sir thaddeus, or the last lithuanian foray: a nobleman's tale from the years of 1811 and 1812 in twelve books of verse (in polish "pan tadeusz, czyli ostatni zajazd na litwie. historia szlachecka z roku 1811 i 1812 we dwunastu księgach wierszem") is a long poem by polish romantic poet adam mickiewicz. it is regarded as a national epic. it was first published in paris in 1834. the poet was then in exile in france. "sir thaddeus" is a story of a conflict between two noble families, the soplicas and the horeszkos. the time is 1811 and 1812, shortly before napoleon invaded russia. when attacked by russian soldiers, both families fought against the enemy. the conflict between the families was ended with the marriage of thaddeus soplica and sophia horeszko.