petyhorcy
{{Short description|17th and 18th-century type Lithuanian cavalry}}
Petyhorcy (singular: Petyhorzec, {{langx|la|pientho-horcensis}},{{Sfn|Korzon|Gembarzewski|p=64|1912}} {{Langx|lt|Petihorai}}{{Sfn|Rakutis|2021}}) was a type of regular medium-armoured light cavalry exclusively in the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army during the 17th and 18th centuries.{{Sfn|Rakutis|2021}} The petyhorcy are viewed as the Lithuanian equivalent of the Polish Armoured Companion,{{Cite book|last=Wojtasik|first=Janusz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CXKuslRD0tUC&dq=Petyhorcy&pg=PA28|title=Podhajce 1698|date=2008|publisher=Bellona|language=pl}} or as a cavalry type that was between the Winged Hussars and the Armoured Companion.{{Cite journal|last=Brainard|first=Alfred P.|date=1991|title=Polish-Lithuanian Cavalry in the late Seventeenth Century|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/25778547|journal=The Polish Review|volume=36|issue=1|page=76|jstor=25778547|quote=In the Lithuanian Army there was also the petyhorcy, an intermediate type between hussars and pancerni, probably possessing few if any firearms.}} They were organised in Banners.{{Sfn|Rakutis|2021}} Originally, the Petyhorcy were spear-armed cavalry from Circassia.{{Sfn|Mistrini|2016}}
The Petyhorcy were supposed to finish off and defeat the enemy line that was breached by the Winged Hussars.{{Sfn|Rakutis|2021}} While the Winged Hussars were more prestigious, the Petyhorcy enjoyed high reputation, hence their banner's rotmistras were frequently high-ranking officials.{{Sfn|Rakutis|2021}} In fact, the Petyhorcy developed in the late 16th-century from the mounted shooters who protected the hussars.{{Cite book|last=Markiewicz|first=Mariusz|url=https://www.academia.edu/download/36407122/markiewicz_polska.pdf|title=Historia Polski 1492–1795|language=pl|quote=koniec XVIw. – ze strzelców osłaniających husarię wykształcili się jeźdźcy lekkozbrojni: petyhorcy (Litwa), towarzysze pancerni (Korona), Kozacy}}{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
Etymology
The name of the Petyhorcy comes from Mount Beshtau (in Turkic languages, {{Lang|tr|besh}} means five and {{Lang|tr|tau}} means mountain).{{Cite book|last=Adamczewski|first=Przemysław|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SLUTEAAAQBAJ&q=Petyhorcy|title=Polski mit etnopolityczny i Kaukaz|publisher=Instytut Studiów Politycznych Polskiej Akademii Nauk|year=2019|isbn=978-83-66819-02-3|page=245|language=pl|quote=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, (...)}} The name of the Russian city of Pyatigorsk is also derived from it. Tadeusz Czacki wrote that the Petyhorcy originated from the Carpathian Mountains, but that is false.{{Cite book|last=Bandtkie|first=Jerzy Samuel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wlY-AAAAIAAJ&dq=Petyhorcy&pg=PA72|title=Rozmaitości naukowe|publisher=Drukarni Szkoły Głownej|year=1831|location=Kraków|page=72|language=pl|quote=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.|issue=3}}
17th century
With time the unit type evolved into medium cavalry, almost identical to the Armoured companion.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}} The armour used by those later units included a full chainmail armour with {{Lang|pl|misiurka}} and arm protectors and often also a {{Lang|tr|kalkan}}, a round Turkish-style shield.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}} In the 17th century the chainmail was gradually replaced by cuirasses.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}} The offensive armament used by Petyhorcy included a 3 to 4-metre-long lance or bear spear ({{Lang|pl|rohatyna}}), as well as a Szabla, two pistols and a musket carbine or an eastern-type bow.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}
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.{{Sfn|Rakutis|2021}} In the mid-17th century, this type of cavalry was usually called the Cossack-type cavalry.{{Sfn|Rakutis|2021}}
In 1614, the army led by Jacob De la Gardie had two petyhorcy banners, whose commanders were Jaromir Plecki and Stanisław Wolski.{{Cite journal|author1-link=Tomasz Bohun|last=Bohun|first=Tomasz|date=2018|title=Polish-Lithuanian Mercenaries in the Service of Jacob de la Gardie|url=https://dspace.spbu.ru/bitstream/11701/14910/1/03-Bohun.pdf|journal=Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. History|publisher=Saint Petersburg State University|volume=63|issue=3|pages=718–728|doi=10.21638/11701/spbu02.2018.303|hdl=11701/14910}}
In 1673, the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army had 18 petyhorcy banners, totalling 1,980 horses.{{Sfn|Bobiatyński|Hundert|2018|p=158}} 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.{{Sfn|Bobiatyński|Hundert|2018|p=162}} In 1690, the Lithuanian Army officially had 620 petyhorcy.
18th century
In 1717, in the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, the petyhorcy were the most numerous cavalry, having a total of 26 banners.{{Sfn|Rakutis|2021}} 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.{{Sfn|Rakutis|2021}} The second one was the 2nd Lithuanian National Cavalry Brigade, also called the 2nd (Pinsk) Petyhorcy Brigade, which had about 380 soldiers.{{Sfn|Rakutis|2021}} In 1789, it numbered 1635 and was composed of 17–32 banners.{{Sfn|Rakutis|2021}} This brigade was deployed in the eastern lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, on the Russian border.{{Sfn|Rakutis|2021}} During wartime, the brigade was redeployed.{{Sfn|Rakutis|2021}} During the War of 1792, part of the brigade's banners were located in the Russian occupation zone and hence were disbanded.{{Sfn|Rakutis|2021}} The last time the Petyhorcy fought were in the Kościuszko Uprising.{{Sfn|Rakutis|2021}}
In the 18th century, the petyhorcy were armed with a lance, backsword and pistols or carbine.{{Sfn|Rakutis|2021}}
References
{{reflist}}
Sources
- {{Cite book|last1=Korzon|first1=Tadeusz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nNlLAQAAMAAJ&q=pientho-horcensis|title=Dzieje wojen i wojskowości w Polsce; Epoka przedrozbiorowa|last2=Gembarzewski|first2=Bronisław|publisher=Akademia umiejętności|year=1912|location=Polska|language=pl}}
- {{Cite book|last=Kupisz|first=Dariusz|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w3YEJdNxagMC&dq=Petyhorcy&pg=PA362|title=Warfare in Eastern Europe, 1500–1800|publisher=Brill Publishers|year=2012|editor-last=Davies|editor-first=Brian|chapter=The Polish-Lithuanian Military in the reign of King Stefan Bathory (1576–1586)|isbn=978-9004221963}}
- {{Cite book|last=Mistrini|first=Vincenzo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4WO7DQAAQBAJ&dq=Petyhorcy&pg=PT79|title=Le guerre polacco-ottomane (1593–1699)|publisher=Soldiershop Publishing|year=2016|isbn=9788893271752|volume=1: Le forze in campo|language=it}}
- {{Cite journal|last1=Bobiatyński|first1=Konrad|last2=Hundert|first2=Zbigniew|date=2018|title=The Composition of the Army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the War with Turkey (1675–1676) in the Light of Financial and Military files|url=https://zapiskihistoryczne.pl/files/issues/9a54532f4a6a94c5d5d029622370cb27_ZH_2018_1_06_ENG_Bobiatynski_Hundert_N.pdf|journal=Zapiski Historyczne|volume=83}}
- {{Cite web|last=Rakutis|first=Valdas|date=2021|title=Petihorai|url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/petihorai/|website=Vle.lt|language=lt}}