POLISH COATS OF ARMS
Written by Leonard Suligowski, PNA(F) Director of Heraldry

Polish Coats of Arms

From its very beginning, the Piast nobility had its own symbols of recognition, which in time became ancestral emblems. They were simple and uncomplicated in design. At times they were reminiscent of some of the signs of the runic alphabet, a fact that became one of the arguments for the theory of Scandinavian origin of our nobility. The originator of this theory was the eminent historian Franciszek Piekosinski (Polish Knighthood of the Middle Ages, parts 1-3, Krakow 1896-1901). This theory did not find confirmation in subsequent research.

The arms of the Polish nobility in their current illustrations arose during the course of the 14th century, which is somewhat later than the arms of the nobility of Western Europe. Some however, have survived in their simple and original form, e.g., Kosiesza, Lis, Pilawa and so on. The majority of the old design of the arms however was difficult to describe in the armorial rolls and at the tournaments and were transformed into arms of various forms. They were reminiscent of the original emblems but easy to describe for they depicted known objects or items. To this group belong arms with the motif cross, horseshoe, kerchief or pomtosc (torse), half-moon, star, circle, etc. Others were completely changed in form to arms without any figures whatever. Belonging to the latter group are among others, Boncza, Gryf, Zaremba, etc.

Later, to the medieval group of clans came the addition of new families. They emerged through raising to nobility (ennoblement in pure form), acceptance to arms by already extant families (adoption) and finally, by addition to the catalogue of Polish nobility of foreign noble families, (naturalization). An Adopted family usually acquired an emblem similar to the arms of the adopting family.

Naturalized families introduced to the Polish armorial their own arms, but sometimes with certain differences. Families ennobled outright (and thus not by way of acceptance to a coat of arms) received arms of a form previously unknown. Often in such arms some sort of element will be found either of a national emblem (an eagle, half eagle, an eagle's wing) or from the arms of the ruler at the time (a crown from the arms of the Vasas, or a shield from the arms of John III). In the 18th century, and subsequently in the first half of the 19th century, great many new coats of arms were added to the Polish armorial rolls. One may cite as a illustration of that phenomenon that in Chrzanski's well known key to the designation of Polish arms (S.K. T.A. Chrzanski's, Tables of Armorial Variants, Warsaw 1909) of 1,238 drawings of arms 749 are used by one family, whereas only 489 served for the rest of the Polish Nobility. Incidental to this calculation it is worth noting that around 22,000 Polish noble families used these 489 arms in their seals.

The arms of ennobled families (often) and naturalized (always) were called "personal arms" without giving them any name other than the surname of the family that bore them. The term "personal arms" was also erroneously applied to the arms of the old clans if the surname was identical with the name of the arms. As an example, I offer the clan arms of Zaremba. "Personal arms" does not necessarily prove in every case that this family belonged to the newer nobility. Polish heraldic custom also differed from that of the West in that after the extinction of a clan its arms did not pass on to the persons inheriting the estates. For this reason the Polish armorial roll has so few composite arms unlike that of the West.

The typical Polish coat of arms consists of a shield, helmet, crown and crest and all four parts are essential and indispensable in the arms of the Polish nobility. Upon the shield, the actual emblem is illustrated. As a rule, after the actual emblem on the shield the crest appears and often represents the identical emblem, which appears on the shield, but in some cases will differ. Its form was also sometimes adapted for blazoning or proclamation as in the case of Jastrzebiecz, Lis or Korczak. Often ostrich feathers (typically three or five) or a peacocks tail appear as crests in Polish arms. These crests in many instances, replaced old medieval crests, which we sometimes can find on seals and in formal armorial rolls. This phenomenon was caused by the carelessness of our heralds who used these crest "blocks" for various arms during the 16th-17th centuries. The shape of the shield itself did not and does not have an established form in Poland. A "Polish" shield does not significantly differ in any way from any other heraldic shield. It is simply a fantasy, but should correspond to the epoch from which the arms came.

The Helmet

The helmet (essential in Polish arms) does not have any precisely defined form as it does in the heraldry of the West. The question of whether it should be "closed" or "open" and to what degree and to which side it faces does not apply in Polish heraldry. Like the shield however, it should correspond to the epoch from which the arms came and its placement should be independent of the crest's position.

The Crown

The crown, which appeared relatively late in Polish arms (15th century), does have its own precisely designed shape and form. The Polish noble crown (currently five-pointed in its modern form with three vine leaves and two pearls) is reminiscent of the Margrave crown. In the West it would be comparable to the Marquis crown which frequently was the cause of much misunderstanding and even of usurpation. The Barons crown consists of seven tiered rows of pearls; the Counts nine and princely families use a miter or other princely type of crown.

The Holders of the Shield

The holders or supports of the shield (labry in the West) are not fundamental parts of a Polish coat of arms. The color (or metal) of the shield is shown on the covering of the labry and the color of the most important figure was given on its inside lining. The labry depicts a more or less stylized surcoat or covering worn by the crusaders on the helm as protection against the sun.

The Motto

The motto is relatively rare in Polish heraldry and began to appear in the 18th-19th centuries. Their use was never defined in Poland by ordinance and is purely a matter of personal choice. One of the most beautiful mottoes, (that of the Sanguszko Princes) "With Conviction" originated in the 19th century and owes it sentiment to the struggles of Poland against Russia for her liberation.

In Polish heraldic literature, depictions of arms are almost always presented in their proper form adhering to the rules of heraldry although there have been some bad renditions as in any other country. It is necessary to understand that in our heraldry of pre-partitioned Poland there was no symbolism. Often repeated is the falsehood that a shield's red field attests to the acquiring the arms for deeds on the field of battle. Another falsehood is that a blue field represents "blue blood" or the nobility of the family bearing the arms. A blue field has also been said to signify the participation in battles on behalf of the Christian faith or of descent from converts (as in Pan Tadeusz). Other falsehoods include half moons attesting to battles with Turks or Tartars or Islamic descent. These are all legends, devoid of even a hint of truth or justification.

In Poland, Princely families and a few Count's families have exclusive right to a mantle surrounding their arms, the latter only if they possess explicit entitlement mentioned on the diploma conferring the title. The use of the princely miters by some Lithuanian-Ruthenian families unless named in Wolff's work (Jozef Wolff, Lithuanian-Ruthenian Princes, Warsaw 1895) is not recognized as legitimate.

In Polish armorial compilations we encounter the relatively frequent phenomenon of modification of arms by noble families. The cause of this was ignorance, often resulting from the external similarity of arms to their signet impressions, which were obscure on preserved documents. One case being Prawdzic often mistaken for Zaremba. Sometimes the arms of a wealthier family with the same surname were assumed. Professor Dworzaczek gives many examples of this process (Wlodzimierz Dworzaczek, Genealogia, Warsaw 1959, pg. 51). In addition, during the period of mass verifications of nobility (after the partitions) we encounter genealogies with improper arms, especially in the case of impoverished families. The Herald of the Kingdom of Poland, and later the Department of the Herald of the Ruling Senate in Petersburg, demanded of applicants only documentation establishing their noble descent and a drawing of the arms they claimed. The arms were not checked and were accepted as rightfully belonging to the applicant. To this day we do not know how many noble families passed in this manner into inappropriate armorial groups.

In Polish heraldic custom the coat of arms (as well as nobility itself) has only one way of passing from one person to another. That is by direct inheritance, from father to children born of a legal union. Arms cannot pass in any instance to illegitimate offspring (even if they were recognized) or to adopted children. This can only happen if one gains a legal transference of arms by the adopting person to the one adopted or if a person bearing a legal Napoleonic title does not have a legal heir to his title. This exception however has little significance because there exists only one case (the baronial title of Chlapowskis) in which transferal of a title and arms could have taken place.

Translated by Leonard J. Suligowski, Editor/Director of Heraldry from O Heraldycze i Heraldrycznym Sbobizmie by Szymon Konarski,pgs. 28-53.

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