Poraj is a Polish Coat of Arms. Used by several

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

families of

medieval Poland This article covers the history of Poland in the Middle Ages. This time covers roughly a millennium, from the 5th century to the 16th century. It is commonly dated from the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, and contrasted with a later Early Modern ...

and

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

families of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

- those descended in the male-line from the Poraj family and those allowed into the heraldic clan by adoption.

History

The Poraj coat of arms is of Bohemian origin. The name comes from the progenitor of the Polish clan Prince Poraj (''Pořej''), brother of

Adalbert of Prague Adalbert of Prague ( la, Sanctus Adalbertus, cs, svatý Vojtěch, sk, svätý Vojtech, pl, święty Wojciech, hu, Szent Adalbert (Béla); 95623 April 997), known in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia by his birth name Vojtěch ( la, ...

, son of the Bohemian Duke

Slavník Slavník (died 981) was a White Croatian nobleman, the founder of Slavník dynasty. Slavník rose to power during the reign of Boleslaus II of the Přemyslid dynasty. Slavník controlled significant estates within central Bohemia, and was overlor ...

. According to a legend the sons of Duke Slavník bore the coat of arms of roses, each in a different color. Prince Poraj came to Poland with the procession of

Dobrawa of Bohemia Doubravka of Bohemia, Dobrawa ( cs, Doubravka Přemyslovna, pl, Dobrawa, Dąbrówka; ca. 940/45 – 977) was a Bohemian princess of the Přemyslid dynasty and by marriage Duchess of the Polans. She was the daughter of Boleslaus I the Cruel, ...

, the spouse of

Mieszko I of Poland Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the first ruler of Poland and the founder of the first independent Polish state, the Duchy of Poland. His reign stretched from 960 to his death and he was a member of the Piast dynasty, a son of Siemomysł and a ...

and settled down in Greater Poland.

Blazon

Gules, a rose Argent barbed Vert seeded Or.

Notable bearers

Notable bearers of this Coat of Arms include: *

Jan Gruszczyński Jan Gruszczyński was a medieval Bishop of Kraków, Kujawski, Archbishop of Gniezno, Chancellor of the Crown, and active diplomat. Early life He was born at Sieradz, Central Poland in 1405 AD into the Poraj Polish noble family. He was the s ...

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

Bishop of Kraków 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 dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

* Bogufał I, Bishop of

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

* Bogufał II,

Bishop of Poznań 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 dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

* Bogufał III z Czerlina, Bishop of Poznań * Benedykt Izdbieński, Bishop of Poznań * Franciszek Antoni Kobielski,

Bishop of Lutsk The Roman Catholic diocese of Lutsk was first established in the 13th century as the diocese of Luceoria (Latin) or Łuck (Polish). After the victory of Napoleon, the diocese was joined with the diocese of Zhytomyr, forming the diocese of Lutzk-Zh ...

* Maciej Garnysz,

Bishop of Chełmno 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 dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

* Stanisław Pstrokoński, Bishop of

Chełmno Chełmno (; older en, Culm; formerly ) is a town in northern Poland near the Vistula river with 18,915 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of the Chełmno County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Due to its regional impor ...

* Piotr Goryński,

Voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...

of the

Duchy of Masovia Duchy of Masovia was a district principality and a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Poland, existing during the Middle Ages. The state was centered in Mazovia in the northeastern Kingdom of Poland, and during its existence, its capital was located i ...

* Jan Samuel Chrzanowski, lieutenant colonel *

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (; 24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish Ro ...

national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbo ...

, see:

Three Bards The Three Bards (, ) are the national poets of Polish Romantic literature. They lived and worked in exile during the partitions of Poland which ended the existence of the Polish sovereign state. Their tragic poetical plays and epic poetry wri ...

Wincenty Kadłubek Wincenty Kadłubek ( 1150 – 8 March 1223) was a Polish Catholic prelate and professed Cistercian who served as the Bishop of Kraków from 1208 until his resignation in 1218. His episcopal mission was to reform the diocesan priests to ensure ...

, Bishop of

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

and chronicler * Roman Grodecki, professor at the Jagiellonian University * House of Kurozwęcki ** Krzesław Kurozwęcki, Grand Chancellor of the Crown and

Bishop of Kujawy 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 dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

** Dobiesław Kurozwęcki, Voivode of Krakow ** Stanisław Kurozwęcki,

Vice-Chancellor of the Crown Chancellor of Poland ( pl, Kanclerz - , from la, cancellarius) was one of the highest officials in the historic Poland. This office functioned from the early Polish kingdom of the 12th century until the end of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwea ...

** Zawisza Kurozwęcki, regent of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

** Dobiesław "Lubelczyk" Kurozwęcki, Voivode of Lublin ** Mikołaj "Lubelczyk" Kurozwęcki,

of Lublin ** Krzesław Kurozwęcki, castellan of Nowy Sacz ** Piotr Kurozwęcki, Court Marshal of the Crown ** Krzesław "Półtorabek" Kurozwęcki, starost of Krakow ** Adam Kurozwęcki, starost of Brzeziny * Janusz Zakrzeński, film and theatrical actor * Stanislaw Chlebowski, painter * Józef Biernacki, general, participant of the Kosciuszko and November Uprisings * Alojzy Prosper Biernacki, Chancellor of the Exchequer during the November Uprising *

Andrzej Boryszewski Andrzej Boryszewski (1435 – 20 April 1510) was a Polish Roman Catholic priest. He was coadjutor bishop of Lviv in the years 1488–1493, metropolitan archbishop of Lviv in the years 1493–1503, apostolic administrator of Przemyśl in 150 ...

, Archbishop of Lwów, Primate of Poland * Mikołaj Róża Borzyszowski, Crown Master of the Kitchen, castellan of

Małogoszcz Małogoszcz is a town in the Jędrzejów County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland. The Battle of Małogoszcz. one of the biggest battles of the 1863 January Uprising, took place there. Małogoszcz belongs to Lesser Poland; the name of the ...

* Hieronim Bużeński,

Grand Treasurer of the Crown Podskarbi in Poland then in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal st ...

* Antoni Madeyski, sculptor * Andrzej Madeysk, engineer, associate professor * Jerzy Madeyski, art historian * Adam Gruszczyński, judge, castellan of

Gniezno Gniezno (; german: Gnesen; la, Gnesna) 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. One of the Piast dynasty's chief cities, ...

* Włodzimierz Gruszczyński, architect and professor * Wojciech Męciński (''Alberto Polacco''), Jesuit, missionary in Japan * Wojciech Męciński, general of the Army of the Duchy of Warsaw * Cezar Męciński, officer of the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...

* Cezary Chlebowski, writer and historian * Wincenty Wiszniewski, astronomer * Józef Kuczewski, judge and

wójt Wójt is a Polish senior civil administrative officer and the highest representative of the government of a '' rural gmina'', i.e., of a commune (''gmina'') comprising only villages. (Heads of towns and cities are called "burgomaster" (Polish: ''bu ...

of Wiłkomierz, member of the

Grodno Sejm Grodno Sejm ( pl, Sejm grodzieński; be, Гарадзенскі сойм; lt, Gardino seimas) was the last Sejm (session of parliament) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Grodno Sejm, held in autumn 1793 in Grodno, Grand Duchy of Li ...

* Stanisław Wybranowski,

Standard-Bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...

of Lublin * Stanisław Goczałkowski, Burgrave of Krakow * Jan Chlebowski, Royal

Rotmistrz __NOTOC__ (German and Scandinavian for "riding master" or "cavalry master") is or was a military rank of a commissioned cavalry officer in the armies of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A ''Rittmeister'' is typic ...

in the times of

John II Casimir Vasa John II Casimir ( pl, Jan II Kazimierz Waza; lt, Jonas Kazimieras Vaza; 22 March 1609 – 16 December 1672) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1648 until his abdication in 1668 as well as titular King of Sweden from 1648 ...

Gallery

Variations file:Biegaczewicz POL COA.svg, Biegaczewicz (odm.) file:POL COA Karczewski.svg, Karczewski (odm.) file:POL COA Królikowski.svg, Królikowski (odm.) file:POL COA Krzepicki.svg, Krzepicki (odm.) file:POL COA Pażątka.svg, Pażątka (odm.) Paintings File:Jan Gruszczyński.PNG, Poraj on a painting of

file:Lords of the Rose by Mikolas Ales.jpg, Lords of the Rose, mural by Mikoláš Aleš, 1896 Krzesław Kurozwęcki epitaph in Włocławek Cathedral.JPG, Krzesław Kurozwęcki epitaph in Włocławek Cathedral

External links

* Poraj Coat of Arms and bearers

Bibliography

Bartosz Paprocki Bartosz Paprocki (also ''Bartholomeus Paprocky'' or ''Bartholomew Paprocki'', pl, Bartłomiej (Bartosz) Paprocki, cs, Bartoloměj Paprocký z Hlahol a Paprocké Vůle; ca. 1540/43 in Paprocka Wola near Sierpc – 27 December 1614 in Lviv, P ...

: Herby rycerstwa polskiego, Kraków, 1858 *

Tadeusz Gajl Tadeusz Gajl (born 1940 in Vilnius, Lithuania) is a Lithuanian-born Polish artist and graphic designer, notable for his contemporary illustrations on the coats of arms borne by the historical nobility (''szlachta'') of Poland. After graduating fr ...