The Development of Clan Names in Medieval Poland

JAN PAKULSKI
The Development of Clan Names in Medieval Poland
ABSTRACT
Based on his own, Janusz Bieniak’s, and others‘ monographic studies as weil as
the extensive use of royal and regional primary sources, the author demonstrates
the different origins and development of the „clan names“ (nomina genealogiae) of
seven Polish noble family clusters: the Rota, Junosza, 0/obok, Doll:ga, Nal􀃗cz and
Rawa clans. These collective names, used to denote the soliclarity of a circle of
related families, became generally used in the fourteenth century, even though their
roots went back several generations, as personal or Jamily names, heraldic charges
or other speci.fic signs of the kindreds. Their spread and extensive use is clearly
connected to the solidification of noble privilege and noble status in the late
fourteenth century, beginning from Louis of Anjou’s charter, through the early
Jagiellonian reigns.
Polish historians agree on the importance of the knighUy clans, and on the degree to which
they permeated later medieval society. Bringing Iogether families varying in wealth and
political influence, the clan formed a group which was based on ties of blood, but
nevertheless dominated by its wealthiest members.
1
But there is still much disagreement
over some issues relating to the clan, particularly regarding its ownership of property, and
its development of „self-awareness.“ The clan expressed itself as a collective entity by
means of coat of arms, conuuon „baltle cries“ (proklama, Lat.: proclamatio), and by
adopting a clan name. In this paper I will be examining the history of some of these „clan
names.“ I start by summarising the debates about their origin, and then I Iook at some
specific examples to see how far they support these theories. I hope a better understanding
of the sorts of words that became clan names, and of the dates and circumstances under
which they were adopted, may help to explain the rise of the clan and to improve our
knowledge of social change in later medieval Poland.
86 History and Society 2
Scholars are generally agreed on the earliest stages in the developrnent of farnily narnes.
Initially, narnes and syrnbols pertained not to a farnily or clan, but to the individual knight
and bis property. To describe a family circle, a scribe or notary would narne a principal
rnagnate of the farnily, and then describe the relationship of other rnernbers of the group to
hirn, using such expressions as cum suis consanguineis et amicis, cum sua societate or cum
collateralibus.
2
The first way narnes were used to identify farnily units was by giving male
rnernbers of a farnily the sarne personal, or Christian, narne. Sornetirnes the frrst narnes
were cornplernented by a further tenn, a cognomen, to distinguish between rnen with the
sarne given narne. These cognomina were often directly related to the appearance or
characteristics of the individual in question.
3
The chronicler Gallus Anonymus gives
cognomina not only to the rnonarchs of Po land (such as gloriosus or magnus for Boleslaw
the Brave), but also to the rnagnates (such as venerabilis, sapiens, but also senex et
informus!). To show noble birth he employed further titles: comites,principes and nobiles.
4
By the fourteenth century the terrn dominuswas often used for anyone with sorne clairn to
nobility.
At the turn of the twelfth century, personal narnes began to express farnily allegiance, in
particular, filiation. This was done by adding possessive or other qualifiers to the given
narne, or by adding as a cornplernentary nan1e the father‘ s narne, eilher in the genitive form,
or with a suffix of -ic or -icz. The use of a cornplernentary, patronyrnic „sumarne“ quickly
went out of fashion, but qualifiers referring to possession were used in given narnes
throughout the Middle Ages. By the end of the thirteenth century, cognomina carne to be
used to define not only individuals, but also broader family circles. Already in the last
century S. Linde considered that the late rnedieval cognornen bad becorne „a narne used
to show the cohesion of one collateral farnily,“
5
and rnost scholars have followed bis Iead.
I concluded in an earlier study that the inherited cognomen could play a further role as an
elernent of clan self-identification.
6
However, cognomina were forrned not only frorn
patronymic sumarnes, but also frorn cornrnon, personal or toponyrnic narnes. Thus it
sornetirnes happened that two groups unrelated by blood lies would choose the sarne
cognomen. However, by the fifteenth century clans were norrnally distinguished frorn one
another by a singular clan narne. It is regarding the adoption of these narnes by clans in the
Iater thirteenth and the fourteenth century that controversy still rernains. Sorne scholars
clairn the clan narnes were of ancient origin, others trace them frorn clan proclamationes,
still others consider thern to have evolved as a Substitute for the practice of giving cornrnon
frrst narnes to mernbers of the sarne farnily.
7
The most extensive study of the nomina genealogiae has been carried out by J. Bieniak.
He argued that for a denornination to be regarded as a clan narne it must denote a group
connected genealogically, and rnust be sirnilar to one of the personal narnes used by
mernbers of the clan. After exanlining the origin of rnany clan narnes, he concluded that,
as a rule, they were originally personal narnes, which were Iater used to denote an entire
farnily. Eventually one of these farnily narnes would come to represent the whole clan.
Palrulski: Oan Narnes in Medieval Polami 87
Despite bis research, some historians still try to deduce the date at which a clan name was
adopted simply by looking for its first appearance in the chronicles or charters. But
according to Bieniak’s theory, that first appearance will usually have been as a family or
personal name. To establish whether in such a text the clan name was used as a term
referring to a group of families, rather than merely a family group, we have to examine
closely the circumstances surrounding the use of the denomination, and to adduce whatever
eise we know about the self-awareness of that particular clan at that time.
Janusz Bieniak analyzed the clans of Top6r, Doliwa, and Ogon in this manner, and has
concluded that they adopted those particular tenns as their clan names in 1320-60, 1360-65,
and 1367-81, respectively.8 He also studied the Jastrzembcy clan, concluding that it was
closely associated with the Bolescice and t..a􀂿ki family groups, and that various clan
names coexisted within it for some time.9 In the remainder of this paper I take the clans of
Rola, J unosza, Olobok, Dol􀃀ga, Nal􀃀cz, Rawa, and Zaremba as examples of the variety of
sources and dates of the adoption of clan names.
The clan of Rota has received some attention from Bieniak. He argues that by 1335 the
term Rota had become a clan name, but that it was also still used to denote a family group.
His principal evidence is a charter of that year, witnessed in Sandamierz by the king, in
which nobility was confirmed for a knight Falislaw of Gledzianow, of the region of t..􀃀czya.
The witnesses wcre, on his father’s side, two mcmbers of the Rola clan; on his mother’s
side, two of the Junosza clan; and, on the patemal grandmother’s side, two of the
Jastrzembcy clan. The charter refers to the frrst two as Nicolaus dictus Koth, et Paulus Rola
de clenodio Rolye, rosam cum tribus bronya [ploughshares) in clipeo deferentes. Furthermore,
Bieniak suggested that the clan name was derived from the cognomen of Dominik
dictus Rola, an ancestor of a family Lubieniecki from Kujavia. The clan arms, the rose with
three ploughshares, may have been added in 1330 by Dominik’s brother, Nasi􀃀gniew, since
they are frrst found on the seal of a document of 1333 issued by him. That coat of anns is
also seen on the notary sign of their descendant, Jakub of Swi11tkowice. A closer examination
of the men associated with the clan provides evidence to support Bieniak’s theory of
the evolution of clan names. According to our present knowledge, Urban of Kujawy,
chamberlain (1236), equerry (1243), and castellan of t..􀃀czya (1248), is considered tobe
the earliest progenitor of the clan. Previous researchers have established that by the early
fourteenth century it had „branched“ to include several houses. Most famous are the knights
ofParz􀃀czew, a branch founded by Urban’s great-grandson, Jasiek Pucek. A brotherof the
Paulus Rola mentioned in the charter was possibly Siefan Rola oft..l!koszyn, the sub-huntsman
of􀃁czya, and the designationRota was handed down as a family name to his son Jan
of Ll!koszyn, castellan of L􀃀czya ( 1383-1430). Other magnates known to have belonged
to lhe clan are Nasi􀃀gniew Kolaczek, bis close relative Piotr of M11koszyc, Szczytno, and
Chodecz. One example we have of „collective action“ by lhe clan comes in a document
from Little Poland of 1350 which gives a Iist of witnesseswhich includcd many eminent
local magnates, but the only family name noted was that of Rota, suggesting that that name
88 History and Society 2
was generally well-known. Nevertheless, family names continued to be used alongside clan
names in the latter half of the fourteenth century. Jasiek Pucek’s grandson Mikolaj
continued to use bis family name, as did Mikolaj‘ s nephew Stefan. Nasi􀂦gniew Kolaczek‘ s
grandson Wojciecb of Swi:jtkowiCe, equerry of Brze§c from 1393, continued to use the
cognomen Kolaczek. However, another Mikolaj, a canon ofWislica, who became in 1364
a notary to King Casimir the Great, used Rola alone as a family name, as did Jan, a canon
and knight of Wloclawek, in 1383.
Thus we see „Rola“ being adopted by several houses as a family name. The charters also
provide evidence that it was simultaneously used by many houses as a clan name. In
addition to the 1335 document from Sandomierz, the land acts of 4czya of 1398 mention
arms bearers de genealogia et clenodio dicto Roln. In 1406 at Pyzdry, the brothers Jan and
Klemens of Skarboszewo near Slupca proved their affiliation to the clan by, among other
things, testes de clenodio Rola. In 1424 during a land diet in Szadek, two defenders of a
certain accused Janek of Pangow were the castellan of l..􀂥czya, Jan of l..l!koszyn, and bis
huntsman, Wojciech pf Parz􀂦czew, de clenodio proprio Rolye et proclamacionis Rolya,
gestantes super clipeo tres scissuras wlgariter Croy. At a Brzesc diet in 1433 Bartosz of
Kufuice near Cbocen and Wojciech called Baryczka of Wi􀂦clawice represented the
clenodium Rola. The clan name was also used as a proclamatio, and is often referred to
alongside a seal of tbe clan arms, or a mention of it. The situation is captured perfectly in
the land acts of 4czya of 1441, where two witnesses are described as de annis se u clenodio
Rote, qui in clipeo deferunt unam rosam cum tribus sicaturetis aratralibus wulgariter trzy
croye, quorum proclamacio Rola. The name Rota probat?ly continued to be given from
time to time as a personal cognomen, without implying family allegiance. The rusticus
Jakub of Monaczkowice was „nicknamed“ Rola in 1402, and be can hardly have been of
noble stock. In the case of townsmen it is not so clear whether the denomination „Rola“ is
a personal cognomen or an expression of clan allegiance. In 1412 the affiliation to the Rolas
of Pioty M:jkoszyc, a townsman of Przedecz, was proved by the testimony of two nobles,
Dobieslaw Baryczka of Czemiewice, and Tadeusz of Swilltkowice. A certain Stanislaw
Rota, described in 1457 as a townsman of Warsaw, may have been a knight as weil, and
thus eligible for the noble clan. The penetration of the gentry into the towns at this period
1. s a top1. c w h’1 ch reqm. res fu rt h er stu dy .1 0
The Junoszas provide a second example of a clan which adopted its name from one of
its farnilies.11 In the Sandomierz charter Falislaw of Gledzianow was confirmed to the
nobility on bis mother’s side by Piotr Rubel and Jan Radosz, de annis] unosehe agnum in
clipeo portantes. But does the term Junosza here represent an extended farnily, or a
branched clan? An early ancestor of the family can be found in the late thirteenth century:
J unosza Ziemak held high offices in Masovia, finally becoming palatine of Plock in 1301.
Ziemak of Cieksyn, castellan of Gostyn (1350) and Wyszogrod (1359), was his son or
grandson. Other Junoszas in tbis region at tbe same time include Dad:ldog, successively
chamberlain, palatine and capitaneus of Plock. Junosza of Zaborow, steward of Plock in
Pakulski: Oan Names in Medieval Poland 89
1372 and land judge of Zakroczym, was a knight, and so bis name probably indicates he
was a member of the clan. We can assume that as the fourteenth century progressed many
families not closely related to tbe progenitor found it expedient to adopt clan membersbip,
as offices were preferably given to clan members. By the last decades Junoszas begin to
be found in the b;czya region. We mainly know of those who held office and so appear in
the charters, for example: the sub-huntsman Jacek of Jackowice, the palatine Ziemak of
Piaski, the sub-equerry Pawel ofWo:tniki and the butler Jan ofL􀂠i:ki. By the early fifteenth
century the clan bad spread to Dobrzyn. Jan of Wichowo and Jan of Locbocin attached
Junosza clan seals to the Act of the Dobrzyn diet of 1434.
By the early fifteenth century the charters begin to show more direct association of clan
name, proclamatio and coat of arms wbich indicates that the clan namebad gained a more
comprehensive status. In 1405, in a dispule over nobility Jan Daszewski and Markusz are
described as clenodii Agni wlgariter Baranow, proclamacione Junoszey. The writer strangely
identifies the term clenodium ( clan) with clipeum (shield emblem). Some documents
of this period describe witnesses as de genere Junosclw and de armis vero Junoscha, where
we might bave expected the term de clenodio. Others give a description of the coat of arrns
to provide an additional identification. Even at this advanced stage of clan development,
the notaries are not at all sure precisely what sort of allegiance is irnplied by the use of the
clan name: to a lineage traced from a common progenitor, to a kinship group based around
an influential family, or to some knightly regirnent.
A clan prominent in the region of Cracow and Kalisz were the otobok. Unlike the Rola
and the Junosza, thet cannot be shown to bave adopted their clan name from one of their
constituentfamilies. 2 The clan traced its progenitor to Cies􀂡ta, ofthe late twelfth century.
His great grandsons are later found in high offices around Cracow. Although representatives
of the clan are occasionally discovered elsewhere, its members never acbieved much
prominence outside of this base. We start to find the use of the clan name in the late
fourteenth century. A document of 1377 mentions four brothers, Cies;:c;ta, Mikolaj, Ubylaw
and Bertold, calling them Olobok. This in itself might suggest merely a farnily name.
However, Gelre records in bis armorial of that period the arrns of the Olobok-a silver fish
head pointing diagonally upwards to the rigbt, in a red shield. The arms efflgy later
metamorphised into a balf-salmon: in 1388 a proof of nobility is swom pro vituperio
Medium Salmonem clenodium et poclamacio Olobog. In another docurnent, Jan and Jakub
Niezwojowski are described as nobiles de armis medii salmonis, que lwbent proclama
Olbok. The chronicler Dlugosz writes of Jakub Lipnicki as nobilis exfamilia, que medietatem
Salmanis defert pro insigni, alias de armis Olbok. So the denomination Olobok bad
become an all-clan name by 1388, and possibly already by 1377. Since no farnily is
specifically named Olobok, the origin of the clan name and proclamatio is disputed: most
Iikely it referred to the River Olobok, a tributary of the River Prosna, where the estates of
the earliest representatives of the clan were concentrated; perhaps it was derived from the
estate Olobok, on wbich the clan monastery was later founded.
90 History and Society 2
The Dolftgas are an interesting case. In spite of high social status and a genealogy dating
back to the twelfth century, they adopted theirclan name towards the end ofthe fourteenth
century, later than some less distinguished clans.13 The progenitor of the clan is thought
to be Hugon Butyr, a Dutch knight in service with Duke Boleslaw Curly. He probably came
to Po land at tbe instigation of the bishop of Plock, Alexander of Malonne, or bis brother
Walter, provost of tbe Plock cbapter. He obtained the office of castellan of Cbelrnno as a
reward for bis service in the war of 1146. One son settled in Kujavia, the other remained
in Masovia, wbere bis descendants are found in the next centuries. The irnportance of the
clan is shown by the fact that one of its representatives, Jan the TaU, was raised to the rank
of bishop of Plock (1297-1310). Knigbts of the clan are also found at an early date in the
Dobrzyn region. We know the farnily circle of the Dobrzynjudge Myslib6r (1345-1350),
wbo was the frrst to use the clan seal, in 1345. But it is not until l400, in a manuscript found
near Plock, that we find evidence linking the seal, the farnily name, and the clan name. One
record in this document, reads Clenodium genealogiae do Langa dicte cuius particeps est
dominus Johannes de Lang plebanus, huius codicis possessor. Another speaks of Johannes
Grabe unicus de Lang heredis canonicus corporalis Plocensis et de Lang plebanus et
patronus … . Both these records are accompanied by the Dolt:ga clan arms: a borseshoe with
calks facing downwards containing an arrow pointing down with a cross on the sboulder.
The shield bad cbanged only a little wben it is found in the Frencb Golden fleece Armorial,
of the early fifteenth century.14 Undoubtedly the author of this document considers
Dolanga (Dol􀂬ga) tobe a clan name, its earlier form being „do Langa.“
We find many references in the next decades confirrning that the denomination bad
become an all-clan name by this time, and that tbe clan was recognized by sbield ensignia,
clan name and proclamatio. In 1416 in 4czya Mikolaj of Zduny, Standard keeper of
4czya, and Zdzislaw, huntsman of Gostynin, confrrmed the affiliation to the Dol􀂬gas of
Mikolaj ofWezyca, saying that be was genealogiae Dolangy de signo babatum et in babato
sagitta et supra crux. We find men using clan arms as their personal seals to many
documents from the area of Dobrzyn; for example, Mikolaj, vicar of St Martin’s Cburch
near Plock in 1403; Stanislaw of Strzygowo, in 1444 and 1449; the Judge of Dobrzyn
Andrzej of Wierzbick, and sub judge Mikolaj of Zlotopole, in 1408. Sometimes court
writers give the clenodi um through such a description of arms, but then they Iist additionally
the proklama: de proclamacione que dicitur Dolanga. In 1402 a certain Stanislaw gave the
proclamationem Dolaga in a land court in Radomsko. The clan bad farnilies belonging to
it all over Poland. For example, the Dol􀂭gas are found in Horodlo in 1413, wben Polisb
clans gave their arms to the boyars of Lithuania. In Brzesc, Stefan and Jan of Szczk:owo
near lzbica de clenodio Dolaga appeared in court. Tbe derivation of the clan name is
disputed. l t may be from a village Dolt:ga or Leg, or from a personal call derived from the
name of a clan ancestor.
Evidence for the early use of clan names can be found not only in legal documents, but
also in the narrative cbronicles of the latter part of the fourteenth century. J. Bieniak bas
Pakulski: Clan Names in Medieval Poland 91
shown that the archdeacon J anko of Czarnkow used all-clan nomenclature for the Doliwas
and Palukis.15 Janko also uses the clan narne of the Nal􀃤cz clan, and this helps us to
establish when they adopted their clan name. The Naf􀁗z are particu1arly intercsting
because they are first designated as a group by heraldic insignia.16 Although this geographically
diffuse farnily, descended from Dobrogost Stary, the magnate of Great Poland of
the early twelfth century, does not seem to have used a name to describe itself in the
fourteenth century, we can trace its members by their use of a common sign on the seal.
Some time between 1306 and 1308 the knight Kielcz of Great Poland received the estate
Przywieczersk in Kujavia from Prince Wladyslaw Lokietek. His affiliation to the clan later
known as the Nal􀃤cz, and its re1ated branches in the region of Dobrzyn, the Ustronskis and
the Moszczenskis, is confirmed by their use of similar seals on some documents of the
Dobrzyn and Brzesc diet. The seal which later became the clan seal is, however, onl y known
from 1343, where it was attached to one of the charters of the Kalisz peace by Tomislaw,
castellan of Gniezno. lt becarne widely used in the third quarter of the fourteenth century.
The arms can also be found on the keystone of the collegiate church in Wislica, founded
by Casirnir the Great around the mid-fourteenth century. In Gelre’s book they appear as a
golden looped line, with tied and unraveled ends, in a red shield. Over the shield a golden
helmet appears en face with red labras, on it there are two antlers with four branches, with
banners on each branch.
Within the clan at the same time family names came into being, such as Swidwa and
Grochola. Nal􀃤cz also appears as a family name for the first time, possibly from the name
of a Iake near Poznan. Janko of Czamkow, writing an interpolation of the Great Poland
Chronicle in 13 75-87, added that two knighls whom Przemysl l pul in jail in 1248 were de
cogrwtione Nalancz. This unplies that the Nal􀃤cz family had attained a considerable degree
of solidity by at least 1387. But it is only at the turn of the century that we find the nan1e
Nal􀃤cz used clearly as a clan nan1e and proclarru1tio. At Sieradz in 1401 two dignitaries
from Great Poland, Sedziwoj Swidwa and Wincenty of Czarnkow are recorded as de
clenodio Nalancz. For a short time the fonn Nal􀁃cz Jezioro was used as proklarru1. In 1398
at the Poznan diet Piotr videlicet Nalocz Yezoro witnessed nobility to Maciej ofN�jdnia. In
1407 at that court two witnesses Jan and Tomasz of nearby Otusz are described as de
proclarru1cione wlgariter Nalancz Yezoro. The denomination Nal􀃤cz was quite popular
early in the fiftcenth century not only as a clan name, but also as a nomen persorwle. In
1406, a certain Nal􀃤cz inherited Piotrowice in the l…􀃤czya region. In 142􀃥 a Nal􀃤cz of
Ustronic in Kujawy stood before the court of Brzesc.
We are able to understand the origin and reception of the denomination Rawa from the
detailed research of J.Wroniszewki. 17 The clan name is interesting because it was formed
in a different way from our previous examples. The ancestor of the clan was a magnate of
Little Po land, Grot, who died in the frrst half of the thirtecnth century. Two main clan lines
evolved: Warszowice and Grotowice. Their oldest settlements are near Sandomierz and
the Swietokrzyskie mountains. Large concentrations of Rawicz clan members are found in
92
History and Society 2
Masovia. We can establish a timeframe witltin which the coat of arms developed: the point
post quem is 30 September 1279, when the castellan ofCracow Warsz attached a seal with
his personal sign to a privilege of the dukeBoleslas the Shy. The date ante quem is 2
September 1306 when Warsz’s son, Pr􀂪dota of Michowo, used the picture of a maid on a
bear as a seal sign. The basis of this image may be the legend about a girl of the Rawicz
clan who was kidnapped by a bear. The sign was later used by Predota’s relatives, two sons
of Grot, castellan of Cracow: Jan, bishop of Cracow ( 1334) and J akub, judge of Sandomierz
( 1353). The arms appear in the keystones of theC racow cathedral and the Wislica collegiate
church, with slight modifications.
Despile this early use of a coat of arms, the clan name appears late. According to annals
of the Cracow mansionaries of the late fourteenth century, the bishop of Cracow was de
Ursinis, or Niedzwiedzice. The name Ursini is still present at the beginning of the fifteenth
century. In 1414 two witnesses Mszczuj of Jankowice and Grot of Gora are described as
de Ursinis. This denomination obviously comes from the coat of arms: but simultaneously
a new clan name appeared. The witnesses of nobility to Klemens of Szydlowiec in Radom
in 1413 were Jan of Konin and Goworek ofB leszno, described on the father’s side as de
clenodio Rawa. Rawa is recorded by the court of L􀂪czya of 1415 as a proclamatio of W arsz
ofZelazna,jud&e ofRawa, and of his nephew, Grot. A year earlier it was noted in the same
court that defendant Jan of Piaskowice and his relatives Warsz of Krzcikowice and Rafal
of Bow􀂪tow were knights de proprio clenodio genealogiae Rawa. In 1424 the squires of
Moszna of the region of Mazowsze are proclamacionis Rawy. These and other examples
presented by Wroniszewski clearly show that the name Rawa became an all-clan name in
the early ftfteenth century, supplanting the term Ursini. It is not clear why Rawa achieved
this prominence. It has neither a connection with the coat of arms, nor with an important
family. Many family names appeared as late as the fifteenth century, such as Grotowice or
Gutowie, but none of them became an all-clan denomination.18
The case of the Zaremba clan name is similar. The problem has already been raised in
the literature, so we will Iimit ourselves to a few summarising remarks.19 The ancestor of
the clan is thought to be Janek, who lived late in the twelfth century. His grandsons Olbracht,
castelJan of Poznan in 1232, and Wawrzyniec, huntsman of Poznafi in the same year, gave
rise to two clan branches whose members are found in the thirteenth century in various
offices of Great Po land. In the beginning the clan did not use collective designations; they
appear gradually. The earliest was the family name „Lis“ or „Lisowic.“ Lis was used in
1253 for Marcin, Olbracht’s son, the latcr castcllan of Mi􀂫dzyrzcc. The cognomen was
inherited by two of his sons, Waclaw Lis of Lutomiersk, castelJan of Sieradz (1317), and
Maciej „Lisowic.“ We do not know whether the same cognomen was used by their elder
brothers Zegota and Andrzej. Waclaw already posscssed a seal with the Zaremba clan arms.
His own younger sons, Wawrzyniec and Ubyszek, and those of Maciej,-Andrzej, Marcin
and Przybek-, were also called „Lis.“ However, his elder son Waclaw did not take over the
family name. It finally died out with Tyfan, the son ofUbyszek, probably shortly after 1368.
Pakulski: Clan Names in Medieval Poland 93
In the meantime, i.e., between 1289 and 1301, the clan coat of arms, a Jion jumping from
behind a wall, was developed in the family of Marcin‘ s brother J anek, palatine of Poznaß
In 130 I it was adopted by the bishop ofPoznan, and we find many examples in the following
decades. In 1319 we first find the name Zaremba, applied as a personal cognomen to
Mare in‘ s grandson, Marcin Mikolaj, palatine of Kalisz and Gniezno. Marcin Mikolaj‘ s son,
Janek of Komorowo, inberited thecognomen. Wawrzyniec ofKrolikowo, a distant relative
of Marcin Mikolaj, is found using the clan name and seal in 1333. Unti1 1368 the
denomination Zaremba coexisted with the fami1y name Lis. But eventual1y the name
Zaremba became the nomen genealogiae, and the name Lis was dropped altogether,
probably because by tben another clan bad begun to use it as their own clan name. Late in
the fourteentb century many l’lligbts are thought to bave belonged to the Zarembas. Mikolaj
Nalezionek of Siedleruin is described as verus Zaramba. Mikolaj Zatomski and Piotr Wilk
Lubosinski, according to a statement of 1398, came de genealogia Zarabi. Outside of Great
Poland, diets at Zakroczym in 1434 considered Wojciech and Stefan of Zarebin de armis
Zarebina. We neverthcless still find some family names in use alongside the clan name.
Early in the fiftcenth century there is a record of an Ogankos family, which undoubtedly
belonged to the Zaremba clan.
*
The above examples show clearly that in the early stages of Polish clan formation, clan
names were not used. From the thirteenth century personal signs on the seal began to be
replaced by conunon clan symbols. It was only in the fourteenth century that clans began
to gi ve themsel ves names. This applies both to the older clans of twelfth century provenance,
such as the Olobok or Dol�tgas, and to the ones of more recent gencalogy, such as the
Nal􀃊cz. Some nomina genealogiae came from family names (Rola, Zarernba), others frorn
clan properties, such as viilag es, territories, bodies of water (Oiobok, Dol�tga, Nal􀃊cz). The
names were usually identical with the proclamntiones, but only occasionally bad some
relationship with the coat of arms. In some clans the new names were swiftly adopted
(Oiobok), in others various names coexisted for some time (Jastrzebce, Rawicze). Most
clans had relatively few family branches. Doubtless some ofthe smaller clans neverevolved
a clan name. For example, even the Piast dynasty was only Iabelied „Piast“ by chroniclers
of the sixteenth century.
However, by the fifteenth century all-clan names were the rule. An expl􀃋ation for their
adoption may lie in the social changes affecting Poland at this time. Privileges granted by
the king were leading to an improvement in the status of the nobility, and this gave them
an incentivc todefend their rank against pretenders. Conversely, a Joss of noble status meant
a loss of political, social and financial prestige. As we have seen, it was often wben involved
in court proceedings to prove his nobilitas that an individual claimed clan allegiance. If be
could find trustworthy witnesses who would swear he was a mcmber of a certain knightly
clan, the case was proved, since this would guarantee noble blood. An example is the case
94 History and Society 2
of Krystyn of Chudzewo. Challenged by Jelitczyk Rafal of Tarnow, he went to Dobrzyn,
sumrnoned six witnesses, and in front of the diet of31 J anuary 1441 proved that he belonged
to the Pobog clan. The court issued an official document, whicb Krystyn then took to a
meeting of nobles in Mosciska near Lvov, where he confmned to all and sundry that he
was, in fact, a member of the nobility .20
The spread of clan narnes is a part of a more general proliferation of interest in genealogy
and tbe use of heraldic signs in the early fifteenth century. This is doubtless connected with
the increased political importance of the clans themselves. The branched knight clans,
possessing their own coats of arms, narnes and proclanwtiones, appear as acknowledged
entities in laws and charters. Their representatives appear at confederations and land diets
alongside royal and municipal officials. In 1424 the Little Polish nobility were represented
at the diets in Korczyn and Wislica not only by duo de domini, but also by messengers of
the clans: duo de quolibet domo seu clenodio. When the succession to the throne of
Wladyslaw Jagiello was considered at the diets of Brzdc in 1433 and of Dobrzyn the
following year, the documents were confmned by the seals of the land officials, domini,
and also by the representatives ofthe popular knightly clans from Kuj av ia and the Dobrzyn
region: duorum de quolibet clenodio terrigenarum. It would have have been a Iittle
awkward for the knights to have identified themselves before such an august diet solely by
pointing to their shields and uttering their fearsome war cries.
Notes
l. See, e.g., J. Bieniak, „Rody rycerskie jako czynnik struktury spolecznej w Polsec XIII-XfV
wieku“ [Knightly clans a elements of the social structure in thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Po land].
in: Polska w okresie rozdrobnienia feudalnego [Poland in the period of feudal division], ed.
H.l:..owmiatiski, Wroclaw 1973, p. 182ff.; Idem, „Knight Clans in Medieval Poland,“ in: Polish
Medieval Nobility, Warsaw 1984, pp.l23-76; Idem, „Heraldyka polska przcd Dlugoszem. Uwagi
problemowe“ [Polish heraldry beforc Dlugosz], in: Sztuka i ideologia XV wieku [Art and ideology of
the fifteenth century], ed. P. Skubiszewski, Warsaw 1978, p. 185.
2. Bieniak, Heraldyka, p. 185.
3. For comparisons, see: Lehmann, „Mittelalterliche Beinamen und Ehrentitel“ Historisches Jahrbuch
49 (1929): 215-239; A. Wrackmeyer, Studien zu den Beinamen der abendländischen Könige
und Fürsten bis zum Ende des Xlll. Jahrhunderts, Marburg 1936.
Paku!ski: Oan Namcs in Medieval Poland 95
4. K. Liman, „Epitety dotyc:zllce os6b w kronice polskiej Anonima Galla“ [Epithets referring to
person in the Polish chronicle of Gallus Ananymus ], in :Ars Historica, Poznan 1976, p. 344; J. Hertel,
Imiennictwo dynastii piastowskiej we wczefniejszym sredniowieczu [The name of the Piast dynasty
in the earlier Middle Ages], Warsaw 1980, pp. 155 ff.
5. Slownik j􀂋zyka polskiego [Dictionary of tbe Polish langauge], v. 4, Lw6w 1858, p. 631.
6. 1. Pakulski, „Geneza, recepcja i maczenie przydornk6w rycerskich w sredniowiecznej Polsee
[Origin, reception, and meaning of knighUy cognomina in medieval Poland]. in: Genealogia-problemy
metodyczne w badaniach nad polskim spoleczefmstwem sredniowieczrrym [Genealogy: methodical
problems in the research on Polish medieval society ], Torun, 1982, pp. 102 ff.
7. The state of research is weil summarized in T. Wasilewski, „Topograficzne nazwy rodowe w
Polsee sredniowiecznej i ich znaczenie dla badan nad geneZlj rod6w [Topographical clan names in
medieval Po land and their significance in the research about the origin of clans], in: Genealogia-studia
nad wsp6lnotami krewniaczymi i terytorialrrymi w Polsee sredniowiecznej na tle por6wnawczym
[Genealogy: Comparative Studies on kindred and territorial communities in medieval Poland] ed. J.
Hertel, Torun 1987.
8. J. Bieniak, Heraldyka, p. 176, 179, 184.
9. Ibid. pp. 169-72.
10. Most of the primary evidence for the above ( and the following) can be found in tbe major source
publications, such as: Codex diplotnaticus Poloniae Maioris. Kodeks Dyplomatyczny Wielkopolski,
ed. A. GClSiorowski and H. Kowalewicz, Warsaw Pozna6; Codex diplomaticus Poloniae Minoris.
Kodeks Dyplomatyczrry Malopolski, ed. Piekosinski, Cracow 1876; Cod. dipl. Cath. Cracoviensis S.
Venceslai. Kodeks Dyplomatyczny Katedry Krakowskiej sw. Wadawa 1166-/366, ed. F. Piekosinski,
Cracow; Codex diplomaticus Poloniae. Kodeks Dyplomatyczny Polski, ed. L. Rzyszczewski
and A. Muczkowski, Warsaw, 1847; K. Maleczynski, Zarys dyplomatyki polskiej wiek6w srednich,
part. 1, Wroclaw 1951.-We regret that typographical and economic reasons hinder us in adding all
the individual references, which can be found in the author’s monographical studies, see notes 6, 16,
19.
11. On the Junosza, see also: A. Boniecki, Herharz Polski [Polish arrnorial], v. I, Warsaw 1906, p.
225; J. Pi􀁣tka, Mazowiecka elita p6inego sredniowiecza [The Masovian elite in the late Middle Ages],
Warsaw 1975, p. 32.
12. On the Olobok, see also „Z ksi&g rekopismiennych dotljd nieui.ytych gl6wniej z.aS z ksi&g
dawnych s&dowych ziemskich i grodzkich ziemi krakowskiej [From unpublished manuscript books,
legal-, land-, and city records of the region of Cracow) ed. A. Z. Helcel, Starodawne Prawa Polskiego
Pomniki [Monuments of Ancient Polish Law], v. 2, Cracow 1870, no. 4992; Clenodia Dlugosü.
Klejnoty D!ugoszowe, ed. M. Friedberg, Rocznik Polskiego Towarzystwa Heraldycznego [Yearbook
of the Polish Heraldic Society], v. 10, 1930, p. 81.
13. On the Dol􀁣ga, see also: Z. Lasocki, Dol􀂋ga czy Do 􀂌ga, Cieszyn 1932; Pi􀁣tka, Mazowiecka
elita, pp. 28, 57. W. Brzezmski, R6d Dol􀁣g6w na Mawwszu w sredniowieczu, Torun 1992,
typescript.
14. See: A Europeon AnnoriaL An armorial of knights of the Golden Fleece and 15th Century
Europe, ed. by R. Pinches and A. Wood, London 1971, p. 153.
15. Bieniak, Heraldyka, pp. 182 ff.
16. See: J. Pakulski, Nal􀂋cze wielkopolscy w sredniowieczu [The N. of Great Po land in the Middle
Ages], Warsaw-Poznan 1982
96 History and Society 2
17. J. Wroniszewski, R6d Rawicz6w [The clan R.]. Torun 1992.
18. Pakulski, Geneza, p. 108.
19. See: J. Pakulski, R6d Zaremb6w w Wielkopolsce w Xlli i poczl}tkach XIV w.[The clan
Zaramb6w in Great Poland in the 13th and early 14th century], Prace Komisji Historii BTN, 1975,
no. 16, pp. 112 ff.
20. Akta grodzkie i ziemskie z czas6w Rzeczypospolitej z Archiwum tzw. Bernardyriskiego we
Lwowie [Records of town and country from the time of the First Commonwealth in the archives of
the Bernardines in Lvov!Lemberg]. ed. K. Liske, A. Prochaska vol. 14, no. 3746.
HISTORY & SOCIETY
IN CENTRAL EUROPE
2
MEDIUM IEVUM QUOTIDIANUM
29
Nobilities in Central and Eastern
Europe:
Kinship, Property and Privilege
edited by
Janos M. Bak
Hajnal Istvan Alapitvany
Budapest
Medium JEvum Quotidianum
Gesellschaft
Krems
1994
PRINTED IN HUNGARY
Neotipp Bt., Budapest
HISTORY & SOCIETY
IN CENTRAL EUROPE
together with
Medium 1Evum Quotidianum
ELTE BTK Gazdasag-􀃑s
Tru-sadalomtört􀃑neti Tansz􀃑k
Budapest 1051, V. ker. Piarista köz 1.
Hungary
MEDIUM ANUM QUOTIDIANUM
GESELLSCHAFf
Körnermarkt 13, A-3500 Krems
Austria
Tel.: (36)-(1 )-11-80-966/325 Tel.: (34-2732) 84793
Contents
Josef Zemlicka
Origins of Noble Landed Property in Premyslide Bohemia 7
Eiemir Malyusz
Hungarian Nobles of Medieval Transylvania (1986) 25
Erik Fügedi
Kinship and Privilege (1990) 55
Kiril Petkov
Boyars and Royal Officers 77
Jan Pakulski
The Development of Clan Names in Mediaval Poland 85
Karin J. MacHardy
Social Mobility and Noble Rebellion in Early Modem Austria 97
Istvan M. Szijcirt6
Relatives and Miles 141
Istvan Hajnal
From Estates to Classes 163
Authors of the volume:
Eri k Fügedi (1916-1992)
Istvan Hajnal (1892-1956)
Elem􀄓r MA!yusz (1898-1989)
Karin J. MacHardy (Dept. ofHistory, Univ. ofWaterloo, Ont. N2L 3GI, Canada)
Jan Pakulski (Inst. Historii Arbivistyk.i, Copemicus-Univ., Plac Teatralny 2/a
PL 87-100 Torun, Poland)
Kiril Petkov (Univ. Veliko Tmovo, lvailo 11, 4300 K.arlovo, Bulgaria)
Istvan M. Szijärt6 (Gazdasag- 􀂉s Tarsadalomtört􀂉neti Tanszek, EL TE,
1151 Piarista köz 1., Budapest, Hungary)
Josef Zemlicka (lnst. of Hist., Academy of Sc. of the Czech Rep., VisehradSka 49.,
12826 Praba 2, Czech Republic)
LECTORI SALUTEM!
The aim of tbe editors and publishers of this series of occasional papers is to present recent
results of research in social history to tbe international public. In the spirit of the Hungarian
historian of Europe, Istvan Hajnal (1 892- 1956), we believe that the history of „small
nations“ may highlight aspects of general development that are less visible in the life of
major civilisations.
The volumes in this series will address specific aspects of social development in medieval
and modern central Europe. We intend to focus on the region between the German Iands
and the Byzantine-Russian world, an explore sirnilarities and differences in this area.
Instead of arguing the validity of the term, we shall publish studies !hat may enable our
readers to decide to what extent is „central Europe“ a historical reality or merely a drearn
of intellectuals and politicians. That is why we chose a medieval map for our cover: it
emphasizes the centuries-old connecting function of the great rivers but contains no
ephemeral political boundaries.
It is also our hope to contribute to the understanding of present developments and
upheavals in a region about which few critical analyses are available in the English-speaking
world. At the sarne time we should like to foster modern methods and approaches in
social history, for so long neglected in our countries.
The present volume appears in close cooperation with the Medium Aevum Quotidian um
Society and contains studies mainly on medieval and early modern nobilities of the region.
The papers of two recently deceased Hungarian medievalists as weil as articles of a Czech,
a Polish and a Bulgarian historian discuss the social history medit>val nobilities. Two
articles, on Hungarian and Austrian nobles of the ancien regime Iook at social mobility and
estate in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The volume closes with an essay by
Istvan Hajnal on the end of the noble-corporatist world in nineteenth-century Hungary.
With publishing three articles of the generations preceding ours, we wish to bow tho those
who taught us, without wanting to hide that their questions and answers are not necessarily
ours. By printing papers of younger scholars, in turn, we hope to present recent research in
the area on topics !hat are discussed arnong social historian everywhere.
The volume editor wishcs to express his gratitude to those friends and colleagues who
assistcd in the – often almost unsvrmountable – task of translating and editing the Czec ,
Magyar and Polish contributions: Catherine Allen, Simon Came, Tamas Domahidy, Vera
Gathy, Ryszard Grzezik, and Paul Knoll. Needless to say that he alone feels responsible
for U1e rernaining shortcornings, which are, probably, many. Maybe, we shall publish once
a volume only on the intricacies and pitfalls of translating medieval and rnedievalist texts.
H & S
is a series of occasional papers published by the IstvAn Hajnal Society of Historians, in
cooperation with the Medium JEvum Quotidianum Society (Krems, Auslria), the Spolecnost
hospodArsky dejiny [Society For Economic History] in P r ague.
Gedruckt mit Unterstüt z ung der Kulturabteilung des Amtes der Niederösterreichischen
Landesregierung
Editors:
Vera Bäcsk ai, ELTE Btk, Budapest, P f. 107, H-136 4 .
Jänos M . Bak, Dept. of Medieval Studies, Central European University,
Huvösvölgyi ut 5 4 , 1021 Budapest
Gerhard Jaritz (for MJEQ), Körnermarkt 13, A-3500 Krems
Editorial consultants:
John Bodnar (Chicago, IL), P eter Burke (Cambridge), Josef Ehmer (Vienna), Tamäs
Farag6 (Miskolc), Susan Glanz (Brooklyn, NY), Monica Glettler (Munich), Heiko Haumann
(Basle), T amäs Hofer (Budapest), Gerhard Jaritz (Vienna), Charles Kecskemeti
(Paris), Beta K .Kiraly (High land Lakes, NJ), György Köver (Budapest), Ludolf Kuchenbuch
(Bochum}, Jaroslav Länik (Prague), Hans Medick (Göttingen}, Waller P ietzsch
(Wiesbaden), Martyn C.Rady (London}, Herman Rebel (Tucson, AZ}, Helga Schutz
(Berlin), Julia Szalai (Budapesl}, Heide Wunder (Kassel).
Manuscripts and inquiries (including advertising) should be addressed to Andräs Csite,
Managing Editor HISTORY & SOCIETY c/o: Hajnal IstvAn kör, ELTE BTK, Budapest
Pf. 107, H-1364. E-mail: csite@osiris.elte .hu
Sale: Single copies in Hungary Ft 300; abroad: $ 15.00 or DEM 20.00 Sales for North and
South America are handled by Dr Susan Glan z (1550 E 9th Ave., Brooldyn, NY 11230,
USA; for Hungary and all other regions by the Managing Editor.
ISBN 963-04-2014-7
Coverpage idea by György Köver
Computer setting and formatting by GAbor Kelemen
Cover design Csilla MAtrai based on the Ebsdorf Maparnundi.
© Hajnal Istvän Kör, Budapest, 1994.