Coats of Arms of Citizens of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in Padua

Miniatures form the book of Polish nation at Padua Uniwersity

By POLONIKA The National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad

POLONIKA The National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad

Register books of Polish students from University of Padua. Coat of arms of the King Sigismund III Vasa, 1592-1745, From the collection of: POLONIKA The National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad
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Courtyard of Pallazzo del Bo, Padua University (15-th - 18th century)POLONIKA The National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad

Citizens of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at Padua University

The University of Padua will soon ( in 2022 ) celebrate its 800th anniversary of existence. The university has played a crucial role in the history of Europe and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. For many centuries, citizens of the Commonwealth have constituted one of the largest national groups that actively participated in Padua’s academic life. Settlers who had arrived from the Vistula, Bug and Nemunas regions constituted the third largest national group of students, following their colleagues from the Italian and German speaking countries. In the 17th and 18th century, many of the University’s students were citizens of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Some of these later become academics and professors, and also rectors. They were considered to be outstanding scholars.

Register books of Polish students from University of Padua, page decoration (1592-1746)POLONIKA The National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad

Many prominent artists of the Renaissance such as Klemens Janicki, Łukasz Górnicki and Jan Kochanowski have also been associated with the University. All the major noble families of the Common- wealth sent their sons to study at the University. Their presence in the city at the end of the 16th century was so prominent that in 1592 a separate association was formed– known as the Natio Regni Poloniae et Magni Ducatus Lithuaniae. The group’s activity focused on maintaining national integrity by attending Masses, funerals and official celebrations related to the Polish military. Members would also support one another by means of establishing a loan office. They studied by attending the same language and fencing classes and sharing the costs of these lessons. They also founded a library that was open for all the members.

Register books of Polish students from University of Padua, Wojciech Waśniewicz coat of arms (1592-1757)POLONIKA The National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad

Register books of Polish individuals associated with the University of Padua over the centuries have been known under various names such as "Liber Congregationis S. Stanislai", "Album Polonorum", "Album Polonicum", "Cathalogus", or "Album iurisconsultorum Polonicum".
The two preserved registry books of the Polish nation record the period from 1592 to 1745. They contain more than 2350 entries. Many – especially the ones related to officials – are accompanied by watercolor illustrations of coats of arms.

Loggia at Padua University (15-th - 18th century)POLONIKA The National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad

Although these registries are not the only historical records to document that the Padua circle of students and scholars came from the Commonwealth and was dynamic, they are of extraordinarily value. Along with numerous heraldic cartouches primarily suspended or painted in the building of the main and the oldest university seat, the so-called Palazzo del Bo, they make up one of the richest compact heraldic groups in the history of Polish culture.

Register books of Polish students from University of Padua, the cover (1592-1758)POLONIKA The National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad

The books of nation

The nation metrica consists of two volumes bound in red leather with golden embossing. In the centre of the binding, both in the front and back, are oval fields: one in the older volume with remains of colorful paintings, which apparently present resurrection of Peter by St. Stanislaus, and a better preserved crest of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Register books of Polish students from University of Padua (1592-1748)POLONIKA The National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad

The first album, started in 1592, was damaged a few times after several years, which prompted Marcin Władysław Weiher, the nation’s councilor, to prepare a new book in the form of a codicil, in which all inscriptions were rewritten in 1605. This liber Nationis survived until 1640, when during the councilor Florian Michał Smogulecki, at his expense a new book was made in folio, which included the old codicil. A skillful bookbinder made this by aligning the book’s format through addition of a half clean sheet with a drawing to each of the codicil’s cards. The book of the nation served another nine years in this form and, even though there still 21 clean pages left, a decision was made to prepare a new book. The councilor Aleksander Michał Ossoliński took care of the execution and financed the project.

Register books of Polish students from University of Padua, Wieniawa coat of arms (1592-1751)POLONIKA The National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad

Wieniawa coat of arms.
Signed with the names of: the consultor Bogusław Leszczyński from Leszno, the assistant Stanisław Lenczewski, the assistant Gabriel Ochocki, the librarian Wawrzyniec Matuszewski, 16/07/1663

Register books of Polish students from University of Padua, Kornicz coat of arms (1592-1750)POLONIKA The National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad

New records and illustrations, mainly of heraldic character were added and ordered from 1649 until the middle of the 18th century. The names of only two miniaturists are known, because they signed their works. “Franciscus Alvarez Filius” was the author of the crests illustrations of Zbigniew Ossoliński, Kazimierz Krzeczonowicz and Franciszek Koryciński . Another representative of the German nation, Ioannes Aloysius Foppa de Rota, placed his name at the crest of Stanisław Porębski.

Register books of Polish students from University of Padua, coat of arms of Józef Antoni Częczkiewicz, 1592-1755, From the collection of: POLONIKA The National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad
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Own coat of arms, the consultor Józef Antoni Częczkiewicz, the assistant Jakub Ozgiewicz, the assistant Tomasz Szołdrski, 1688

Register books of Polish students from University of Padua, Jacobi coats of arms, 1592-1756, From the collection of: POLONIKA The National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad
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Jacobi coat of arms, below following coats of arms: own coat of arms of the Dziurkiewicz and Poraj house, the consultor
Ignacy Jakobi from Kraków, the assistant Kazimierz Dziurkiewicz, the assistant and librarian Andrzej Kupiński, 20/08/1691

Register books of Polish students from University of Padua, Rawicz coat of arms (1592-1754)POLONIKA The National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad

The crests ornamented with symbols of virtues, ancient goddesses and heroes as well as the related mottoes and epigrams, even though being an evidence of aspirations, have their moral aspect too. Even if certain ideas were popular and discussed in the culture which they met, to most of them they were out of their cognitive range; however, the will to leave the trace of their existence in the form of a crest (painted or sculpt- ed in stone) confirms the will to manifest their belonging to the world, which they explored and which influenced their recognizability, both in Padua and in Poland.

Register books of Polish students from University of Padua, incomplete Koprzywnica abbot's coat of arms (1592-1749)POLONIKA The National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad

Coat of arms (incomplete) belonging to the Koprzywnica abbot, the consultor Zbigniew Ossoliński from Tenczyn, the assistant Stanisław Giebułtowski, the assistant Franciszek Trzeciak, 20/04/1651

Register books of Polish students from University of Padua, Rola coats of arms (incomplete) (1592-1753)POLONIKA The National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad

Incomplete Rola coat of arms, the consultor Franciszek Roliński, 20.07.1675

Lubicz coat of arms, assistant Michał Mikołaj Boym, 20.07.1675

Żuraw (Crane) coat of arms, librarian Grzegorz Bartkowski, 20.07.1675

Register books of Polish students from University of Padua, king Michał Wiśniowiecki coat of arms (1592-1752)POLONIKA The National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad

The two volumes of the manuscript were initially stored in the association’s treasury box together with other documents, the seal and cash. The nation archive was stored permanently in the library, since its foundation. When the nation became less numerous, at the beginning of the 18th century, the documents were in danger. This was confirmed by the theft carried out by an “Athanasius Ruthenus,” who robbed the library and sold the stolen goods in the marketplace.

Register books of Polish students from University of Padua, coats of arms:Prus, Gryf, Rawicz, Janina (1592-1747)POLONIKA The National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad

"Album nationis Polonae" was luckily preserved by the above mentioned historian Papadopoli. He must have returned it to the nation, as the records were continued. Finally, after the disintegration of the Polish nation, the books were first in the University library and next in the University Archive, where they received reference numbers 487 and 488. Currently, the books are stored in Archivio Storico dell’Università di Padova.

Credits: Story

Based on the book by prof. Mirosław Lenart: "ALBUM POLONICUM, Metryka nacji polskiej w Padwie: 1592–1745. Edycja fototypiczna"
[ALBUM POLONICUM, Polish nation metric book at Padua: 1592-1745. Photo edition"

Text:© Mirosław Lenart
Edition: Anna Ekielska
Photo: © Piotr Jamski, © Dorota Janiszewska-Jakubiak


© National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad POLONIKA
Supervisory insitution: Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

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