Sapieha
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The family Grand coat of arms (1858-1859.

The family coat of arms was: Lis.

Lew Sapieha, the most prominent member of the family

The Sapieha (Belarusian: Сапега; Lithuanian Sapiega) is a Polish-Lithuanian princely family descending from the medieval boyars of Smolensk.¹ The family acquired great influence in the sixteenth century.

History

The creator of the fortune and power of the Sapieha family was Court and Great Chancellor and Great Hetman of Lithuania Lew Sapieha, a powerful magnate.

The family lost much of its influence after its defeat in the civil war in Lithuania in 1700.

On September 14, 1700 Michal Franciszek Sapieha obtained the title of Prince from Emperor Leopold I. The title became extinct upon his death on November 19, 1700. That year the family lost its dominant position in the Grand Duchy. In 1768 members of the Sapieha family obtained recognition of the princely title from the Polish Sejm. After the partitions of Poland, the family appeared in the list of persons authorised to bear the title of Prince of the Kingdom of Poland in 1824. The title was recognised in Austria in 1836 and 1840, and in Russia in 1874 and 1901. In 1905 the family obtained the qualification of Serene Highness in Austria.

The maternal grandmother of Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant was also a Sapieha.

Coat of arms

The Sapieha family used the "Lis" arms.

Members

• Lew Sapieha (1557-1633), Court Chancellor and Great Hetman of Lithuania
• Kazimierz Lew Sapieha (1609-1656), Marshal of the Crown, son of Lew Sapieha
• Mikołaj Krzysztof Sapieha (1613-1639),Voivode of Mińsk
• Jan Kazimierz Sapieha the Younger, (ca. 1642–1720), Field Hetman
• Michal Franciszek Sapieha (1670-1700), General, Koniuszy
• Jan Kazimierz Sapieha the Elder (?–1730), Grand Hetman of Lithuania
• Jan Fryderyk Sapieha (1680–1751), Grand Recorder of Lithuania
• Teresa Sapieha (?-c.1784), was married to Hieronim Florian Radziwill and Joachim Karol Potocki
• Kazimierz Nestor Sapieha (1757-1798), political activist, General
• Anna Zofia Sapieha (1799-1864), was married to Adam Jerzy Czartoryski
• Leon Sapieha (1803-1878), political and economic activist
• Adam Stefan Cardinal Sapieha (1867-1951), Archbishop of Kraków, Cardinal
• Zofia Maria Sapieha (1919-1997); was married to count Leon Michal Komorowski, was the grandmother of Her Royal Highness princess Mathilde of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant, born Marie Christine Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz.
• Mikush Sapieha (1966- ) a.k.a. "Michael Sapieha"; is a TV and movie actor (Operation Tango, 1999). He took part in the shows Australian Princess and American Princess as the "secret" undercover prince.
• Gregory Sapieha (1983- ) a.k.a. "le Roy"; is the co-founder and former owner of the Design 4 rent Polish branch. H.S.H. Prince Gregory is getting married to Marie Celine Kumps, daughter of a distinguished Brussels notary, on the 12th of July 2008 in Belgium.

See also

• Sapieha Palace in Vilnius
• Sapieha Palace in Warsaw
• Lithuanian nobility
• List of szlachta
• Sapieha beaker

References

External links

• Princely House of Sapieha