Ruler in the war - who won the victory in the battle of Orsha in 1514?

Po Smolensko praradimo 1514 m. buvo pasiekta svarbi pergalė prieš Maskvos kariuomenę prie Oršos. Lenkijos ir Lietuvos valdovas Žygimantas pačiame mūšyje nedalyvavo, tačiau parodė veiklumą telkdamas kariuomenę, vadovavo jai iki karo stovyklos Borisove, kur pasiliko saugomas 4000 karių. Mūšio lauke lietuvių ir lenkų jungtiniams daliniams vadovavo Lietuvos didysis etmonas Konstantinas Ostrogiškis. Straipsnyje analizuojama, kaip ši situacija atsispindi rašytiniuose šaltiniuose apie mūšį, kaip pergalės proga rašytuose tekstuose atskleidžiamas valdovo, Lenkijos karaliaus ir Lietuvos didžiojo kunigaikščio (toliau - Lk ir Ldk), vaidmuo. Siekiant atsakyti į klausimą, kokią vietą šaltiniuose užima valdovo figūra, atidžiau pažvelgiama į naratyvinius tekstus, skirtus katalikiškajai Europai, ir proginius poezijos kūrinius, rašytus netrukus po pergalės.It was a usual practice from the times of the Roman emperors and even prior, to attribute the victories of the military leaders to the rulers. Sigismund the Old demonstrated his initiative by assembling the army and seeking to reverse, in 1514, the course of the war of 1512-1522 with Moscow, in the direction more favourable to Lithuania. After the loss of Smolensk, an important victory was achieved against Moscow's troops at Orsha. The ruler was not-involved in the battle, with quite a significant part of the troops - 4000 soldiers - staying away at quite a distance in the camp in Borisov. The joint Lithuanian and Polish units were led on the battle field by Great Hetamn of Lithuania Konstantin Ostrozskij. The article analyzes how this situation is reflected in the written sources about the battle. The question about the role of the ruler's figure in historical sources prompts a closer look at the narrative texts dedicated to the Catholic part of Europe as well as literary works composed on certain occasions. Among the official letters carrying the news of the victory, the letter by Sigismund the Old to the pope appears of the utmost importance and has been published repeatedly. The sole circumstance of the king speaking on his behalf leads to the association of all the events with the king's actions. The letter rings a pronouncedly triumphant note and serves the obvious propaganda objective - to depict the enemy in a negative light and to aggrandize the author's mission and success. [...] Most of the poetical works dedicated to the victory at Orsha, were first of all promptly published in Krakow; subsequently they were included into the collection "Carmina de memorabili cede Scismaticorum Moscouiorum" published in Rome in 1515. The article discusses the poems in terms of the depiction of the ruler. Of them, stand out the poems written in Vilnius by Andreas Cricius (Andrzej Krzycki), the then-secretary of Barbara, the first wife of the king. They mention most of the military leaders that took part in the battle (Konstantin Ostrozskij, Janusz Swierczowski, Wojciech Sampoliński, Jurgis Radvila) and other details. Yet other poetic works dedicated to the victory, by Joannes Dantiscus (pol. Jan Dantyszek), Valentinus Ekius (Valentin Eck, Eckius, Ecchius), Christopherus Suchtenius (Christoph von Suchten), Casparus Ursinus Vėlius, Bernardus Vapovius (Bernard Wapowski), - are examples of laudatory writing dedicated to the occasion and include little realistic detail, mostly relying on the opposition of the pictures of victorious Sigismund and smitten Moscow's ruler, whose losses are especially emphasized. Despite some shared features, repetitive common places (loci communes) and motives, these authors each had their own poetic concept, distinct in their creative ideas, poetic composition, completeness, poetic form, intonation and poetics