House of Sobieski


The House of Sobieski 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 used the Janina coat of arms.

History

According to the family's legend, it traced its lineage to a Polish duke, Leszek II the Black. Another family legend said that they were the descendants of Duke Sobiesław, the son of Leszko III, a legendary ruler of the Popielids dynasty. The family reached the height of its power and importance in the late 16th and 17th centuries, when one of its members was elected King of Poland: John III Sobieski. The last male member of the branch of the family that began with John's grandfather, Marek Sobieski, in the 16th century was Jakub Ludwik Sobieski.
According to an alternative version provided by the 18th century chronicle writer Samiilo Velychko, Sobieskis originated from local boyar Sobko from Galicia who converted into the Roman Catholicism.

Coat of arms

The Sobieski family used the Janina coat of arms, and their motto was Vel cum hoc, vel super hoc.
[image:Stech Kessel Bitwa pod Chocimiem.jpg|220px|right|thumb|John III Sobieski, the victor of the Battle of Chocim.]

Famous descendants

Among the descendants of John III Sobieski were one Holy Roman Emperor, seven Kings of Saxony, one King of Bavaria, two Kings of Italy, one Tsar of Bulgaria, one Emperor of Austria, one Queen consort of Spain and one titular Queen consort of England, Ireland and Scotland.

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