Gryf ( Polish for "

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

"), also known as Jaxa, is a Polish coat of arms that was used by many noble families in medieval Poland and later under the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, branches of the original medieval Gryfita-Świebodzic family as well as families connected with the Clan by adoption at ennoblement or even by error.

History

Legend

Leszek III, legendary Prince of Poland, 805?, had 14 sons, of whom the oldest was Popiel I 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 bearing the ...

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 ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

. *''Kazimierz'' and ''Władysław'', the principality of Kashubia *''Vratislav'', the island Rügen, with ''Przybysław''. *''Cieszymierz'' and ''Otto'', the

Lusatia Lusatia (; ; ; ; ; ), otherwise known as Sorbia, is a region in Central Europe, formerly entirely in Germany and today territorially split between Germany and modern-day Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the eas ...

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

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

(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 heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

have included: * Gryfici (Świebodzice) ** Jaksa Gryfita ** Andrzej Gryfita *** House of Branicki **** Jan Klemens Branicki **** Jan Klemens Branicki, Marshall of the Crown Tribunal **** Stefan Mikołaj Branicki, Voivode of Podlasie **** Grzegorz Branicki **** Anna Branicka *** House of Mielecki **** Mikołaj Mielecki **** Zofia Mielecka * Kazimierz Małachowski * Józef Leśniewski, general * Abraham z Jaxów Chamiec, first known owner of Międzyrzec Podlaski * Bogdan Jaksa-Ronikier, writer and publicist * Aleksander Krzysztof Chodkiewicz, Bishop of Kieś and Canon of Wilno * Zygmunt Rożen, knight * Mateusz Michał Bąkowski,

Stolnik Stolnik (, , , , ) was a court office in Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and Russia, responsible for serving the royal table, then an honorary court title and a district office. It approximately corresponds to English term wikt:pantler, "pantler". S ...

of Halicz * Szymon Konarski, heraldist * House of Otwinowski ** Erazm Otwinowski poet and Socinian activist ** Franciszek Jaxa Otwinowski, member of the

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

** August Otwinowski, Burgrave of

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

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 participated at the

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald 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 respectively by King Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila), a ...

Related coat of arms

* Chodkiewicz Coat of Arms * Coat of arms of Latvia * Coat of arms of

Ainaži Ainaži (; is a Latvian port town by the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. Administratively, it is part of the Limbaži Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. It is located on the south side of the Estonia-Latvia international border, on ...

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 **