Country Poland Final ruler John III Sobieski Ethnicity Polish | Founded Free election, 1674 Current head Extinct | |
 | ||
Titles King of Poland
Grand Duke of Lithuania
Grand Duke of Ruthenia
Grand Duke of Prussia
Grand Duke of Masovia
Grand Duke of Samogitia
Grand Duke of Livonia
Grand Duke of Smolensk
Grand Duke of Kiev
Grand Duke of Volhynia
Grand Duke of Podlasie
Grand Duke of Severia
Grand Duke of Chernihiv
Electress of Bavaria
Princesses of Turenne
Duchess of Bouillon
Queen consort of England
Queen consort of Ireland
Queen consort of Scotland | ||
The House of Sobieski (plural: Sobiescy, feminine form: Sobieska) was a prominent magnate family of Polish nobility in the 16th and 17th centuries. The family used the Janina coat of arms.
Contents
History
According to the family's legend, disproved by modern historians, 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 (Jan 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 (1667–1737).
Coat of arms
The Sobieski family used the Janina coat of arms, and their motto was Vel cum hoc, vel super hoc.
Famous descendants
Among the descendants of John III Sobieski were one Holy Roman Emperor (simultaneously one King of Bohemia and one King of Germany), seven Kings of Saxony (simultaneously one Duke of Warsaw), one King of Bavaria, two Kings of Italy (simultaneously one Emperor of Ethiopia and one King of the Albanians), one Tsar of Bulgaria, one Emperor of Austria (simultaneously one King of Hungary), one Queen consort of Spain and one titular Queen consort of England, Ireland and Scotland.