Silva Rerum | 04.02.2011 Among the countless printed panegyrics dedicated to the Sobieski royal family an important place is occupied by poet Wojciech Stanisław Chrościński’s Clypaeus Serenissimi Joannis Tertii, Regis Poloniarum, published in 1717 in Brzeg by Godofred Trampius. Albeit it provides the history of, and a rather misleading genealogy of their lineage, the said panegyric is nevertheless a living proof of the author’s long-lasting affection for the Sobieskis.
The print is decorated with an ornate and – regretfully – unsigned etching, probably made by a Silesian artist, depicting the glory of Jan III’s exalted family. Archangel Michael is floating in the air and holding in his one hand a fiery sword, attribute of justice, ardour and passionate faith; his other hand is holding a star-studded escutcheon. The latter refers to both the Sobieskis’ Janina coat of arms and the celestial Scutum Sobiescianum, i.e. the largest possible convex shield made for most efficient protection. The shield symbolizes divine care and faith, in line with the words of St John Chryzostom that, “a shield held in front of the body functions as a wall; likewise faith parries everything”. Allusions to Jan III, the saviour of the contemporary Christian Europe, are therefore more than clear. The discussed print is not free from mistakes in the foreshortened drawing of the Archangel, and yet it is in some way charming.
Its author, a poet and translator Chrościński (ca. 1665–died after 1722), was a burgher born in Warsaw and in his youth partook in the Relief of Vienna. Thanks to his literary and military achievements, in 1685 he was raised by Jan III to the nobility, granted the Junosza coat of arms and appointed the royal secretary. By virtue of his close connections with the court, Chrościński became an ardent supporter of the Sobieskis. The monarch’s death was a great blow to him. Expelled from the court in the reign of Augustus II, he died at an allegedly old age during the reign of the successive king from the Wettin dynasty.
An anonymous Silesian engraver: Apotheosis of the Sobieskis’ Janina coat of arms, etching, publ. 1717.