All references on one single page
The Ksiazyk and Niwinski families have the coat of arms of the Kuszaba/Paprzyca Clan. Kuszaba and Paprzyca are two names used for both the clan and the coat of arms.
Most Polish armorial books (Herbarz) mention this coat of arms. The first mentions can be found in the transcriptions from Dlugosz works during the 16th century. While Paprzyca had a stable spelling, Kuszaba had alternative writings such as Ruszaba, Ruszawa, Buchaba or Byszawa. After the 18th century, most heraldists used the name Paprzyca.
Our blazon is among the oldest recorded in Poland. Many heraldists trace the origins of the Kuszaba/Paprzyca Clan to the reign of Boleslaw V the Chaste who was Great Duke of Poland and a member of the Piast Dynasty. According to historians, the Kuszaba/Paprzyca Clan came from Bohemia (Czech Kingdom) with the entourage of Princess Kinga who married Boleslaw in 1247. In Bohemia, the legend related to the Kuszaba coat of arms dates back the year 1081.
Our coat of arms is quite unusual and easy to recognize at first glance. Heraldry codifies with great rigour symbols, colours and positions in the shield. However, the drawing is always subject to some degree of artistic interpretations and the elements can look different ways. This page presents a selection of reference descriptions. For better visual insights, you are welcome to visit our page Paprzyca images.
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see below transcription in 1858
page 250, page 667 (668), page 710 and page 711
Herbarz polski i imionospis zasłużonych w Polsce ludzi wszystkich stanów i czasów:
vol. II page 83, page 222 and page 223
The author examines the different transcriptions of the Klejnot writen by Jan Dlugosz (1415-1480). This comparative study highlights the values of previous works and the difficulties to get a complete view of the original manuscript. The Kuszaba blazon is mentioned several times with remarks about developments and alterations. This book ends with a summary n French.