Legendary Member
The family is also associated with the legend of Walenty Potocki (Abt. 1700-1749), also known by the Hebrew name of Abraham ben Abraham and as the Vilna Ger Tzedek or "Learned Convert of Vilna", who was counted as one of the most revered martyrs in Jewish history. According to the story he was a convert to Judaism, and reputed to be the son of the reigning Count Potocki. According to the story he was burned at the stake in 1749 by Roman Catholic authorities in Vilna (a London magazine of 1753 does contain the story that a Croatian Raphael, Abraham Isacowicz, was in fact burned in Vilna in 1753). No verifiable details exist of the martyr's life or of his actual identity, but numerous novels, plays, and poems in several languages have been written about him. Recent researches (Tazbir 2003) have concluded that no member of the eminent Potocki family could have died in this manner at this period without leaving substantial evidence.
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