List of banners in the Battle of Grunwald
The following tables list the banners of the forces participating in the Battle of Grunwald, (1410)
Poland
The exact Order of Battle of the Polish forces is unknown. However, Ioannes Longinus in his Historiæ Polonicæ written after 1455 recorded 51 Polish banners, together with their descriptions, blazoning and commanders.
This list also has some obvious errors: at the time of the battle several of the banners attributed to Poland were constituents of the Lithuanian army (e.g. Lwów, Podolia, Halicz); Coat of Arms of Lithuania (Pahonia) was a banner exclusively of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; arrows, axes and horseshoes are typical to Lithuanian heraldry, but not the Polish one, etc.
It is not certain whether the list is complete.
| Banner of | Battle sign | Origin | Remarks | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army of The Crown - Court Banners | |||||||||||||
| Great Banner of Kraków and the Kingdom of Poland |  Arms of Poland |
Elite troops, under Zyndram of Maszkowice | |||||||||||
| "Gończa" Court Banner | Goncza Coat of Arms | under Andrzej of Ochocice of Osorya | |||||||||||
| Coat of Arms of Lithuania Court Banner |  Coat of Arms of Lithuania |
under Andrzej Ciołek of Żelechów and Jan of Sprowa of Odrowąż | |||||||||||
| Saint George | Bohemian and Moravian mercenaries, under Sokol and Zbyslavek | ||||||||||||
| Army of The Crown - Regional Banners | |||||||||||||
| Land of Poznań | Coat of Arms of Poznań | ||||||||||||
| Land of Sandomierz |  Flag of Sandomierz |
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| Land of Kalisz |  Flag of Kalisz |
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| Land of Sieradz | Flag of Sieradz | ||||||||||||
| Land of Lublin |  Jeleń |
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| Land of Łęczyca | Flag of Łęczyca | ||||||||||||
| Land of Kuyavia | Coat of Arms of Cuyavia | ||||||||||||
| Land of Lwów | Banner of Lwów | ||||||||||||
| Land of Wieluń |  Flag of Wieluń |
Reinforced with mercenaries from Silesia | |||||||||||
| Land of Przemyśl | Flag of Przemyśl | ||||||||||||
| Land of Dobrzyń | Coat of Arms of Dobrzyń | ||||||||||||
| Land of Chełm | Coat of Arms of Chełm | ||||||||||||
| Three banners of Podolia |  Coat of Arms of Podolia |
Split up due to large number of knights | |||||||||||
| Land of Halicz | Coat of Arms of Halicz | ||||||||||||
| Army of The Crown - Masovian Banners | |||||||||||||
| Two banners of Duke Siemowit IV of Masovia |
Coat of Arms of Masovia | Masovia, mostly Płock area | Dukes of Masovia | ||||||||||
| Duke Janusz I of Masovia |  own |
Masovia, mostly Warsaw area | Dukes of Masovia | ||||||||||
| Army of The Crown - Personal Banners | |||||||||||||
| Archbishop of Gniezno Mikołaj Kurowski |
 Śreniawa |
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| Bishop of Poznań Wojciech Jastrzębiec |
 Jastrzębiec |
under Jarand of Brudzewo | |||||||||||
| Castellan of Kraków Krystyn of Ostrów |
 Rawicz |
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| Voivod of Kraków Jan of Tarnów |
 Leliwa |
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| Voivod of Poznań Sędziwój of Ostroróg |
 Nałęcz |
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| Voivod of Sandomierz Mikołaj of Michałowo |
 Poraj |
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| Voivod of Sieradz Jakub of Koniecpol |
 Pobóg |
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| Castellan of Śrem Iwo of Obiechów |
 Wieniawa |
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| Voivod of Łęczyca Jan Ligęza |
 Półkozic |
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| Castellan of Wojnice Andrzej of Tęczyn |
 Topór |
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| Marshal of The Crown Zbigniew of Brzezie |
 Zadora |
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| Chambelain of Kraków Piotr Szafraniec |
 Starykoń |
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| Castellan of Wiślica Klemens of Moskorzów |
 Piława |
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| Castellan of Śrem and mayor of Greater Poland Wincenty of Granów |
Leliwa |
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| Dobko of Oleśnica |  Dębno |
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| Spytko of Tarnów | Leliwa |
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| Lord High Steward of Kalisz Marcin of Sławsko |
 Zaremba |
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| Dobrogost Świdwa of Szamotuły | Nałęcz |
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| Krystyn of Koziegłowy |  Lis |
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| Master King's Cup-Bearer Jan Mężyk |
 Wadwicz |
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| Deputy Chancellor of the Crown Mikołaj Trąba |
 Trąby |
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| Mikołaj Kmita of Wiśnicz | Śreniawa |
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| Gryf Clan |  Gryf |
Family of Gryf, under Zygmunt of Bobowa | |||||||||||
| Zaklika of Korzkiew |  Syrokomla |
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| Clan of Koźlerogi |  Koźlerogi |
Family, under Castellan of Wiślica Florian of Korytnica | |||||||||||
| Jan of Jičín Odrowaz |  Benešovici |
Moravia | Volunteers from Moravia, commanded by Jan Helm, the hejtman in the duty of aristocratic family of Kravaře | ||||||||||
| Steward of the Crown and starost of Lwów Gniewosz of Dalewice |
 Strzegomia |
Czech lands | Only volunteers and mercenaries from Silesia, Bohemia and Moravia | ||||||||||
| Duke of Lithuania Sigismund Korybut | Coat of Arms of Lithuania |
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Lithuania
Due to different system of feudal overlordship, as well as lack of heraldic traditions, the units of Grand Duchy of Lithuania were all grouped under banners of two types: the Coat of Arms of Lithuania and the Columns of Gediminas. The only difference between various lands using the same emblem was the blazon. The hareness and the colour of the horse on the Coat of Arms of Lithuania differed.
Note that the number of Lithuanian banners is uncertain. According to Ioannes Longinus there were 40 banners on the right flank of the Polish-Lithuanian forces, 10 flying the Columns of Gediminas and 30 flying Coat of Arms of Lithuania. However, he also mentions that there might have been 2 additional banners from Smolensk and up to six additional banners of Samogitia. German authors also mention that there were three auxiliary banners of Moldavia flying their own flags. In addition, it is probable that the units from Trakai, Volhynia, Smolensk, Kiev and Navahrudak used their own emblems.
References
- Sven Ekdahl Die "Banderia Prutenorum" des Jan Długosz: Eine Quelle zur Schlacht bei Tannenberg 1410 : Unters. zu Aufbau, Entstehung u. Quellenwert d. Hs. : mit e. ... Klasse ; Folge 3, Nr. 104). ISBN 3-525-82382-7