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The
helmet, with a closed
barred visor
traditionally shown
affronté, denotes the
armiger’s noble rank.
The motto is not a part
of the inherited
armorial bearings but
has been freely adopted
by the armiger to add a
personal touch to
signify her intention to
follow her forefathers’
tradition.
These
arms are the paternal
achievement of the
armiger who was born in
Krakow in Poland. Her
family roots can be
traced back to 18th
century ancestors who
held the rank of
nobility in the Grand
Duchy of Lithuania. The
mixture of charges
similar to other Polish
noble clan arms like
Prus (double cross) and
Radwan (the gonfalon)
caused confusion amongst
19th century amorists
who wrongly attributed
these arms to different
clans. Only recently
have they been given a
proper recognition and
in accordance with the
rules of Polish heraldic
tradition given their
own proper name
'Borewicz coat of arms'.
Prus
and Radwan arms have a
truly medieval character
and their rich
iconography illustrates
the versatile use of
them by many prominent
figures. One of the
earliest depictions of
Prus can be seen on a
painting of the martyred
bishop St. Stanislaus of
Szczepanow painted
in1490 by an unknown
artist.
‘Polish
Armorial’ by Kasper
Niesiecki, revised and
edited by Jan Nepomucen
Bobrowicz, issued in
1845 in Lipsk, holds
records of the
registrant’s 4th great
grandfather Lord Antoni
Borewicz (b.circa
1713-d.1770) and his
spouse Anna née Butler,
the rightful owners of
the manor house and
estate by the Neman
river near Kaunas in
Trakai Voivodeship. The
entire village was named
Borewicze after the
beautifully located
paternal estate although
it is not known exactly
how the family surname
came into existence. In
the 15th century the
process of creating
family names derived
from names of locally
owned settlements became
popular. In 1749 the
family relocated west
closer to the Kingdom of
Poland, moving to the
newly purchased Klejwy
Manor House. The
property consisting of
seven other villages in
Sejny County remained in
possession of Borewicz
family for the next 200
years until the second
World War. The first
owners, Honorable Anna
and Antoni Borewicz had
been blessed with four
sons : Józef
(1736-1779), Nikodem
(1739-1794), Mikolaj
(1742-?) and Leon
(1740-1784). Józef and
Nikodem both followed a
military career in the
cavalry, while two
younger brothers became
'God’s soldiers’ taking
vows of poverty,
chastity and obedience
by accepting the rules
of the Jesuit Order.
During
the Partition of Poland,
Polish nobility was
obliged to provide
proofs of their noble
status for verification
by the authorities of
the Russian Empire,
Kingdom of Prussia or
Habsburg Austria,
depending on which part
of the annexed Polish
-Lithuanian Commonwealth
they lived in.
The
registrant’s great
grandfather, Antoni
Hipolit Kwiryn Borewicz
(1819-1890) son of
Michal and Marianna née
bar Rönne obtained the
document legalizing the
family’s status and
right to bear these
arms. The armiger’s
family tree can be found
online at Marek
J.Minakowski' Genealogia
Potomków Sejmu Wielkiego
by the Society of the
Descendants of the Great
Sejm, an organization
similar to Sons of the
American Revolution.
The
armiger is a member of
Confederation of the
Polish Nobility.
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