{"id":3790,"date":"2026-01-09T14:05:45","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T14:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/historiapomorza.pl\/epoka\/griffin-coat-of-arms-of-western-pomerania\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T15:52:59","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T15:52:59","slug":"griffin-coat-of-arms-of-western-pomerania","status":"publish","type":"epoka","link":"https:\/\/historiapomorza.pl\/en\/epoka\/griffin-coat-of-arms-of-western-pomerania\/","title":{"rendered":"Griffin \u2013 Coat of Arms of Western Pomerania"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A coat of arms is a graphic symbol placed on the field of a shield, created according to specific rules, symbolically representing its owner. However, we can only call such a graphic sign a coat of arms when it becomes hereditary, when a given person, family, clan, or city uses it continuously without changing it according to their own preferences. The first coats of arms originated in Western Europe, and their beginnings date back to the first half of the 12th century. Nevertheless, it took a long time for the coat of arms to spread throughout medieval Europe and firmly establish itself also in the Duchy of Pomerania.<\/p>\n\n

The primary source for studying the origins of coats of arms is seals. In the case of the Pomeranian Griffin, these are princely seals depicting the figure of an armed prince on horseback (the so-called equestrian seal) or standing en face (the so-called foot seal), holding a shield and banner in his hands, on which a recognition and combat sign was placed to allow identification during battle. Over time, this sign transformed into the ruler’s coat of arms, and later into the coat of arms of the land belonging to him. The first known seals of the Dukes of Western Pomerania\u2014the equestrian seal of Bogislaw I and the foot seal of Casimir I\u2014did not yet feature the griffin sign visible on their shields.<\/p>\n\n

The oldest depiction of the griffin likely appeared on the foot seal of Casimir II, Duke of Demmin, who ruled alongside his older brother, Bogislaw II, Duke of Szczecin. The document to which the seals of both brothers were attached is currently dated to the years 1191\u20131194. The original is not known, but a 1384 confirmation describes the seals attached to it. According to the description, neither the shield nor the banner on the equestrian seal of the older brother, Bogislaw II, bore any sign. On the foot seal of the younger brother, Casimir II, a griffin was reportedly placed on the shield held in his left hand. On subsequent known seals of these dukes from 1214, the griffin was probably placed this time on the seal of Bogislaw II, while it was no longer present on the seal of Casimir II.<\/p>\n\n

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Seal of Bogislaw II from 1214. Original (State Archive in Wroc\u0142aw, Rep. 125, no. 16) and tracing in CPD, Tafel G.<\/div><\/div><\/p>\n\n

It seems that at that time the griffin was not yet the coat of arms of either the ducal dynasty or, even less so, of the duchy. After all, it was not used by both princes, but alternately by one and then the other, which may mean that this was only the beginning of the search for a symbol that could represent the entire dynasty. Both ducal lines used the griffin on equestrian seals only from the late 1230s, and already by the middle of that century there existed a heraldic seal\u2014that is, containing a griffin placed within the field of a shield in the seal’s impression, representing the ducal coat of arms. The mid-13th century can be considered the end of the period of formation of the coat of arms of the Western Pomeranian dynasty, which was eventually named the Griffins after this emblem.<\/p>\n