ПОЛЬСЬКЕ КОЗАЦТВО: ЛЕГЕНДИ І ДІЙСНІСТЬ

A short history of lisovchycks (Polish cossacks) long ago shrouded in legends and stereotypes distant from reality. Their incredible raids, reckless bravery, as well as extreme cruelty equally shocked contemporaries and resulted in liquidation and prohibition of the formation. After the structure, armament, and tactics, lisovchycks did not differ much from the Zaporozhian Cossacks since the latter were widespread in their rows. European sources of the Thirty Years’ War of 1618–1648 almost did not distinguish lisovchycks and the Zaporozhian Cossacks, quite often naming both simply Cossacks (even the Zaporozhian Cossacks – the Poles). As a result, especially in modern popular literature, the participation of lisovchycks and Zaporozhian Cossacks in the battles of the war is considered either as participation of the Polish Cossacks, or military achievements are associated only with the former, and cruelty – only with the latter. Supporting this idea, scholars use the fact that lisovchycks, as representatives of the gentry, could not engage in robberies, and the Zaporozhian Cossacks, as representatives of the lower class, were used to it. The Ukrainian researchers are not concerned about this problem, which can be perceived as a tacit agreement, or from some patriotic reasons circulate other legends like the capturing of Dunkirk by Bohdan Khmelnytskyi and Ivan Sirko. In research, emergence, structure, organization, personnel, and the features of application of lisovchycks’ subdivisions, supported by the Zaporozhian Cossacks, and specifics of functioning in the absence of logistics, are analyzed. Furthermore, attention is drawn to recruiting trained mercenary troops from Poland by the Catholic coalition and France during the Thirty Years’ War. Humenné (1619) and White mountain (1620) battles, the Silesia, Rhine, Hessen, and Luxemburg campaigns, and the Baltic expedition were analyzed. The rationale for the hypothesis about the identicalness between Colonel Taraskyi and Hetman 32 Леонтій Войтович Fedorovych Taras (Triasylo) is given. The Cossacks’ involvement and contribution to the capture of Dunkirk (1646) and the participation of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, Ivan Sirko, and Soltenko in these events are elucidated in detail

lisovchycks, Zaporozhian Cossacks, Aleksandr Lisowski, Thirty Years’ War, battle of Humenne, battle of White mountain, battle of Ivoa, Dunkirk.