Philippe DUPONT, Memoir to Serve the History of the Life and Actions of John III Sobieski

Philippe DUPONT, Memoir to Serve the History of the Life and Actions of John III Sobieski.
Text presented and annotated by Philippe ROY and Daniel TOLLET

Philippe Le Masson Dupont was born at least a few years before 1650. He arrived in Poland in 1671, where he served in the army under the command of John Sobieski during the campaigns of 1673–1676. Dupont was also present at Vienna in 1683. After the lifting of the siege of Vienna, he held command roles in battles against the Turks; he described himself as "chief engineer of the artillery." In 1687, he was sent to negotiate with the Turks at Kamieniec-Podolski, a visit he used to record details of the fortifications. Dupont subsequently carried out several diplomatic missions on behalf of the King of Poland. Having returned to France after the king's death, he came across the Anecdotes de Pologne ou mémoires secrets du règne de Jean III Sobieski, published in 1699 by François-Paulin Dalayrac, which he considered erroneous and defamatory. It was to correct this text that he wrote his Memoir, which remained in manuscript form until the end of the nineteenth century.

Philippe Roy is a retired defence official and international civil servant, and a military historian specialising in the history of fortifications and Central Europe.
Daniel Tollet, Doctor of Letters, is an honorary university research engineer. He spent his entire career at the University of Paris-Sorbonne, where he held responsibilities at the Centre de civilisation polonaise, the Centre de recherches sur l'Histoire de l'Europe centrale, and the Institut de recherche pour l'Histoire des religions.