Polish heraldry
Polish heraldry is the study of the
Polish heraldry is an integral part of the history of the Polish szlachta (nobility).
History
Unlike Western Europe, in Poland, the Polish nobles
Because Polish clans (
In the year 1244, Bolesław, Duke of Masovia, identified members of the knights' clan as members of a genealogia:
I received my good servitors [Raciborz and Albert] from the land of [Great] Poland, and from the clan [genealogia] called Jelito, with my well-disposed knowledge [i.e., consent and encouragement] and the cry [vocitatio], [that is], the godło, [by the name of] Nagody, and I established them in the said land of mine, Masovia, [on the military tenure described elsewhere in the charter].[8]
The documentation regarding Raciborz and Albert's tenure is the earliest surviving of the use of the clan name and cry defining the honorable status of Polish knights. The names of knightly genealogiae only came to be associated with heraldic devices later in the Middle Ages and in the early modern period. The Polish clan name and cry ritualized the ius militare, i.e., the power to command an army; and they had been used sometime before 1244 to define knightly status.[9]
According to Polish historian Tadeusz Manteuffel, a Polish clan (ród) consisted of people related by blood and descending from a common ancestor, giving the ród/clan a highly developed sense of solidarity (see gens). The starosta (or starszyna) had judicial and military power over the ród/clan, although this power was often exercised with an assembly of elders. Strongholds called gród were built where a unifying religious cult was powerful, where trials were conducted, and where clans gathered in the face of danger. The opole was the territory occupied by a single tribe.[10] Such clans often used signs (proto-coat of arms)[11] that later, during 13th century become coat of arms of the House or the Clan. The origin of those proto-CoAs is controversial. Some, like Sulimirski, claim Sarmatian origin[12] and some like historian Franciszek Piekosiński claim that those signs are Runes of dynastic tribal rulers.[13][14]
Heraldic symbols began to be used in Poland in the 13th century.[15] The generic Polish term for a coat of arms, herb, was used for the first time in the year 1415 at the Royal Office with text et quatuor herbis,[16][17] originating as a borrowing of the Czech erb, which in turn came from the German Erbe – heritage.[18][19]
During the Union of Horodło (1413), 47 Prince and Boyar families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were adopted into 47 Polish noble clans and began to use Polish coats of arms.[20]
Medieval coats of arms
Since there was no heraldic authority in Poland or in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, many old Polish coats of arms were changed over time by different publications, losing their original appearance. The Heraldic Commission was registered on 20 January 2010.[21] Although many medieval Polish coats of arms were presented in Western European rolls of arms,[22] there were no publications that presented original coats of arms in Poland until the 20th century, when Adam Heymowski began recovering old Polish coats of arms. His work was continued by Professor Józef Szymański , who finally published an armorial of original Polish coats of arms.[23]
The ancient Pałuki[24] family coat of arms was visually close to the Topór coat of arms, and in time a similar coat was assumed by Clan Topór.[25] As the Ostoja coat of arms evolved, the dragon was replaced by feathers and the cross by the sword, followed by other changes between ancient and modern versions.[26]
Many Polish coats of arms feature so-called variations, which are particular to Polish heraldry. In many cases, variations are simple errors, sometimes the family wished to make a distinction within the clan and in other cases coats have been called variations of a particular family's coat just because they look similar, which all together create a unique heraldic clan organisation in Poland. This is presented in the second part of the gallery, which shows many different variations of the Ostoja coat of arms.[27][28][29]
-
Pałuki coat of arms according to Szymański
-
Topór coat of arms, modern version
-
Ancient Ostoja coat of arms
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Ostoja coat of arms, modern version
-
Grzymała of comes Mroczek in 1262
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Grzymała coat of arms, modern version
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Ancient Wadwicz coat of arms
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Wadwicz coat of arms, modern version
-
Ancient Szreniawa coat of arms
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Szreniawa, modern version
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Arms of the Fincke von Finkenthal family ennobled in 1805
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Arms of the Ostarzewski family ennobled in 1785
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Arms of the Krall family ennobled in 1768
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Arms of the Szyszko family
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Arms of the Turkuł family
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Arms of the Wysocki family of Clan Kolumna, noted as, "Kolumna with wings", a variation of Ostoja
-
Arms of the Zawadski family
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Arms of the Mokrzewski family
-
Arms of the Wasilewski family
None of the variations above have anything in common with Ostoja, they just look similar.
Starting with proto-arms and families like
Peculiarities
This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2020) |
Although the Polish heraldic system evolved under the influence of German heraldry, there are many notable differences.
The most striking peculiarity of the system is that a coat of arms does not belong to a single family. A number of unrelated families (sometimes hundreds of them), usually with a number of different family names, may use the same, undifferenced coat of arms, and each coat of arms has its own name. The total number of coats of arms in this system was relatively low – ca. 160 (Piekosiński[35][36]) in the late Middle Ages.[37] The same can be also seen in Western Europe when families of different surnames but sharing clan origin would use similar coats-of-arms, the fleur-de-lis of the many Capetian families being perhaps the best-known example.
One side-effect of this unique arrangement was that it became customary to refer to noblemen by both their family name and their coat of arms name (or clan name). For example,
The Polish émigrés of the 19th century sometimes used adaptations of their names according to the Western European (mainly French) style, becoming e.g. Balthasar Klossowski de Rola (Balthus), Jean de Bloch (Jan Gotlib Bloch), or Tamara de Lempicka. Some would also keep the Latin forms of their surnames, as Latin was the official language of the Kingdom of Poland, hence the popularity of Late-Medieval or Early-Modern forms such as "de Zamosc Zamoyski".[40]
A single coat of arms could appear in slightly different versions, typically in different colours, depending on the custom of the family using it. Such variations (odmiany) are still considered as representing the same coat of arms.[41]
One of the most visually striking characteristics of Polish heraldry is the abundance of gules (red) fields. Among the oldest coats of arms in Poland, nearly half use a red background, with blue (azure) coming in a distant second. Nowhere else in Europe is there seen such a strong bias towards a particular colour scheme. It follows, however, the well-known heraldic custom of all Europe, of the vassals following the colour-scheme of their overlord, which found practical use on the battlefield.[41]
Other typical features used in Polish heraldry include horseshoes, arrows,
A Polish coat of arms consists of
Shield
Polish coats of arms are divided in the same way as their western counterparts. However, Polish coats of arms is applied on clans rather than to separate families and new families where adopted to the Clan, using same CoA. Thus Polish escutcheons are rarely parted, there are however a lot of preserved quartered coats-of-arms. These would most often show the arms of the four grandparents of the bearer. Or also the paternal-paternal great-grandmother in the 5th field if the male-line coat-of-arms goes in the heart field.[47]
The tradition of differentiating between the
Heart-shaped shields were mostly used in representations of the coats of arms of royalty. Following the union between Poland and Lithuania, and the creation of the elective monarchy, it became customary to place the coats of Poland and Lithuania diagonally, with the coat of arms of the specific monarch placed centrally on top. Research continues to find out what a "heart-shaped" shield is. Most likely, the coat of Poland was placed on the left-right diagonal (I & IV) and Lithuania on the right-left diagonal (II & III) as evidenced in the shield at the top of this page. The specific monarch crest then being placed in the "heart" position.[49]
Tinctures
Tincture | English heraldic name | Polish heraldic name |
---|---|---|
Metals | ||
Gold/Yellow | Or | Złoto |
Silver/White | Argent | Srebro |
Colours | ||
Blue | Azure | Błękit |
Red | Gules | Czerwień |
Purple | Purpure | Purpura |
Black | Sable | Czerń |
Green | Vert | Zieleń |
In addition to these seven basic tinctures, which were standard in western Europe, many more tinctures were used in Poland and (after the union with Poland) Lithuania.[41][50]
See also
- Heraldry
- History of Poland
- List of coats of arms of Polish nobility
- List of Polish nobility coats of arms images
- Szlachta
- Belarusian heraldry
- Polish name
- Polish clans
- Coats of arms of Polish voivodeships
References
- ISBN 8321401333, str.33. Drużyna was formed by younger units (majority) and older units of magnates and descendants of former local rulers that also where part of the council of war of the Ruler
- ^ J. Wyrozumski Historia Polski do roku 1505, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Warszawa 1986, rozdz. IV,13, str. 97
- ^ Franciszek Piekosiński Polish Knights during the Middle Ages, 1901
- ISBN 83-01-00104-6
- ^ Herby rycerstwa polskiego przez Bartosza Paprockiego zebrane i wydane r. p. 1584; wydanie Kazimierza Józefa Turowskiego, 1858, Wielkopolska Biblioteka Cyfrowa
- ^ [Wladyslaw Semkowicz, Clan Abdank i Medieval time http://www.wbc.poznan.pl/dlibra/plain-content?id=119155]
- ^ Lukasz Lapinski, PhD in Polish history using DNA evidence to claim clan origin and structure
- ISBN 0-8419-1318-8. OCLC 25787903
- ^ (Górecki 1992, pp. 183–185)
- ^ (Manteuffel 1982, p. 44)
- ^ Heraldyka - Początki herbów rycerskich w Polsce
- ^ ISBN 978-0500020715
- ^ O dynastycznem szlachty polskiej pochodzeniu, 1888
- ^ P. Dudziński, Alfabet heraldyczny, Warszawa 1997, s. 208–220
- ^ J. Bieniak, Heraldyka polska przed Długoszem, [w:] Sztuka i ideologia XV w., pod red. P. Skubiszewskiego, Warszawa 1978, s. 192
- ^ Białek W., Swarzędz 1638-1988, Swarzędz 1988
- ^ historia.org - first section and citation
- ^ Herb, explained in official page of City of Warsaw
- ^ PWN - Słownik języka polskiego pod red. W. Doroszewskiego (last sentence)
- ISBN 978-83-233-3841-3
- ^ Dziennik Ustaw z 2000 r. Nr 6 poz. 83
- ^ Almanach de Gotha, Gelre Armorial, Codex Berghammar, fr:Grand Armorial équestre de la Toison d'or, Stemmata polonica, fr:Armorial Bellenville, de:Armorial Lyncenich
- ISBN 978-83-7181-713-7
- ^ Semkowicz W. Jeszcze o rodzie Pałuków Wiad. Numizm. Archeolog. 21(1939/1948), s. 96-107
- ISBN 83-01-09797-3
- ISBN 83-7391-166-9.
- ^ ISBN 9788388595981, Introduction chapter
- ^ Stanisław Dumin, Herbarz rodzin tatarskich Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego, Wyd. I, Gdańsk, Związek Tatarów Polskich, 1999, s. 16-18 ISSN 1234-9267
- ^ Bartosz Jankowski, Smok w herbach szlachty polskiej, pismo historyczno-społeczne 14/2 (2007), p.97-116
- ^ Research into Orda family history is necessary to establish possible connection with Ostoja. Niesiecki notes that the Orda family used Ostoja CoA in the 16th century, although this is not reliable.
- ISBN 978-83-60597-10-1
- ^ http://www.poniec.pl – “Jak Chelmscy stali sie Ponieckimi”
- ^ IH PANhttp://www.slownik.ihpan.edu.pl/search.php?id=3775
- ^ A. Wajs, Materiały genealogiczne, nobilitacje, indygenaty w zbiorach Archiwum Głównego Akt Dawnych w Warszawie, DiG, Warszawa 2001.
- ^ F. Piekosiński, Poczet rodów szlachty polskiej wieków średnich, Lwów 1911
- ^ F. Piekosiński, Heraldyka polska wieków średnich, Akademia Umiejętności, Kraków 1899
- ^ A. Małecki, Studya heraldyczne, t. 1-2, Lwów 1890.
- ^ K. Rymut, Nazwiska Polaków. Słownik historyczno-etymologiczny, Polska Akademia Nauk, Instytut Języka Polskiego, t. 1-2, Kraków 1999.
- ^ Z. Kowalik-Kaleta, Historia nazwisk polskich na tle społecznym i obyczajowym (XII–XV wiek), Warszawa 2007.
- ^ T. Brajerski, Nazwiska polskie w polskiej urzędowej łacinie XVI-XVIII w., [w:] "Roczniki Humanistyczne", t. XXXV-XXXVI, z. VI, 1987-1988.
- ^ a b c d J. Łojko, Sredniowieczne herby polskie, KAW, Poznan 1985.
- ^ S. Mieroszewski, Kilka słów o heraldyce polskiej, Kraków 1887.
- ^ J. Piechowski, Ukryte swiatla herbów, Nasza Ksiegarnia, Warszawa 1991.
- ^ Lukasz Lapinski, PhD in Polish History, administrate several DNA projects, including entire R1a together with international scientific team https://www.familytreedna.com/public/POL-LITHNOBILITY/default.aspx
- origin. The genetic legacy of Paleolithic Homo sapiens sapiens in extant Europeans: a Y chromosome perspective. "Science". 290 (5494), s. 1155-1159, 2000
- ^ Genetic discovery 2010/2015
- ^ J. Ostrowski, Ksiega herbowa rodów polskich, Warszawa 1897.
- ^ A. Zajaczkowski, Szlachta polska: kultura i struktura, Warszawa 1993.
- ^ T. Pietras, Z orłem białym przez wieki. Z dziejów polskiej symboliki państwowej, Uniwersytet Łódzki, 2013.
- ^ Górzynski, J. Kochanowski, Herby szlachty polskiej, Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego i Wydawnictwa Alfa, Warszawa 1990.
Sources
- Górecki, Piotr (1992). Economy, Society, and Lordship in Medieval Poland: 1100-1250. New York, NEW YORK: Holmes and Meier Publishers, Inc. OCLC 25787903.
- Manteuffel, Tadeusz (1982). The Formation of the Polish State: The Period of Ducal Rule, 963-1194. Detroit, MICHIGAN: Wayne State University Press. OCLC 7730959.
- "Ślady recepcji legend arturiańskich w heraldyce Piastów czerskich i kronikach polskich". Kultura I Historia: Uniwersytet Marii Curie Skłodowskiej W Lublinie (in Polish). 2010 (17). 2010. ISSN 1642-9826.
- Wojciech Górczyk (2009). "Półksiężyc, orzeł, lew i smok. Uwagi o godłach napieczętnych Piastów". Histmag.org (in Polish). Histmag.
Further reading
Traditionally coats of arms were published in various listings of
- Bartosz Paprocki (1578). Gniazdo cnoty [Nest of Virtue] (in Polish). Kraków. [1]
- Herby rycerstwa polskiego [Arms of Polish Knighthood] (in Polish). Kraków. 1584.
- Antoni Swach (1705). Herby Polskie [Polish Coats of Arms] (in Polish). Poznań.
- Szymon Okolski (1643). Orbis Polonus [Polish World] (in Latin). Vol. 1–3. Kraków.
- Jan Karol Dachnowski; Z. Pentek (1995) [First published ca. 1620]. Herby szlacheckie w ziemiach pruskich [Coats of Arms in Prussian Lands] (in Polish). Kórnik.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Jan Karol Dachnowski (c. 1634). Poczet możnego rycerstwa polskiego [List of Grand Knights of Poland] (in Polish).
- Wacław Potocki (1696). Poczet herbów szlachty Korony Polskiey i Wielkiego Xsięstwa Litewskiego [List of Coats of Arms of Gentry from the Crown of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania] (in Polish). Kraków.
- Kasper Niesiecki (1728). Herby i familie rycerskie tak w Koronie jako y w W.X.L. [Coats of Arms of Knights both in the Crown and the Grand Duchy] (in Polish). Lwów.
- Kasper Niesiecki (1728–1743). Korona polska [Crown of Poland] (in Polish). Lwów.
- Benedykt Chmielowski (1763). Zbiór krótki herbów polskich, oraz wsławionych cnotą i naukami Polaków [Short Collection of Polish Coats of Arms, as well as Poles Famed for their Virtues and Sciences] (in Polish). Warsaw.
- Leonhard Dorst (1842–1849). Schlesisches Wappenbuch oder die Wappen des Adels im souverainen Herzogthum Schlesien, der Grafschaft Glatz und der Oberlausitz [Silesian Armorial, or Coats of Arms of the Duchy of Silesia, Duchy of Glatz and Lower Lausatia] (in German). Görlitz.
- Nikolay Ivanovich Pavlischev (1853). Herbarz rodzin szlacheckich Królestwa Polskiego najwyżej zatwierdzony [Armorial of Noble Families of the Kingdom of Poland, Approved by Highest Authorities] (in Polish).
- Poczet szlachty galicyjskiej i bukowińskiej (in Polish). Lwów-Kraków: Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza. 1988 [First published - 1857].
- Seweryn Uruski (1904–1938). Rodzina. Herbarz szlachty polskiej [The Family. Armorial of Polish Gentry] (in Polish). Warsaw.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) (published in 15 volumes, unfinished) - Emilian von Zernicki-Szeliga (1900). Der Polnische Adel und die demselben hinzugetretenen andersländischen Adelsfamilien (in German). Hamburg: Verlag von Henri Strand.
- Franciszek Piekosiński (1899). Herbarz szlachty prowincyi witebskiej [Armorial of Gentry of the Province of Vitebsk] (in Polish). Kraków: Herold polski.
- ISBN 83-88595-12-1.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
External links
- Polish-Litvan Noble Heraldry (in English)
- Polish coats of arms - a full list of Polish coats of arms
- Polish Nobility and Its Heraldry
- Armorial
- Coats of Arms within the context of the hereditary aristocracy of the historic Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth