# The Deluge — Character guide

> Key figures in The Deluge by Henryk Sienkiewicz.

- [Andrei Kmita](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/andrei_kmita.md): Kmita arrives at the cloister of Yasna Gora wracked with remorse, renouncing his name to serve as 'Babinich' and bringing word that the Swedes plot to seize the sacred fortress. He is a man of violent impulses and fierce
- [Pan Michael Volodyovski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/pan_michael_volodyovski.md): Volodyovski is a veteran colonel of near-constant warfare, celebrated across the Commonwealth for his blade yet painfully aware that the barracks is the only home he has. He stands at a crossroads: whether to seize a fle
- [Zagloba](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/zagloba.md): Zagloba dominates every table he sits at, regaling colonels and starostas with embroidered accounts of battles, his own cleverness, and the private habits of great men like Sapyeha. He is a rogue and a braggart, but his 
- [Prince Boguslav Radzivill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/prince_boguslav_radzivill.md): Boguslav arrives at his cousin Yanush's court like a renewal of youth, bearing news of the Elector's schemes and a face he fusses over in the mirror. He is proud as Satan, yet terrified of dying with a traitor's name, an
- [Olenka Billevich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/olenka_billevich.md): Olenka endures captivity alongside her kinsman Billevich, weeping from both relief and suffering as she learns that Prince Boguslav is a traitor and a heretic. She clings to the hope that knights like Volodyovski and Sks
- [Stefan Charnyetski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/stefan_charnyetski.md): Charnyetski listens to Zagloba's account of bending the marshal with growing astonishment, then immediately calls for a horse to seal the alliance while the iron is hot. He is a commander who values both the sword and th
- [Yanush Radzivill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/yanush_radzivill.md): As head of the Radzivill house and commander of Lithuania's armies, Yanush moves through the war like a man playing a longer, darker game than those around him. His dynastic scheming—marrying his daughter to Boguslav, ho
- [Pan Sakovich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/pan_sakovich.md): Sakovich serves the Radzivills as envoy, spy, and willing mouthpiece, arriving before Sapyeha to dictate terms on behalf of a prince who has already betrayed the Commonwealth. His bravado collapses the moment he meets Km
- [Babinich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/babinich.md): Babinich rides through the early chapters as a hero with no verifiable past—Anusia's stories of him grow taller with every telling, and even seasoned officers cannot place his house. He carries an old wound involving Bog
- [Roh Kovalski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/roh_kovalski.md): Kovalski commands the convoy that carries Zagloba, Volodyovski, and their comrades toward Birji, treating his captives with the easy familiarity of a soldier who assumes everyone shares his simple code. He is no schemer—
- [Anusia Borzobogati](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/anusia_borzobogati.md): Anusia arrives at Taurogi as a traveler with a story, and within an evening she has charmed the sword-bearer Billevich and coaxed Olenka out of her grief. She is half in love with the mysterious Babinich, half performing
- [Yan Kazimir](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/yan_kazimir.md): Yan Kazimir opens the novel as a monarch whose throne is crumbling—Swedish armies occupy his lands, his nobles defect, and his face has gone pale with grief. When Kmita brings news from Chenstohova, the king's reaction i
- [Karl Gustav](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/karl_gustav.md): Karl Gustav marches at the head of a veteran army whose officers—Wittemberg, Douglas, Horn—are quietly terrified, and he answers their caution by invoking Alexander of Macedon. His genius for taking cities has met someth
- [Soroka](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/soroka.md): Soroka belongs to the small, unglamorous class of attendants whose loyalty outlasts their master's reputation, and he stays at Kmita's side through dangers that would send a wiser man home. His devotion is total but not 
- [Kryshtofek Sapyeha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/kryshtofek_sapyeha.md): Kryshtofek Sapyeha operates in the delicate space between commanders who distrust one another, bearing messages that could start feuds or forge alliances. His missions put him at the mercy of greater men's tempers and ap
- [Yan Sapyeha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/yan_sapyeha.md): Yan Sapyeha is the voevoda whose table is always full and whose attention is always half elsewhere—dancing while Swedish guns are being dug in across the water. His officers watch in dismay as he waves off reports of the
- [Yan Zamoyski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/yan_zamoyski.md): Yan Zamoyski is the kind of lord whose word summons peasants to burn bridges and hide grain, and whose vanity must be stroked before his power will stir. Charnyetski needs him badly enough to send an envoy with honeyed f
- [Pan Kharlamp](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/pan_kharlamp.md): Pan Kharlamp arrives from Sapyeha's camp to report a catastrophe, and cannot resist dressing it up—bucket-sized cannonballs, feasts, and all—until Charnyetski cuts him off. He is a witness whose honesty is real but whose
- [Yan Skshetuski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/yan_skshetuski.md): Yan Skshetuski belongs to that brotherhood of soldiers whose reputations precede them — Zagloba's household greets his arrival as an event, and Volodyovski nearly goes wild with joy at seeing him again. His composure is 
- [Stanislav Skshetuski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/stanislav_skshetuski.md): Stanislav arrives at Zagloba's door as a near-double of his cousin Yan, so alike in face and bearing that Zagloba mistakes him at first glance. He is no mere messenger: he stood at Uistsie and watched fifteen thousand me
- [Pan Kuklinovski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/pan_kuklinovski.md): A brutal and treacherous colonel in the service of the Radzivills.
- [Vansosh](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/vansosh.md): A cunning and resourceful servant who often aids the main characters.
- [Prince Michael Radzivill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/prince_michael_radzivill.md): A Lithuanian prince and relative of Yanush and Boguslav Radzivill.
- [Kordetski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/kordetski.md): The heroic prior of the monastery at Chenstohova, leading its defense against the Swedes.
- [Tyzenhauz](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/tyzenhauz.md): A young Lithuanian nobleman and officer, a friend of the main characters.
- [Tomash Billevich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/tomash_billevich.md): A nobleman and relative of Olenka, serving as her guardian.
- [Pyotr Charnyetski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/pyotr_charnyetski.md): A Polish colonel and relative of Stefan Charnyetski, a capable military leader.
- [Pan Lyubomirski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/pan_lyubomirski.md): A powerful Polish magnate and military commander, often acting independently.
- [Mirski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/mirski.md): A Polish colonel, a loyal and brave officer in the Polish army.
- [Count Veyhard Vjeshchovich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/count_veyhard_vjeshchovich.md): A German count and colonel in Swedish service, a cruel and effective commander.
- [Oskyerko](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/oskyerko.md): A Polish colonel, a loyal and capable officer.
- [Akbah Ulan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/akbah_ulan.md): A Tatar colonel serving under the Radzivills, known for his loyalty.
- [Ganhoff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/ganhoff.md): A German colonel in Swedish service, a capable and honorable officer.
- [Yuzva Butrym](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/yuzva_butrym.md): A gigantic and fierce Lithuanian nobleman, a leader of the Lauda men.
- [Pan Zbrojek](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/pan_zbrojek.md): A Polish colonel, a brave and loyal officer.
- [Pan Kyemlich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/pan_kyemlich.md): A cunning and treacherous nobleman, often involved in plots against the heroes.
- [Pan Yaromir Kokosinski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/pan_yaromir_kokosinski.md): A comical and boastful nobleman, often a source of humor.
- [Ranitski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/ranitski.md): A Polish nobleman and officer, a friend of the main characters.
- [Heraclius Billevich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/heraclius_billevich.md): The deceased grandfather of Olenka, whose will sets the plot in motion.
- [Forgell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/forgell.md): A Swedish general, a capable and ruthless commander.
- [Panna Kulvyets](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/panna_kulvyets.md): A young noblewoman, a relative of the Billeviches.
- [Radzeyovski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/radzeyovski.md): A Polish magnate and traitor who conspires with the Swedes.
- [Bogdan Hmelnitski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/bogdan_hmelnitski.md): The Cossack hetman who led a major uprising against Poland, mentioned as a past threat.
- [Arwid Wittemberg](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/arwid_wittemberg.md): An old and brutal Swedish field marshal, known for his cruelty.
- [Princess Griselda Vishnyevetski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/princess_griselda_vishnyevetski.md): The widow of Prince Yeremi Vishnyevetski, a powerful and respected figure.
- [Baron Lisola](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/baron_lisola.md): An imperial diplomat, involved in negotiations during the war.
- [Shandarovski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/shandarovski.md): A Polish nobleman and officer, a friend of the main characters.
- [Rekuts-Leliva](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/rekuts_leliva.md): A Polish nobleman and officer, a loyal soldier.
- [Pakosh Gashtovt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/pakosh_gashtovt.md): An old Lithuanian nobleman, a leader of the Lauda men.
- [Pan Sadovski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/pan_sadovski.md): A Polish colonel, a capable and loyal officer.
- [Sobiepan Zamoyski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/sobiepan_zamoyski.md): A Polish magnate, the owner of Zamosc, a defender of the realm.
- [Pan Vladyslav Skorashevski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/pan_vladyslav_skorashevski.md): A Polish nobleman and officer, a friend of the main characters.
- [Pan Uhlik](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/pan_uhlika.md): A Polish nobleman and officer, a friend of the main characters.
- [Pan Sladkovski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/pan_sladkovski.md): A Polish nobleman and officer, a loyal soldier.
- [Pontus de la Gardie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/pontus_de_la_gardie.md): A Swedish general and count, a commander in the invasion.
- [Prince Yeremi Vishnyevetski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/prince_yeremi_vishnyevetski.md): A legendary Polish prince and military commander, deceased before the story begins.
- [Pan Vitovski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/pan_vitovski.md): A Polish nobleman and officer, a loyal soldier.
- [Pan Lugovski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters/pan_lugovski.md): A Polish nobleman and officer, a loyal soldier.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_deluge_se/characters