Origins and Branches
The origins of the Griffins are not clear. Most theories derive them from either local Slavic nobility or a cadet branch of Polish house of Piasts. Medieaval Polish chronicler Jan Długosz connected them with Polish noble family of Świebodzice from the south province of Poland named the Lesser Poland, who also used a griffin as their coat-of-arms.
In the 17th century, the Griffins derived their roots from legendary beings from Sorbs mythology called Gryphus or Baltus.
The first known members of the Griffins were the brothers Wartislaw I and Ratibor I. Wartislaw would be the ancestor of the line of dukes that ruled the Duchy of Pomerania until 1630; Ratibor would be the ancestor of the Ratiborides branch of the Griffins, that was to rule the lands of Schlawe-Stolp until the line went extinct and the area was incorporated in the Duchy of Pomerania. The first known member of the Swantiborides branch of the Griffins, notable for as castellans of Pomeranian cities, was Wartislaw (II) Swantiboriz.
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“Lucretius
Sings his great theory of natural origins and of wise conduct; Plato
smiling carves dreams, bright cells
Of incorruptible wax to hive the Greek honey.”
—Robinson Jeffers (1887–1962)
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