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

magnate The magnate term, 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'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in ...

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 free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

and

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Kingdom of Lithuania, Lithuania, which was established as an Absolute monarchy, absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three Duke, ducal D ...

Jan III Sobieski originated. The family used the Janina coat of arms.

History

According to the family's legend, it traced its lineage to a Polish duke, Leszek II the Black. 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 ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 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, Sobie ...

(Jan III Sobieski). The last male member of the branch of the family that began with John's grandfather, Marek Sobieski, in the 16th century was Jakub Ludwik Sobieski (1667–1737).

Coat of arms

The Sobieski family used the Janina coat of arms, 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. Scutum Sobiescianum

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

Wilanów Palace Wilanów Palace ( pl, Pałac w Wilanowie, ) is a former royal palace located in the Wilanów district of Warsaw, Poland. Wilanów Palace survived Poland's partitions and both World Wars, and so serves as a reminder of the culture of the Polish ...

, Warsaw File:Wilanów Palace.jpg,

, Warsaw

Famous descendants

Among the descendants of John III Sobieski were one Holy Roman Emperor (simultaneously one

King of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings beforehand, first gaining the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman ...

and one

King of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (''Regnum Teutonicum''), from the division of the Frankish Empire in 843 and the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 until the collapse of the German Emp ...

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

King of Bavaria 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 thous ...

, two Kings of Italy (simultaneously one

Emperor of Ethiopia The emperor of Ethiopia ( gez, ንጉሠ ነገሥት, nəgusä nägäst, " King of Kings"), also known as the Atse ( am, ዐፄ, "emperor"), was the hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century until the abolitio ...

and one King of the Albanians), one

Tsar of Bulgaria The monarchs of Bulgaria ruled the country during three periods of Bulgaria's history as an independent country: from the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681 to the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria in 1018; from the Uprising of A ...

, one

Emperor of Austria The Emperor of Austria (german: Kaiser von Österreich) was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A hereditary imperial title and office proclaimed in 1804 by Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, a member of the ...

(simultaneously one

King of Hungary The King of Hungary ( hu, magyar király) was the ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Apostoli Magyar Király'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 17 ...

), one Queen consort of Spain 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 ( pl, Teresa Kunegunda Sobieska, german: Kurfürstin Therese Kunigunde) (4 March 1676 – 10 March 1730) was a Polish princess, Electress of Bavaria and of the Electorate of the Palatinate. By birth she was member of the Hous ...

, married

Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria Maximilian, Maximillian or Maximiliaan (Maximilien in French) is a male given name. The name "Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names. List of people Monarchs *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459– ...

***

Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII (6 August 1697 – 20 January 1745) was the prince-elector of Bavaria from 1726 and Holy Roman Emperor from 24 January 1742 to his death. He was a member of the House of Wittelsbach, and his reign as Holy Roman Emperor thus marked th ...

**** Duchess Maria Antonia of Bavaria *****

Frederick Augustus I of Saxony pl, Fryderyk August Józef Maria Antoni Jan Nepomucen Alojzy Ksawery , image = Frederick Augustus I of Saxony by Marcello Bacciarelli (ca 1808-1809).png , caption = Portrait by Marcello Bacciarelli (1809) , succession = King of Saxony , cor ...

***** Anthony of Saxony Królewska

*****

Maximilian, Hereditary Prince of Saxony , image = El príncipe Maximiliano de Sajonia (Palacio Real de Madrid).jpg , caption = Portrait by Vicente López Portaña (1825) , spouse = , issue = , house = Wettin , father = Frederick Christ ...

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

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

******

Frederick Augustus II of Saxony , image = Friedrich August II of Saxony.jpg , caption = Portrait by Carl Christian Vogel von Vogelstein , image_size = 220px , reign = 6 June 1836 – 9 August 1854 , coronation = , predecessor = Anthony , ...

****** John of Saxony Królewska

******* Princess Elisabeth of Saxony ******** Margherita of Savoy *********

Victor Emmanuel III of Italy Victor Emmanuel III (Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. He also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–1941) and ...

**********

Giovanna of Italy , house = Savoy , father = Victor Emmanuel III of Italy , mother = Elena of Montenegro , birth_date = , birth_place = Rome, Kingdom of Italy , death_date = , death_place = Estoril, Portuguese Riviera , burial ...

*********** Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Królewska

*******

Albert of Saxony en, Frederick Augustus Albert Anthony Ferdinand Joseph Charles Maria Baptist Nepomuk William Xavier George Fidelis , image = Albert of Saxony by Nicola Perscheid c1900.jpg , image_size = , caption = Photograph by Nicola Persc ...

*******

George, King of Saxony en, Frederick Augustus George Louis William Maximilian Charles Maria Nepomuk Baptist Xavier Cyriacus Romanus , image =George of Saxony by Nicola Perscheid c1900.jpg , caption = Photograph by Nicola Perscheid c. 1900 , reign ...

********

Frederick Augustus III of Saxony en, Frederick Augustus John Louis Charles Gustav Gregory Philip von Wettin , image = Friedrich August III van Saksen.jpg , caption = Frederick Augustus III (1914) , succession = King of Saxony , reign = 15 October 1904 – ...

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

Charles I of Austria Charles I or Karl I (german: Karl Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Maria, hu, Károly Ferenc József Lajos Hubert György Ottó Mária; 17 August 18871 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV, ), King of Croatia, ...

****** 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