Topór coat of arms


Topór is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by several szlachta families in medieval Poland and under the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

History

The topór coat of arms is said to be one of the oldest Polish szlachta emblems, if not the oldest. Its use dates back to at least as far as a seal of the late 13th century. Before the Union of Horodło approximately 220 Polish szlachta families - mostly in and around Kraków, Lublin and Sandomierz - used this symbol.
Under the Union the coat of arms was represented by Maciej z Wąsocza, the Voivod of Kraków, and by Jan Butrym, a Lithuanian boyar who represented Lithuanian noble families. After the union another 150 families in Lithuania adopted the topór coat of arms. Due to its antiquity it was sometimes referred to as "Starża", an Old-Polish word denoting great age.

[Blazon]

, axe argent. The crest is in the form of an axe embedded in the helm, argent.
In Latin: . Thopor siue Bipennis alba in campo rubeo

Notable bearers

Notable bearers of this coat of arms have included:
Aristocratic variations
Standard variations
Coat of arms of cities and gminas
Coat of arms with the topór symbol
Paintings with the coat of arms topór
Other