WDF Jan Sobieski Biography IV
Added 2017-10-27 00:49:33 +0000 UTC[PATRONS]
"Most curiously shaped, with a large head, an enormous belly and small feet, surely he did not give the impression of a charming and handsome man. However, his appearance was unmistakably powerful with his large brown, penetrating eyes, surrounded by deep, dark shadows. His fashionable moustache gave him a noble but sinister look..."
In such a way did Jan Sobieski's biographer, Miltiades Varvounis, describe Jan Sobieski (pictured) as the 26 year old Polish noblemen looked for a wife in 1655. Though he believed he had found the love of his life in Marie Casimir Louise, his desires would be delayed for another few years. Not only was his lover destined to marry another, but intense trouble was about to befall his homeland, the likes of which he had never imagined possible.
In episode 4 we are greeted with a familiar scene. It's 1655, and egged on by the Cossack revolt, Tsar Alexis of Russia accepts the Ukrainian Cossack Hetman Bogdan as his vassal, and declares war on the Commonwealth, moving into its eastern marches. Simultaneously, insulted by the Polish King's unwillingness to relinquish his claims on the Swedish Crown, King Charles Gustav of Sweden invaded the Commonwealth as well. By the end of the year, Sobieski's homeland all but ceases to exist...
