Swienca family

The Swienca family was a medieval Pomeranian noble family which held high offices under various political powers in the Lands of Schlawe and Stolp (Sławno and Słupsk) and Pomerelia from the mid-13th to the mid-14th centuries.

It is named after its founder, Swienca or Swieca (Polish Święca, German Swenzo; referred to as Swenzo, Swenso or Suenzo in contemporary documents[1]), the elder of two brothers.

In Pomerelia, the Swiencas were transiently the most powerful family after the dukes.

[2] In the Lands of Sławno (Schlawe) and Słupsk (Stolp), the region in Farther Pomerania between river Unieść (Nestbach) in the West and the river Łeba (Leba) in the East,[3] the border to Pomerelia, they ruled de facto autonomously under various dynasties until finally the sons of Wartislaw IV of Pomerania-Wolgast of the House of Pomerania made use of their rights as legal sovereigns of the Lands of Schlawe and Stolp and limited the power of the Swienca family considerably.

[5] The escutcheon of the Swienca family consisted of a griffin the lower half of the body of which is replaced by a sturgeon's tail, a type of arms known in heraldry as a fish griffin (German: Fischgreif).