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Tęczyński

Polish noble family

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 30, 2024
Entity authorityQ930660
Source-derived summary

The House of Tęczyński was a powerful family of nobility (szlachta) in the Kingdom of Poland, during the times of the late Piast dynasty, the Jagiellon dynasty and in the early decades of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (from 14th century to early 17th century). They were an important family from Lesser Poland (Małopolska), active in Polish politics of their time.

Family's history and importance

According to a legend, the family traced its origins to the 12th century magnate, Sieciech, or even to some older individuals, rumored to be powerful "princes" before Mieszko I created the Polish state. According to historians, the first verifiable member of the Tęczyński family was Nawój z Morawicy (d. 1331), castellan of Kraków, who laid the foundations of his family greatness. They used the Topór coat of arms. His son Andrzej Tęczyński (d. 1369), voivode of Kraków, begun the construction of the family's castle, continued by his descendants. Jan Tęczyński (d. 1405), starost and castellan of Kraków, was also one of the most important advisers to the first King of Poland of the Jagiellon dynasty, Władysław Jagiełło.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Tęczyński” is polish noble family. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Tęczyński, Polish and noble, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1331, 1369, 1405—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Tęczyński, Polish and noble is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “polish noble family” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 30, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q930660. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1331, 1369 and 1405.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Tęczyński”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Tęczyński primary sources, Tęczyński archive and Tęczyński research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Tęczyński”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Tęczyński” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.