Gryf ( Polish for "

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

"), also known as Jaxa, is a

Polish coat of arms The coat of arms of Poland is a white, crowned eagle with a golden beak and talons, on a red background. In Poland, the coat of arms as a whole is referred to as ''godło'' both in official documents and colloquial speech, despite the fact that ...

that was used by many noble families in medieval Poland and later under the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, branches of the original medieval

Gryfita-Świebodzic The Gryfits, also known as Świebodzits, was a medieval Polish knightly family. They occupied a dominant position among the nobles of Lesser Poland in the 12th and 13th century. History The family name comes from the emblem ''Gryf'' (a Griffin) ...

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 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. *''Kazimierz'' and ''Władysław'', the principality of Kashubia *''Vratislav'', the island Rügen, with ''Przybysław''. *''Cieszymierz'' and ''Otto'', the Lusatia (Łużyce), *''Ziemowit'' and ''Zemornyst'', the land of Brandenburg (Brenna & Stodorania). *''Jaxa'' with another brother, the

Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...

county (Miśnia), in Lusatia (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 have included: * Gryfici (Świebodzice) ** Jaksa Gryfita **

Andrzej Gryfita Andrzej Gryfita was the Bishop of Płock A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of ...

*** House of Branicki **** Jan Klemens Branicki **** Jan Klemens Branicki, Marshall of the Crown Tribunal ****

Stefan Mikołaj Branicki Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...

Voivode of Podlasie Podlaskie Voivodeship or Podlasie Province ( pl, Województwo podlaskie, ) is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. The name of the province and its territory correspond to the historic region of Podlachia. The capital and largest cit ...

****

Grzegorz Branicki Grzegorz Branicki z Ruszczy (c. 1534–1595) was a Polish nobleman. He was Łowczy of Kraków from 1563, burgrave of Kraków from 1590, and starost of Niepołomice Niepołomice (pronounced ; ) is a town in southern Poland, within the ...

****

Anna Branicka Count Sebastian Lubomirski (c. 1546–1613) was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman ( szlachcic). He was owner of Wiśnicz and Siercza. He was Żupnik of Kraków in 1581–1592, burgrave of Kraków since 1584, castellan of Małogoszcz since 1591 ...

*** House of Mielecki ****

Mikołaj Mielecki 150px, right Mikołaj Mielecki h. Gryf (ca. 1540 – 11 May 1585 in Kraków) was a Polish nobleman and politician. Since 1569 Mielecki was the voivod of Podolian Voivodship, between 1578 and 1580 he also served in the Polish Army as the Grand ...

**** Zofia Mielecka * Kazimierz Małachowski *

Janisław I Janisław (unknown—4 December 1341, Łęczyca) was an Archbishop of Gniezno 1317–41, having in 1317 succeeded Borzysław I. Janisław unconditionally supported the policy of reunification of Polish lands carried out by Władysław I the E ...

Ossowski,

Archbishop of Gniezno This is a list of archbishops of the Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primates of Poland since 1418.Primate of Poland * 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 of

Halicz Halych ( uk, Га́лич ; ro, Halici; pl, Halicz; russian: Га́лич, Galich; german: Halytsch, ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; yi, העליטש) is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the P ...

Szymon Konarski Szymon Konarski (1808–1839) was a 19th-century Polish- Lithuanian radical democratic politician and revolutionary, one of the leaders of the November Uprising of 1831. As a politician, he supported the radical idea of social and economic ...

, heraldist *

House of Otwinowski A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...

Erazm Otwinowski Erazm Otwinowski (1529–1614) was a Polish Renaissance poet, Calvinist and Socinian activist. Born at Liśnik Duży, Poland to a noble family. He was sent as a boy to the Wiśnicz Castle where he received his early education. There he came ...

poet and Socinian activist ** Franciszek Jaxa Otwinowski, member of the Sejm ** August Otwinowski, Burgrave of Kraków

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.

Related coat of arms

Chodkiewicz Coat of Arms Chodkiewicz (''Gryf z Mieczem'') is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by the Chodkiewicz family in the times of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. A variant of the Kościesza with the Gryf coat of arms and the notable longer family line as ...

* Coat of arms of Latvia

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 Gryf (Polish for " Griffin"), 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, branches of the original medieval Gryfita-Świebodzic fami ...