POLISH CAPTAIN OF HORSE XVII CENTURY

Captain is a military rank in the Polish cavalry, which in the Old Polish military most often commanded a unit called a banner. It is assumed that the term "captain" was used for the first time in the fifteenth century to describe an officer who received predictions from the king and formed the mercenary army on the basis of them. In the 15th century, the word captain meant both a cavalry officer and infantry, but in the 16th century it began to be used primarily and almost exclusively to describe a cavalry officer. His role in the Polish cavalry in the 16th and 17th centuries was significant. He was responsible for training subordinate soldiers, maintaining discipline in the ranks, allocating quarters and winter quarters, but also payment of pay. It is worth adding that the rank of captain was used in the Polish army shortly after World War II! Among the famous captain of the Polish cavalry of the modern era, we can mention Jan Sobieski (later Grand Hetman of the Crown and Polish King), Marcin Kazanowski and Samuel Łaszcz. Probably the most famous captain in the Polish Army during World War II was Witold Pilecki.