History
The legendary history of the Godziemba coat of arms goes back to the 11th century, a common telling is as follows:
In 1094 A.D., Sieciech was Voivode of Kraków. In this year the Moravians invaded Poland in force. When the Poles learned that the enemy had camped for the night within the vicinity, a vanguard was assembled to engage in a surprise offensive. The Polish vanguard subsequently ambushed the enemy, and brought them to battle. The knight Godziemba, a member of the Polish vanguard, lost his weapon in the skirmish, and retreated into a nearby forest. One of the Moravians, seeing that he was unarmed, pursued him. Godziemba sprang from his horse and uprooted a young pine tree from the soil. He fended off his attacker with the makeshift weapon and eventually managed to knock his pursuer from his horse. He then disarmed him, made him a prisoner, and delivered him to Voivode Sieciech. In commemoration of the brave and noble deed he received a coat of arms depicting the spruce, with his heroic image displayed on the crest.
It has been debated that the event is nothing more than a fictitious legend. This is based on grounds that it took place before the art of heraldry was ever in practice. Nonetheless, the story is significant to the over-all history of the blazon and crest.
Read more about this topic: Godziemba Coat Of Arms
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