The Gryfit, also known as Świebodzic, was a medieval

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

knightly family. They occupied a dominant position among the

nobles Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

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

in the 12th and 13th century.

History

The family name comes from the emblem ''Gryf'' (a

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 ...

) of their

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 ...

. In particular for the period before the 14th century they are also called ''Świebodzice'', because of their

battle cry A battle cry or war cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same combatant group. Battle cries are not necessarily articulate (e.g. "Eulaliaaaa!", "Alala"..), although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religio ...

: ''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, (; , ; Latin: ''Gryphes''), or House of Pomerania (see ), 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 ...

. According to some historians, the Gryfici family, the House of Griffins and the

House of Sobiesław The Samborides () or House of Sobiesław () were a ruling dynasty in the historic region of Pomerelia. They were first documented about 1155 as governors (''princeps'') in the Eastern Pomeranian lands serving the royal Piast dynasty of Poland, a ...

are descendants of a branch of the

Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...

and their progenitor was one of the younger brothers of

Bolesław the Brave Bolesław or Boleslav may refer to: People * Bolesław (given name) (also ''Boleslav'' or ''Boleslaus''), including a list of people with this name Geography * Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland * Bolesław, Olkusz Co ...

- Świętopełk.

Notable members

* Jaksa z Miechowa (died 1176) – crusader, ''możnowładca'' (

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

) in Lesser Poland (according to some historians he is the same person as

Jaxa of Köpenick Jaxa of Köpenick (sometimes ''Jaksa'' or ''Jacza of Copnic'', , Jaksa being an early Sorbian and/or Polish form of ''James'') (fl. 1151–1157) was a prince of the West Slavic Sprevan Principality of Copnic. He was an opponent of Albert the B ...

, Prince of the

Sprevane The Sprevane or Sprevani (; Slavonic: ''Sprevjane'') were a Slavic tribe who lived around the river Spree, where Berlin is now, in the Brandenburg area of eastern Germany. They were first recorded in 948 and again in 965 as living in the territo ...

Cetwiński, 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 (or Włost; 1080 – 1153), also known as Peter Wlast, 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 Bol ...

* Janik (died after 1167) – Bishop of

Gniezno Gniezno (; ; ) 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. The city is the administrative seat of Gniezno County (''powiat'') ...

Mikołaj Mikołaj is the Polish cognate of given name Nicholas, used both as a given name and a surname. It may refer to people: In Polish (or Polish-Lithuanian) nobility: * Mikołaj Kamieniecki, Polish nobleman and the first Grand Hetman of the Crown * ...

(died 1202) –

Voivode of Kraków Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

, commander of the forces of Lesser Poland at the

Battle of Mozgawa Mieszko IV Tanglefoot () (c. 1130 – 16 May 1211) was Duke of Kraków and High Duke of Poland from 9 June 1210 until his death one year later. He was also Duke of Silesia from 1163 to 1173 (with his brother as co-ruler), Duke of Racibórz from ...

* (died 1230/1231) – Voivode 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 ...

Teodor Teodor is a masculine given name. In English, it is a cognate of Theodore. Notable people with the name include: * Teodor Andrault de Langeron (19th century), President of Warsaw * Teodor Andrzej Potocki (1664–1738), Polish nobleman * Teodor ...

(died 1237) –

Voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

of Kraków *

Klemens z Brzeźnicy Klemens may refer to: * Klemens (given name) Klemens is a German masculine given name, a variant of Clemens. It may refer to: * Saint Clement (disambiguation), various saints in a German context * Klemens of Brzeźnica (died 1241), Polish nobl ...

(died 1241) –

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

of Kraków, died at the

Battle of Chmielnik The Battle of Chmielnik occurred on 18 March 1241 during the Mongol invasion of Poland. It ended in the defeat of the Polish armies of Sandomierz and Kraków provinces. The Mongols were able to move unimpeded, and plunder the abandoned city of K ...

* Jan Klimontowic (died after 1243) – castellan of

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; ; ) 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 inhabitants ( and lies opposite Český Těšín in the Czech Repu ...

and

Toszek Toszek () is a small town in southern Poland. It is situated within Gliwice County in the Silesian Voivodeship (province), and its population was estimated at 3,600 inhabitants in 2019. It is situated on the Toszecki Potok River, a tributary of K� ...

Andrzej z Brzeźnicy Andrzej Gryfita was the Bishop of Płock in Poland from 1239 until his death in 1244 Anno Domini, 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 supp ...

(died 1244) – Bishop of

Płock Płock (pronounced ), officially the Ducal Capital City of Płock, is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by Central Statistical Office (Poland), GUS on 31 December 2021, the ...

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

Bolesław V the Chaste Bolesław V the Chaste (; 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 of Piasts. Birth and n ...

Wierzbięta z Ruszczy Wierzbięta or Wirzbięta is a Polish-language name and surname derived as a diminutive of the name Wierzba.

(died after 1310) – castellan and Voivode of Kraków *

Wierzbięta z Branic Wierzbięta or Wirzbięta is a Polish-language name and surname derived as a diminutive of the name Wierzba.

(died 1424) –

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 Kraków

Branches

* House of Branicki *

House of Mielecki Gryf coat of arms of the Mielecki family Mielecki (plural: Mieleccy, feminine form: Mielecka) was a family of knights, a branch of the Gryffin Clan. The founders and former owners of the City of Mielec. History It is believed that their proge ...

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