The Rowieński Family, Alias Wojucki, of the Gąska Coat of Arms

Abstract

The Gąska coat of arms first appeared in written sources in 1402. On April 3 of that year, witnesses appeared at the land court in Sieradz to testify to the family affiliation of Przybek of Kościanki. In the second pair, the accused summoned Janusz of Lichawa and Jan of Wodzierady, both bearing the Gąska coat of arms. In 1403 and 1405, Stanisław same coat of arms, along with the aforementioned Janusz of Lichawa. Bartosz Paprocki traced the origin of the coat of arms to the legend of the Capitoline geese, which saved Rome from a barbarian invasion. He also gave it alternative names: Paparona (1578) and Budzisz (1584). The circle of ancestors known to him was small. Aside from the Chodowski family of Łęczyca, he listed only a few families from Sieradz: the Kamionomojski, Parzniewski, Pstrokoński, and Wojucki families. In the Middle Ages, in the Sieradz region, the name Równa was used twice in reference to the Gąska coat of arms, deriving from the village of Równa on the Swędrnia River, along the route from Błaszki to Sieradz.

The Rowieński family, also known as Wojucki, who lived on the border of the Kalisz and Sieradz regions, represents a typical noble family from this area. Despite two advantageous marriages, income from municipal courts, and the ecclesiastical career of one of its members, the family did not accumulate significant wealth.