Unstained his crest
This quotation on the memorial to Charles Jancewicz and his wife Elizabeth, is a slightly adapted version of the verse from Act III of 'The Bohemian Girl', a popular 19th century opera, which told the story of Thaddeus, an exiled Polish nobleman, caught up in wars between Austria and Poland.
However, the second line of this verse , in the original, reads, 'the ruthless invader' and does not speak at all of Russia. Jancewicz, also of noble Polish stock, apparently, seems to have found himself in a similar position of enforced exile.
He was born in Warsaw in 1795, the year in which Russia invaded Poland and Poland then ceased to exist, technically, as a separate country. Jancewicz fought first in the Polish army but , in 1812, joined Napoleon's troops and took part in the disastrous Russian campaign, including the infamous winter retreat from Moscow. He must definitely have considered Russia to be his homeland's prime enemy, hence, no doubt, the alteration of the verse.
To read an obituary of his life see www.flickr.com/photos/8118630@N08/22118806562/in/dateposted/
Unstained his crest
This quotation on the memorial to Charles Jancewicz and his wife Elizabeth, is a slightly adapted version of the verse from Act III of 'The Bohemian Girl', a popular 19th century opera, which told the story of Thaddeus, an exiled Polish nobleman, caught up in wars between Austria and Poland.
However, the second line of this verse , in the original, reads, 'the ruthless invader' and does not speak at all of Russia. Jancewicz, also of noble Polish stock, apparently, seems to have found himself in a similar position of enforced exile.
He was born in Warsaw in 1795, the year in which Russia invaded Poland and Poland then ceased to exist, technically, as a separate country. Jancewicz fought first in the Polish army but , in 1812, joined Napoleon's troops and took part in the disastrous Russian campaign, including the infamous winter retreat from Moscow. He must definitely have considered Russia to be his homeland's prime enemy, hence, no doubt, the alteration of the verse.
To read an obituary of his life see www.flickr.com/photos/8118630@N08/22118806562/in/dateposted/