Yermack, the rebel, a drama

Yermacks Conquest of Siberia, 1582 by Vasily Surikov.

"Yermack, the rebel, a drama; (poetic and pathetic) was one of the works De Quincey listed in his diary which he wished; "at some time or other, seriously intended to execute".

I presume that De Quincey was thinking of Yermack Timofeyevich:

Yermack Timofeyevich with a force of free Cossacks were enlisted by the Russian Tsar to defeat Kucham the self-proclaimed Khan of Siberia. Yermacks force prepared for the campaign during the winter and embarked on their campaign crossing into Siberia in the early summer of 1582, culminating in the routing of Kuchams large army on the banks of the River Irtysh and entering the Siberian capital of Khanate on the 26th October 1582. Yermack is shown standing under the Vernicle standard which is now housed in the armoury of the Kremlin in Moscow. Military Art

I am unsure where De Quincey read about Yermack or Yermac but one possible source is Colin Macfarquhar, George Gleig Encyclopædia britannica: or, A dictionary of arts, sciences, and miscellaneous literature, Volume 17, Part 2 1797 or L'Eveque's History of Russia. De Quincey was a prolific reader and may have come across Yermack's story in the encyclopaedia. It is an early example of De Quincey's fascination with the East.

As ever with this blog we search out strange connections on our travels. Here's Group X with There Are Eight Million Cossack Melodies And This Is One Of Them:



According to Rick Resource Forum this is The Mark Leeman Five

De Quincey's Plan of Works to "Execute" in 1803

I am always fascinated by writer's plans for their work even if they don't produce the final article. We can sometimes learn a lot about what interested writers by these kinds of plans or lists. De Quincey was an aspiring writer in 1803 and his diary reflects his plans for his future writing:

Thursday night, May 26, 1803

"The following is a list of the works which I have, at some time or other, seriously intended to execute:-

1. Ethelfrid, a drama (poetic and pathetic)
2. Yermack, the rebel, a drama; (poetic and pathetic)
3. Paul a drama;
4. A pathetic tale, of which a black man is the hero;
5. A pathetic tale of which an Englishman is the hero;
6. An essay on poetry;
7. An essay on character;
8. A life of Catiline;
9. A life of Julius Caesar;
10. A poetic and pathetic ballad reciting the wanderings of two young children (brother and sister) and their falling asleep on a frosty - moonlight night among the lanes...and so perishing. (I projected this at Bath; I think, a few weeks before my going to Ireland.)
11. A pathetic poem describing the emotions (strange an wild) of a man dying on a rock in the sea...which he had swum to from a shipwreck...within sight of his native cottage and the paternal hills.
12. An ode in which two angels or spirits were to meet in the middle of the Atlantic.
I have sometimes thought too, though with less firmness of determination than on the preceding, that I would write-

1. An essay on pathos, as a counterpoint to No 6;
2. An essay on French and English Character, as a sequel and illustration of No. 7;
3. Many different travels and voyages.
I have besides always intended of course that poems should form the corner-stones of my fame;- but I not (at this moment) recollect any subjects that I have chosen for my poetical efforts..except those already mentioned. Between 11 and 12 o'clock"

I will be posting in more detail of some of the above at a later date.