Zemsta is a Polish comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 by Aleksander Fredro

Aleksander Fredro

Aleksander Fredro was a Polish poet, playwright and author.-Life:Count Aleksander Fredro, of the Bończa coat of arms, was born in the village of Surochów near Jarosław, then a crown territory of Austria. A landowner's son, he was educated at home. He entered the Polish army at age 16 and saw...

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The Play

Real events inspired Fredro to write the play. In November of 1828, Fredro married Zofia Skotnicka, whose dowry

Dowry

A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...

 included the title to half of a castle located in Odrzykon

Odrzykon

Odrzykoń is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wojaszówka, within Krosno County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately south-east of Wojaszówka, north of Krosno, and south-west of the regional capital Rzeszów.The village has a population of...

 in the province of Galicia. In 1829, when looking through the archives of the castle, he happened on court records related to a dispute dating from the 17th century between the owners of the castle's two halves - Jan Skotnicki and Piotr Firlej

Piotr Firlej

Piotr Firlej was a Polish nobleman .Piotr became voivode of Lublin Voivodship in 1537 and voivode of Ruthenian Voivodship in 1545. In 1514 he participated in the Battle of Orsza and was a trusted adviser of Queen Bona and King Zygmunt II August. He founded the cities of Janowiec and Lubartów and...

. The conflict was long and relentless. It ended after more than thirty years with the marriage of Firlej's son to Zofia Skotnicka, an end similar to that adopted by Fredro in his play.

Adaptation

The play was adapted into a 2002 film

The Revenge (film)

The Revenge is the English title for Zemsta, a film released in 2002, directed by Andrzej Wajda. This film is an adaptation of a perennially popular stage farce of the same name by the Polish dramatist and poet Aleksander Fredro....

, directed by Andrzej Wajda

Andrzej Wajda

Andrzej Wajda is a Polish film director. Recipient of an honorary Oscar, he is possibly the most prominent member of the unofficial "Polish Film School"...

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Trivia

• The original story took place in Kamieniec castle, which is currently located in Odrzykoń
  Odrzykon
  Odrzykoń is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wojaszówka, within Krosno County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately south-east of Wojaszówka, north of Krosno, and south-west of the regional capital Rzeszów.The village has a population of...
  
   :pl:Odrzyko%C5%84, while the movie was filmed in Ogrodzieniec
  Ogrodzieniec
  Ogrodzieniec is town Zawiercie County, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, with 4,499 inhabitants .It is noted for the extensive ruins of a medieval castle, damaged during the Swedish invasion of Poland in the years 1655–1660.- External links :...
  
   castle, located in Silesia
  Silesia
  Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
  
  province, Poland.