THE
SIEGE OF CZESTOCHOWA
Or
How the destiny of a country
can depend on the fidelity of just one man
Based on a lecture and commentary
by Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira
Preliminary Note: The
account of the siege of Czestochowa which we present here
is based on the Memoirs of the Siege of Czestochowa
by Father Augustine Kordecki (Pamietnik oblezenia
Czestochowy, edited and with a preface by Jan
Tokarski, London, Veritas, 1956) Written by Friar Kordecki
in response to a wish of King Casimir, these memoirs were
originally published in Latin.
"When God the most High decided
to chastise the Poles, in His goodness He first sent various
signs warning of the catastrophe which approached."
So He permitted that, the 10th of
February 1654, the high tower of the Sanctuary of Czestochowa
be struck by lighting and consumed by fire.
In that same year, on the 9th of
July, everyone saw a miracle which occurred in the face
of the sun: "In the nose of the sun there appeared
a cross, which gradually became transformed into a heart,
this latter pieced by a sword moved to one side and halted
at the position of an eye. In the place of the other eye,
one saw a hand holding a mace, which moved toward the forehead,
dividing into four parts, and then on reaching the rim of
the solar disk, became a scourge"(pg. 97).
"The following year God's scourge
against the Poles, Karl Gustav, king of the Swedes, set
out from the north."
This king was one of the most outstanding
generals of his time and one of the most ferocious of the
Protestant leaders.
I - THE SIEGE: PHASE BEFORE
THE ATTACK
THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE BINOMIAL FEAR -
KINDNESS PREDOMINATES
The Swedes easily took the whole
country, almost without resistance. Practically all the
nobility, part of which was Calvinist, accepted Karl Gustav
as "Protector of the Polish Crown," abandoning
King Jan Kazimierz to his own fate. After conquering Krakow
in the far south, they sent, on orders of the Swedish King,
an army of three or four thousand men to take the fortress
- sanctuary of Czestochowa, about 125 miles from there.
1. A third force Catholic*
employs for the first
into the binomial fear - kindness
Going ahead of the enemy, Count
Jan Wejchard of Wrzeszczewicz, in order to gain the good
graces of the king of the heretics, demands of the Pauline
Friars that they hand over the fortress of Jasna Gora
to him, a Catholic, to avoid its falling directly into
the hands of the Swedes. He threatened to take the sanctuary
by force, if the did not heed his demand. The monks headed
by their Friar Augustine Kordecki tried to dissuade the
count from his vile pretension and refused
his proposal.
2. An authentic Catholic
reacts
Meanwhile, some nobles, fleeing before
the Swedish advance, sought refuge in Jasna Gora. One of
them, Stephan Zamoyski, counseled the religious not to give
in to the enemy, and affirmed that those who sought refuge
there were prepared to die in defense of the holy place,
confiding themselves to the protection of Our Lady.
3. The first refusal of the monks,
in the face of the binomial fear - kindness
The
Count of Wrzeszczewicz, however, did not give up his plan,
and sent an ultimatum to the Prior, demanding openly that
Jasna Gora yield to the Swedish King and swear submission
and loyalty to the usurper, and that the religious promise
to denounce to him any uprisings which they may hear of
in the future.
The monks respond immediately, through their prior: "It
is better to die worthily, than to live impiously."
(pg. 103)
4. The third force Catholic shows
himself a traitor
Since the treasonous
Count did not have the means to conquer Jasna Gora by arms,
he attacked and damaged some properties of the monastery,
and hastened to meet General Miller, who was moving his
troops not far away. Enticing him with the treasures of
the shrine, he managed to convince him to attack Jasna Gora
right away.
The prior,
calling together the council of the monastery, communicated
to the religious his decision not to hand the holy place
over to the heretics, and to resist with all disposable
resources. His decision was unanimously approved.
5. Defections generalized in Poland
only the monastery resists
Meanwhile, King Jan Kazimierz took
refuge in the neighboring principality of Opole, in Silesia,
where he would try to reunite the remnants of the army of
Poland. But he could not give any assistance to Jasna Gora.
Many nobles, on the other hand "satisfied" with
the promises of peace and security made by the Swedes, began
to return to their properties.
But Stanislaw Warszycki, noble owner
of the Castle of Krakow and First Senator of the Crown,
sent provisions and 12 cannons at that moment as his contribution
to help in the defense of Jasna Gora.
6. Second employment of the
binomial fear-kindness
Now came reports that General Miller,
with an army of three or four thousand men and nineteen
heavy guns, plus some supporting bands from the Count of
Wrzeszczewicz, Waklaw Sadowski and the Prince of Saxony,
were setting out from Weilun toward Czestochowa, where he
should arrive on the eighteenth.
Then there was no lack of "prudent"
advice for the Father Prior. So, the Prior of the convent
of Wielun, "taking into account the disparity of the
military forces," advised Father Kordecki not to resist,
thus sparing Jasna Gora from material damage. This had its
influence on the defenders of a weaker character.
7. Second refusal of Father Kordecki
the monastery prepares for every eventuality
But Fray Kordecki did not count on material
resources alone. He encouraged all to offer their lives
in defense of the honor of the holy place, and to place
all their hopes in the Blessed Virgin, "who in such
an extreme necessity would not fail them with her help."
He asked them all to assist at the Mass which he would pray
before the altar of the Image of Our Lady of Czestochowa.
He ordered that the Blessed Sacrament be carried in procession
along the walls and bastions. He blessed the cannons, one
by one, the cannon balls, the bullets, and the barrels of
powder.
8. "The monastery answers by
the mouth of its cannons": the struggle begins
Meanwhile, the Swedes reached the foot
of Jasna Gora. It was two o'clock in the afternoon. General
Miller sent a written peace proposal with a delegation,
proposing the peaceful capitulation of Jasna Gora, to avoid
"unnecessary bloodshed"... The declared adversary
also pretended to be merciful.
The enemy troops had already taken up
positions for the siege of the walls, and were studying
the positions of the cannons of the fortress.
"It did not seem fitting to answer
that letter in writing," reported Fr. Kordecki. "It
was no longer the hour to write, but to take up arms...
We answered by the muzzles of our cannons..." (pg.
109).
The answer was so convincing, that, at
nightfall, Miller had to beg for a truce, and he took advantage
of the occasion to assure the friars that he did not want
to do any damage to the sanctuary.
Since the Swedish troops had occupied
granaries belonging to the convent and located outside the
walls, the defenders bombarded them at night with incendiary
projectiles, so that they could not be used to supply the
enemy.
The following day, Miller hid his artillery
in the nearby village of Czestochowa, whence he bombarded
Jasna Gora. When the religious realized this, they considered
that the destruction of the village was of no importance
in comparison with the defense of the sanctuary of Our Lady,
and, directing their artillery in that direction, they set
the thatched houses on fire. Many of the Swedes in their
surprise ran out into the open where they were brought under
the fire of the monastery's defenders.
9. The fourth attempt to apply the
binomial
Fray Kordecki rejects it
Then, Miller sent another delegate to
convince the Pauline Friars to accept the peace, by showing
them that the resistance of Jasna Gora was unreasonable,
in view of the fact that the whole country had already surrendered.
10. The fifth attempt to employ
the binomial
Fray Kordecki defiant
The commandant of the heretics sent a
new message requesting capitulation, for Karl Gustav had
ordered him to take the fortress of Czestochowa. It was
nighttime, and since the following day was Sunday and a
Feast of Our Lady, there were various ceremonies for the
occasion, among them a procession with the Blessed Sacrament,
inside the walls. In view of this, the Swedes had to wait
until midday for their answer, which was moreover negative.
II - THE BATTLE
Infuriated, the Protestants concentrated
a three day attack on Jasna Gora, launching grenades and
incendiary projectiles, trying to set fire to the installations
of the monastery and the sanctuary. By night they dug trenches
leading toward the walls.
1. Amidst the cannons' roar
a hymn from the tower.
 |
| Infuriated, the Protestants concentrated
a three day attack on Jasna Gora |
At a certain moment, in the midst of the
noise of the bombardment, a pious and sacral hymn was heard,
coming from the height of the tower of the sanctuary, and
giving new heart of the defenders. From then on, it became
customary to hear everyday, in the midst of the fight, the
hymns which emanated from the solid and majestic tower.
At this, the Swedes became even more infuriated, for they
saw it as a manifestation of contempt for them.
Fire fighting equipment was distributed
near the bases of the roofs to combat the incendiary bombs
launched by the enemy. Some of them ricocheted off the roofs
and fell outside the walls. A bomb, launched at the chapel
where the miraculous picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa
is found, "turned back toward the enemy camp, as if
it had been touched by an invisible force, spreading a terrible
fire through the air" (pg. 118)
2. A "commando" raid
Against the Swedes
Sir Piotr Czarniecki, Commandant of Kiev,
one of the five nobles who participated in the defense of
Jasna Gora, distinguished in previous wars, decided on a
bold stroke against the Swedes. Sallying forth at night
with a detachment of soldiers he managed to get into the
rearguard of the enemy camps without their detecting him.
And he did a beautiful job: he killed the commandant of
artillery, various officers, many soldiers, and, having
seized two cannon, returned inside the walls. Taking advantage
of the confusion and panic which, established themselves
among the Swedes, many of them having come out into the
open, the cannon of Jasna Gora, complemented Czarniecki's
blow eliminating some more of the besiegers, Czarniecki
lost only one of his men in the expedition
Miller, becoming convinced that it would
not be easy for him to take the fortress, sent a message
to Wittemberg, commander of the Swedish armies in Krakow
asking him to send cannon powerful enough to break down
the walls and additional infantry.
3. Sixth attempt at the binomial:
hypocrisy of "a third force"
Meanwhile, a Polish noble, respectable
for his age and his speech, unsuspected at first sight,
was sent to the fortress to try to persuade its defenders
to surrender. "I have come to propose capitulation,"
he said, "for I consider that it is a pretension
beyond the bounds of reason for a monastery to wish to
resist the Swedish power, when the whole country has buckled
under." And then he gave the age old "friendly
advice": "the continuation of the resistance
can only stir up the violence of vengeance - it is better
to make an agreement with the enemy while you are still
intact.... Act as the others have done, for your own good...."(pg.
119) "Moreover the aim of a religious order is to
abstain from temporal matters. What do you have to do
with the turbulences of war, you whose rules call you
to solitude and silence. Ponder it well, lest the arms
which you brandish instead of your Rosaries, carry you
to perdition...." (pg. 120)
4. The fifth column helps
the third force
That was the psychological warfare which
Miller carried on during the whole time of the siege. He
knew that his messages were presented before all the monks
and as many of the civilian defenders as had permission
to hear them, on this basis he tried to play on internal
public opinion against Fray Kordecki. It seems that Father
Prior - either did not discover this ploy - because he always
read the successive proposals of Miller before everyone
of the psychological conditions of those he commanded would
not permit him to act any other way. Nevertheless, he always
kept control and maintained his intransigence against the
enemy-external and internal.
5. "A noble and a religious
in every bastion"
The following day, Fray Kordecki was
informed that some members of the garrison were plotting
to flee from Jasna Gora and hand themselves over to the
Swedes. Fray Kordecki acted immediately: he expelled the
chiefs of the revolt from the fortress, increased the
salaries of the garrison (the 160 soldiers were paid),
and obliged all members of the defending force to swear
an oath that they would fight until the last drop of their
blood. And he humbly confessed that he, "warned by
this event, realized that he had to exert a greater and
more exact vigilance" over the troops as well as
over the nobles and religious. He assigned the older friars
to the choir, particularly the night office, "for
during the day even the youngest were usually there."
He made a redistribution of the defense, designating a
noble and a religious for every bastion; he confided the
general command to Sir Stephan Zmoyski and Fr. Ludwick
Czarniecki.
6. Two religious to investigate
the enemy camp
In order to gain time by delaying the
enemy assault, to study his forces, and obtain any news
about possible reinforcements which might have been dispatched
to Jasna Gora, two religious were sent to the Swedish camp,
under the pretext of studying the proposals of General Miller
(The Father Prior continuously tried to entertain the enemy
commander with this exchanging of messages, to gain time
until the winter became more intense, or reinforcements
eventually arrived).
In hopes of obtaining their rendition,
Miller received the two delegates with open arms, gave them
six great fish as a sign of his "generosity,"
and sent them back with his conditions for a treaty: "the
monks must recognize the Swedish King and abjure King Jan
Kazimierz."
Fray Kordecki sent him the following answer,
with the two monks: "By no means can we deny the rights
and protection of King Jan Kazimierz as long as another
King, has not been selected according to the laws and consecrated
by the most Reverend Primate of the Crown as the customs
of our ancestors prescribe.... If some have abandoned our
legitimate King, by no means may this proposal to us be
an example, to us who are ready to seal with our blood our
fidelity to our Lord. Thus to the limit of our forces, we
shall defend all the rights of God and of men!"
7. "Even though they kill the
hostages,
we shall not yield..."
Angered, the heretic commander imprisoned
the two religious, sending word that he would only free
them if their superiors gave them authority to discuss the
terms of surrender with him. And, in the face of Father
Kordecki's silence, the general affirmed that he would have
the two hostages executed if the defenders of the monastery
fire on his soldiers, who then began to move their cannons
to positions nearer the walls, always repeating at the top
of their voices, the "slogan" of their commandant:
shoot and we will liquidate your monks....
At the same time, the heretics spread
the news of the fall of the last pockets of resistance in
the country, to take away from the beleaguered garrison
any hope of receiving external assistance. By all means
the tried to break their spirit.
The Father Prior did everything
possible to rescue the two monks held by Miller, accusing
him of violating the law of nations, the right of immunity
of delegates, of showing himself a man without honor, and
saying that no agreement would be possible with one who
did not respect individual liberty. Finally he warned him
that if the heretics in their impiety decided to kill the
two hostages, "they (the defending garrison) could
not oppose themselves to the will of God, without whose
assent not one hair falls from our heads...Let them die
then, that by their blood, they may obtain on honorable
liberty; while as for us, we swear that we shall dedicate
ourselves courageously and confiding in the help of God
Almighty, to the defense of the sanctuary"(pg. 129).
Miller decided then to change his
tactics: he freed one of the hostages but under the condition
that, after visiting the monastery, he return to his clutches,
threatening to deal a "terrible death" to the
other prisoner, if the condition were not fulfilled.
8. Heroism in obedience
On reaching the convent, as Miller
hoped, the religious told what he saw and heard in the enemy
camp, and concluded by saying that he considered it madness
to continue resisting in the face of such a powerful enemy;
nevertheless, he said further - what Miller did not expect
- considering the value of his life less than that of the
good of the Congregation, he was disposed to review his
conclusions if his superiors considered otherwise. And he
returned to the Swedish camp with the following proposal:
contrary to all the laws of the nations, the two representatives
of Jasna Gora had been enslaved: as slaves, they were deprived
of their own will so it did not make sense to confer on
them authority to discuss anything. As far as they, the
hostages, were concerned, they were disposed to sacrifice
their lives for the glory of God.
So, Miller sent the second hostage,
committing him first by the same oath to return into his
hands.
Entering the walls of the fortress,
the religious exposed the situation to his confreres, delivering
his life into the hands of his superiors and disposing himself
to die to keep the Holy Place from being stained by the
heretics. When he returned to the camp with the same answer
as the first one, both heard the condemnation to the pain
of death, to be executed the next day; they were advised
moreover by General Miller, to prepare themselves to die
by hanging. Hearing the sentence they exclaimed to the shock
of the Swedes: "Ah, why may we not die today, if we
must be immolated tomorrow for God, for the King and for
our Fatherland?"(pg. 130) On the following day however
the execution of the penalty was postponed to an indeterminate
date.
9. Seeing the armistice violated
the monastery opens fire
While this was going on, an armistice
was in force. But the Swedes began to take positions nearer
to the walls. In the face of this, the beleaguered force
broke the ceasefire, imposing heavy casualties on the
enemy.
10. Friar Kordecki resists rank
and file pressures
favorable to the third force
And General Miller sent yet another messenger
demanding the rendition of Jasna Gora. Fray Kordecki answered
him that, first of all he demanded respect to the pledged
word, for what guarantee could he have that the Swedes would
fulfill the agreements they made, if they kept the delegates
sent by the monastery as hostages? Disappointed in his hopes
to take Jasna Gora by peaceful means, Miller finally ordered
the freeing of the hostages.
11. The seventh pressure of the
binomial fear-kindness: Friar Kordecki resists
In the days which followed, the
general insistently sent delegations to the besieged fortress,
trying to convince its defenders to open the gates to a
Swedish garrison, and to discuss the terms of a treaty.
But, to the despair of the heretics, the Father Prior, "in
order to have a guarantee that the agreements would be respected,"
now demanded that they be discussed directly with Karl Gustavo,
who was far from Czestochowa.
Meanwhile, a Polish noble, approached
the walls, and addressed the faithful nobles: "...for
us (traitors) the salvation of our Fatherland is also very
dear, we are just as interested as the other nobles are,
in the preservation of the country's integrity. Since, it
is more and more menaced with ruin, it is necessary to dedicate
ourselves to it (our fatherland) with sincerity. So we have
decided, prudently, to help it (our country) by going over
to H.M. the Swedish King, our most benign lord and defender";
cease, then, this resistance...(pg. 133).
Wittemberg himself, commandant of
the troops in Krakow sent a letter to the beleaguered troops,
indicating all the "benefits" which the monks
would gain if they entered into a treaty with General Miller,
and threatened them with cruel reprisals if they continued
their resistance.
12. The Protestants employ
their arms once again.
Enraged by the intransigence of the defense,
the Swedes, losing all hope of any agreement, unleashed
heavy attacks against Jasna Gora; but the cannons of the
fortress did not permit them to get close to its walls.
13. The Protestants exercise the
pressure
of fear and kindness for the eighth time.
The seventh of December, Eve of the Feast
of the Immaculate Conception, a Polish noble, Piotr Sladowski,
who had been arrested by the Swedes when he was returning
from Prussia to this village, was sent to the fortress charged
with pressing the monks to capitulate. But on the contrary,
he encouraged them not to give up, saying that the invading
armies had begun to suffer their first defeats, and that
the continuous acts of violence of the heretic sacking of
the properties of the nobles, murders of priests, profanations
of churches, violations of women - were stirring up great
reaction in the country. All of these violence's were taking
place, he added, with God's permission and as a chastisement
for those who were lacking in fidelity to Jan Kazimierz.
14. Two valuable hawkish reports
The following day, the Feast of Our
Lady, one of the villagers of Czestochowa, disguised as
a Swedish soldier; managed to reach the walls, and informed
its defenders that the besieging army was about to receive
six heavy cannons from Krakow to demolish the walls, plus
reinforcements of 200 infantrymen; on the other hand, many
Tartar troops were going to join Jan Kazimierz. He also
threw in a letter signed by Fr. Antoni Paskowski, Prior
of the Paulist Convent in Krakow, which described the atrocities
committed by the heretics and recommended to the defenders
of Jasna Gora that they not let themselves be deceived by
the kind of words of the enemy for "among the Swedes
nothing is sacred, neither faith, nor religion, divine or
human; they are not accustomed to fulfill any agreement
or political oath" (pg. 137).
A little later, a Tartar, who was
permitted to come within the walls, after contemplating
the sanctuary, surprised the monks with words of encouragement,
urging them not to permit that "swine and perjurers
occupy the place consecrated to the Most Pure Virgin."
With all of these facts, noted Fr.
Kordecki, the people under his command recovered their confidence
and spirits, although they knew that Miller would soon receive
six heavy cannons to batter down the walls.
15. The Catholics witness a clear
intervention of Providence
While the ceremonies of the Feast of the
Immaculate Conception were being carried out, a Swedish
soldier who was returning from the village of Redzin, where
he had blasphemed against the honor of Our Lady, fell struck
by a ball coming from Jasna Gora, which was not aimed at
him, but which ricocheted off the snow and hit him. Fr.
Kordecki noted the fact, commenting that thus, "he
who insulted the sempiternal brilliance and glory of the
Most Holy Mother of God, received at God's hands a just
chastisement, as unworthy to see the sun"(pg. 137).
16. More armed combat than ever
On Saturday, the heretics began once
again to bombard the monastery, and on Sunday the bombardment
took on such a fury, that it appeared that "hell itself
was vomiting against the sacred icon." The monks, however,
carried out that morning - as was their custom - a ceremony
in honor of the Blessed Sacrament. After the Holy Mass,
the Most Holy was carried in a procession along the walls;
Fr. Kordecki said that the balls passed closed to the heads
of the defenders, but that only after the termination of
the ceremonies did they respond to the enemy fire. During
that day, 330 projectiles fell upon the fortress, and three
of its soldiers gave their souls to God.
About midday, the enemy ceased fire
and sent a message asking if the monks had been convinced
yet to accept the protection of the Swedish king. But the
Prior was not in a hurry: he told them that he would send
his answer the next day. Immediately, the Swedes renewed
the heavy bombardment. The following day, the scene was
repeated, and the monks responded once again: "such
important matters must be pondered at length..." (pg.
140).
17. The Catholics witness another
intervention of Providence
At that stage, the winter was becoming
more intense, so the Swedish soldiers were led to light
bonfires at night to protect themselves from the cold, however,
in this way they revealed their positions, coming under
the direct fire of the defenders of Jasna Gora. And they
quickly convinced themselves that, between cold and death,
it was better to take the cold.
By this time already, the garrison
was preparing itself for the assault which the enemy would
launch, sooner or later, against the walls. They prepared
the clubs with nails sticking out of them, iron bars, beams
and rocks to repel those who might reach the walls.
When the Swedes launched themselves
for the first assault, they were easily repelled, because
their movements showed up against the snow and made them
an easy mark for the defending troops.
In the days that followed, a dense
fog covered Monte Claro, making it possible for the Swedes
to move their great assault machinery closer, unperceived,
while the great cloud was not cleared away by the supplications
and prayers of the besieged. In view of this, the Prior
selected one of the religious to "cry out for help
of the powers of God against the spells of the enemy, to
clear the darkened air with exorcisms, and bless the arms
of the garrison," this turned out to be so efficient
that, it neutralized the efforts of the witches, clearing
the darkness from the air, and once again their shots were
sure, and the enemy fell, in spite of being protected by
the abject help of the demon" (pg. 143).
18. New third force defections
within the monastery
While the heretics continued pounding
Jasna Gora, two Polish nobles had taken refuge there. Fearing
that the fortress would be taken, one of them took two religious
and the other his wife and small son. They had even obtained
permission of Miller to pass through the line of fire, but
Father Kordecki categorically prevented them from carrying
out their intentions, so that such an act might not affect
the morale of the defense.
But this event, added to the insistence
of the enemy attacks plus the death of a youthful member
of the garrison, did not delay in influencing the spirit
of some of the monks. They, in a state of continuous fear,
began to urge surrender, arguing that, if Providence, in
whose hands is the power to lose thrones or to put them
in other hands, had delivered the Polish Crown to the Swedes,
it did not behoove them as monks, to oppose themselves to
the will of God, but to accept it, all the more so since
the enemy assured them the defense of the Faith and freedom
of worship...
When such insinuations became more
frequent in the meetings of the Congregation, the Prior
called them to order, fraternally enough but not without
energy: "...what Faith is ours, he bellowed, what love,
what gratitude to God so generous to us - that such small
damage to our earthly comforts is able to turn us away from
the guard and protection of the chest containing the celestial
treasures of the eternal King? Let us consider that it is
by far more prudent for us to defend the integrity of the
House of God, the Holy Faith and at the same time our own
liberties, than for us to lose all and, in addition to that,
to go into exile and eternal slavery." (Pg. 146).
19. Another "hawkish"
report
A letter, signed by a noble, found in the
moat around the walls, which Fray Kordecki considered a
grace destined to revive the hopes of those who were intimidated,
reported the movement of the Tartars to the aid of Jan Kazmierz.
This news really encouraged the defenders again.
20. The Protestant aggression grows
more intense
After trying an assault on the north side,
the heretics then tried to demolish the walls on the south
side, by means of an intense bombardment. They also fired
against the sanctuary itself, trying to weaken its walls.
21. The third force in the monastery
applies the ninth fear-kindness pressure
Now it is some of the nobles who
have take refuge there, who go suggesting to the Prior that
he reach an agreement with the enemy. The enemy, they say,
who has dominated the whole country, will not be intimidated
by the resistance of his last focus. We have no prospects
of receiving reinforcements. So, why not accept an accord
with the Swedes, which they themselves are offering us,
while our situation is still good? (Fray Kordecki does not
mention names, but it appears clear that those "doves"
were from among the number of those ignominious nobles,
who sought refuge in Jasna Gora, but refused to take up
arms, in order not to "compromise" themselves...
There is a note about them at the end of this work).
Fray Kordecki answers them: "...but
the enemy will not concede all that we demand; we desire
(above all), that the place consecrated to the Virgin Most
Pure never be stained by the impious feet of the heretics.
You, dear sirs, overcome by adversities, desire to reach
an accord so that, relieving yourselves of the unhappiness
of the siege and the discomforts of the war, you will then
be able to enjoy an agreeable peace without any worries.
Do you think that, if we surrender, you will be free from
all the adversities of war once you have left the cloister?...
The capitulation will become for you, then, a spring of
misfortunes and defeats; but if, on the contrary, bearing
the slight inconveniences, we overcome the obstinacy of
our enemies with the help of God, then we should surely
win a certain stable peace." Peace through intransigence
(pg. 148).
22. Pressure from the Protestants
for the tenth time
One day, Miller's soldiers discovered a
number of silver objects belonging to the sanctuary, which
had been hidden in the bottom of a tank, on hearing the
news of the advance of the Swedish troops toward Czestochowa.
The chief of the heretics as a proof of his "respect"
for the holy place, offered the silver which had been found,
promising to add moreover some of his personal jewels, if
the monks agreed to place Jasna Gora under the "protection"
of Karl Gustav. The Prior responded immediately: "As
to the return of the silver objects, we accept the gracious
offer of the General, but not accepting the condition which
was proposed to us: because the glory of God and the protection
of the sacred things is more important for us than all the
treasures in the world" (pg. 150).
23. A notable victory of the Catholics
The 20th of December, Sir Stefan
Zamoyski, in broad daylight, at one o'clock in the afternoon,
sallied forth on horseback with a group of soldiers, and
moving through the moat, and then through trenches which
the enemy was digging toward the walls, took some advance
detachments of the besieging forces by surprise, killing
several soldiers and destroying two of their cannons. They
retired under cover of fire from the walls. In this incursion,
Zamoyski lost only one man. The Swedes suspended their attack
for two days, in order to take care of their dead and wounded.
Perhaps fear also led Miller to cease
his fire, comments Fray Kordecki for the news went about
that, when the general was offering a banquet for his officers,
a cannon ball fired at his tent, went through the wall and
destroyed the table, causing all the guests to leave hurriedly,
without even making their farewells.
24. Within the monastery the supreme
pressure of fear-kindness
On the third day, the defenders of Jasna
Gora identified on the horizon the wagons loaded with gunpowder,
and the heavy guns coming from Krakow, to reinforce the
besieging army. Then, fear once again came to dominate the
besieged. And many of the nobles tried to convince the monks
to surrender. The religious debating about the new situation,
reached contradictory decisions. "The power of the
enemy, the lack of reinforcements, the atrocious fury of
the heretics, the loss of their possessions, the injury
of the Holy Place," all this occurred to the mind of
the monks. In the hour of pressure, sophisms: "Those
who were attached to their lives and were eager for peace,
wanted an accord with the enemy. They were saying: "It
is right for a religious, who has renounced the world and
consecrated himself to the spiritual service of Christ,
to take up the sword and shed blood; he should rather forget
such things and dedicate himself to his own salvation and
if we are going to have to surrender to our enemy for lack
of food, isn't it better to do it now, so we will avoid
increasing his anger by our delay?" (pg. 155).
The older monks, however, were of
exactly the opposite opinion, and they managed to make their
counsels prevail. After expounding some of the reasons why
the resistance ought to continue, they urged them all to
wait for the coming of reinforcements and confide in the
mercy of God, "because if we once give up to the enemy,
then there will be no more possibility of correcting our
error." (Pg. 155).
"Without doubt, if the Supreme
Judge disposes that our Fatherland recover its ancient grandeur
(and this we cannot even doubt), all the force of its libertarian
must come from Jasna Gora," for, since Our Lady has
been pleased to be called Queen of Poland, She has made
Jasna Gora the capital of Her Kingdom. Whence it follows
that Jasna Gora is "the fountain of the graces which
God will pour out over souls, curing them of their internal
weaknesses, whence also will flow the strength and health
of the whole body of our Fatherland. That most glorious
Lady will extend her hand once again - (which she withdrew,
on account of the inscrutable designs of God) to the defense
of our unfortunate Fatherland, and lift it up from its defeat;
so that we may understand that the Kingdom of Poland will
recover its ancient grandeur only by generosity, the power
and the protection of its queen." (Pg. 156)
With the new heavy guns and the
assault carts which he had received from Wittemberg, Gen.
Miller prepared himself for a second assault, and, as usual,
he sent a message to the monks proposing peace, and threatening
to discharge all his hatred over the Holy Place, if his
proposal were refused.
As was his custom, also, Fray Kordecki
answered amiably asking for time "to consult his superiors":
only then..."shall we do what seems suitable."
He also asked a truce for the following day, since it would
be the day of the Holy Nativity.
At the same time, the Prior wrote
to the Count of Wrezczewicz, appealing to him to intercede
with the general, to obtain a truce of Christmas. His purpose
in this was to mystify the Swedes about the state of spirit
of the besieged garrison, and to gain time, which would
be particularly precious now, in view of the news that the
King had begun to move with his troops.
But Miller responded immediately
through the treasonous Count; he would concede a truce only
if he received, that same night, an answer from Kordecki
agreeing to surrender.
This time the Prior of the Paulines
decided not to answer: and the religious spent all night
Christmas Eve awake: some watching on the walls, others
encouraging the garrison; but the majority stayed in the
church praying.
25. The Protestants launch yet
yet another attack
A more intense movement in the enemy
camp, more numerous campfires presaged something menacing
for that night. God, however, did not permit the heretics
to pour out their fury over Jasna Gora, until the following
day, after the end of the Catholic ceremonies in the sanctuary.
At midday the 25th, the massive
attack commenced. "The cannons to the north thundered,
and the balls struck with such force on the walls of the
cloister, that, in many places they went right through them,
flying and bouncing around amid the debris and dust that
they scattered in the corridors and stairways, and causing
such fear among its residents that no one had the courage
to look out the window. Now the enemy hurled torches wrapped
in hemp, soaked in pitch, and studded with brimstone and
sulfur. They scattered a terrifying fire, principally those
that came in iron tubes, so that they vomited fire and lead
on all sides. They were similar to grenades, but since the
majority of them fell outside of the Cloister, or in its
interior patio, they did not do any damage" (pg. 162-163).
The most dangerous projectiles after all, were the iron
ones with lead in their bellies which on exploding, scattered
pieces of iron in all directions.
"At nightfall, finally, one
of the heavy guns which was doing the most damage, burst,
putting an end to the attack. It was said all over, and
heard from the Swedes themselves, in the camp, during the
siege, as well as amidst other circumstances, that the cannon
balls fired against the cloister frequently bounced off
the walls and, returned to the Swedish camp with great force.
When many doubted this, the respectable Piotr Okrasa, who
Christmas day was delivering provisions in the camp of the
besieging troops, affirmed categorically that is what occurred
with the last shot of that canon and that in the midst of
an unusual fear, they were saying in the camp that by the
force of the projectile, which had bounced back from the
wall, the cannon was destroyed and its gunner killed. He
(Piotr Okrasa) said that this seemed to him to be true,
for the projectile which was then carried about through
the camp, had the characteristics of a true Swedish cannon
ball - it was larger than any of those in Jasna Gora. There
is not the slightest doubt that, from the moment in which
that cannon was blown up,The roar of the cannons was no
longer heard-neither on that day, nor on those that followed-thus
it seemed that a great and miraculous power, contrary to
the enemy, put an end to the siege of Jasna Gora, for the
Swedes had all the ammunition they wanted (pg. 164).
26. The eleventh and supreme pressure
of fear and kindness
At dusk General Miller once again
wrote to the Pauline monks. It would be his last proposal,
his last threat. After regretting the intransigence of the
defenders of Jasna Gora, he offered them two alternatives:
either they would hand the fort over to the Swedish troops
on that very day, or, swearing on oath of fidelity to Karl
Gustav, they would pay an indemnity of 60 thousand talars
to the besieging troops, after which the siege would be
lifted. If the offer was refused, however, he threatened
"to reduce to ruins and ashes all the villages and
hamlets located within a radius of three miles, and to hand
over all the properties of all the nobles who were resisting
in Jasna Gora to be sacked, burned and totally destroyed..."
(pg. 165).
On the following day, the 26th of
December, the Father Prior responded to the Swedish General;
It is a shame, but now we have no means to pay the ransom
you ask!But you, sir general, know that we are not rebels,
for we are not against the monarchy...
At the same time, he wrote to the
Count of Wrzeszczewicz, but in other terms: On account of
former benefits which Your Excellency has conceded to this
sanctuary, your life has been spared various times during
this siege; but lower thy head, "do not abuse the patience
of God!"
27. The supreme refusal of Fray
Kordecki:
the definitive victory of the convent
On that day, according to the custom,
the defenders continued the commemorations of the Nativity,
with chants and ceremonies. But the Swedish troops thought
that it was the celebration of some victory, and began to
abandon their positions in their consternation. The officers
recognizing what was really going on, concluded in their
turn, that the besieged forces must be very well provisioned,
in victuals and in munitions, to permit themselves such
festivities. In fact, the provisions were already at their
end...38 days of siege had gone by.
"In the obscurity of the night,
the heavy guns were retired from their positions; in the
early morning the commanders of that so numerous army withdrew,
each on his own way. Miller went to Piotrkoy, the Count
of Wrzeszczewicz to Welum, Sadowski to Sieradz, the Saxon
Prince to Krakow" (pg. 168).
III INTERVENTIONS OF OUR
LADY
WHICH THE PROTESTANTS SAW AND THE CATHOLICS
DID NOT SEE: OUR LADY, THE GREAT VICTOR
"How could it have happened that only 70 religious
(absolutely non-combatants) should have felt such force
in themselves, that with five nobles and their few servants,
plus 160 infantry men, the greater part of them villagers,
that they dared to resist such a numerous army, if God Himself,
protecting that place consecrated to the glory of his dear
Mother, had not inspired this determination in the religious
and had not inculcated courage in the midst of the general
fear? Because, although sometimes they lost hope, whenever,
after the recitation of prayers, they assembled in the refectory
and each one was consulted, all voted unanimously that they
would prefer rather to fall suffering the most terrible
of deaths, than to permit that the infamous Swede stain
with his feet the place consecrated to the Most Pure Virgin"
(pg. 170).
1. So that no man may boast...
"God Himself disposed things in such
a way, that among the mountains celebrated for their miracles,
might also be numbered this Mount Clear of Poland, defended
by a special mercy of God, obtained by the Most Holy Virgin;
so that no man may brag of having saved it, or at least
repeat proud and boastful phrases: it was our hands that
did this..."
2. "A Lady of a menacing countenance..."
"According to the testimony
of our enemies themselves, it is manifest that Jasna Gora
was defended miraculously and successfully, because Lord
Grodzicki, Commandant of artillery of H.M., and others,
revealed that Miller said in the encampment that the only
motive which lead him to raise the siege of Jasna Gora was
the word and the menacing face of a noble lady, who appeared
before him, leaving him perturbed. Whence the report was
spread about among the Swedes that Miller lifted the siege
because he was deceived by a maiden at the service of the
monks. What was said among the people, however, was that
the general was severely warned by a lady who appeared to
him, to raise the siege, under pain of the complete loss
of his army" (pg. 172).
The letters of the Dominican nuns
of Piotrkow to the sisters who were then in Jasna Gora are
in accord with this description, they contain, among others,
the following facts: "Miller observed with great attention,
here in the church, the picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa,
and since his interpreter asked us to give him a small copy
of the image, we gave it to him, and Miller took it from
his hands. Thus it became clear to us that Miller wanted
to find out if the vision he had at night was similar to
the picture."
The same religious of Piotrkow later
told the Most Rev. Provincial (under whose jurisdiction
is also the convent of Czestochowa), that Miller, after
he took the picture from the hands of the interpreter, said
the following: "It is absolutely not comparable to
that virgin who appeared to me; for it is not possible to
see anything comparable on earth. Something of the celestial
and divine, which frightened me from the beginning, shone
in her face."
I return to the letter: "The
Swedes themselves affirmed, that some of them saw a Lady
on the walls, pointing the cannons and furnishing with her
own hands, the necessary arms to the defenders who were
in the trenches; and to whose who were tunneling in the
rock (the mount is based on a rock, and the Swedes were
excavating tunnels toward the walls) toward the walls there
appeared a venerable old man, who counseled them to give
up their useless labor, for not even in seven years would
they manage to carry it out. Crushed then by these apparitions,
they gave up the siege." This was also heard from the
Swedes by Sir Aleksy Sztrzalkowski, who told it to the monks,
on his word of honor."
"Lady Jadwiga Jaroszewsha also
told that she saw the figure of a venerable old man, who
encouraged her with the hope that God would in brief manifest
His mercy, and the enemy would raise the siege of Jasna
Gora. In that vision, a friar (who called her by the name),
in a white habit, celebrated Mass at an altar located in
a corner to the right, on the east side of the Church. We
could not consider the old man as any other than St. Paul
(the first hermit and our Patriarch), to whose honor this
altar is consecrated. Sirs Jan Wiechowski and Maciej Wegierski
of the Polish nobility, testified that they had heard the
Swedes telling how they had seen an old man beside a Lady,
who appeared on the walls and beat back the Swedish projectiles."
3. "She obliged us to cover
our eyes
and bow our heads
"So also, Father Blazej Wadowski,
Prior of Weiruszov of our Order, stated under oath that
in the house of a citizen of Wieruszow invited by the Swedish
commanders, Jorge Eichner and Arens Lukman to eat with them
they heard such blasphemies from the mouths of the profaners
as: "What witch is this that is to be found in your
cloister of Czestohowa, who covered with a blue mantle sallies
from the cloister and walks along the walls, resting from
time to time on the bastions - and whose sight makes our
people drop with terror, so much so that, when she appears,
we have to turn our faces to the ground and protect our
eyes?"
"Other military chiefs who
were then seated at the table confirmed this. Some of them
added moreover, as if they were vomiting it: "Your
monks are perfect sorcerers. Look how they bewitched one
of our companions so that, from the moment in which he fired
against the church, he has his arm stuck straight out, and
it is impossible to lower it or bend it in any direction;
what is more, his whole body is as it were paralyzed, making
it impossible for him to sit or dismount from a horse, so
we had to send him to Leszno with his arm extended, in the
position in which he was when he pointed the carbine, because
he was a useless burden to us."
"The Prior cited above added
that, formerly, the Swedes, arrogantly spread blasphemies
against the Most Holy Virgin, now, after the withdrawal
from Czestochowa, they have become more bland and not one
did not hear anything like that from their lips" (pg.
173-174).
4. "…and pointed a sword
at the Swedish Camps"
"Sir Mikloj Bielawski, of Ruska,
described the commentaries of the Swedes, with his own pen,
for our perpetual remembrance, as follows:
"The soldiers of the division
of Sadowski (a turncoat noble), who as a colonel of the
Swedish army, returning from Jasna Gora, passed through
my village, which is called Golina. When I asked, once,
those who were quartered in my house, what had happened
at Czestochowa, and if they had been successful in the siege
of Monte Claro, with such a numerous army, they answered:
-- that frequently there had appeared to them a person in
a white mantle, who, coming out from the cloister, would
point at the Swedish camp with a sword (here a line of the
book is missing)… immediately would fall. We learned
also from the very sentinels that forty soldiers, terrified
by this awful vision, had lost their lives."
"When this same noble was visited
a second time by the soldiers, out of chivalry, they told
him "that they themselves had seen a Lady vested in
a white mantle; when two Silesian brothers by the name of
Dudzicz, pointed their carbines at Her, part of the breech
of the carbine of one of them was driven so far into his
face, that it was impossible for us to remove it, the surgeon
had to cover it; the other had his body paralyzed as if
he were petrified; the Swedish army took him with them.
"This account, they made under oath, and the aforementioned
noble signed it and sent it to Jasna Gora."
"Sir Strzalkawaki, already mentioned
before, an eminent and cultured man, a citizen of Greater
Poland, testified that he also heard from many Swedes, that
the Lady seen on the walls of the cloister terrified them
by her bearing, as well as by the dense fog which enveloped
the cloister, just when they were making the greatest efforts
to take it. We have also been informed of this same fact
by outstanding men and trustworthy citizens of Czestochowa,
who heard such reports from Polish soldiers in the service
of the Swedes" (pg. 175).
"Many trustworthy nobles testified
how they found the following fact among the commentaries
of the besieging Swedes particularly noteworthy: "frequently
(said the Swedes), when we were preparing for the assault
of the cloister with siege guns, there would appear a fog,
enveloped in this fog the mountain cast false shadows which
tricked our vision - it would appear that the mountain with
the cloister was raised high in the air, and when we aimed
our cannon fire up there, the projectiles passed over the
cloister without doing it any damage. Sometimes also in
the midst of that dark fog, which confused our vision, we
would see the cloister on top of a low hill; when our gunners,
deceived by the shadows took the cloister as their target,
as it appeared, the projectiles would fall close to the
walls of the fortress and ricocheting on the frozen ground
return at great velocity" (to the Swedish camp).
"I decided to add to the account
of the siege of Jasna Gora some of these examples of miraculous
facts, to show clearly that the hill of the Most Holy Virgin
was defended and saved by the hand of God Himself,"
writes Fray Kordecki (pg. 176.)
IV THE PROPAGANDA OF THE SWEDES
The Swedes had a booklet published in
Amsterdam which contained a fanciful description of the
"conquest" of Jasna Gora and which they spread
all over Europe prior to their withdrawal from Czestochowa.
This description showed in detail what they would like
to have done if they had in fact taken the shrine. Kordecki
includes it in his Memoirs "For the shame of that
subversive and impious people." King John Casmir,
who had received it from Paris, gave him a copy of the
booklet. Under the title "Victory of the Swedish
King, in which twenty thousand Poles fell and Czestochowa
was destroyed," the document reports falsely that
Jasna Gora was taken and that Swedish soldiers "spared
neither man nor women and killed the monks and priests...
and that the victors carried off as spoils even the silver
picture frames form the church." (Pg. 181).
V THE JUST
END OF A CENTRIST
The traitorous Count of Wrzeszczewicz,
after having been defeated in battle in Lesser Poland,
was later discovered by peasants and beaten to death with
rods (pg. 186).
VI THE INTRANSIGENCE OF JASNA GORA
SPARKS REACTIONS ALL OVER
Published with the "Memoirs"
is the text of the document with twelve "demands"
which the nobility presented to the invaders, right after
they had entered the country, as a condition for their recognizing
the Swedish King. The "demands" boil down to the
following: Do not touch our possessions and leave us freedom
of worship… Fray Kordecki merely reproduces the text
of the document, without making any commentary.
For such a document to be valid,
however, explained the Prior of Jasna Gora, it would have
to be ratified by the Senate. There the chief influence
belonged to the ecclesiastical senators, who chose exile
rather than approve such an agreement.
The Archbishop of Gniezno, Primate
of the Polish Crown and first Duke, sent out a call to all
the provinces immediately after the fall of Krakow on the
17th of November, 1655, summoning all the nobles to unite
around the legitimate king in order to fight against the
invaders. His terms however, have neither energy nor Catholicity:
"I hope that all will return to fight for our King
and our Fatherland…"
On January 3,1656. The Primate announced
to the nation an unexpected event: the Khan of the Tartars,
entering the Polish territories, communicated to King John
Casmir that he wanted to unite his armies with those of
the Poles to combat the enemies of His majesty. "This
is especially a work to the mercy and Power of God,"
continued the Primate, inasmuch as, while some Christians
rejoice at our ruin and other refuse us any help or protection,
He aids us by means of those who are outside the Church
of Christ... Thus, offering His all-powerful right hand
to those who had grown weak, He does not permit the Kingdom
to disappear. (pg 204).
Despite the Primate's summons and
this encouraging support, the nobles did not respond until
after the news of the victorious defense of Jasna Gora
had spread all over Poland and had commenced to stir up
a great reaction among the humble folk. Only then, on
the 29th of December 1656, they formed the Confederation
of the Nobility in Arms. The oaths they took, were like
the following: I swear to do my duty "before God,
my conscience and public law…"
VII THE GLORIFICATION OF OUR LADY
OF CZESTOCHOWA
Once the faithful forces had been
gathered together, and so that the counter-offensive would
have the greatest success, the King made his way to the
Cathedral of Lwow in the company of the nobility and the
people, and there, with the approbation of the Senate, solemnly
proclaimed Our Lady of Czestochowa Queen and Mother of Poland,
that is of the Poles, Lithuanians, and White Russians, the
peoples who then formed part of the Polish-Lithuanian Crown.
The act was carried out before the altar of the Most Holy
Virgin in the following terms:
"Great Mother of God and Most
Holy Virgin! I, John Casmir II, by the grace of Thy Son,
the King of Kings, and by Thy Grace, I, the King, casting
myself on my knees at Thy Most Holy feet, take Thee today
as my Patroness and Queen of my dominions, and I recommend
to Thy special protection and defense, myself and my Polish
Kingdom, The Nation of Lithuania, and the Principalities
of Ruthenia, Prussia, Mazuria, Zmudzia, Inflanta, and Czernichow,
as well as the armies of both nations and all my people.
" I cry humbly, from this pitiful
and devastated state of my Kingdom, for Thy mercy and assistance
against the enemies of the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic
Church, and, grateful for the immense benefits conferred
by Thee, I sense with the nation, a commanding desire to
serve Thee zealously, and, in my name and in that of the
administrators and of the people, I promise to Thee and
to Thy Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord, I will spread Thy glory
though all the countries of our Kingdom. Finally, I promise
and vow to obtain from the Holy See, since it is only through
thy powerful intercession and through the mercy of Thy Son
that I shall obtain victory over our enemies, and particularly
over the Swedes, that this day be celebrated annually and
forever and consecrated to Thee and Thy Son in acknowledgment
of these graces, and I will dedicate myself with the Bishops
of the Crown so that my promised be kept by my peoples.
"As I see, to the great sorrow
of my soul, that all the adversities which have fallen upon
my Kingdom in the last seven years, the epidemics, the wars,
and other misfortunes, were sent by the Supreme Judge as
a punishment for the groans and for the oppression of the
peasant. I promise and vow, after the conquest of peace,
in union with all the states, to use all means to free my
people from all unjust burdens and oppressions. Grant, Oh
most loving Queen and Lady, that I obtain the grace of Thy
Son to do all that I propose, to which Thou Thyself has
inspired me!"
The people wept with emotion on
hearing the words of the King, realizing that, from then
on, the Blessed Virgin would be recognized as Queen of
Poland.
VIII POLAND SAVED AT CZESTOCHOWA
Immediately after their defeat in
Jasna Gora, the Swedes began to lose their fervor, and
defeated in battle after battle, they had to fall back
into Prussia and lost the greater part of their units.
IX OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA GLORIFIED
IN THE EPIC OF JASNA GORA
"On Easter Sunday, a few days
after the King's arrival a Jasna Gora, a triple sun appeared
to the south and at the same time there was seen a double
solar crown, one of which moved through the air and enveloped
the hill and the cloister, the other turned upward with
its high point toward the sun, touched the solar disc itself.
"It was beautiful to contemplate
these celestial phenomena, for we considered them as symbolizing
a victory and as a visible manifestation of the appeasement
of the divine anger. Just as the tragic signs in the setting
sun of three years before foretold the cruelty of was and
immense bloodshed, so the clear brilliance of the sun now
returning and the extraordinary crowns, seemed to all to
announce the palm of victory and peace." (Pg. 212-213)
"Poland, if thou fightest for
Mary, thou shalt be terrible to the followers of hell."
"Contemplate, Poland of posterity,
what a great benefit was conferred upon Thee by the Mother
of God, whose devotion thy Apostle and martyr Saint Albert,
Archbishop of Gniezno, so zealously propagated together
with the Roman Catholic Faith! Follow then the holy example
of they forefathers, for, if you guard your devotion to
Mary, propagate it zealously, and defend it generously,
you will attract even greater mercies and become terrible
to the followers of hell! Let Christendom look and admire
how courageously our Queen of Heaven and earth protects
Her kingdom, and how efficaciously She sends aid to Her
subjects, deprived of all human help! May the angel of the
armies of the Lord, guardian of Poland, deign to move the
heavenly militias to pay homage together with us to the
supreme majesty of God for such great benefits and may He,
with His powerful hand, disperse all the enemies who ally
themselves to eradicate from Poland devotion to the Queen
of Angels!" (pg. 213)
* The expression third force is employed
here to refer to those who are neither with the Catholics
against the enemies of the Catholic cause, nor openly against
them.
