Gostomia and Ścinawa: On the origin of the Bes family

Abstract

The article discusses the question of the origin of the Bes family, which was one of the most important families in the late medieval Duchy of Opole. The author returns to the question that was noticed in the nineteenth century: there is a similarity between the Bes coat of arms (a leaved trunk) and that of some other families. The author researched the history of two settlements, Gostomia and Ścinawa that were owned by two knights at the end of the thirteenth century. On the seals of both of them there is an identical coat of arms, a leaved blysmus. The author notices that Otto, a master of the hunt, was related to these settlements. Otto was a cousin of Jan Sybocic, the owner of Gostomia, and the son-in-law of Zbrosław of Śmicz, the castellan of Opole and the owner of Ścinawa. Both Gostomia and Ścinawa were transferred to church institutions, but the law of proximity probably ultimately made them be transferred to the relatives of the donors. The other known owners of the two settlements to follow Jan and Zbrosław were Alex of Leckinstein and the castellan of Opole Simon of Ścinawa. Simon appeared in the two private documents of the gentry of Strzelin, relatives of Zbrosław, which allows us to associate both of the castellans of Opole with each other. In turn, Alex donated Gostomia to the monastery in Jemielnice and then the settlement probably returned to a relative of the donator, since about 50 years later Gostomia was owned by Alex of Gostomia, on whose seal there was also a leaved blysmus. At the act of donation two representatives of the Bes family were present, which should be interpreted as their sign of consent to the donation. Alex of Leckinstein, Alex of Gostomia, Simon, and the two Beses may be connected on the basis of not only of the coat of arms and possessions as criteria. Other genealogical criteria can be included, such as the names, social status, and territorial proximity.