The House of Sobieski (plural: Sobiescy, feminine form: Sobieska) was a prominent

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 ...

family of

Polish nobility The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

in the 16th and 17th centuries, from which the

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

and

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

Jan III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...

originated. The family used the

Janina coat of arms Janina is a Polish nobility clan coat-of-arms. Borne by several noble families descended in the-male line from the medieval lords of Janina (the eponyms of the clan) or legally adopted into the clan upon ennoblement. History Janina is the ...

History

According to the family's legend, it traced its lineage to a Polish duke,

Leszek II the Black Leszek II the Black (c. 1241 – 30 September 1288), was a Polish prince of the House of Piast, Duke of Sieradz since 1261, Duke of Łęczyca since 1267, Duke of Inowrocław in the years 1273-1278, Duke of Sandomierz and High Duke of Poland from ...

. Another family legend said that they were the descendants of Duke ''Sobiesław'', the son of Leszko III, a legendary ruler of the Popielids dynasty. The family reached the height of its power and importance in the late 16th and 17th centuries, when one of its members was elected

John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...

(Jan III Sobieski). The last male member of the branch of the family that began with John's grandfather,

Marek Sobieski Marek Sobieski (1549/1550 – 1605) was a Polish–Lithuanian noble (szlachcic). He was a courtier from 1577, a Royal Court Chorąży (chorąży nadworny królewski) from 1581, a castellan of Lublin from 1597, and a voivode of Lublin Voivo ...

, in the 16th century was Jakub Ludwik Sobieski (1667–1737). According to an alternative version provided by the 18th century chronicle writer

Samiilo Velychko Samiilo Vasyliovych Velychko (; 11 February 1670 – after 1728) was a Cossack nobility, Cossack nobleman and chronicler who wrote the first systematic presentation of the history of the Cossack Hetmanate. Life He was born in the family of th ...

, Sobieskis originated from local boyar Sobko from Galicia (Halych region) who converted into the

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

.Petro Kralyuk. Eger, the city of the historic bestseller (Петро Кралюк. Еґер: місто історичного бестселера)
www.day.kiev.ua (in Ukrainian)

Coat of arms

The Sobieski family used the

, and their motto was ''Vel cum hoc, vel super hoc''. Gascar Apotheosis of John III Sobieski

Siemiginowski Sobieski at the Battle of Vienna

220px, John III Sobieski, the victor of the Battle of Chocim. File:Coat of Arms of Jan Sobieski as king of Poland.svg, Coat of Arms of John III Sobieski as the King of Poland File:Sobieski Crown.PNG, Portrayal of Sobieski's royal crown, Gdańsk.

Notable members

Palaces

File:Żółkiew - Kolegiata pw. św. Wawrzyńca 01.JPG, St. Lawrence's Church in

Żółkiew Zhovkva is a List of cities in Ukraine, city in Lviv Raion, Lviv Oblast (Oblast, region) of western Ukraine. Zhovkva hosts the administration of Zhovkva urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Its population is approximately History A ...

. Mausoleum of the Żółkiewski and Sobieski family File:PalaceWilanow.jpg,

Wilanów Palace Wilanów Palace (, ) is a former royal palace located in the Wilanów district of Warsaw, Poland. It was built between 1677 and 1696 for the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania John III Sobieski according to a design by architect Augustyn ...

, Warsaw File:Wilanów Palace.jpg,

, Warsaw

Famous descendants

Among the descendants of John III Sobieski were one

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

(simultaneously one

King of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in Golden Bull of Sicily, 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings and first gained the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of th ...

and one

King of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in ...

), seven Kings of Saxony (simultaneously one Duke of Warsaw), one

King of Bavaria The King of Bavaria () was a title held by the hereditary Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria in the state known as the Kingdom of Bavaria from 1805 until 1918, when the kingdom was abolished. It was the second time Bavaria was a kingdom, almost a t ...

, two

Kings of Italy Kings or King's may refer to: *Kings: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations. *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'', an 11th-century epic Persia ...

(simultaneously one

Emperor of Ethiopia The emperor of Ethiopia (, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse (, "emperor"), was the hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century until the abolition of the monarchy in 1975. The emperor w ...

and one

King of the Albanians The King of Albania (Albanian language, Albanian: ''Mbreti i Shqipërisë'') was a title styled by the official ruler of Albania. While the medieval Capetian House of Anjou, AngevinKingdom of Albania (medieval), Kingdom of Albania was a monarchy, ...

), one

Tsar of Bulgaria The monarchs of Bulgaria ruled Bulgaria during the medieval First Bulgarian Empire, First ( 681–1018) and Second Bulgarian Empire, Second (1185–1422) Bulgarian empires, as well as during the modern Principality of Bulgaria, Principality (1879 ...

, one

Emperor of Austria The emperor of Austria (, ) was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The hereditary imperial title and office was proclaimed in 1804 by Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorr ...

(simultaneously one

King of Hungary The King of Hungary () was the Monarchy, ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Magyarország apostoli királya'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...

), one

Queen consort of Spain This is a list of the women who were queen consort, queens as wives of List of Spanish monarchs, Spanish monarchs from the 16th century, when Spain was unified, until present. Francisco de Asís, Duke of Cádiz is the only ''King Consort'', as th ...

and one titular Queen consort of England, Ireland and Scotland.

Tree

, married Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien **

Theresa Kunegunda Sobieska Theresa Kunegunda (, , ) (4 March 1676 – 27 March 1730) was a Polish people, Polish princess, Electress of Bavaria and of the Electorate of the Palatinate. By birth, she was a member of the House of Sobieski and by marriage, she is also a membe ...

, married

Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria Maximilian II (11 July 1662 – 26 February 1726), also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Electorate of Bavaria, Bavaria and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last governor of the Spani ...

***

Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII (6 August 1697 – 20 January 1745) was elector of Bavaria from 26 February 1726 and Holy Roman Emperor from 24 January 1742 to his death. He was also King of Bohemia (as Charles Albert) from 1741 to 1743. Charles was a member of th ...

****

Duchess Maria Antonia of Bavaria Maria Antonia, Princess of Bavaria, Electress of Saxony (18 July 1724 – 23 April 1780) was a German princess, composer, singer, harpsichordist and patron of the arts, known particularly for her operas: ''Il trionfo della fedeltà'' (“The t ...

*****

Frederick Augustus I of Saxony Frederick Augustus I (; ; ; 23 December 1750 – 5 May 1827) was a member of the House of Wettin who reigned as the last Elector of Saxony from 1763 to 1806 (as Frederick Augustus III) and as the first King of Saxony from 1806 to 1827. He was al ...

*****

Anthony of Saxony Anthony of Saxony (; 27 December 1755 – 6 June 1836) was a King of Saxony from the House of Wettin. He became known as ''Anton der Gütige''Quinger p. 35 ("Anthony the Kind"). He was the fifth but third surviving son of Frederick Christian, E ...

*****

Maximilian, Hereditary Prince of Saxony Prince Maximilian of Saxony (Maximilian Maria Joseph Anton Johann Baptist Johann Evangelista Ignaz Augustin Xavier Aloys Johann Nepomuk Januar Hermenegild Agnellis Paschalis; 13 April 1759 – 3 January 1838) was a German prince and a member of the ...

, married Princess Carolina of Parma (descendant of King Stanisław I Leszczyński) ****** Princess Maria Anna of Saxony (1799–1832) *******

Archduchess Auguste Ferdinande of Austria Archduchess Auguste Ferdinande of Austria (1 April 1825 – 26 April 1864) was the only daughter of Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and his first wife, Maria Anna of Saxony, to survive to adulthood. She married Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, ...

********

Ludwig III of Bavaria Ludwig III (Ludwig Luitpold Josef Maria Aloys Alfred; 7 January 1845 – 18 October 1921) was the last King of Bavaria, reigning from 1913 to 1918. Initially, he served in the Bavarian Army, Bavarian military as a lieutenant and went on to hold ...

******

Frederick Augustus II of Saxony Frederick Augustus II (; 18 May 1797 – 9 August 1854) was King of Saxony and a member of the House of Wettin. He was the eldest son of Maximilian, Prince of Saxony – younger son of the Elector Frederick Christian of Saxony – by h ...

****** John of Saxony ******* Princess Elisabeth of Saxony ********

Margherita of Savoy Margherita of Savoy (''Margherita Maria Teresa Giovanna''; 20 November 1851 – 4 January 1926) was List of Italian royal consorts, Queen of Italy by marriage to her first cousin King Umberto I of Italy. She was the daughter of Prince Ferdinand ...

*********

Victor Emmanuel III of Italy Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albania ...

********** Giovanna of Italy ***********

Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Simeon Borisov Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (, ; born 16 June 1937) is a Bulgarian politician who reigned as the last Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, Tsardom of Bulgaria as Simeon II from 1943 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolished by a 1946 Bu ...

*******

Albert of Saxony Albert of Saxony may refer to: * Albert, King of Saxony (1828–1902) * Albert I, Duke of Saxony (ca. 1175–1260) * Albert II, Duke of Saxony (ca. 1250–1298) * Albert III, Duke of Saxony (1443–1500) * Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen ...

******* George, King of Saxony ********

Frederick Augustus III of Saxony Frederick Augustus III (; 25 May 1865 – 18 February 1932) was the last King of Saxony (1904–1918). Born in Dresden, Frederick Augustus was the eldest son of King George of Saxony and his wife, Maria Anna of Portugal. Frederick Augustus ...

******** Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony (1867–1944) *********

Charles I of Austria Charles I (, ; 17 August 1887 – 1 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV), and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from November 1916 until the monarchy was abolished in November 1918. He was the ...

****** Maria Josepha Amalia, Queen of Spain ** James Louis Sobieski *** Maria Clementina Sobieska (titular Queen consort of England, Ireland and Scotland)

References

External links

The Beginnings of the Career of the Sobieski Family
at the Wilanów Palace Museum {{Authority control