Line #205 Literature/SienkiewiczTrilogy


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5_076.jpg]]
2	%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
3
4	->''"It was a remarkable year, the year 1647, in which various portents in the heavens and on the earth foretold calamities and unusual occurrences."''
5	-->--Binion's translation of ''With Fire and Sword''
6
7	[[SettlingTheFrontier The]] [[TheCavalierYears Wild Lands]]. The young (but distinguished) commander [[TheProtagonist Jan Skrzetuski]] rescues a Mr. Abdank from a bunch of brigands. Or so the man says, before [[GivenNameReveal admitting]] Abdank is his coat of arms, and his real name is Chmielnicki. But he's not famous yet, so Skrzetuski doesn't give this much thought and goes on his way.
8
9	Along the way, he meets VitriolicBestBuds Zagłoba and Podbipięta (who really wants to serve under Skrzetuski's superior, the famous prince Wiśniowiecki), and shortly afterwards, helps out two ladies whose carriage has broken down on the road. The older's a harridan, but her young [[LoveAtFirstSight niece]]...
10
11	Unfortunately, as it turns out, her hand has been promised to [[MemeticBadass Bohun]]. Fortunately, she cannot stand him and likes Skrzetuski quite a lot. He's able to convince Helena's aunt to go with her to Wiśniowiecki's capital, Łubnie, and to let them marry when the war is over. In the meanwhile, Skrzetuski gets sent to the [[PlaceWorseThanDeath Sitch]] as an envoy.
12
13	And the rebellion breaks loose.
14
15	Known simply as "the Trilogy" in UsefulNotes/{{Poland}}, this series of novels by Henryk Sienkiewicz covers the lives and adventures of a group of Polish and Lithuanian nobles in the 17th century UsefulNotes/PolishLithuanianCommonwealth and what would become UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}}, against the real historical backdrop: while the protagonists are made up (if based on real people), you'll find many a HistoricalDomainCharacter there.
16
17	The Trilogy consists of: ''With Fire and Sword'' (''Ogniem i mieczem''), which takes place during Bohdan Khmelnytsky's 1647 UsefulNotes/{{Cossack\|s}} rebellion; ''The Deluge'' (''Potop''), occurring during the 1655 Swedish invasion of Poland; and ''Pan Wołodyjowski'' (lit. ''Sir Wołodyjowski'', sometimes translated as ''Fire in the Steppe''), which concludes the saga during the Polish-Turkish wars of the 1670s. They were originally [[SerialNovel serialized]] in the newspaper ''Słowo'' (of which Sienkiewicz was the editor at the time).
18
19	Written between 1884 and 1888 with the intent of "lift[ing] the hearts" of the Polish people, "the Trilogy" immediately became a sensation in its homeland, where it was eventually adapted to film, the most famous being Jerzy Hoffman's versions of the saga, and is now seen as one of the masterpieces of Polish literature. It has received considerable acclaim outside its country. Its author won the UsefulNotes/NobelPrizeInLiterature, after all. In some countries, though, such as Ukraine, and perhaps Lithuania, it is disliked, if not reviled, for its negative portrayal of the Commonwealth's opponents.
20
21	Several adaptations have been made, most notably the 1969 ''Pan Wołodyjowski'' (along with a TV series), the 1974 film ''Film/TheDeluge'' and the 1998 film ''With Fire and Sword'' (starring Creator/IzabellaScorupco as Helena Kurcewiczówna among others), all three being directed by Jerzy Hoffman. Both ''Film/TheDeluge'' and ''With Fire and Sword'' are among the most expensive Polish films ever made.
22	----
23	!! This saga contains examples of:
24	* AbductionIsLove: So Bohun (and Horpyna...) seems to believe. Helena [[BungledSuicide disagrees]]. Azja Tuhaj-Bejowicz is also of this opinion, but his target of choice proves [[DamselOutOfDistress more difficult]] to abduct.
25	* [[AbusiveParents Abusive Guardians]]: [[HeartwarmingOrphan Helena]]'s aunt (her uncle's widow) is emotionally abusive. Aside from regularly disparaging [[AcquittedTooLate Helena's father]], consider what she says to [[TheProtagonist Skrzetuski]] - with Helena right there:
26	--> "When the young men go on an expedition I stay at home with him and this young lady, [[ResentfulGuardian with whom I have more suffering than comfort]]." The contemptuous tone with which the princess spoke of [[HeartwarmingOrphan her niece]] was so evident that it did not escape the attention of the lieutenant.
27	* AccidentalHandHold: Skrzetuski and Helena's hands touch by accident because [[ContrivedCoincidence a falcon perched on Helena's hand]] [[YouCantFightFate pulls them together]].
28	* ActionGirl: Basia from ''Pan Wołodyjowski'' is as much of an action girl as a 17th century woman in a 19th century book can get. Not only has she a passion for fencing, is a good shot and accomplished rider, [[spoiler: but knocks her almost kidnapper out with the butt of his own gun and goes back home through the wilderness on foot (because she loses the horse on the way). By herself. In the middle of winter.]]
29	* ActionizedSequel: ''Pan Wołodyjowski'' ditches the overall pretense of being an important and moralising historical novel and instead focuses on personal adventures of the titular colonel, with historical events used only as a far-away backdrop. It's also significantly shorter than either ''With Fire and Sword'' or ''The Deluge''. Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad, since this makes it far more digestable as a simple adventure novel and it's ''Pan Wołodyjowski'' that ended up having countless copy-cats, both contemporary and modern ones.
30	* AdaptationPersonalityChange: Jeremi Wiśniowiecki, for one. In the film, his character changes from an [[FatherToHisMen involved]] leader to more of an aloof but ruthless authority figure who doesn't get a [[CompressedAdaptation single scene]] of actually directing a battle.
31	* AdaptationalWimp: Zagłoba, believe it or not. In the books, while having a healthy concern for his own hide, he's still a skilled swordsman, is mentioned to have no reservations about duelling his fellow noblemen, and legitimately captures an enemy banner during a battle in ''With Fire and Sword.'' In the films he's... none of that; and the banner literally falls down on him while he's hiding in a ditch with a bottle of wine.
32	* AgentPeacock: A villainous one in ''Potop'' - Bogusław Radziwiłł.
33	* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler: Janusz Radziwiłł]] doesn't ''quite'' manage a DeathEqualsRedemption but his last moments are a somber affair, and evoke a measure of sympathy even in his erstwhile enemies.
34	* TheAlcoholic: Chmielnicki turns into one in ''With Fire and Sword'', due to [[DrowningMySorrows stress]].
35	* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Bohun's for Helena, Ewa's for Azja ([[TearJerker tragically so]]). Wołodyjowski's for several girls, but he's a [[GracefulLoser better loser]].
36	* AmbiguouslyGay: Or more than ambiguously. Horpyna the witch in the 1999 film adaptation of ''With Fire and Sword''. She [[spoiler:[[PsychoLesbian nearly molests]] Helena, implying that she would were it not for her fear of Bohun]]. Crossed with BuryYourGays when she gets shot, and then stabbed through the chest with a stake a few minutes later. Which didn't happen in the book, where Horpyna does hit on Rzędzian and Bohun's men, and treats Helena with her own brand of sympathy, but nothing more. Her death, while still violent, is less gratuitously so (Rzędzian shoots her, then uses some consecrated chalk to draw a cross on a heavy stone he drops on her chest to keep her from coming back to haunt him).
37	* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Basia makes one towards Michał, who's completely baffled at first, then realises he reciprocates, resulting in them going to Chreptiów as a HappilyMarried couple. Aww.
38	* AnyoneCanDie: Sienkiewicz wasn't above killing a popular character to remind the readers that the danger faced by the heroes is real. [[spoiler: Podbipięta gets killed in ''With Fire and Sword'', Wołodyjowski [[TheHeroDies pretty much commits]] HeroicSuicide in the last book.]]
39	* ArchEnemy: Bogusław Radziwiłł for [[TheProtagonist Kmicic]] in ''Potop''.
40	* ArtisticLicenceHistory: Sienkiewicz may have "tweaked" some things here and there, for a better, more edifying story. Modern Ukrainians aren't pleased.
41	* AsleepForDays: [[spoiler: Basia's]] [[HeroicRROD illness]], complete with babbling in her sleep when she relives what happened.
42	** Skrzetuski, too, twice (after he's wounded in Sitch and [[BringHelpBack in the royal camp]]).
43	* AssholeVictim: [[UnsexySadist Kuklinowski]], [[OpportunisticBastard who sided with Swedes for his own personal benefits]] and helped them besiege Częstochowa. He tortures Kmicic more for his amusement than to get any information out of him, burning his side with a tarred torch. [[spoiler: After managing to escape, Kmicic pays him in kind, and leaves badly injured Kuklinowski [[UnwillingSuspension suspended by arms]] to a ceiling joist. By the time rest of the traitors check on the shed where Kmicic was tortured, they find Kuklinowski still tied and dead from sustained injuries]].
44	* TheAtoner: Kmicic starts out as brash, boisterous, utterly selfish {{Jerkass}} who [[DidntThinkThisThrough doesn't bother with thinking too much]]. This attitude causes him a world of trouble, leading to a snap and HeelFaceTurn... by seventeenth century standards. He still kills and burns villages, but now he's doing it for Poland.
45	* AwakeningTheSleepingGiant: Before the Swedes started besieging Częstochowa, they were winning the war. Afterwards, [[InItsHourOfNeed not so much]].
46	* BadassAdorable: Basia is a small, blonde, cute as a button PluckyGirl, who likes sugary treats and playing matchmaker, and is capable of sulking very adorably. Also fully capable of [[spoiler: killing someone with a shotgun]].
47	* BadassUnintentional: Zagłoba, time and again (and again).
48	* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Helena for Skrzetuski.
49	--> '''Helena''': Because you had pity on me, drew me to you, took my part, and spoke words such as I had never heard before.
50	* BeenThereShapedHistory: Right in the beginning, Skrzetuski [[spoiler: saves the life of Chmielnicki, the man soon to lead a major rebellion]]. True, the rebellion was brewing anyhow...
51	* BeforeIChangeMyMind: Chmielnicki basically tells Jan this when letting him go:
52	--> '''Chmielnicki''': Hasten to take advantage of my favor, lest I change my mind; for it is my kindness and belief in a just cause which makes me so careless as to provide an enemy for myself, for I know well that you will fight against me.
53	* BettyAndVeronica: [[GenderFlip Jan Skrzetuski and Bohun]] for Helena, although she professes to only care for Jan. Although both are deeply in love with her, Bohun is more of a {{Bad Boy}} who's {{Troubled But Cute}} - especially after he [[spoiler: [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge kills her relatives, burns down her home]], and then manages to [[AbductionIsLove kidnap her]]. Oh well.]].
54	** In the film adaptation, Jan's [[HairOfGoldHeartOfGold blond]] while Bohun stays canonically dark-haired, making it even more archetypal {{Betty And Veronica}}.
55	* {{BFS}}: Longinus's [[OneHandedZweihander hereditary sword]], ''Zerwikaptur'' ("Hood-Tearer"). Normal people require a demonstration to believe that fencing with ''this'' is possible. This became RunningGag.
56	* BoisterousBruiser: Jan Onufry Zagłoba -- much more 'boisterous' than 'bruiser' but still.
57	* BornLucky: Kmicic often mentions no daring venture's ever gone wrong for him ''before''. In a way, InformedAttribute, because when he becomes TheProtagonist, things do start going sideways for him.
58	* BringHelpBack: Podbipięta and Skrzetuski are sent through enemy lines to do this during the siege at the end of ''With Fire and Sword''. All four friends volunteered, but their commander decided it's more prudent to send them one by one.
59	* BumblingSidekick / HypercompetentSidekick: Yes, at once. It's not that Skrzetuski is incompetent, but without Rzędzian - a CloserToEarth CombatPragmatist, [[UndyingLoyalty loyal to a fault]] and perfectly willing to go on a dangerous mission at a moment's notice - he wouldn't get much done, except [[TheWoobie suffering dramatically]] and fighting. At the same time, Rzędzian's attempts to tell his master about his exploits are hilariously [[ShaggyDogStory rambling]] and he pays zero attention to the big, political picture, which makes him look rather [[BunnyEarsLawyer foolish]]. [[ObfuscatingStupidity Although]]...
60	* CallToAgriculture: After the events of ''With Fire and Sword'' Jan Skrzetuski and Helena get married and settle down with a [[BabiesEverAfter constantly growing family]]. This is historically accurate, since the nobility were landowners cum warriors, rather like in AncientRome which they saw as a spiritual ancestor of sorts.
61	** Skrzetuski's still fighting in Ukraine for a good portion of the time though.
62	* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: The proud Janusz Radziwiłł often wants to make [[RebelliousRebel Kmicic]] pay for [[PleaseSpareHimMyLiege questioning his orders]] or [[WhatTheHellHero calling him out on lying]]. But because Kmicic is essential to keeping Radziwiłł in power, he has to leave Kmicic alive (and willing to cooperate).
63	* TheCavalry: In an aversion of DeusExMachina and a possible [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]], Podbipięta and Skrzetuski have to go through a virtual suicide mission to call for it at the end of ''With Fire and Sword''. [[spoiler:Podbipięta actually does die, but Skrzetuski makes it.]]
64	* CelibateHero: Longinus Podbipięta, who is sworn to celibacy until he decapitates three enemies at once with his sword, as one of his forefathers did. Though with [[{{BFS}} his sword]] it's ''technically'' possible.
65	* [[TheChainsofCommanding The Chains of Commanding]]: Both [[ReluctantRuler Jeremi Wiśniowiecki]] and [[DrowningMySorrows Chmielnicki]] are shown angsting over their responsibilities as leaders.
66	* ChallengeSeeker: Wołodyjowski in the first book, being young and [[PintsizedPowerhouse totally harmless-looking]] enjoys needling people into MuggingTheMonster. Grows out of this later, more or less.
67	* CompressedAdaptation: Of ''With Fire and Sword''. See also PragmaticAdaptation.
68	* ConvenientlyPlacedSharpThing: How Zagłoba escapes his captivity by Bohun's men.
69	* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: If Kmicic had just written to Oleńka to let her know that he'd [[HeelFaceTurn realized he was on the wrong side all along]] [[RedemptionQuest and was beginning to make reparations]] instead of deciding he didn't deserve to write to her until he's done something to make up for it, both could have been spared a world of {{angst}}. [[spoiler: Oleńka eventually believes [[ManipulativeBastard Bogusław's]] lie that Kmicic is not only a traitor, but [[AndThatsTerrible set out of his own accord to sell the Polish king to the highest bidder, dead or alive.]] She's [[WasItAllALie brokenhearted and horrified.]] Her confidence in herself and her judgement takes a pretty heavy blow as well.]] Of course, the letter could have been lost during the war.
70	* CrazyJealousGuy: When it turns out [[spoiler: Krzysia and Ketling]] have fallen in love (quite [[LoveAtFirstSight innocently]]), Wołodyjowski [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge suddenly]] [[DuelToTheDeath becomes]] [[MurderTheHypotenuse one]]. [[spoiler: Then he decides Ketling wasn't really at fault for falling in love, but it's Wołodyjowski's own rotten luck, and forgives him]].
71	** Bohun is an even better example: when he finds out that the Kurcewicz clan has promised Helena's hand to Skrzetuski, his immediate reaction is to murder the old princess and her two sons in rage and try to abduct the girl (he only fails thanks to Zagłoba's wits).
72	* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: It's easy for a casual onlooker to get the impression that Zagłoba is a fat, aging drunk with a tendency to tell [[ShaggyDogStory shaggy dog stories]]. That's because he is. Just don't get him ''mad'' or ''desperate''...
73	* CrucifiedHeroShot: [[spoiler: Podbipięta's body gets tied to a siege engine]] to horrify the besieged.
74	* CruelMercy: Kmicic decides to leave [[spoiler: Kuklinowski, a man who just tortured him, alive, but not after paying him back in kind with the exact same torture method. It actually ''fails'' - when Kuklinowski is found by his co-conspirators, he's dead from the extensive burn damage]].
75	* CrushBlush: Helena is often described as [[LuminescentBlush blushing furiously]] in her scenes with [[LoveInterest Skrzetuski]].
76	* CryIntoChest: After Skrzetuski snaps out of his {{Heroic BSOD}} at Rozłogi and breaks down, [[AFatherToHisMen Prince Jeremi]] "said not a word; he only opened his arms to him and waited. Skrzetuski threw himself into those arms with loud weeping."
77	* TheCutie: Two of them, [[KillTheCutie Anusia]] and [[BreakTheCutie Basia]].
78	* DarkerAndEdgier: The third book, ''Pan Wołodyjowski''. %%is it?
79	* DamselInDistress: Helena, Aleksandra and Basia each get kidnapped in their respective books. Basia [[DamselOutOfDistress rescues herself]], but the other two don't - Helena is terrified out of her wits by her [[StalkerWithACrush kidnapper]], while Aleksandra's hands are tied by politics and being outnumbered. She's a (thoroughly [[PolitenessJudo polite]]) DefiantCaptive, though, and attempts to escape at least once.
80	* DeadGuyOnDisplay: [[spoiler: Longinus']] body is displayed to intimidate the besieged.
81	* DeathOfAThousandCuts: [[spoiler: Podbipięta]] is killed with arrows. Lots of arrows.
82	* {{Deconstruction}}: The third book does this to old, [[DamselInDistress damsel in distress]] and hero tropes. Zosia Boska, the fiance of the young, strong, courageous noble and soldier Adam Nowowiejski had been captured by evil Tatar Azja.[[spoiler: Azja butchers young man's father, rapes (multiple times) the poor girl and in the end sells her, along with her mother and Adam's sister into slavery. Nowowiejski never sees them again. Azja is killed, but not in a duel. He's impaled, blinded and set on fire by Nowowiejski.]]
83	** More specifically it reads like a deconstruction of [[spoiler: the previous two novels]]. Nowowiejski is a young, heroic nobleman, just in the mould of Skrzetuski and Kmicic, so he's going to valiantly serve Poland, have many adventures, then a brush with death, and ultimately be rewarded a HappilyEverAfter with his love, right? [[spoiler: [[DownerEnding Hell no.]]]]
84	* DefiantToTheEnd: So many, especially Skrzetuski. When captured by Chmielnicki in the Sitch, [[spoiler: he demands that Chmielnicki recognize that the rebellion is flawed in an argument that literally ends with Skrzetuski [[TemptingFate daring]] [[StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred Chmielnicki to]] [[YouWouldntShootMe kill him]] ]]. Helena as well when kidnapped by [[AbductionIsLove Bohun]] - apart from her BungledSuicide, she flat-out tells him that he can do whatever he likes to her, but she'll never love him. [[ProperLady Aleksandra]] is very defiant, too, and don't get us started on [[PluckyGirl Basia]].
85	** Bohun at the end of ''With Fire and Sword'' when he [[spoiler: [[LastStand charges the entire enemy army]] with barely a handful of men]] after the rest of Chmielnicki's forces have [[SensingYouAreOutmatched signed a peace settlement]].
86	* DespairEventHorizon: Skrzetuski crosses his in ''With Fire and Sword'' many times, always in relation to Helena. See HeroicBSOD when he arrives at Rozłogi, only to find it burned to the ground. Later when [[spoiler: he finds out the castle of Bar, where Helena was supposedly safe, has fallen to Bohun's Cossacks]] and also [[spoiler: when he hears (false) reports of Helena's death in Kiev]]. Altogether, Skrzetuski spends a good deal of the book [[HeroicSafeMode numb]], completely focused on [[TheStoic doing his duty]].
87	* DevotedToYou: Both Bohun and Skrzetuski are completely devoted to [[LoveInterest Helena]]. (Bohun's been obsessed with Helena [[UnrequitedLoveLastsForever for years]], whereas Skrzetuski falls for her [[LoveAtFirstSight on sight]].)
88	** Highlighted by Skrzetuski himself when (barely five minutes after meeting her) he pledges his [[PropertyOfLove devotion to serve Helena forever]].
89	* {{Doorstopper}}: Both ''With Fire and Sword'' and ''The Deluge'' are pretty thick and usually published in two tomes to make it comfortable to just handle them. There are also editions that get the entire Trilogy into a single tome and it's big and heavy enough to be used as a bludgeon.
90	* DownerEnding: The third book ends with [[spoiler: Wołodyjowski dead and the political situation crumbling]]. Which is a ForegoneConclusion if you are familiar with the real history behind the events of the novel.
91	* DoWithHimAsYouWill: What Wiśniowiecki does with Bohun - rather than prescribe [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice the usual punishment for such situations]], he decides that Skrzetuski (and Helena), having suffered most due to Bohun, deserve to decide what happens to him.
92	* TheDragon: Horpyna has a DepravedDwarf, Czeremis, as her dragon. She herself is sort of TheDragon for Bohun.
93	** Kmicic becomes one for Janusz Radziwiłł.
94	* DuelingScar: Kmicic has one on his forehead from when he was struck down in his duel with Wołodyjowski. It serves as a DistinguishingMark later.
95	* DuelToTheDeath: Played straight in ''With Fire and Sword'' with Wołodyjowski and Bohun. [[spoiler: Both we and the heroes are astounded to learn Bohun survived]]. Later, in ''The Deluge'', same thing happens with Kmicic. Generally, if someone duels Wołodyjowski and isn't an established character, they'll die. If the other duelist isn't even of NominalImportance, their death will take one, two lines, tops.
96	* TooDumbToFool: Why Radziwiłł picked [[DumbMuscle Roch Kowalski]] to convey our imprisoned heroes in ''The Deluge''. Zagłoba still manages to confuse him into submission.
97	* EarnYourHappyEnding: Both [[IronWoobie Skrzetuski]] and [[RedemptionEqualsAffliction Kmicic]] suffer inordinately (as well as their love interests!) over the course of their respective books, and are eventually compensated with [[HappilyEverAfter marriage and happiness.]]
98	--> '''Wołodyjowski''' (of Jan): Well, because the country was in need, in humiliation, because the terrible Chmielnicki was triumphing, he did not go to seek the girl. He offered his suffering to God, and fought under Prince Jeremi in all the battles, including Zbaraż, and covered himself with such glory that to-day all repeat his name with respect. Compare his action with your own and see the difference. Then God rewarded and gave him the maiden.
99	** [[TheAtoner Kmicic]] actually invokes this trope in ''The Deluge'' once he sets out on his redemption quest. At first, his feelings for [[LoveInterest Oleńka]] (and hopes to be with her) are mixed up with his sense of patriotism, and he even sees her as a symbol of the country he betrayed. [[CharacterizationMarchesOn Then things change]] [[spoiler: when he has to make the choice to put the country's interests before his own happiness.]]
100	** Also invoked when Kmicic [[spoiler: is prescribed harsh penance to atone for his sins when he goes to confession.]]
101	* ElectiveMonarchy: TruthInTelevision. Elections take place in the first and the third book.
102	* {{Expy}}: Zagłoba bears more than a passing resemblance to Falstaff when he first shows up. [[CharacterizationMarchesOn And then]], [[TookALevelInBadass he comes into]] [[MagnificentBastard his own]].
103	* FateWorseThanDeath: You would ''not'' want to be captured by the Turks in the 17th Century, especially if you [[MadeASlave were a woman]].
104	* FatherToHisMen: Jeremi Wiśniowiecki, particularly to Skrzetuski.
105	* FeverDreamEpisode: Skrzetuski has a tendency to [[TheStoic push]] [[StoicWoobie himself]] [[HeroicFatigue to the limit]] and then [[AsleepForDays crash]]. This happens at least two or three times over the course of ''With Fire and Sword'' - the most notable being after he goes [[SuicideMission through the marsh]] to [[BringHelpBack Bring Help Back]] from the King. Actually, the marsh itself can be counted as a [[FeverDreamEpisode Fever Dream Episode]] too...
106	* FilmOfTheBook: Three of them, filmed in reverse order. ''Pan Wołodyjowski'' first, ''The Deluge'' second and, twenty five years later, ''With Fire and Sword''. Their popularity borders on AdaptationDisplacement despite the books being compulsory reading in high schools.
107	* {{Flynning}}: Subverted. Wołodyjowski's duel with Kmicic shows actual skill despite what it looks like to an untrained eye. Since Kmicic is no match for Wołodyjowski, the later keeps humiliating him [[IShallTauntYou by easily parrying all attacks]] and in the process turning their fight into elaborate flynning.
108	* FolkHero: Bohun. Dieds (old blind men who sing and beg for a living) sing his [[MemeticBadass deeds]]. Somewhat exaggerated.
109	* GentleGiant: Podbipięta, of the {{BFS}}. He takes Zagłoba's mocking good-naturedly and buys him drinks, because why not? It's [[UnclePennybags not like he's poor]].
110	* GetItOverWith: Kmicic, when his duel against Wołodyjowski turns out to be a CurbstompBattle, begs his opponent to finish it and spare him the humiliation. It's probably the most famous MemeticMutation from the whole Trilogy.
111	* GildedCage: [[TheKindnapper Bohun]] spared no expense to gild Helena's cage and she's still afraid of him. Bohun (and Horpyna) thinks she'll get over it with time.
112	* GoodShepherd: Augustyn Kordecki, the abbott of Częstochowa and a veritable saint as well as skilled administrator.
113	* TheGoodKing: Jan II Kazimierz, [[AchillesInHisTent depression]] notwithstanding. He hasn't got very good PR, though, which is historically accurate - his Latin initials ICR (Ioannes Casimirus Rex) have been [[FunWithAcronyms interpreted]] as Initium Calamitatis Regni (the beginning of kingdom's doom). Jan Sobieski, who's not the king yet, gets an unambiguously sympathetic [[FatherToHisMen portrayal]].
114	* GratuitousGerman: German mercenaries' dialogue in ''With Fire and Sword'' includes a smattering of untranslated German phrases. Also, in the opening scene of the "With Fire and Sword" movie, some German soldiers can be heard speaking their native language.
115	* GreyAndGrayMorality: Although there's still a lot of bias towards the Polish side in ''With Fire And Sword'', the author tries to show that both sides of the conflict have good points - and that both commit atrocities. Not so in ''Potop'', where Swedish conflicts with [[spoiler: and invasion of]] Poland are very much seen as clear-cut {{Black And White Morality}} by both the author and the main protagonists (Kmicic, Aleksandra, Wołodyjowski...)
116	* GuileHero: Zagłoba is the obvious one, but there are more: Rzędzian, Skrzetuski's servant in ''With Fire and Sword'' even impresses Zagłoba with his schemes; Kmicic is no slouch in the cunning department, aided by being brave to the point of recklesness; Wołodyjowski, as a famous "zagończyk" (a military commander who was tasked with raiding deep into hostile territory to harass enemy army) is one militarily, if not exactly personally (in fact, outside of his fencing skills and command ability he's pretty endearing).
117	* HadToBeSharp: Wołodyjowski, whose in-universe nickname is "[[PintsizedPowerhouse The Small Knight]]", was trained by his father, who didn't want young Jerzy to be laughed at for his height. It's good to have motivation.
118	* HaveWeMet: Tyzenhauz asks Kmicic this when Kmicic arrives at the king's court in exile under his NomDeGuerre Babinicz. This ends up being a plot point when Tyzenhauz tries to convince the king not to trust "Babinicz" later.
119	--> '''Tyzenhauz''': Have we met somewhere in Lithuania? I cannot remember your name, for it may be that I saw you when a youth, and I myself was a youth then? (...) Your face is surely not strange to me, though at that time it had not those scars. Still see how ''memoria fragilis est;'' it also seems to me you had a different name.
120	* HeartbrokenBadass: Wołodyjowski, twice: after his first LoveInterest, [[CourtlyLove Anusia]] Borzobohata, dies, second when [[spoiler: Basia, after the aforementioned trek through the wilderness, is at death's door]]. Also Skrzetuski, following his HeroicBSOD. [[spoiler: And Adam Nowowiejski, permanently, after the loss of everyone he held dear]].
121	* HeelRealization: Andrzej Kmicic. That's his CharacterDevelopment in a nutshell, so of course it takes him half of the book to even cotton on he's in the wrong.
122	* HeKnowsTooMuch: The reason Chmielnicki refused to set Skrzetuski free immediately after his capture in the Sitch. (Of course, if he was just willing to give his [[CodeOfHonour word of honor]], it [[HonourBeforeReason would've been A-OK]].)
123	* HeldGaze: Um.
124	--> "Again the princess raised her eyes, and her glance met the manly and noble face of the young soldier, and his look, so full of rapture that a deep crimson covered her face. But she did not lower her glance, and for a time he drank in the sweetness of those wonderful eyes, and they looked at each other like two beings who, though they have met merely on the highroad through the steppe, feel in a flash that they have chosen each other, and that their souls begin to rush to a meeting like two doves."
125	* HeroWithBadPublicity: Kmicic at the end of ''Potop'', because he's adopted a NomDeGuerre Babinicz for the duration of his RedemptionQuest (because his own name had loads of bad rep attached - it had hints of a MeaningfulRename, too). Leading to the big reveal and restoration of his honour.
126	* HeroicBSOD: Skrzetuski, when he finds Helena's house burned to the ground and thinks she's died.
127	* HeroicSafeMode: Skrzetuski after he finds out the fortress of Bar has fallen and [[FateWorseThanDeath assumes the worst]]. His friends even wonder if he's no longer in love with her, before they realize what's {{Beneath The Mask}}.
128	--> '''Wołodyjowski''': God alone knows what is taking place within him.
129	* HistoricalDowngrade: Minor example, but still - [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Zamoyski_(1627%E2%80%931665) Jan Sobiepan Zamojski]] really ''did'' "offer the Netherlands" to Carl Gustav during the Polish-Swedish war but he did it entirely of his own volition, and he came up with the line himself.
130	* HistoricalHeroUpgrade:
131	** Jeremi Wiśniowiecki; the man was so brutal that Sienkiewicz couldn't write around all the unsavory details in ''With Fire and Sword''. The upgrade is so extensive people tend to openly ignore his historical "[[RapePillageAndBurn deeds]]", instead taking Sienkiewicz fan-fiction at face value. It doesn't help he's entirely skipped in History curriculum, while Trilogy is a compulsory read in Polish schools.
132	*** Conversely, Jeremi's more straightforwardly noble actions - saving a decent portion of the local Jewry from the Cossack genocide - are omitted entirely, due to ValuesDissonance.
133	** An interesting case with the historical counterpart of Kmicic in ''The Deluge'', one ''Samuel'' Kmicic - while he never actually joined the Radziwiłłs and the Swedes, he was a far more self-serving and opportunistic character than the misguided and hot-headed,but fundamentally decent, hero of the book.
134	** By all accounts, king Jan Kazimierz was a ''horrible'' ruler, failing at diplomacy (the main reason the Commonwealth bothered with having kings in the first place), popular support, any kind of decision making and even entry level of politics in his own court (ultimately being forced to abdicate thanks to a court plot). And one of his first decisions upon learning about Swedish invasion, all while still having troubles in Ukraine going, was to just pack and leave the country to its own devices. With the exception of this running-away episode, you won't find any of this in the books, where it's all either completely glossed over or heavily downplayed, portraying the king as kind and wise, if melancholic.
135	** In reality Paweł Sapieha had all the flaws Sienkiewicz attributes to him in ''The Deluge'' but few, if any, of the virtues he is given.
136	* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Bogusław Radziwiłł in ''The Deluge''. While his cousin Janusz manages to get a [[RedemptionEqualsDeath Redemption Through Death]], Bogusław is so evil that it's not hard to imagine him twirling his mustache in sinister ways.
137	* HolyGround: Monastery of Jasna Góra.
138	* HonorBeforeReason: Several characters who take any sort of vows take them very seriously, which puts some of them in unwinnable situations.
139	** An interesting example occurs in ''With Fire and Sword'', when one of the armies switches sides during the war and a unit that remains loyal is forced into a LastStand. Ironically, its a mercenary unit -- the commander calmly informs his enemies that he will gladly switch to their side but only after his current contract has expired.
140	*** Not so ironically - unreliable mercenaries don't get employment, as the commander says in his BadassBoast. [[spoiler: Then gets massacred.]]
141	** [[spoiler:Wołodyjowski and Ketling]] choose to die rather than break a vow to not let the Turks in the fortress.
142	* HopeCrusher: [[ManipulativeBastard Bogusław Radziwiłł]] is one, most notably for Kmicic.
143	* HopeIsScary: Skrzetuski eventually tries to [[SafetyInIndifference distance himself]] from the [[YankTheDogsChain emotional roller coaster]] of 'news about Helena'.
144	* HopeSpot: Right before a soldier appears [[spoiler: informing them that the fortress of Bar, where Helena is staying, has fallen to the Cossacks]], the army is toasting Skrzetuski and Helena's future marriage.
145	* HordesFromTheEast: The Tatars.
146	* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Wołodyjowski, Basia and young Nowowiejski all [[spoiler: respect Azja and treat him kindly believing that despite his Tatar origin he is an honest citizen of the Commonwealth and their friend. It turns out he's been resentful towards Nowowiejski's father and plotting to avenge himself all along, and to reclaim the rule of the Tatars that was once belonged to his father, Tuhaj-bej.]]
147	* HotBlooded: Bohun, Wołodyjowski, and others. Also Skrzetuski before [[HeroicSafeMode Heroic Safe Mode]] hits. And let's not forget about Kmicic. Really, being hot-blooded is sort of a trade mark for Sienkiewicz heroes.
148	* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Podbipięta falls in love with tiny Anusia Borzobohata. Of course, this is [[VitriolicBestBuds mocked]] by Zagłoba.
149	* IAmNotLeftHanded: Bohun in his duel with Wołodyjowski.
150	* IdenticalGrandson: Thirty years after casting Daniel Olbrychski as Azja in ''Pan Wołodyjowski'', director Jerzy Hoffman cast him again as Azja's father, Tuhaj-Bej, in ''With Fire and Sword''. As a result, Olbrychski is the only actor to star in all three movies.
151	* IKissYourHand: [[HistoricalFiction Quite often in]] ''Ogniem i Mieczem'' - especially Skrzetuski towards [[LoveInterest Helena]] and his boss [[WarriorPrince Jeremi Wiśniowiecki]].
152	* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Used (historically) as a form of death penalty -- many mooks and several named characters die this way.
153	* ImpoverishedPatrician: Helena and her family.
154	* InspiredBy: Apparently, there was a real Jerzy Michał Wołodyjowski once, who [[spoiler:died at Kamieniec Podolski in 1672]]. Sienkiewicz took these facts and wrote the whole trilogy around them.
155	** Also, both Wołodyjowski's and Kmicic's exploits are apparently [[DecompositeCharacter borrowed]] from the biography of Kazimierz Pułaski, who lived about a century after these books are set and was a [[HotBlooded duel-prone]] PintsizedPowerhouse in his youth.
156	** There were actually two different gentlemen by the surname of "Wołodyjowski." Jerzy (the one who died in Kamieniec) and Michał, who was an officer in Jeremi Wiśniowiecki's army, but died several years before Chmielnicki Uprising even started.
157	* InscrutableOriental: Azja Tuhaj-Bejowicz (being a Tatar).
158	* InterruptedSuicide:
159	--> '''Helena:''' (to Bohun) "The knife would have killed me, but you wrenched it from me."
160	* IOweYouMyLife: Kmicic feels he owes Wołodyjowski the world for having given him the officer's commission which saved him from execution.
161	** [[TheAntagonist Chmielnicki]] feels he owes Skrzetuski a debt in ''Ogniem i Mieczem'' for having saved his life, but he declares that after he's freed Skrzetuski later on, they're at quits.
162	--> '''Chmielnicki:''' You know that we are even now. I liked you in spite of your insolence, but if you fall into my hands again you will not escape.
163	* ItsAllMyFault: Skrzetuski did save [[TheAntagonist Chmielnicki]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero from certain death]] at the beginning of the book...
164	--> "He had seen everything, endured everything, and suffered the more because the thought was in his bosom and brain, like the stab of a knife, that he himself was the remote cause, for he and no other had cut Hmelnitski loose from the lariat."
165	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: [[HotBlooded Kmicic]] at the beginning of ''The Deluge'' [[RapePillageAndBurn does some really awful things]] aside from just [[TheRemnant helping the war effort]] (and his lack of restraint is legitimately terrifying), but, the problem: he doesn't realize those things are ''wrong.'' He's so cheerfully unabashed he doesn't mind spending most of his intro scene [[TheDitz chattering ingenuously over dinner]] about [[TheLeader he]] [[ToxicFriendInfluence and his]] [[RagTagBunchOfMisfits friends']] mostly-illegal exploits. To his fiancée.
166	* KarmaHoudini: Bogusław Radziwiłł.
167	* KingIncognito: In ''Potop'' Jan II Kazimierz goes kind of missing. [[spoiler: Turns out he was fleeing the country out of sheer dejection over what's happening. Kmicic rescues him from bandits and convinces his majesty to come back]].
168	* LadyInWaiting: Part of the background whenever the protagonists visit any sort of court, notably [[TheCutie Anusia Borzobohata]].
169	* LadykillerInLove: A ''[[GenderFlipped female]]'' example from Anusia, the [[TheCasanova court flirt]], when she falls for [[CelibateHero Longinus]].
170	* LaResistance: The Poles and Lithuanians rise up against the Swedes in ''Potop''. Also, [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters from a different point of view]], Chmielnicki's rebellion might be counted as this.
171	* LargeAndInCharge: Chmielnicki and Janusz Radziwiłł are both described as large and physically imposing.
172	** Subverted with a foil to both characters, Jeremi Wiśniowiecki, who's a badass leader liked by his soldiers, but described as slight in build and "delicate".
173	* LaserGuidedKarma : Krzeczowski, who switches sides after massacring a German mercenary regiment that remained loyal to the Commonwealth. [[spoiler:He ends up defeated by Radziwiłł's German regiment and impaled. ]]
174	* LastOfHisKind: Podbipięta is the last of his clan.
175	* LastNameBasis: Bohun's first name is used ''once''. [[spoiler: It's Jurko.]] "What is Bohun's first name?" has been used as a question in "how well you know the Trilogy" contests.
176	** Ditto for Zagłoba, although his first name "Onufry" is more well known probably due to being unusual in modern times.[[note]]There's a debate over whether his first name is actually "Jan" (John) but the prevailing view is that it comes from a typo in the very first edition where he introduces himself as "Jan Zagłoba" instead of saying "Jam (archaic form of "I am") Zagłoba".[[/note]]
177	* LongHairIsFeminine: Which is why Helena's has to be cut during her and [[MasterOfDisguise Zagloba's]] escape, in order to [[SweetPollyOliver dress her up as a boy]]. They're both reluctant to do it.
178	* LoveAtFirstSight: Jan Skrzetuski and Helena Kurcewiczówna, Andrzej Kmicic and Aleksandra Billewiczówna. Subverted in the third book with Wołodyjowski and Basia, since she's immediately interested, but he's ObliviousToLove and making the moves on [[RomanticFalseLead her best friend]] ([[spoiler: who ends up with ''his'' best friend]]).
179	** It's arguable whether or not Kmicic and Aleksandra fall in love at first sight - they're definitely attracted to each other from the first, and Kmicic impulsively claims to love her, but it seems to be over the next weeks that they fall in love for real. As Kmicic keeps making visits to Wodokty, he returns each time "more in love", and eventually Oleńka trusts him enough to say she loves him as well.
180	* LoveMakesYouEvil: Bohun's fallen for Helena, head over heels. By hard work and befriending her relatives, he was [[EntitledtoHaveYou promised her hand]] (but this is not treated very seriously by anyone but him, driving [[GreenEyedMonster Bohun]] over the edge somewhat). Also, Azja.
181	* LovePotion: Horpyna the witch claims to be able to make these, but she tells Bohun that they won't help him with Helena because if you give one to someone already in love with somebody else, all that happens is that the existing love becomes even stronger.
182	* MaidenAunt: Wołodyjowski's older sister is still married (to a rather forgettable husband), but she acts as one towards Krzysia and Basia, fussing over them and trying to find them husbands. Played straight with Oleńka's Aunt Kulwiecówna, of the staunch moral guardian variety.
183	* MaritalRapeLicense: The character-based sort. Ironically, Bohun absolutely rejects the [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil idea of raping Helena]] but plans on marrying her against her will - probably the most unforgivable thing [[AntiHero Bohun]] says in the book. (It's debatable whether or not he'd actually be able to go through with it though.)
184	--> '''Bohun''': Then what? It is a sin not to love your husband.
185	* MasterSwordsman: Wołodyjowski. Also, every other hero (well, Zagłoba tends to [[GuileHero use his tongue more than his sabre]]), and good chunk of the supporting cast, but Wołodyjowski is the Master Swordsman. [[ProudWarriorRace It's 17th century Poland, people.]]
186	* MeaningfulRename: Jerzy (George) Michał (Michael) Wołodyjowski normally [[MiddleNameBasis goes by his middle name]], since "Myth/SaintGeorge only slew a dragon and saint Michael leads the entire heavenly cavalry". But in the third book, while [[IWillFightNoMoreForever depressed]] by [[spoiler: Anusia's death and staying in a monastery]] he calls himself Jerzy. [[TenMinuteRetirement This doesn't last]].
187	* [[invoked]] MemeticBadass: While [[WarriorPrince prince]] Wiśniowiecki is unquestionably badass, the stories about him tend to be completely fantastical.
188	* MenDontCry: Subverted. When Skrzetuski overcomes his [[HeroicBSOD Heroic BSOD]] at Rozłogi, he completely breaks down - and the rest of the army weeps with him. Other male characters cry throughout the book, [[spoiler: especially when mourning Longinus' death]].
189	** Played with in the Rozłogi scene: Skrzetuski [[TryingNotToCry attempts to control]] his violent sobs, and Wiśniowiecki tells him to forget his personal suffering because he must dedicate himself entirely to his country. Then again, later, even characters like Jeremi himself shed tears for the Commonwealth's misfortune - apparently [[RealMenWearPink Real Men Cry,]] but only when it's to do with something greater than "their own loss".
190	** Also subverted with Kmicic in ''Potop''.
191	* MiddleNameBasis: Nobody calls Wołodyjowski "Jerzy" until the third book, and even then, it's just because he's trying to turn his life around. "Jerzy", incidentally, is not an embarassing name in any way, he just thinks "Michał" is more badass.
192	* MiseryBuildsCharacter: Or it did for Skrzetuski, anyway.
193	* [[MultipleChoicePast Multiple-Choice Past]]: Running gag with Zagłoba's lost eye and forehead scar. It gets lampshaded during his first appearance.
194	-->'''Zagłoba''': [...] this hole the bullet of the robber made in my forehead when I was on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in penance for the sins of my youth.\
195	'''Someone who's drinking with him''': You said yourself it was knocked of you with a tankard in the Radom?
196	* MurderTheHypotenuse: Bohun threatens to torture and kill Skrzetuski in an outburst of rage after kidnapped Helena continually spurns his advances. Although Helena's something intimidatingly sacred to him, whom he can't seem to intentionally harm and barely touches without her consent, he has no such compunctions where her lover Skrzetuski is concerned.
197	--> '''Bohun''': But I will reach this Pole, and I will order him torn out of his skin, will nail him up. Do you know that Chmielnicki is marching on the Poles, and I go with him; and I will find your dove even under the ground, [[DecapitationPresentation and when I return I will throw his head at your feet as a present.]]
198	* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Although Skrzetuski is willing to admit that the Commonwealth is flawed, he maintains this attitude throughout all of "With Fire and Sword".
199	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Bohun when he [[JerkassWoobie thinks he's accidentally killed Helena]] when she faints after he [[MurderTheHypotenuse promises to kill Skrzetuski]].
200	* MyGreatestFailure: To some extent. Wiśniowiecki often recalls [[CharacterizationMarchesOn with regret]] the day(/s) years ago when his pride led him to overrule a court dispute between himself and another noble by [[AppealToForce showing up with his army]], one of the main reasons his political motives are doubted throughout "With Fire And Sword".
201	** This rejection of his past mistake leads the once-more-excluded-from-military-power Wiśniowiecki to contemplate personal pride and the importance of the law/authority, creating a Moral Dilemma that goes on for several pages in a variant of {{If You Kill Him You Will Be Just Like Him}}.
202	* MyMasterRightOrWrong: Kmicic to the Radziwiłł clan in ''The Deluge''.
203	* NeverLearnedToRead: Bohun has to ask Zagłoba to read aloud the letters he confiscates from Rzędzian because he is illiterate himself - adding to the drama of the scene. It's a mark of [[InherentInTheSystem class differences]]. (Subverted in the movie, where Bohun reads the letters silently and then interrogates Rzędzian about the contents afterwards.)
204	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Jan Skrzetuski rescues a random man from brigands. The random man promptly turns out to be [[spoiler: Bohdan Chmielnicki, and goes on to organize a rebellion of Cossacks]]. NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished.
205	* NotEvilJustMisunderstood: [[SingleTargetSexuality Bohun]] is actually a rather [[IJustWantToBeLoved sad character]].[[note]]Albeit one who's ''very'' much into the whole RapePillageAndBurn thing.[[/note]]
206	* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Bogusław Radziwiłł. The book informs us about his fighting competence. But in the movie, this info never shows up, making him look like an effeminate spoiled nobleman... until he manages to shoot his would-be kidnapper with his own gun.
207	* OccupiersOutOfOurCountry: Particularily in ''The Deluge''.
208	* OldRetainer: Czechły, a Tatar servant in the Kurcewicz household, who's been there since the days when it belonged to Helena's father and to whom Helena's care was entrusted when her father was forced to flee in exile when she was a little girl.
209	* ParentalSubstitute: Zagłoba for [[HeartwarmingOrphan Helena]].
210	* PassedOverPromotion: Jeremi Wiśniowiecki. Sienkiewicz presents him as not only just a [[TheStrategist ruthless tactician]] and [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking leader of his men]] but the [[TheOnlyOne only man who can save the Commonwealth from the rebellion]]. And yet, because of the [[TruthInTelevision fractious politics of the Commonwealth]], he isn't chosen for the post. Again and again (and again).
211	* PatientChildhoodLoveInterest: In the third book, everybody knows Azja is one for Ewa, only stopped by ParentalMarriageVeto. [[spoiler: Except he got over her a long time ago.]]
212	* ThePenance: When Kmicic goes to confession, the prior Kordecki prescribes harsh penance to wash away his sins - which ends up including Kmicic ordering his colonel and friend Soroka to whip him on a daily basis. Kmicic is actually happy now that someone has shown him a clear-cut path towards redemption, but the description of the violence is still pretty disturbing.
213	* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage: Andrzej Kmicic and Aleksandra Billewiczówna. After a whole book worth of {{angst}} from both parties.
214	* PintSizedPowerhouse: Michał Wołodyjowski. His in-universe nickname is "[[RedBaron The Small Knight]]".
215	* PistolWhipping: Basia, while defending herself from [[spoiler: her StalkerWithACrush Azja]], with ''his'' pistol.
216	* PleaseSpareHimMyLiege: Kmicic begs Janusz Radziwiłł for Wołodyjowski's life. It starts out as more of a threat, really, but Janusz's pride forces him to beg in earnest. Kmicic uses flattery to get him to promise to spare Michał's friends as well.
217	* PoliticallyCorrectHistory: In the film version of ''The Deluge'', released in Soviet-dominated Poland in 1974, not one mention is made of the Russians, who were at war with Poland in the original novel and in RealLife.
218	** Well, duh. The original novel did not mention Russians at all, since it was written in Russian-dominated Poland. Instead, they mention Septentrions whom Kmicic fights at Smoleńsk.
219	* PostVictoryCollapse: Skrzetuski after he [[BringHelpBack gets through to the King]]. See {{Asleep For Days}}.
220	* PrivilegedRival: Skrzetuski in comparison to Bohun.
221	* ProperLady: All the main love interests: Helena, ''especially'' [[SilkHidingSteel Aleksandra]], Krzysia [[spoiler: who turns out a RomanticFalseLead, but still]]. Also the wife of Jeremi Wiśniowiecki and the queen.
222	** Played with for Helena since although she is traditionally feminine and of noble blood, she doesn't have court manners due to her rude upbringing and Skrzetuski is pleasantly surprised that she knows how to read and write at all. Moreover, she has to make her way through the steppe and the mob [[SweetPollyOliver disguised as a boy]].
223	--> "For a long time he had been in doubt whether in the most favorable event Rzędzian would bring a letter, for he was not sure that Helena knew how to write. Women in the country were uneducated, and Helena was reared among illiterate people. It was evident now that her father had taught her to write, for she had sent a long letter on four pages of paper. The poor girl didn't know how to express herself elegantly or rhetorically, but she wrote straight from the heart."
224	* TheProudElite: To some extent, Skrzetuski at the beginning of "With Fire and Sword". He refuses to so much as shake [[RealNameAsAnAlias "Abdank's"]] hand until he knows Abdank is a noble. His prejudice isn't unique because it's part of the {{Proud Warrior Race}} [[InherentInTheSystem society]], but definitely gives more credence to the [[BothSidesHaveAPoint injustice behind the rebellion]]. (However, [[CharacterDevelopment over the course of the book]], Skrzetuski [[BreakTheHaughty changes]].)
225	--> But the haughty young man did not stir from his place, and was in no hurry to give his hand; instead of that he said, "I should like to know first if I have to do with a nobleman; for though I have no doubt you are one, still it does not befit me to accept the thanks of a nameless person."
226	* ProudWarriorRace: Everybody!
227	* PunishedForSympathy: Everyone expects this to happen to the boy Żeleński after he mercy-kills the Cossack envoy impaled on Prince Jeremi's orders, since the prince does not tolerate any sign of disobedience, but in a PetTheDog moment, Jeremi instead rewards the boy for being brave enough to risk his life for his humanity and promotes him to his personal service.
228	* ThePurge: When Chmielnicki denounces the 'suspected traitors' in the Sitch, handing them over to be [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill killed]] by [[TorchesAndPitchforks the mob]]. Right before Skrzetuski enters the scene.
229	* [[QuantityvsQuality Quantity vs. Quality]]: Chmielnicki's army of UsefulNotes/{{Cossacks}}, [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized the masses of peasants]], and [[HordesFromTheEast his Tatar allies]] simply cannot beat Jeremi Wiśniowiecki's (hopelessly outnumbered) {{Elite Army}} in the siege of Zbarazh. Or in the battle with Krzywonos. Or...
230	* RaceLift: More like Nationality Lift. Wołodyjowski is in fact a Ruthenian, like duke Wiśniowiecki, but no one pays much attention to it. This is mostly Polish version of HollywoodHistory - they tend to forget, for example, that king Sobieski was also half-Ruthenian.
231	** TruthInTelevision - they were noblemen first and foremost. The Commonwealth wasn't called "noblemen's democracy" for nothing.
232	* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Even a slightest suggestion of trying to force himself on a lady is a sure sign of a major villain. Notably - [[NotEvilJustMisunderstood Bohun]] never does it, despite [[TheKindnapper kidnapping]] Helena.
233	* RealMenHateAffection: Subverted entirely - Sienkiewicz's male soldiers kiss and embrace each other joyfully throughout the Trilogy, and very often. {{Truth In Television}} at the time!
234	* RealNameAsAnAlias: Chmielnicki uses the name of his coat of arms as an alias.
235	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Janusz Radziwiłł
236	* RedemptionQuest: Kmicic undertakes one (eventually going to Częstochowa to prevent its taking by the Swedes), leading him into many opportunities for CharacterDevelopment and [[BeenThereShapedHistory almost single-handedly turning the course of the war]].
237	* ReedSnorkel: In the film adaptation of ''With Fire and Sword''.
238	* ReleasingFromThePromise: Michał releases Krzysia from their engagement after he learns she fell in love with his best friend Ketling (and after he cools down from his initial resolution to kill Ketling in revenge for the betrayal and humiliation).
239	--> '''Michał Wołodyjowski:''' All three of our hearts are being torn apart — I thought — better for one to suffer and bring joy to the other two. May the God give you happiness with Ketling, dear Krzysia. (…) I prefer you to bless me rather than curse me.
240	* TheRemnant: Kmicic and his followers at the beginning of ''The Deluge'' - Smolensk has been captured by the Russians after the Lithuanian forces suffered a defeat, but Kmicic and company continue the fight alone.
241	* ResentfulGuardian: Helena's aunt dislikes her. The disgrace of her father (who's since turned out innocent, but good luck getting Helena's relatives to tell her that) is probably less of a factor than the fact that aunt and her sons have free reign in the village as long as nobody remembers it's not really theirs.
242	* ReunionKiss: Helena kisses Skrzetuski when they reunite in the film adaptation of ''With Fire and Sword''.
243	* RevengeByProxy: Kmicic is terrified Janusz Radziwiłł will take revenge on Oleńka (who remains in his power) for Kmicic [[HeelFaceTurn turning against him]]. (This turns out to be justified - Janusz is only prevented by Bogusław hastily informing him that Kmicic's sent a letter which essentially blackmails them into keeping Oleńka and her family safe.)
244	--> '''Janusz:''' We will find him! We will dig him out! We will get him, even from under the earth! Meanwhile I will give him a sorer blow than if I were to flay him alive.
245	* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: Chmielnicki's rebellion.
246	* RhetoricalQuestionBlunder: When [[DamselInDistress Helena]] asks [[SingleTargetSexuality Bohun]] if she's the "only girl in the world" (questioning why he has to be [[StalkerWithACrush so obsessed with]] [[AllLoveIsUnrequited her in particular]]) he responds, [[BluntYes "You are for me."]].
247	* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: More like Noble Suitor, Commoner Suitor for Skrzetuski and Bohun. Although Bohun supposedly has piles of money from his [[MemeticBadass various adventures]], Jan is Polish and of noble blood, whereas Bohun is a Cossack. Although [[PrivilegedRival Skrzetuski]] really got Helena's abusive relatives to agree to their marriage through a combination of threats and blackmail, Bohun [[DramaticIrony doesn't know that]]. He immediately sees the situation as a case of Jan being picked over him [[PlayingTheVictimCard because of his bloodline and social class]]:
248	--> '''Bohun''': I loved them and served them like a slave because I thought I’d earn the girl that way and they sold me out like a slave. They drove me out like a peasant that’s done his work and deserves no thanks. So alright, I’ll go. I don’t belong among them anyway. But first I’ll bow to them, down to the ground like a Cossack, and thank them for their bread and salt. [[DeadlyEuphemism And I’ll pay them for it like a Cossack before I go my way]].
249	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Of all the characters Zagłoba has the most impressive one in ''With Fire and Sword'' when [[spoiler: Podbipięta is killed trying to sneak past the enemy lines during the siege of Zbaraż]]. The cheerful braggart usually preoccupied chiefly with keeping his hide intact completely [[UnstoppableRage flips out]] and charges into the enemy ranks without so much as a backwards glance. Granted, the whole section of the wall promptly follows but from the description it's not hard to assume he could've taken the siege tower [[spoiler: on which his friend's body was dsplayed]] singlehandedly.
250	* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: King Jan Kazimierz, both in ''With Fire And Sword'' and ''The Deluge''.
251	* RuggedScar: [[PrettyBoy Kmicic]] gets a messy scar on one side of his face, going across his mouth up his cheek, [[EveryScarHasAStory from when Bogusław shot him in the face with his own pistol - from about two feet away.]]
252	* SarcasticConfession: The antagonist of ''Pan Wołodyjowski'' (before he properly outs himself as the antagonist) does this ''constantly'', to the point that the heroes discount it as him just being a bit strange.
253	* SayYourPrayers: When Kmicic is [[spoiler: captured by the Swedes and handed to [[UnknownRival Kuklinowski]]]] [[ToThePain to be finished off at his leisure]], he prays fervently, certain nothing else can help him at this point.
254	* ScrewTheWarWerePartying: The crowds of nobles who gather to lend their support to Jeremi's small and worn-out experienced EliteArmy end up making the camp into more of a carnival than any serious war effort.
255	** This trope is present throughout ''With Fire and Sword'' and the surrender at Ujście in ''The Deluge'' in a number of ways and often turned up to eleven to emphasize the corruption, decadence, and ineffectiveness that characterized a good portion of the Commonwealth's szlachta at the time.
256	* SerialRomeo: Wołodyjowski used to fall in love all the time, with all the seriousness usually displayed by an adolescent jackdaw, but by the third book, he's really given up (see HeartbrokenBadass). Then [[ProperLady Krzysia]] appears...
257	* ShownTheirWork: Sienkiewicz did an incredible amount of research when writing his novels, delving into memoirs and chronicles of the time, even shaping the dialogue to resemble 17th-century Polish rather than its 19th-century successor, though he fell short of that mark. He did, however, sometimes fudge historical accuracy [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality in favor of epic plots]] and heroism.
258	* ShipperOnDeck: Zagłoba supports Jan and Helena's romance. Later on, he spots the feelings Basia is developing towards Wołodyjowski, while the latter remains blissfully [[ObliviousToLove oblivious]], and nudges him a bit. Similarly, Zagłoba and a lot of others at Lubni court support the romance between Anusia and Longinus. They are, arguably, [[HugeGuyTinyGirl cute together]].
259	** He jokingly supports the romance between Wołodyjowski and Anusia in ''The Deluge'' also based on height: Anusia and Michał are both short.
260	* ShootTheMessenger: Jeremi Wiśniowiecki does this to a Cossack envoy from Chmielnicki. [[MoralMyopia And expects his own envoys to be treated as per the laws of diplomacy]].
261	** Admittedly the whole Skrzetuski-in-Sitch arc happened ''before'' the impaling. It's more that messing with representatives of a proud, ruthless, and powerful magnate is a REALLY bad idea.
262	* ShutUpKirk: Bogusław Radziwiłł gets a pretty good one, after Kmicic (who currently has him captive) rallies against the Radziwiłłs' alliance with the Swedes:
263	--->Young sir, I'm in your hands, you can kill me if you want to but I would ask one thing of you - don't bore me.
264	* SignatureMove: Wołodyjowski sometimes trolls his opponents by parrying in a specific way that makes their swords fly out of their hands.
265	** In 1999 ''With Fire and Sword'' movie, Bohun is shown to use a deadly feign, where mid-slash he tosses his sword into the other hand, then slices the unsuspecting opponent open. He demonstrates it early in the movie [[spoiler:when he's slaughtering the Kurcewicz clan]]. Later he uses the same move during his duel against Wołodyjowski[[spoiler:, which fails catastrophically when the latter counters it.]]
266	* TheSiege: Zbaraż in ''With Fire and Sword'', the monastery of Jasna Góra (in Częstochowa) in ''The Deluge'', Kamieniec Podolski in ''Pan Wołodyjowski''.
267	* SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers: Stefan Czarniecki gives Skrzetuski a speech to this effect when they're both in captivity - the first mention in the book of the idea of forgetting yourself in the service of the country. (Although it's worth noting that Skrzetuski's far more ''despairing'' than cynical.)
268	-->'''Czarniecki:''' To sink into despair because ''your'' pride’s been shamed, and because ''you'' feel humiliated by some passing triumph of a mob, is just as bad as treason! Faith in God’s justice and in the ultimate triumph of our People’s spirit would serve your country better.
269	* SingleTargetSexuality: Bohun for Helena. When she rhetorically asks whether she's the only girl in the world, [[RhetoricalQuestionBlunder he says "yes"]].
270	* SilkHidingSteel: ''Oleńka Billewiczówna.''
271	* SmiteMeOMightySmiter: After all the horrors Skrzetuski's seen during his time trailing the course of the rebellion in captivity (and believing it's [[ItsAllMyFault all his fault]]), when he thinks of what could be happening to [[LoveInterest Helena]] if she falls victim to the mob, he begs God to kill him - then realizes [[SuicideIsShameful he's]] [[RageAgainstTheHeavens blaspheming]] and falls to his knees praying for forgiveness and mercy on Helena and the country.
272	--> "When he asked himself what was happening to Helena, and when he thought what might happen if an evil fate should keep her in Rozlogi, he stretched his hands to heaven and cried in a voice in which quivered deep despair, almost a threat: 'God! take my life, for I am punished beyond my deserts!'"
273	* SmugSnake: Azja Tuhaj-Bejowicz
274	** Also, Bogusław Radziwiłł who, despite a badass act of shooting a man with his own gun, blows his opportunity to make Lithuania into his family's own personal duchy, just so he can try--and fail--to [[ILoveYouBecauseICantControlYou get Aleksandra]]. There's also the fact that Kmicic's HeelFaceTurn comes about because Bogusław divulged the entirety of the Radziwiłłs' collaboration with the Swedes with nary a second thought.
275	* SoldierVsWarrior: Basically the difference between the Polish soldiers and the Cossacks fighting in the rebellion, at least as portrayed in ''With Fire and Sword''.
276	* SoleSurvivor: Skrzetuski [[spoiler: after he's sent to the Sicz.]]
277	* StaffOfAuthority: {{Truth In Television}}. Almost every character in authority has a bulava or bulawa, a baton representing their position.
278	* StraightManAndWiseGuy: Longinus and Zagłoba, in that order.
279	* SugarAndIcePersonality: Oleńka is warm, trusting, and open, and lets herself be emotional, around people she likes and, more importantly, trusts. But when it comes to [[BlackAndWhiteMorality those she judges to be morally wrong]] or those who have lied to her, [[IceQueen she acts cold, aloof, and emotionless.]] Part of it's to show her contempt, or because she feels it's what she's obligated to do by her strict code of morals, but it's also a defense mechanism. Since she's also always borne a great deal of responsibility, her strict control of how she expresses her emotions doubles as ToughLeaderFacade.
280	** Over the course of ''The Deluge'', Oleńka ends up getting colder and colder due to her perceived betrayal by Kmicic and her isolation and prolonged exposure to [[ManipulativeBastard Bogusław Radziwiłł]]. Especially after she learns that ''he's'' lying to her too. By the end of the book, [[spoiler: before [[DefrostingIceQueen Kmicic]] returns and the reveal that he's been a good guy all along (more or less),]] her cold, emotionless exterior isn't even a defense mechanism anymore: [[BecomingTheMask it's simply all she feels]].
281	* SuicideIsShameful: More like "suicide is selfish." Throughout a good portion of ''Ogniem i Mieczem'', [[IronWoobie Skrzetuski]] certainly ''[[DeathSeeker wants]]'' [[DeathSeeker to die]], but the way he sees it, he doesn't belong to himself, but rather to the country and Prince Jeremi. He can't [[ICannotSelfTerminate kill himself]] (or give way to his feelings) [[MilesToGoBeforeISleep when he's still useful]]. And, of course, suicide is a sin.
282	* SuicideMission: First Longinus Podbipięta and later Skrzetuski volunteer to go through enemy lines to BringHelpBack during [[TheSiege the siege of Zbaraż]]. Everyone knows the chances of survival are basically nonexistent [[spoiler: especially after Longinus is killed trying]].
283	* SwampsAreEvil: [[TheProtagonist Skrzetuski]] has to go through one to [[BringHelpBack reach the King's army]]. [[RuleofDrama Filled with corpses. In the dead of night]].
284	* SwordOfDamocles: The siege gun that arrives during the siege of Częstochowa.
285	* TakeMeInstead: Kmicic offers himself in exchange for his sergeant and old friend Soroka when the latter is captured.
286	* TakingTheVeil: [[GenderInvertedTrope Wołodyjowski]], almost, after the first of his [[HeartbrokenBadass heartbreaks]]. Skrzetuski also plans to do this after the war [[spoiler: when he believes [[LoveInterest Helena]] has been raped.]] Also [[spoiler: Krzysia, when she becomes a part of the LoveTriangle with Wołodyjowski and Ketling finds this an honourable third option]]. Aleksandra's grandfather has left this route open for her if she, for whatever reason, doesn't want to [[ArrangedMarriage marry]] Kmicic.
287	* TallDarkAndHandsome: Jan Skrzetuski is tall, dark and handsome enough to pass for an Armenian merchant. The movie makes him blonde, though.
288	* TheTease: Anusia loves being adored. Being very, very [[EveryoneLovesBlondes cute]], she has no trouble fulfilling this need.
289	* TenderTears: Wołodyjowski and Podbipięta are remarked to have "sensitive hearts", and both weep for Skrzetuski when he falls into despair at Rozłogi. When they get drunk to celebrate Bohun's defeat in the duel, Wołodyjowski and Zagłoba [[PlayedForLaughs break into tears repeatedly]] over Helena and Skrzetuski's misfortunes and even Bohun's supposed death.
290	* ThatOldTimePrescription: Mouldy bread with cobwebs (which contain antibiotics) is a go-to first aid treatment for wounds (even if they're not infected, for some reason).
291	* ThatsAnOrder: Prince Jeremi declares that instead of all four of the friends going as a group through enemy lines to [[BringHelpBack bring help back]], they will be sent one at a time. This is the only time in the ''entire book'' Skrzetuski protests Jeremi's judgement:
292	--> '''Skrzetuski:''' Your Highness...\
293	'''Wiśniowiecki:''' Such is my will and that is my order.
294	* ThousandYardStare: After Skrzetuski's time spent in captivity, [[WarIsHell witnessing the horrors of the war firsthand]], [[TheAntagonist Chmielnicki]] can hardly stand to endure [[EmptyEyes his accusing gaze]].
295	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Basia and Krzysia, respectively, in ''Pan Wołodyjowski''. Basia remains a complete [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak cutie]], though, while Krzysia is more [[YamatoNadeshiko ladylike]]. Aleksandra and Anusia have similar, Elegant, Proper Elder Sister and Cutesy, Impulsive Little Sister sort of dynamics whan they meet.
296	* TheTrickster: Zagłoba. Witty comments, zany schemes that get him in trouble as often as out, once escaped captivity using nothing but InsaneTrollLogic...[[note]]Although the effectiveness of said logic was aided by [[AlcoholInducedStupidity copious amounts of vodka]][[/note]]
297	* UndyingLoyalty: Prince Jeremi tends to inspire this in [[EliteArmy his followers]].
298	* UnwillingSuspension: Kuklinowski orders Kmicic [[ShamefulStrip stripped]] and hung on a ceiling beam.
299	* WarriorPrince: Bogusław Radziwiłł is many things, most of them pretty unpleasant, but he's neither a coward nor a weakling; whenever the two directly come to blows, [[TheHero Kmicic]] [[CurbstompBattle barely has a prayer]] until the end of ''The Deluge'' where he [[TookALevelInBadass trained up]] under the tutelage of [[MasterSwordsman Wołodyjowski]].
300	* WarIsHell: Skrzetuski ruminates on this throughout ''With Fire and Sword'', with plenty of graphic imagery.
301	* WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong: Basically what Skrzetuski tells Helena when she [[GenreSavvy expresses worries]] about him going to the [[PlaceWorseThanDeath Sitch]].
302	--> '''[[TooDumbToLive Skrzetuski]]''': Have no fear; [[TemptingFate the person of an envoy is sacred]], even among pagans.
303	* WorthyOpponent: Poles used to see the Ottomans as this. While the common Cossacks are savages, their leaders are unquestioned badasses - even today, in Polish slang, 'Kozak' means a Badass. This is definitely how Wołodyjowski sees Bohun during ther famous duel.
304	* WomenAreDelicate: Helena, Krzysia and Ewa are (which is part of their appeal), but living in the borderlands takes guts. So, even if Basia is the only girl who [[GuysSmashGirlsShoot learns to fence]] in the Trilogy, messing with a XVII century Polish noblewoman (or even sufficiently determined peasant women) was not to be undertaken lightly.
305	* TheWomenAreSafeWithUs: Subverted after a fashion. Helena makes her way more-or-less safely through [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized the mob]] by [[SweetPollyOliver disguising herself as a boy]] in a month or so of travel, then later stands up for herself when kidnapped by Bohun by threatening suicide, ''then'' escapes from [[HordesFromTheEast the Tatars]] chasing she and her rescuers down to sell as slaves, and returns to the safety of the Polish-controlled areas - only to still face the threat of potential rape by a Polish officer, pan Pelk.
306	--> '''Rzędzian:''' I was afraid that the princess, who had escaped harm from the Cossacks, would be worse treated by her own.
307	* WrongSideAllAlong: It takes Kmicic considerable time and distance from [[ManipulativeBastard Janusz Radziwiłł]] to realise he's been on the wrong side.
308	* VitriolicBestBuds: Zagłoba enjoys teasing Podbipięta, who, as a Lithuanian (stereotypically calm and quiet) GentleGiant, invariably responds with imperturbable calm. [[spoiler: Zagłoba does break down in ManlyTears upon Podbipięta's death.]]
309	* VowOfCelibacy: Longinus Podbipięta has sworn to never marry until he replicates his ancestor's feat of cutting off three heads with one blow. This becomes relevant once he falls in love with Anusia. [[spoiler: He does succeed - minutes before his death.]]
310	* YouFightLikeACow: During Wołodyjowski's duel with Kmicic, [[MasterSwordsman the former]] calls out the latter on all of his shabby fencing techniques. A less trashy example than usual, but there are a few comments along the lines of: "Alright, that one? Good for chasing off stray dogs.". And there is of course a highly famous and just as highly insulting "You, sir, swing that like a flail". Wołodyjowski essentially equated Kmicic with a peasant, the worst kind of insult a Polish noble could receive.
311	* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: Chmielnicki for Jan Skrzetuski when they meet again in Pereyeslav, where, [[TheAlcoholic after a few]] [[ManipulativeBastard "I like you" comments]], Chmielnicki proceeds to list [[NiceJobBreakingItHero all the ways Skrzetuski inadvertently helped him]]. Whether it's intentional or not, Skrzetuski's left feeling guilty and completely disoriented. Especially considering he was [[BaitAndSwitchComment expecting]] punishment for having walked out on a ceremony honoring Chmielnicki just a few days earlier.
312	** Also to some extent [[UnknownRival Kuklinowski's]] very vocal approval of Kmicic and his actions pre-redemption arc. (He doesn't know that the soldier he's talking to, [[NomDeGuerre Babinicz]], is actually his idol and rival himself, now reformed.)
313	* {{You Said You Would Let Them Go}}/{{I Lied}}: When Kmicic's sergeant Soroka is captured by [[ManipulativeBastard Bogusław]], the prince prepares to exact {{Revenge By Proxy}}. [[AFriendInNeed Kmicic shows up]] to negotiate, [[TakeMeInstead even offering himself in exchange.]] Bogusław toys with Kmicic for most of a scene before demanding he prostrate himself before him, in front of an audience. ("You do not know how to beg with sufficient humility...") [[BreakTheHaughty Usually-proud]] Kmicic is badly shaken, [[AintTooProudToBeg but complies]]. Then the prince tries [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice to have Soroka executed anyway.]]
314	* YouWouldntShootMe: At different points in ''With Fire and Sword'', Skrzetuski flat-out dares opponents - Helena's entire family, and later Chmielnicki himself - to cut his throat when they draw on him. In both cases, he's not even holding a weapon.

Context Literature / SienkiewiczTrilogy