor Jessica Walker Volume 44, 2016 Anna StanisŁawska Orphan Girl: A Transaction, or an Account of the Entire Life of an Orphan Girl by way of Plaintful Threnodies in the Year 1685: The Aesop Episode Verse translation, introduction, and commentary by Barry Keane Volume 45, 2016 Alessandra Macinghi Strozzi Letters to Her Sons, 1447–1470 Edited and translated by Judith Bryce Volume 46, 2016 Mother Juana de la Cruz Mother Juana de la Cruz, 1481–1534: Visionary Sermons Edited by Jessica A. Boon and Ronald E. Surtz Introductory material and notes by Jessica A. Boon Translated by Ronald E. Surtz and Nora Weinerth Volume 47, 2016

Claudine-Alexandrine Guérin de Tencin Memoirs of the Count of Comminge and The Misfortunes of Love Edited and translated by Jonathan Walsh Foreword by Michel Delon Volume 48, 2016 Feliciana Enríquez de Guzmán, Ana Caro Mallén, and Sor Marcela de San Félix Women Playwrights of Early Modern Spain Edited by Nieves Romero-Díaz and Lisa Vollendorf Translated and annotated by Harley Erdman Volume 49, 2016 Anna Trapnel Anna Trapnel’s Report and Plea; or, A Narrative of Her Journey from London into Cornwall Edited by Hilary Hinds Volume 50, 2016 María Vela y Cueto Autobiography and Letters of a Spanish Nun Edited by Susan Diane Laningham Translated by Jane Tar Volume 51, 2016 Christine de Pizan The Book of the Mutability of Fortune Edited and translated by Geri L. Smith Volume 52, 2017 Marguerite d’Auge, Renée Burlamacchi, and Jeanne du Laurens Sin and Salvation in Early Modern France: Three Women’s Stories Edited, and with an introduction by Colette H. Winn Translated by Nicholas Van Handel and Colette H. Winn Volume 53, 2017

Isabella d’Este Selected Letters Edited and translated by Deanna Shemek Volume 54, 2017 Ippolita Maria Sforza Duchess and Hostage in Renaissance Naples: Letters and Orations Edited and translated by Diana Robin and Lynn Lara Westwater Volume 55, 2017 Louise Bourgeois Midwife to the Queen of France: Diverse Observations Translated by Stephanie O’Hara Edited by Alison Klairmont Lingo Volume 56, 2017 Christine de Pizan Othea’s Letter to Hector Edited and translated by Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski and Earl Jeffrey Richards Volume 57, 2017 Marie-Geneviève-Charlotte Thiroux d’Arconville Selected Philosophical, Scientific, and Autobiographical Writings Edited and translated by Julie Candler Hayes Volume 58, 2018 Lady Mary Wroth Pamphilia to Amphilanthus in Manuscript and Print Edited by Ilona Bell Texts by Steven W. May and Ilona Bell Volume 59, 2017 Witness, Warning, and Prophecy: Quaker Women’s Writing, 1655–1700 Edited by Teresa Feroli and Margaret Olofson Thickstun Volume 60, 2018

Symphorien Champier The Ship of Virtuous Ladies Edited and translated by Todd W. Reeser Volume 61, 2018 Isabella Andreini Mirtilla, A Pastoral: A Bilingual Edition Edited by Valeria Finucci Translated by Julia Kisacky Volume 62, 2018 Margherita Costa The Buffoons, A Ridiculous Comedy: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Sara E. Díaz and Jessica Goethals Volume 63, 2018 Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle Poems and Fancies with The Animal Parliament Edited by Brandie R. Siegfried Volume 64, 2018 Margaret Fell Women’s Speaking Justified and Other Pamphlets Edited by Jane Donawerth and Rebecca M. Lush Volume 65, 2018 Mary Wroth, Jane Cavendish, and Elizabeth Brackley Women’s Household Drama: Loves Victorie, A Pastorall, and The concealed Fansyes Edited by Marta Straznicky and Sara Mueller Volume 66, 2018 Eleonora Fonseca Pimentel From Arcadia to Revolution: The Neapolitan Monitor and Other Writings Edited and translated by Verina R. Jones Volume 67, 2019

Charlotte Arbaleste DuplessisMornay, Anne de Chaufepié, and Anne Marguerite Petit Du Noyer The Huguenot Experience of Persecution and Exile: Three Women’s Stories Edited by Colette H. Winn Translated by Lauren King and Colette H. Winn Volume 68, 2019 Anne Bradstreet Poems and Meditations Edited by Margaret Olofson Thickstun Volume 69, 2019 Arcangela Tarabotti Antisatire: In Defense of Women, against Francesco Buoninsegni Edited and translated by Elissa B. Weaver Volume 70, 2020 Mary Franklin and Hannah Burton She Being Dead Yet Speaketh: The Franklin Family Papers Edited by Vera J. Camden Volume 71, 2020 Lucrezia Marinella Love Enamored and Driven Mad Edited and translated by Janet E. Gomez and Maria Galli Stampino Volume 72, 2020 Arcangela Tarabotti Convent Paradise Edited and translated by Meredith K. Ray and Lynn Lara Westwater Volume 73, 2020 Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve Beauty and the Beast: The Original Story Edited and translated by Aurora Wolfgang Volume 74, 2020

Flaminio Scala The Fake Husband, A Comedy Edited and translated by Rosalind Kerr Volume 75, 2020 Anne Vaughan Lock Selected Poetry, Prose, and Translations, with Contextual Materials Edited by Susan M. Felch Volume 76, 2021 Camilla Erculiani Letters on Natural Philosophy: The Scientific Correspondence of a SixteenthCentury Pharmacist, with Related Texts Edited by Eleonora Carinci Translated by Hannah Marcus Foreword by Paula Findlen Volume 77, 2021 Regina Salomea Pilsztynowa My Life’s Travels and Adventures: An Eighteenth-Century Oculist in the Ottoman Empire and the European Hinterland Edited and translated by Władysław Roczniak Volume 78, 2021 Christine de Pizan The God of Love’s Letter and The Tale of the Rose: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Thelma S. Fenster and Christine Reno With Jean Gerson, “A Poem on Man and Woman.” Translated from the Latin by Thomas O’Donnell Foreword by Jocelyn Wogan-Browne Volume 79, 2021

Marie Gigault de Bellefonds, Marquise de Villars Letters from Spain: A Seventeenth-Century French Noblewoman at the Spanish Royal Court Edited and translated by Nathalie Hester Volume 80, 2021 Anna Maria van Schurman Letters and Poems to and from Her Mentor and Other Members of Her Circle Edited and translated by Anne R. Larsen and Steve Maiullo Volume 81, 2021 Vittoria Colonna Poems of Widowhood: A Bilingual Edition of the 1538 Rime Translation and introduction by Ramie Targoff Edited by Ramie Targoff and Troy Tower Volume 82, 2021 Valeria Miani Amorous Hope, A Pastoral Play: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Alexandra Coller Volume 83, 2020 Madeleine de Scudéry Lucrece and Brutus: Glory in the Land of Tender Edited and translated by Sharon Diane Nell Volume 84, 2021