Zimorowicz, Józef Bartłomiej

Zimorowicz, Józef Bartłomiej (pseud of Józef Ozimek), b 20 August 1597 in Lviv, d 14 October 1677 in Lviv. Polish poet and historian of Armenian origin; brother of Szymon Zimorowicz. From 1620 he held several positions in Lviv's municipal government (see Magistrat), and from 1648 he served as burmister a number of times. In 1672 he organized Lviv's defense during the Turkish siege. He is the author of the satirical narrative poem Żywot Kozaków Lisowskich (The Life of the Lisovsky Cossacks, 1620), the poetry collection Sielanki nowe ruskie (New Ruthenian Idylls, 1663), in which he depicted Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky's siege of Lviv, and several Latin works on the history of Lviv, including Leopolis triplex (Polish trans 1835). He introduced the haidamaka theme into Polish poetry (see Haidamaka uprisings).

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 5 (1993).]