Herbarz Polski translation

Baryczka herb

The following article is a direct translation from the classic Genealogical and Heraldic reference "Herbarz Polski" by Kasper Niesiecki S.J., (Lipsk) edition 1839-46.

 

Samborski described it in 1640 as being the color of gold. In its center, two crosses merge in a vertical line, one of which is upright and the other is turned downward. The top cross is propped up by two supports on either side. A great number of these are found in the church of St. John in Warsaw.

 

The Baryczka family and its coat of arms came from Hungary or lower Pannonia. The ancient house was well known throughout that region for its spectacular deeds but, born to be free, refused to suffer under the Moslem yoke, and, in 1207, Iwo or Jan Baryczka left his wealth and estates to the Ottomans and migrated to Russia. He was tenth in line of ancestors with this coat of arms, and heir to the name and good qualities of his forefathers, when Jadwiga nee Rozycka, his equal by birth, became his betrothed. When, shortly, Russia was ablaze with civil wars, Iwo moved on to Mazowsze, where, due to his magnificent nature and virtuous attributes, he was granted honors and two villages by Prince Konrad. His descendants live there to this day serving their country. Of his three sons, Bartlomiej died blocking the invasion of the Lithuanians into Mazowsze; Henryk was more successful in battle against Henry the Bearded; Jan married Zegota nee Grzymala and multiplied his family.

 

Marcin Baryczka, son of Jan, Doctor of the Church, was curate and preacher at the cathedral in Kraków. He was a man whose commendable life of saintliness without pretense, amazing skills, fearless ardor for God's honor, love of truth, and contempt for wordly pleasures, endeared him to all.

 

When King Casimir's public lechery offended the eyes of good people, when serfdom groaned beneath the burden of intolerable taxation, all the while being scandalized by the debauchery of their ruler, and when, finally, the people descended in a crowd to redirect the ignoble monarch to the path of God, and, while others were afraid to speak out, even those in office whose duty it was to do so, the undaunted Father Martin reprimanded the King discreetly at first, and then chided him publicly. However, those blinded by their sins, stonehearted in their addictions, are generally deaf to counsel and admonitions of salvation.

 

Casimir, as though above the law, not only did not curtail his life of dissipation but rather increased it.

 

Bishop Bodzeta of Kraków, directed by Pope Clement VI to excommunicate the King, delegated Baryczka to deliver the condemnation. Weighed down by obedience but armed for anything for God, the devout priest went and, standing before the throne, pronounced the excommunication which barred the King from the community of the faithful.

 

The enraged Casimir's only thought was to silence the preacher's voice and so he ordered that the priest be arrested and thrown in prison. This, he soon perceived to be a dangerous indulgence as long as Baryczka was alive. He then commanded that a hole be cut in the ice of the Vistula River in which, on 8 January 1349, Baryczka was drowned. Neither the King's brutality nor the priest's innocence could remain hidden. Angels' voices sounded over the spot where Baryczka was pushed and a supernatural light gleamed until the ice melted. Marcin's body floated to the surface, the flesh unchanged as tho it had just been thrown into the water, a fragrance emanating from it.

 

Men and women in great numbers proceeded to the Church of St. Catherine of the Augustinian Fathers in Kraków, where the body was buried in the chapel of St. Michael. The inscription on the gravestone reads: Obiit bonae vitae, occisus Martinus Baryczka. There, through the intercession of His martyr, God continues to grant many blessings.

 

Soon after, God avenged the death of His innocent servant because a block of pestilential air lashed Poland for three years; four provinces, Belzk, Wlodzimir, Chelm, and Brzesk broke away from the kingdom; and the King, himself, on the birthday of the Virgin Mary, went hunting and, during a swift jump after a deer, fell with the horse, breaking his own leg. He subsequently died, wasting away, having left no heirs to the throne of Poland.

 

Jerzy Baryczka, second son of Jan, lies under a tombstone in Czersk, laid by his wife, Barbara, from Wyszkowic. It can be viewed to this day. Henryk Baryczka, the third son of Jan, married Barbara of Domniewo of the Dolega coat of arms. Their two sons were Waclaw, Canon of Wroclaw, and Wojciech, who died on the field of battle at Warna, beside Wladyslaw, King of Poland and Hungary. Szymon, son of Wojciech, exhibited extraordinary military prowess in Poland and Czechoslovakia as tho born to war, while his brother, Piotr, after a long life of service in the court of Duke Konrad of Mazowsze, retired to Warsaw, where his descendants flourish to this day. Of these, Piotr was a Canon of Warsaw. Jerzy, a linguist, was devoted to St. John's Church in Warsaw, and during the burning of sacral art by heretics, salvaged the church's crucifix from the flames. Their brother, Jan, served for a long time in the pay of King Louis of Hungary, and upon his return in 1526 was made a member of the court of Queen Anna.

 

Stanislaw, son of Bartlomiej, who had married into the famous German family of Fuker, displayed bravery in every campaign in Poland. He married Kulinska of the Odrowaz coat of arms, with whom he had three sons, Wojciech, Stanislaw, and Jacek.

 

Jacek, doctor and provincial of an order of preachers, funded its chairs of Theology and Philosophy, and began the construction of a church and monastery when death intervened.

 

His brother, Stanislaw, was a consultant in the Emperor's court by reason of his fluency in many languages, good judgement, and choice of skills. All of Europe praised his eloquence which Klemens VIII ackowledged in a letter. Hetman Zolkiewski testified to his bravery. St. Dominic's monastery and the nuns of St. Teresa in Warsaw certify to his generosity. He funded altars and churches, particularly, St. John in Warsaw, St. Joseph, and Holy Cross. The pious say that the stones of Warsaw, blessed as they are for all time by the passage of the sacramental God as He is carried to the sick, speak of many more of Stanislaw's good qualities.

 

Wojciech, the brother of Jacek and Stanislaw, head of Ujazdowo, fought bravely against the Turks. For killing a powerful, Turkish giant, Emperor Rudolf welcomed him into the German nobility in 1590. However, Wojciech returned to Poland where freedom was more to his liking. He contributed significantly to the siege at Smolensk. Kircholm also experienced his mettle. Zygmunt III and Wladyslaw IV were pleased so much by his service that they made him the royal master of the horse, and the King's secretary. A wound remained a continuous reminder of his warring expeditions and resisted all attempts at healing until his death in 1643. He, too, had been very generous to the houses of God.

 

Stanislaw Baryczka, heir to Machalowice and Czosnow, cupbearer of Czerniechow, royal secretary, was granted Polish citizenship by the Parliament in 1658, as were Wojciech and Jan. Brought up in Polish camps, he sharpened his knightly skills and proficiency in architectonics. King Jan Kazimierz depended on him at Zborow, Berestec, and Zwaniec. Stanislaw's resourcefulness enabled the King to recover Torun, Kraków, and Warsaw from the Swedes. He was most fortunate in directing fire, setting up war machinery, and locating mines. Stanislaw was most generous to the clergy, and filled up the library of the Dominicans in Warsaw with books. He was still alive in 1680.

 

Jan, Canon of Płock and Pultusk, pastor of Kolen, died in middle age.

 

Wojciech, nephew of Stanislaw, the cupbearer, prepared to serve his country as a linguist but died at a very young age.

 

Michael, a captain, is possibly the author of Quantum Poeticum, printed in 1658.

 

Jedrzej (Andrew), master of the hunt in Sochaczewo, subscribed to the election of August II.

 

I have excerpted this information from Tylkowski although the accuracy of much of the contents is suspect. First of all, the Turks didn't even touch Hungary in the century reported by the author. Their pagan might was hardly known in countries so great a distance away. It was only around 1301, that the Ottoman took possession of the State and began to press further, nearer to us, as is written by Miechowita, fol. 234. Tylkowki should have said that Iwo or Jan went to Russia with King Koloman of Halicz.

 

Later, he lists Stanislaw as the son of Bartlomiej from 1280, and quickly jumps to 1500.

 

Thirdly, he says that Marcin Baryczka was a curate for Bishop Nankier in Kraków who died in 1326 according to Starowolski, whereas Marcin was martyred in 1349 when Bodzeta, not Nankier, presided over the cathedral in Kraków.

 

Fourth, he says that upon his return from Hungary, Jan Baryczka was brought into the court by Queen Anna which is highly improbable because Anna was born some time after King Louis was killed.

 

Copyright © 1982 Josephine M. Piegzik. Used by permission. This article originally appeared in Polish Genealogical Society Newsletter (Vol. 4, No. 1, Spring 1982), the journal of the Polish Genealogical Society (of America).

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