Daniel Czapliński

Daniel Czapliński, a Polish noble of Drogosław coat of arms. He was a deputy starosta of Chyhyryn and a rotmistrz in the forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He is best known as a personal foe of Bohdan Khmelnytsky with whom he got into a dispute over property and Khmelnytsky's wife - Helena Chmielnicka, the so-called "Helen of the steppe" (this is what Franciszek Rawita-Gawroński called her because of the conflict). Czapliński seduced Chmielnicki's wife, tried to kill his son, and organized an assassination attempt on Khmelnytsky. This is sometimes seen as one of the main trigger of the Khmelnytsky Uprising.

In 1649, during the uprising, he took part in the defense of Zbarazh (1649) and the Battle of Berestechko (1651). In 1653 he was elected as the deputy to the Crown Tribunal from Lublin.

In popular culture
He was portrayed by Henryk Sienkiewicz in With Fire and Sword (Ogniem i mieczem). In the movie adaptation of the novel he was played by Jerzy Bończak.

General bibliography

 * J. Kaczmarczyk, Bohdan Chmielnicki, Łódź 1988, s. 39–40.