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 Ennoblement is the conferring of nobility—the induction of an individual into the noble class. Currently only a few kingdoms still grant nobility to people; among them Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Vatican. Depending on time and reg ...

History

Janina is the only coat of arms represented on the sky as

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the earliest constellation ...

Scutum The ''scutum'' (; plural ''scuta'') was a type of shield used among Italic peoples in antiquity, most notably by the army of ancient Rome starting about the fourth century BC. The Romans adopted it when they switched from the military formatio ...

. It was created by

Johannes Hevelius Johannes Hevelius Some sources refer to Hevelius as Polish: * * * * * * * Some sources refer to Hevelius as German: * * * * *of the Royal Society * (in German also known as ''Hevel''; pl, Jan Heweliusz; – 28 January 1687) was a councillor ...

in 1684, and originally named it Scutum Sobiescianum (the shield of Sobieski) to commemorate the victory of the Polish forces led by King

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, Sobi ...

in the

Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna; pl, odsiecz wiedeńska, lit=Relief of Vienna or ''bitwa pod Wiedniem''; ota, Beç Ḳalʿası Muḥāṣarası, lit=siege of Beç; tr, İkinci Viyana Kuşatması, lit=second siege of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mo ...

in 1683. Later, the name was shortened to Scutum.
PB Janina CoA

Blazon

The coat of arms was used in a variety of tinctures and designs, varying greatly from family to family. All of them depicted what is described in the alternative names for the ''Janina'', that is a "field in a field" or a "shield within a shield".

Notable bearers

Most notable bearers of this coat of arms include: * members of the

Sobieski family The House of Sobieski (plural: Sobiescy, feminine form: Sobieska) was a prominent magnate family of Polish nobility in the 16th and 17th centuries from which the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Jan III Sobieski originated. The family ...

, including King

Jan 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 ...

and

Katarzyna Sobieska Katarzyna Sobieska (1634–1694) was the sister of King John III Sobieski of Poland and a noblewoman. She married Władysław Dominik Zasławski in 1650. She was later married to Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł Prince Michał Kazimier ...

(''pictured'')

Gallery

File:Coat of Arms of Jan Sobieski as king of Poland.svg, Coat of arms of Jan III Sobieski as the King of Poland File:Sobieski Crown.PNG, Portrayal of Sobieski's royal crown, Gdańsk. File:Scutum Sobiescianum.PNG, Scutum Sobiescianum- Johannes Hevelius drew the constellation in Uranographia, his celestial catalogue in 1690. File:POL COA Janina.svg, Variation of Janina file:POL COA Janina odm.svg, Warepski vel Warępski, variation of Janina file:POL COA Chunowski.svg, Chunowski, variation of Janina file:POL COA Jurgiewicz.svg, Jurgielewicz, variation of Janina file:POL COA Axt.svg, Axt, a Silesian coat of arms, variation of Janina according to Alfred ZnamierowskiHerbarz rodowy, Alfred Znamierowski, Warszawa 2004, . file:POL COA Zgraja.svg, Zgraja, variation of Janina

Notes and references

Bibliography

* Tadeusz Gajl: Herbarz polski od średniowiecza do XX wieku : ponad 4500 herbów szlacheckich 37 tysięcy nazwisk 55 tysięcy rodów. L&L, 2007, s. 406–539. .

External links

The Sobieskis' Janina Coat of Arms
at the Wilanów Palace Museum * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Janina Coat Of Arms Polish coats of arms