Nałęcz - is a Polish Coat of Arms. It was used by several szlachta families in the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

History

The Nałęcz is a Polish heraldic clan sign (coat of arms) from the 12th century (much like the Abdank , Leliwa, Radwan, and Bogorya) used to represent unity and harmony. Families which used it are Gembiccy , Ostrorogowie , Szamotulscy , Czarnkowscy and others. It is traditionally described as silver shawl, tied, on a red background. Most variations of the arms had the shawl tied downwards; some were tied upwards. Earlier versions and some of modern depict the shawl untied.

The Nałęcz arms were initially connected with Greater Poland. The Nałęcze were accused of murdering Przemysl II of Poland in 1296. They also were allied with Brandenburg against Ladislaus the Short (Wladyslaw Lokietek), and after the death of Louis I of Hungary waged war against Grzymalits, attempting to put Ziemowit III of Masovia by force on the throne of Poland.

The best-known Poles bearing these arms are Joseph Conrad (Korzeniowski), Sędziwój Ostroróg .

Nałęcz was also the pseudonym of the Polish actor Stanisław Belski , the Polish poet and critic Maria Komornicka , and the name of a prominent family in Poland.

Tomasz Nałęcz is a Polish politician (SDPL), chairman of the Sejm’s special parliamentary inquiring committee which tried to unravel the Lew Rywin’s scandal in 2003–2004.

Blazon

Notable bearers

Notable bearers of this Coat of Arms include:

• Joseph Conrad
• Fryderyk Józef Moszyński
• Edward Raczyński
• Józef Sosnowski

See also:

• Polish heraldry
• Heraldry
• Coat of Arms