Welcome to our website.
On behalf of our noble society called the Circle of Nałęcz we take the pleasure of inviting you to visit our website. We are proud of sharing with you the information being a substantial part of Polish history, tradition and culture and we hope that you will enjoy possessing the knowledge which is not commonly available.
Circle of Nałęcz is an association of the Polish Nobility uniting noble families (septs) who in the past and present day, accordingly with Polish law and customs, had and have the right of using Nałęcz coat of arms and for this reason are described sometimes as Clan of Nałęcz. The latter should not be confused with the meaning of Scottish clan system per se, but may be referred to a legal category - the right of bearing the same coat of arms – Nałęcz, however on the other hand a certain number of families belonging to the Clan of Nałęcz stem or possibly may stem from the same forefather. To underline a difference, let us use the formula „of” in denoting our noble clan. We would like to mention, that according to the Polish law and customs, all families belonging to a noble clan have status of Nobility and this is another difference between Polish and Scottish clan systems. Circle of Nałęcz as a noble society has its roots in Medieval times, but as a contemporary association emerged initially in 1952 in Montevideo, Uruguay, thenafter in 1995 in Poland as registered legal entity. There are some other similar noble societies in Poland, but the Circle of Nałęcz is one of those that first started to act soon after the Fall of the Iron Curtain.
The Clan of Nałęcz has its legendary roots in 10th Century when the first Polish state emerged in 966 - the year of Baptism of Poland. According to the legend, Duke Gniewomir, a forefather of Nałęcz family decided to submit himself to the first Polish ruler of the Piast dynasty, Duke Mieszko. Some historians presume that Duke Gniewomir was a scion of the Popielids, the legendary dynasty ruled in Gniezno and Pomerania long before the Piast dynasty. The legend is only a legend, but one could say that there is a candle of truth in every legend. Anyway, the Clan of Nałęcz is widely regarded as one of the most ancient noble clans in Poland, like Topór, Gryf, Abdank and some others. The first certain lord (comes) belonging to the Clan of Nałęcz, who emerged in undoubtedly authentic document, was Dobrogost the Old, mentioned in 1153 as benefactor of Benedictine Monastery and Saint Klemens Church in Mogilno.
The Clan of Nałęcz played significant role in medieval Kingdom of Poland, supporting or opposing subsequent rulers. In 1331 they supported King Władysław the Short in his struggle against Teutonic Knights. They rebelled against King Kazimierz the Great, but thenafter were reconciled with the King. In 1383-85 the Clan of Nałęcz participated in feud against the Clan of Grzymała. This war, called Grzymała-Nałęcz feud, was the one of the greatest feuds in Medieval Europe and may be compared with Babenberg fued in Germany or Percy-Neville feud in Northern England. The Clan of Nałęcz played eminent role in the Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg) which took place on 15th July 1410. The Battle of Grunwald is considered as the greatest clash of chivalry in Medieval Europe. The Polish side could prevail and took decisive victory over Teutonic Order supported by German and French guest-knights from Western Europe. Sędziwój Ostroróg, one of the Nałęcz knights, was a member of King Władysław Jagiełło War Council. Another famous knight, Jan Warszowski of the Nałęcz coat of arms, could defend successfully together with Zawisza the Black – the most famous knight of that time – the Royal Standard during the course of the battle. Throughout the centuries representatives of the Clan of Nałecz played important role in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth history and culture. They were archbishops, bishops, senators and great reformers of whom one of the last was Stanisław Nałęcz Małachowski. Two members of Nałęcz family, Bartłomiej Nowodworski and Hieronim Gostomski, were benefactors and founders of famous Polish education institutions – Nowodworski College (1588) in Cracow and Collegium Gostomianum (1602) in Sandomierz. Many members of the Clan of Nałecz sacrified their lives in November and January Uprisings in 19th Century, World War I, Polish-Soviet War, World War II and Warsaw Uprising 1944. Some members of the Clan of Nałęcz were great writers like Joseph Conrad (Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski) and Karol Hubert Rostworowski. Some have built castles and palaces being until now the greatest landmarks in Poland - like Rogalin Palace built by Raczyński family.
In the past the Clan of Nałęcz united more than 300 families (septs) and has been recognized as one of the greatest noble clans in Poland. Nowadays 90 members representing 44 families (septs) with the undoubtful right to bear the Nałęcz coat of arms accordingly with past and present laws and customs (ex lege et consuetudine) belong to our noble society.
The English version of our website will be expanded successively.
We are very pleased and honoured of keeping your attention on our website.


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