Hassling-Ketling of Elgin

Last updated
Hassling-Ketling of Elgin
First appearance The Deluge
Last appearance Fire in the Steppe
Created by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Portrayed by Jan Nowicki (Fire in the Steppe)
In-universe information
GenderMale
Spouse Krystyna Drohojowska
ChildrenUnnamed son
Unnamed second child
Religion Christianity
Nationality Scottish

Ketling (Hassling-Ketling of Elgin) is a fictional character in Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel Fire in the Steppe , the third volume of his award-winning The Trilogy. A Scotsman, Ketling moved to Poland where he became a Colonel of Artillery in service of the king of Poland John Casimir. Ketling married Krystyna Drohojowska, a former fiancée of his friend, Michał Wołodyjowski. Their marriage resulted in two pregnancies, a son having been born from the first one.

Ketling was killed in the Siege of Kamieniec Podolski, when he (together with Wołodyjowski) blew himself up in a gunpowder depot.

The historical personality on which the character was loosely based was certain Major Heyking, a mercenary from Courland and the commander of the Kamieniec Fortress during the said war.

In 1969 Jerzy Hoffman's film Ketling is portrayed by Jan Nowicki.

References