Gryf (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

for " Griffin"), also known as Jaxa, is a Polish coat of arms that was used by many

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

families in

medieval Poland This article covers the history of Poland in the Middle Ages. This time covers roughly a millennium, from the 5th century to the 16th century. It is commonly dated from the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, and contrasted with a later Early Modern ...

and later under the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

, branches of the original medieval Gryfita-Świebodzic family as well as families connected with the Clan by adoption at

ennoblement Ennoblement is the conferring of nobility—the induction of an individual into the noble class. Currently only a few kingdoms still grant nobility to people; among them Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Vatican. Depending on time and reg ...

or even by error.

History

Legend

Leszek III Leszko III (or Leszek, Lestek, Lesco) was a legendary ruler of Poland, firstly mentioned by Wincenty Kadłubek. Alleged son of Leszko II, father of Popiel I and grandfather of Popiel II. Hypothesis If we would like today to again review the a ...

, legendary Prince of Poland, 805?, had 14 sons, of whom the oldest was

Popiel I Popiel I was a legendary ruler of Poland, member of the Popielids dynasty. According to the legends reported by Wincenty Kadłubek in his '' Chronica seu originale regum et principum Poloniae'', he was the son of Leszko III. Father of Popiel II ...

his successor to the throne.

Leszek Leszek () is a Slavic Polish male given name, originally ''Lestko'', ''Leszko'' or ''Lestek'', related to ''Lech'', ''Lechosław'' and Czech ''Lstimir''. Individuals named Leszek celebrate their name day on June 3. Notable people * Lestko * ...

assured special parts of the realm to the remaining sons within his lifetime, obligating them by oath not to make the sovereignty of Popiel contentious. This ensured the safety and liberty of the country with a united army. *The other sons: * ''Barnim'' and ''Bogdal'' kept the principality of

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

. *''Kazimierz'' and ''Władysław'', the principality of

Kashubia pl, Kaszuby , native_name_lang = csb, de, csb , settlement_type = Historical region , anthem = Zemia Rodnô , image_map = Kashubians in Poland.png , image_flag ...

*''Vratislav'', the island

Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...

, with ''Przybysław''. *''Cieszymierz'' and ''Otto'', the

Lusatia Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...

(Łużyce), *''Ziemowit'' and ''Zemornyst'', the land of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

(Brenna & Stodorania). *''Jaxa'' with another brother, the Meissen county (Miśnia), in

(Łużyce) All these sons united under one war flag given by Leszek. The Lechites originally had a young lion on its war flag, then around 550, the white eagle appeared as a realm flag. The combination of both animal pictures into one figure has developed. Hence a lion's body and an eagle's head, which appears on and above the Gryf shield. 200px, The Gryf coat of arms on the left side next to the Leliwa coat of arms, on the painting ''Epitafium Wierzbięty z Branic'', 1425

Blazon

Notable bearers

Notable bearers of this

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

have included: *

Gryfici (Świebodzice) The Gryfici also Świebodzice was a medieval Polish knightly family. They occupied a dominant position among the nobles of Lesser Poland in the 12th and 13th century. History The family name comes from the emblem ''Gryf'' (a Griffin) of their ...

Jaksa Gryfita Jaksa Gryfita, Jaksa z Miechowa or Jaxa Gryfita (1120–1176) of the Gryfici family was a medieval ''możnowładca'' ( magnate) in Lesser Poland, crusader and fundator of the Monastery of the Holy Sepulchre in Miechów, son-in-law of Piotr Wło ...

Andrzej Gryfita Andrzej Gryfita was the Bishop of Płock in Poland from 1239 until his death in 1244 AD. He was also known as Andrzej of Brzeźnica. Family He was brother of Klemens of Brzeźnica. Career He was elected Bishop in 1239 with the support of Bole ...

*** House of Branicki ****

Jan Klemens Branicki Count Jan Klemens Branicki (also known as Jan Kazimierz Branicki; 21 September 1689 – 9 October 1771) was a Polish nobleman, magnate and Hetman, Field Crown Hetman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1735 and 1752, and Great Crown ...

****

, Marshall of the

Crown Tribunal The Crown Tribunal ( pl, Trybunał Główny Koronny, la, Iudicium Ordinarium Generale Tribunalis Regni) was the highest appellate court in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland for most cases. Exceptions were if a noble landowner was threatened with ...

**** Stefan Mikołaj Branicki,

Voivode of Podlasie Podlaskie Voivodeship or Podlasie Province ( pl, Województwo podlaskie, ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. The name of the province and its territory correspond to the historic region of Podlachia. The ...

**** Grzegorz Branicki **** Anna Branicka ***

House of Mielecki file:POL COA Gryf.svg, Gryf coat of arms of the Mielecki family Mielecki (plural: Mieleccy, feminine form: Mielecka) was a family of knights, a branch of the Gryfici (Świebodzice), Gryffin Clan. The founders and former owners of the City of Mielec ...

**** Mikołaj Mielecki ****

Zofia Mielecka file:POL COA Gryf.svg, Gryf coat of arms of the Mielecki family Mielecki (plural: Mieleccy, feminine form: Mielecka) was a family of knights, a branch of the Gryfici (Świebodzice), Gryffin Clan. The founders and former owners of the City of Mielec ...

Kazimierz Małachowski Kazimierz Małachowski of Gryf (1765–1845) was a Polish military officer and a general of both the armed forces of Duchy of Warsaw and the Kingdom of Poland. A recipient of Virtuti Militari for his actions during the Napoleonic Wars T ...

* Janisław I Ossowski, Archbishop of Gniezno and

Primate of Poland This is a list of archbishops of the Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primates of Poland since 1418.Józef Leśniewski Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, general * Abraham z Jaxów Chamiec, first known owner of

Międzyrzec Podlaski Międzyrzec Podlaski ( la, Meserici, german: Meseritz) is a city in Biała Podlaska County, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, with the population of 17,162 inhabitants . The total area of the city is . Międzyrzec is located near the Krzna river, not f ...

Bogdan Jaksa-Ronikier Bogdan or Bohdan (Cyrillic: Богдан) is a Slavic masculine name that appears in all Slavic countries as well as Romania and Moldova. It is derived from the Slavic words ''Bog/Boh'' (Cyrillic: Бог), meaning "god", and ''dan'' (Cyrillic: ...

, writer and publicist *

Aleksander Krzysztof Chodkiewicz Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, Bishop of Kieś and Canon of

Wilno Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

* Zygmunt Rożen, knight * Mateusz Michał Bąkowski,

Stolnik Pantler (, , russian: сто́льник, ) was a court office in Lithuania, Poland, and Russia, responsible for serving the royal table, then an honorary court title and a district office. Stolnik in Crown of Poland In the Crown of Poland und ...

Halicz Halych ( uk, Га́лич ; ro, Halici; pl, Halicz; russian: Га́лич, Galich; german: Halytsch, ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; yi, העליטש) is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the ...

* Szymon Konarski,

heraldist Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

House of Otwinowski A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

Erazm Otwinowski Erazm Otwinowski (1529–1614) was a Polish Renaissance poet, Calvinist and Socinian activist. Born at Liśnik Duży, Poland to a noble family. He was sent as a boy to the Wiśnicz Castle where he received his early education. There he came in ...

poet and Socinian activist ** Franciszek Jaxa Otwinowski, member of the

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

August Otwinowski August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

Burgrave Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from german: Burggraf, la, burgravius, burggravius, burcgravius, burgicomes, also praefectus), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especia ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

Individual grants based on Gryf

file:POL COA Dębicki Hrabia.svg, Counts Dębicki file:POL COA Konarski Hrabia.svg, Counts Konarski File:Bobowski Baron POL COA.svg, Barons Bobowski File:POL COA Bałła.svg, Bałła (odm. Gryf) file:POL COA Rosen.svg, Rosen, a variation of Gryf according to Przemysław Pragert file:POL COA Jadunka.svg, Jadunka, a variation of Gryf according to Przemysław PragertPrzemysław Pragert: Herbarz rodzin kaszubskich. T. 2. BiT, 2007, s. 83, 245. . file:Białoskrzydł POL COA.svg, Białoskrzydł coat of arms

Gallery

Gryfska vlajka.png, The Gryf brotherhood and knights led by

Zygmunt z Bobowej Zygmunt, Zigmunt, Zigmund and spelling variations thereof are masculine given names and occasionally surnames. People so named include: Given name Medieval period * Sigismund I the Old (1467–1548), Zygmunt I Stary in Polish, King of Poland and Gr ...

participated at the

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald, Battle of Žalgiris or First Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respec ...

Related coat of arms

* Chodkiewicz Coat of Arms *

Coat of arms of Latvia Coat of arms of Republic of Latvia was officially adopted by the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia on 15 June 1921, and was in official use from 19 August 1921. It was created using new national symbols and elements of coats of arms of Polish and ...

Bibliography

* Tadeusz Gajl: Herbarz polski od średniowiecza do XX wieku : ponad 4500 herbów szlacheckich 37 tysięcy nazwisk 55 tysięcy rodów. L&L, 2007. . * Jan Długosz: Jana Długosza kanonika krakowskiego Dziejów polskich ksiąg dwanaście, ks. IX. Kraków: 1867-1870, s. 264.

References

{{Coats of arms of Polish families, state=collapsed Gryf **