The Gryfici also Świebodzice was a medieval Polish knightly family. They occupied a dominant position among the nobles of

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a ...

in the 12th and 13th century.

History

The family name comes from the emblem ''Gryf'' (a Griffin) of their

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 ...

. In particular for the period before the 14th century they are also called ''Świebodzice'', because of their battle cry: ''Świeboda'', (freedom, liberty).

Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...

connected the family with the

House of Griffins The House of Griffin or Griffin dynasty (german: Greifen; pl, Gryfici, da, Grif) was a dynasty ruling the Duchy of Pomerania from the 12th century until 1637. The name "Griffins" was used by the dynasty after the 15th century and had been take ...

. According to some historians, the Gryfici family, the House of Griffins and the House of Sobiesław are descendants of a branch of the Piast dynasty and their progenitor was one of the younger brothers of

Bolesław the Brave Boleslav or Bolesław may refer to: In people: * Boleslaw (given name) In geography: *Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland *Bolesław, Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland *Bolesław, Silesian Voivodeship, Pol ...

- Świętopełk.

Notable members

* Jaksa z Miechowa (died 1176) – crusader, ''możnowładca'' ( magnate) in Lesser Poland (according to some historians he is the same person as Jaxa of Köpenick, Prince of the SprevaneCetwiński, Marek (1980). Rycerstwo Śląskie do końca XIII w. Pochodzenie. Gospodarka. Polityka. Wrocławskie Towarzystwo Naukowe. p. 70.), son-in-law of

Piotr Włostowic Herb ŁabędźPiotr Włostowic ( 1080 – 1153), also known as Peter Wlast or ''Włost'') was a Polish noble, castellan of Wrocław, and a ruler (''możnowładca'') of part of Silesia. From 1117 he was voivode (''palatyn'') of the Duke of Poland ...

* Janik (died after 1167) – Bishop of

Gniezno Gniezno (; german: Gnesen; la, Gnesna) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. One of the Piast dynasty's chief cities, ...

* Mikołaj (died 1202) –

Voivode of Kraków Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

, commander of the forces of Lesser Poland at the Battle of Mozgawa * (died 1230/1231) – Voivode of

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 ...

Teodor Teodor is a masculine given name. In English, it is a cognate of Theodore. Notable people with the name include: * Teodor Muzaka III, Albanian nobleman who was born in 1393. * Teodor Andrault de Langeron (19th century), President of Warsaw * Teod ...

(died 1237) –

Voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...

of Kraków * Klemens z Brzeźnicy (died 1241) – castellan of Kraków, died at the Battle of Chmielnik * Jan Klimontowic (died after 1243) – castellan of

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; cs, Těšín ; german: Teschen; la, Tessin; szl, Ćeszyn) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitan ...

and Toszek * Andrzej z Brzeźnicy (died 1244) – Bishop of

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...

* Klemens z Ruszczy (died 1256) – castellan and Voivode of Kraków, closest associate of

Bolesław V the Chaste Bolesław V the Chaste ( pl, Bolesław Wstydliwy; 21 June 1226 – 7 December 1279) was Duke of Sandomierz in Lesser Poland from 1232 and High Duke of Poland from 1243 until his death, as the last male representative of the Lesser Polish branch o ...

* Wierzbięta z Ruszczy (died after 1310) – castellan and Voivode of Kraków * Wierzbięta z Branic (died 1424) –

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 ...

of Kraków

Branches

* House of Branicki *

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 ...

Bibliography

* A. Małecki, Studya heraldyczne, t. I, Lwów 1890, pp. 268-285, t. II, Lwów 1890, pp. 46-67 * L. M. Wójcik
Ród Gryfitów do końca XIII wieku. Pochodzenie — genealogia — rozsiedlenie
"Historia" CVII, Wrocław 1993.

References

{{Poland-noble-stub

History

Notable members

Branches

See also

Bibliography

References