Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Ukrainian Hetman whom name was immortalized all over the world.

December 14, 2016 The historical events of Hetman Ivan Mazepa's life have inspired many literary and musical works. The narrative poem Mazeppa written by the English romantic poet Lord Byron in 1819 probably is one of the most famous among them. It is based on a popular legend about the early life of Ivan Mazepa (1639–1709), a Ukrainian gentleman who later became Hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks.  According to the poem, the young Mazeppa has a love affair with a Countess Theresa while serving as a page at the Court of King John II Casimir Vasa. Countess Theresa was married to a much older Count. On discovering the affair, the Count punishes Mazeppa by tying him naked to a wild horse and setting the horse loose. The bulk of the poem describes the traumatic journey of the hero strapped to the horse. The poem has been praised for its "vigor of style and its sharp realization of the feelings of suffering and endurance".
The popularity of the poem among inhabitants of the Northern America resulted in the appearance of many townships named after Ukrainian Hetman. Among them are Mazeppa, Minnesota, Mazeppa, Pennsylvania, Mazeppa, South Dakota, Mazeppa, Alberta (Canada). Mostly they were platted late 19th century. The national park Mazeppa that located in Central Queensland, Australia, was also named after the Hero of poem Mazeppa.

Mazeppa, Minnesota was platted in 1855, and named in honor of Hetman Ivan Mazepa via a poem by Lord Byron. The city was incorporated in 1877. The picture of the main street of Mazeppa was taken by A.R.Hawkinson in 1919.
Charles XII of Sweden and Mazepa by Swedish painter Gustaf Cederström (1880).
This painting by Swedish painter Gustaf Cederström was used as illustration for the poem "Mazepa" written in 1909 by Alfred Jensen, Swedish historian, slavist, writer, and translator.

0 comments: