Abdank - is a Polish Coat of Arms. It was used by several szlachta families in the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

History

Some people say the beginning of this shield dates from Grach or Krakus times, a Polish monarch who gave the name and foundation to the city of Kraków. In the Wawel Mount, on which Kraków's castle stood, from the Wisła (Vistula) river side, a dragon showed up; some called him Holophag, others Boa. He was very venomous: not only did he poison the air with his breath, but he also went out of his lair to the nearby streets and suburbs and ate people and cattle and it was never enough for him. One day a man called Skuba, an ordinary man, touched deeply by his neighbors' losses, invented a solution. He took the skin of a flayed calf, put tar and sulphur and fire-brand into it and threw it into the dragon's lair. The dragon didn't recognize the trick. In the morning he went out of his lair and ate what he found. Then he was very thirsty because of a fire in his intestines, so he drank and drank water from Wisła river and finally he blew apart and died. You can still see dragon's cave in Kraków, a reminder of those times. Then Krakus granted Skuba the letter "W" to his shield ("W" stands for polish snake (wąż), or "Wawel" Mount).
(Translated from Herbarz Polski by Kasper Niesiecki)

Blazon

Notable bearers

Notable bearers of this Coat of Arms include:

• Marcin Gasztołdowicz
• Jerzy Jazłowiecki

See also:

• Polish heraldry
• Heraldry
• Coat of Arms
• Syrokomla Coat of Arms
• Bartosz Paprocki on Abdank
• Kasper Niesiecki on Abdank