Beyond the Legend
Going beyond the millstone
Published in 1987, the book of Marek Derwich and Marek Cetwiński Herby, Legendy, Dawne Mity remains a landmark study for Polish heraldry. The authors examine the Paprzyca symbol (page 218-220) and refer to a traditional cosmos representation in antique Slavic cultures. Derwich and Marek Cetwiński explain that paprzyca is the axis of the millstone with a strong relation to the archaic images earth and sky rotation mechanism.
Their analysis is worth reading and the PDF above is the full translation of their text regarding the symbolism of the Kuszaba/Paprzyca crest. However, the reading is complex and can be quite confusing because the authors refer to many “non-Polish” stories and symbols. Therefore, for a better understanding, we have reorganized paragraphs, changed bold words, added some pictures and highlighted the content with additional notes. Zapraszamy!