# House of Sobieski

The House of Sobieski (plural: Sobiescy, feminine form: Sobieska) was a prominent magnate family of Polish nobility in the 16th and 17th centuries, from which the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Jan III Sobieski originated. The family used the Janina coat of arms.

## History

According to the family's legend, it traced its lineage to a Polish duke, Leszek II the Black. Another family legend said that they were the descendants of Duke Sobiesław, the son of Leszko III, a legendary ruler of the Popielids dynasty. The family reached the height of its power and importance in the late 16th and 17th centuries, when one of its members was elected King of Poland: John III Sobieski (Jan III Sobieski). The last male member of the branch of the family that began with John's grandfather, Marek Sobieski, in the 16th century was Jakub Ludwik Sobieski (1667–1737).
According to an alternative version provided by the 18th century chronicle writer Samiilo Velychko, Sobieskis originated from local boyar Sobko from Galicia (Halych region) who converted into the Roman Catholicism.

## Coat of arms

The Sobieski family used the Janina coat of arms, and their motto was Vel cum hoc, vel super hoc.
* Coat of Arms of John III Sobieski as the King of Poland
* Portrayal of Sobieski's royal crown, Gdańsk.

## Notable members

| Name | Born | Death | Parents | Consorts | Functions and Offices |
| Stanisław Sobieski | c. 1450 | 1508/1516 | Mikołaj Sobieski Jadwiga | Małgorzata Krzyniecka | Szlachcic, owner of Sobieszyn |
| Piotr Sobieski | c. 1460 | after 1508 | Mikołaj Sobieski Jadwiga | Unknown by Name heiress of the village Bychawka | Szlachcic, owner of Lędo |
| Sebastian Sobieski | c. 1486 | 1557 | Stanisław Sobieski Małgorzata Krzyniecka | Barbara Giełczewska | Szlachcic |
| Jan Sobieski | c. 1518 | 1564 | Sebastian Sobieski Barbara Giełczewska | Katarzyna Gdeszyńska | Rotmistrz of Cavalry |
| Marek Sobieski | c. 1550 | 1605 | Jan Sobieski Katarzyna Gdeszyńska | Jadwiga Snopkowska Katarzyna Tęczyńska | Voivode of Lublin Voivodship |
| Sebastian Sobieski | c. 1552 | 1614 | Jan Sobieski Katarzyna Gdeszyńska | Anna Zebrzydowska | Court Standard-Bearer of the Crown |
| Jakub Sobieski | 1590 | 1646 | Marek Sobieski Jadwiga Snopkowska | Marianna Wiśniowiecka Zofia Teofila Daniłowiczówna | Magnate Deputy of the Sejm |
| Aleksandra Sobieska | c. 1590 | 1645 | Marek Sobieski Jadwiga Snopkowska | Krzysztof Wiesiołowski | Wife of Great Marshal of Lithuania |
| Zofia Sobieska | c. 1586 | unknown | Marek Sobieski Jadwiga Snopkowska | Jan Mikołaj Wodyński | Wife of Voivode of Podlasie |
| Katarzyna Sobieska | c. 1582 | unknown | Marek Sobieski Jadwiga Snopkowska | Stanisław Radziejowski | Wife of Voivode of Rawa and Łęczyca castellan of Rawa Mazowiecka |
| Gryzelda Sobieska | c. 1588 | 1621 | Marek Sobieski Jadwiga Snopkowska | Dadżbóg Karnkowski Jan Rozdrażewski | Voivode of Dorpat Carver of Queen Constance of Austria |
| Marek Sobieski | 1628 | 1652 | Jakub Sobieski Zofia Teofila Daniłowiczówna | none | Starost of Jaworów and Krasnystaw Rotmistrz of the Crown Army |
| John III Sobieski | 1629 | 1696 | Jakub Sobieski Zofia Teofila Daniłowiczówna | Marie Casimire Louise | King of Poland |
| Katarzyna Sobieska | 1634 | 1694 | Jakub Sobieski Zofia Teofila Daniłowiczówna | Władysław Dominik Zasławski-Ostrogski Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł | Wife of Deputy Chancellor of Lithuania and Field Hetman of Lithuania |
| Jakub Ludwik Sobieski | 1667 | 1737 | Jan III Sobieski Marie Casimire Louise | Jadwiga Elżbieta Amalia Sobieska | Pretender to the thrones of: Poland Prussia Moldavia Hungary |
| Teresa Kunegunda Sobieska | 1676 | 1730 | Jan III Sobieski Marie Casimire Louise | Maximilian II Emanuel | Wife of Elector of Bavaria |
| Aleksander Benedykt Sobieski | 1677 | 1714 | Jan III Sobieski Marie Casimire Louise | none | Prince of Poland |
| Konstanty Władysław Sobieski | 1680 | 1726 | Jan III Sobieski Marie Casimire Louise | Maria Józefa Wessel | Prince of Poland |
| Maria Karolina Sobieska | 1697 | 1740 | Jakub Ludwik Sobieski Jadwiga Elżbieta Amalia Sobieska | Frédéric Maurice Casimir de La Tour d'Auvergne Charles Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne | Princess of Turenne Duchess of Bouillon Last surviving member of the family |
| Maria Klementyna Sobieska | 1701 | 1735 | Jakub Ludwik Sobieski Jadwiga Elżbieta Amalia Sobieska | James Francis Edward Stuart | Wife of a pretender to the thrones of: Scotland Ireland England |

## Palaces

* St. Lawrence's Church in Żółkiew. Mausoleum of the Żółkiewski and Sobieski family
* Wilanów Palace, Warsaw
* Wilanów Palace, Warsaw

## Famous descendants

Among the descendants of John III Sobieski were one Holy Roman Emperor (simultaneously one King of Bohemia and one King of Germany), seven Kings of Saxony (simultaneously one Duke of Warsaw), one King of Bavaria, two Kings of Italy (simultaneously one Emperor of Ethiopia and one King of the Albanians), one Tsar of Bulgaria, one Emperor of Austria (simultaneously one King of Hungary), one Queen consort of Spain and one titular Queen consort of England, Ireland and Scotland.

### Tree

* John III Sobieski, married Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien
** Theresa Kunegunda Sobieska, married Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
*** Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor
**** Duchess Maria Antonia of Bavaria
***** Frederick Augustus I of Saxony
***** Anthony of Saxony
***** Maximilian, Hereditary Prince of Saxony, married Princess Carolina of Parma (descendant of King Stanisław I Leszczyński)
****** Princess Maria Anna of Saxony (1799–1832)
******* Archduchess Auguste Ferdinande of Austria
******** Ludwig III of Bavaria
****** Frederick Augustus II of Saxony
****** John of Saxony
******* Princess Elisabeth of Saxony
******** Margherita of Savoy
********* Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
********** Giovanna of Italy
*********** Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
******* Albert of Saxony
******* George, King of Saxony
******** Frederick Augustus III of Saxony
******** Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony (1867–1944)
********* Charles I of Austria
****** Maria Josepha Amalia, Queen of Spain
** James Louis Sobieski
*** Maria Clementina Sobieska (titular Queen consort of England, Ireland and Scotland)