Ikonografia religijna na chorągwiach i sztandarach wojskowych Rzeczypospolitej Obojga Narodów z pierwszej połowy XVII wieku

Abstract

The author analyzes religious iconography found on the military banners and standards of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the fi rst half of the seventeenth century, pointing to their symbolic and ideological functions within the cultural and religious context of the period. The study discusses the visual transformations of these military insignia, their significance in ceremonial practice, and the influence of Baroque aesthetics as well as the process of the “Sarmatization” of Catholicism in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on their form and content. Particular attention is devoted to representations of the Cross, images of the Virgin Mary, St Michael the Archangel, and St George, as well as other religious emblems, demonstrating their role in shaping the military and confessional identity of soldiers. The author bases the analysis on surviving banners and standards, contemporary iconography, and archival sources, confronting them with the current state of research on vexillology and military history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the seventeenth century.