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Polish heraldry is a branch of heraldry focused on studying the development of coats of arms in the lands of historical Poland (and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), as well as specifically-Polish traits of heraldry. The term is also used to refer to the Polish heraldic system, as opposed to systems used elsewhere, notably in Western Europe. As such, it is an integral part of the history of the ''szlachta'', the nobility of Poland. Due to the distinct manner in which feudal society evolved in Poland, the heraldic traditions of Poland differ significantly from those in German lands, France or the British Isles. ==History== Unlike the case of Western Europe, in Poland, the ''szlachta'' did not emerge exclusively from the feudal class of knights under Chivalry, but stemmed in great part from an earlier Slavic free warrior class. Rulers often hired these warriors to form guard units (Polish ''Drużyna'') and eventually paid them in land. However, much written evidence from the Middle Ages demonstrates how some elements of the Polish nobility did emerge from the ranks of the knightly class under the terms of chivalric law (''ius militare''). Only a small number of ''szlachta'' families or clans ((ポーランド語:Rody)) can be traced all the way back to the traditional clan system. Most szlachta, from at least the 12th century, were not related and their unions were mostly voluntary and based on followership and brotherhood rather than kinship. However, in regards to consanguinity, the matter is far from settled, and the question matters because of historiographical concern to discover the origins of the privileged status by membership in the knights' clan. In the year 1244, Bolesław, Duke of Masovia, identified members of the knights' clan as members of a ''genealogia:''
The documentation regarding Raciborz and Albert's tenure is the earliest surviving of the use of the clan name and cry defining the honorable status of Polish knights. The names of knightly ''genealogiae'' only came to be associated with heraldic devices later in the Middle Ages and in the early modern period. The Polish clan name and cry ritualized the ''ius militare,'' i.e., the power to command an army; and they had been used some time before 1244 to define knightly status. . According to Polish historian Tadeusz Manteuffel, a clan (ród) consisted of people related by blood and descending from a common ancestor, giving the ród/clan a highly developed sense of solidarity (see ''gens''). The ''starosta'' (or starszyna) had judicial and military power over the ród/clan, although this power was often exercised with an assembly of elders. Strongholds called ''gród'' were built where a unifying religious cult was powerful, where trials were conducted, and where clans gathered in the face of danger. The ''opole'' was the territory occupied by a single tribe. . Since Poland emerged almost at once as a relatively unified duchy in the 10th century, it was the prince or, later, the King who was considered the patron of all the clans. He granted privileges and land to clan members rather than to clans as such and was allowed, ''in theory'' to assign new knights to the clans of his choice. In practice, however, such a means of entering an existing noble clan would require a formal adoption from the bloodline members of a clan. In any event, this route to clan membership was later forbidden. As a result, a stable system of strong and wealthy groups of relatives never developed in Poland, as in Scotland. The Polish clans, perhaps, were much more like the Norse clans, with the result that they were much more unstable than their western counterparts. Historic evidence, however, shows clans even fighting wars one against the other like the famous domestic war between the Nalecz and the Grzymala in Greater Poland of the late 14th century. Heraldic symbols began to be used in Poland in the 13th century. The generic Polish term for a coat of arms, ''herb'', dates from the early 15th century, originating as a translation of the Czech ''erb'', which in turn came from the German ''Erbe'' - ''heritage''. Under the Union of Horodło (1413), the noble families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were adopted '' en masse '' into the various Polish noble clans and began to use Polish coats of arms. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Polish heraldry」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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