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Petyhorcy

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Petyhorcy (singular: Petyhorzec, Latin: pientho-horcensis,[1] Lithuanian: Petihorai[2]) was a type of regular medium-armoured light cavalry exclusively in the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army during the 17th and 18th centuries.[2] The petyhorcy are viewed as the Lithuanian equivalent of the Polish Armoured Companion,[3] or as a cavalry type that was between the Winged Hussars and the Armoured Companion.[4] They were organised in Banners.[2] Originally, the Petyhorcy were spear-armed cavalry from Circassia.[5]

The Petyhorcy were supposed to finish off and defeat the enemy line that was breached by the Winged Hussars.[2] While the Winged Hussars were more prestigious, the Petyhorcy enjoyed high reputation, hence their banner's rotmistras were frequently high-ranking officials.[2] In fact, the Petyhorcy developed in the late 16th-century from the mounted shooters who protected the hussars.[6]

Etymology

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The name of the Petyhorcy comes from Mount Beshtau (in Turkic languages, besh means five and tau means mountain).[7] The name of the Russian city of Pyatigorsk is also derived from it.[7] Tadeusz Czacki wrote that the Petyhorcy originated from the Carpathian Mountains, but that is false.[8]

17th century

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With time the unit type evolved into medium cavalry, almost identical to the Armoured companion.[citation needed] The armour used by those later units included a full chainmail armour with misiurka and arm protectors and often also a kalkan, a round Turkish-style shield.[citation needed] In the 17th century the chainmail was gradually replaced by cuirasses.[citation needed] The offensive armament used by Petyhorcy included a 3 to 4-metre-long lance or bear spear (rohatyna), as well as a Szabla, two pistols and a musket carbine or an eastern-type bow.[citation needed]

Similar to the armoured companions, their armour was chain mail, while their equipment consisted of a shield, lance and bow, the latter only when fighting the Ottoman army.[2] In the mid-17th century, this type of cavalry was usually called the Cossack-type cavalry.[2]

In 1614, the army led by Jacob De la Gardie had two petyhorcy banners, whose commanders were Jaromir Plecki and Stanisław Wolski.[9]

In 1673, the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army had 18 petyhorcy banners, totalling 1,980 horses.[10] In early 1676, there were 22 petyhorcy rota with 2,670 horses, but in the later part of the year, this shrunk to 20 rota of 2,430 horses.[11] In 1690, the Lithuanian Army officially had 620 petyhorcy.[3]

18th century

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In 1717, in the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, the petyhorcy were the most numerous cavalry, having a total of 26 banners.[2] During the military reforms of 1775–1776, all Hussar and Petyhorcy flags, of which there were 32 in total, were merged into two National Cavalry brigades of 16 flags each.[2] The second one was the 2nd Lithuanian National Cavalry Brigade, also called the 2nd (Pinsk) Petyhorcy Brigade, which had about 380 soldiers.[2] In 1789, it numbered 1635 and was composed of 17–32 banners.[2] This brigade was deployed in the eastern lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, on the Russian border.[2] During wartime, the brigade was redeployed.[2] During the War of 1792, part of the brigade's banners were located in the Russian occupation zone and hence were disbanded.[2] The last time the Petyhorcy fought were in the Kościuszko Uprising.[2]

In the 18th century, the petyhorcy were armed with a lance, backsword and pistols or carbine.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Korzon & Gembarzewski 1912, p. 64.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Rakutis 2021.
  3. ^ a b Wojtasik, Janusz (2008). Podhajce 1698 (in Polish). Bellona.
  4. ^ Brainard, Alfred P. (1991). "Polish-Lithuanian Cavalry in the late Seventeenth Century". The Polish Review. 36 (1): 76. JSTOR 25778547 – via JSTOR. In the Lithuanian Army there was also the petyhorcy, an intermediate type between hussars and pancerni, probably possessing few if any firearms.
  5. ^ Mistrini 2016.
  6. ^ Markiewicz, Mariusz. Historia Polski 1492-1795 (PDF) (in Polish). koniec XVIw. - ze strzelców osłaniających husarię wykształcili się jeźdźcy lekkozbrojni: petyhorcy (Litwa), towarzysze pancerni (Korona), Kozacy[dead link]
  7. ^ a b Adamczewski, Przemysław (2019). Polski mit etnopolityczny i Kaukaz (in Polish). Instytut Studiów Politycznych Polskiej Akademii Nauk. p. 245. ISBN 978-83-66819-02-3. Nazwa Petyhorcy, która rozpowszechniła się w Polsce, pochodzi od góry Besztau (w językach turkijskich besz oznacza pięć, a tau górę). Również od niej wywodzi się nazwa rosyjskiego miasta Piatigorsk. Petyhorcy to lekka jazda, (...)
  8. ^ Bandtkie, Jerzy Samuel (1831). Rozmaitości naukowe (in Polish). Kraków: Drukarni Szkoły Głownej. p. 72. Wiadomo, że Litewskie woysko na Wiedeńską wyprawę nie przyszło, lecz ledwie Króla pod Koszycami i Preszowem na powrocie spotkało. Petyhorcy, jazda lekka w woysku Litewskiem nie była z pod gór Karpackich, jak Czacki chce 1,288 lecz jak Czeremissi z pośrzód Rossyi, tak ci Petyhorcy z pośrzód Georgii mieli swoie imie. Wszakże awanturników mnóstwo Persów, Georgian cisnęło się do Polskiey służby. Widać to po rozmaitych Georgianów i Persów z Azyi nobilitacyach.
  9. ^ Bohun, Tomasz (2018). "Polish-Lithuanian Mercenaries in the Service of Jacob de la Gardie" (PDF). Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. History. 63 (3). Saint Petersburg State University: 718–728. doi:10.21638/11701/spbu02.2018.303. hdl:11701/14910.
  10. ^ Bobiatyński & Hundert 2018, p. 158.
  11. ^ Bobiatyński & Hundert 2018, p. 162.

Sources

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