In the Early Modern period, noble progenitors and founders of noble families were moral role models and the pride of a family that reminded of the acquisition of the most precious treasure – the coat of arms. At the same time, they attested the virtue of contemporary people, according to the conviction that nobility was inherited by blood. It enabled enjoying noble privileges and participating in governance.
The progenitor brought glory to the entire family, which is why he was so often referred to. There were two types of family founders: real and mythical. Both of them can be found in old Polish heraldry books. The old Polish social and political reality influenced the creation of mythical progenitors of noble families.
In the case of both real and mythical family founders, heraldry stories are associated with two motifs: religion and war. The Mediaeval chivalric ethos, associated with bravery, loyalty to the ruler, physical strength and honour was linked with religious values: piety and justness. This reflected the hierarchy of noble values in the Early Modern period. Grzegorz Ossoliński, when writing the history of his family, emphasised the virtuousness and piety of his ancestors who assisted King Władysław Jagiełło and were loyal to him: I do not enumerate other virtues: wisdom, frankness, bravery. Modesty, humanity, fearlessness in defending rights and freedoms, which you will find in all of the ancestors if you read family chronicles or listen to ancient stories.
The progenitor of a family had to play a specific role. The first could be to distinguish himself in a battle, for which he could receive a coat of arms. This was the most popular way to win a coat of arms, which included one in the noble circles. The Antiquity, and in particular the Middle Ages, were full of wars where one could play an important role. Apart from historical battles, mythical stories were also recollected. It was even possible to link mythical Sarmatian ancestors with a specific noble family. Kasper Niesiecki wrote in his heraldry book that the coat of arm Abdank was possibly created during frontier battles between Antique Sarmatians and Romans. Among the warriors in the battle was one Skuba, bearing a standard with the letter W (which symbolised the Vistula River – in Polish: Wisła), who distinguished himself in the battle by victoriously smashing Romans. He wrote a similar story about the ancestors of the Ślepowron (Korwin) coat of arms: Marcus Valerius, the Cavalry Master in the Roman army, challenged by a very strong Frenchman, started to fight with him, when out of nowhere appeared a raven and sat on Valerius' helmet; the bird defended Valerius with its wings, bead and claws against the attacking Frenchman and confused him so much that Valerius beat him, which is the reason why the name Alexander ab Alexandro, and later Korwin, remained with Valerius's descendants.
One could also cover himself with glory on the field of religious merits. There were two possibilities in this case: Either to become a clergyman – for example the ancestors of the family bearing the coat of arms Korczak held high ecclesiastical ranks. The contemporary noble family received nobility through the bishop of Perugia and martyr (killed for being a Christian) – saint Constantius. The second way was to fulfil a religious mission, namely to distinguish oneself in a war associated with religion. Bernard Wapowski noted in his lost Chronicles that Lech arrived on the Polish lands in 1096. When its leader, Godfrey of Bouillon, conquered Jerusalem, he awarded the knight with the coat of arms Dąbrowa, which was later brought from Palestine to the Kingdom of Poland. Another coat of arms, Dębno, was acquired in similar circumstances in 1244, when Tatars occupied Polish lands. Kasper Niesiecki claimed that after the Tatar Khan removed relics from the monastery in the Holy Cross, his army started to die out. It was interpreted as God's punishment and so, the Khan decided to return the relics to Poland. The task was undertaken by one of the Khan's most prominent subjects who set off on a journey to the Kingdom of Poland together with a captive Polish woman, who convinced him to convert to Christianity. They got married and the King offered him a castle in Dębno. He in turn thanked God for the graces by founding a number of churches.
The progenitor was also supposed to provide his family with a place to live, that is create a family nest, which made him constantly present in the family. The family nest was the most precious land, even if it did not have much financial value. Stories emphasise abundance of the nature and natural products that made descendants the hosts of earthly Arcadias.
The progenitors of noble families, the same as mythical rulers, were elevated through famous historical and mythical personages. The circle of motifs remained the same: references were made to the Bible (descent from Abraham or Noe) as well as the mythology (associations with Heracles, Theseus or Jason). In order to authenticate the progenitors of noble families, their life was associated with historical persons, like Hannibal, Justinian or Alexander the Great.
Translation: Lingua Lab
