The legend is that three Slavic chieftains were migrating west with their people from the vastness of the Eurasian steppe. They came to rest and camp on the plain just short of the River Odra (Oder), when one of the brothers, Lech, spotted the white eagle launching from the nest in the crown of the tree and against the red background of the sky at the sunset. He was so moved by this sight and made the decision to settled down in this area and to call the settlement "Gniezno" (the nest). Thus, the Polish symbol of a white eagle on a red field is explained. ( Click Here to learn more about the white eagle symbol )

The first, documented, flag (war banner) comes from the time of the rule of the Piast King, Przemysl II (Premyslas-Premislaus), who was crowned in 1295. and then assassinated the next year in 1296. When Prince Przemyslaw II was crowned on June 26, 1295, he introduced the white eagle to the royal seal as an emblem of the united Kingdom of Poland, and according to the political and legal doctrine of the Middle Ages, the monarch symbolized the state. Consequently, the personal sign of the ruler became the symbol of the lands and people under his authority.

Prince Wladyslaw IV (the Elbow-High) was the ruler of the Duchy of Kraków in central Poland between 1320-1333, who would reunify the Polish kingdom. When he became the king of Poland his royal title was changed to Wladyslaw I Lokietek (Ladislaus I the Short, or Ladislaus the "Elbow-high"). His rule is important because it ended nearly two centuries of civil wars. He is remembered as the restorer of a united Kingdom of Poland, and for his severe defeat of the Teutonic Knights at Plowce in 1331. He choose as his royal symbol another rendition of the crowned eagle, following the tradition established by Przemyslaw II.

Casimir III the Great (1310-1370), was the last King of Poland from the Piast dynasty (1333–1370), was the son of King Wladyslaw I (the Elbow-high) and Hedwig of Kalisz. He was the most distinguished of Polish medieval kings, and is the only Polish king who both received and kept the title of "Great" in Polish history.

This is the banner of the Ludwik and Jadwiga Andegavin (Hedwig Anjou). In one of those strange royal arrangements, King Casimir the Great had his nephew, King Ludwik of Hungary, succeed him on the Polish throne. When Ludwik died, his daughter Mary became the Queen of Hungary, but the Polish nobles didn't want Mary to also rule in Poland. Hedwig (Jadwiga), who was the younger sister of Mary, was instead "named" king. She became the King (Hedvig Rex Poloniæ). For a year she ruled alone and in 1385, at the insistence of the nobility, she married Wladyslaw Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania. She only agreed to marry the Grand Duke of Lithuania on the promise that not only would he would convert to Christianity, but that his entire nation, the last pagans of Europe, would also convert.

When the Pagan King Wladyslaw II (Jagiello) acquired the Polish throne by marrying the Christian Queen/King Jadwiga (see above), he was the last pagan ruler of Lithuania (he converted to Christianity to become King of Poland and she was later sainted). In 1385, the Union of Krewo was signed between Queen Jadwiga and Jagiello, who was at that time the Grand Duke of Lithuania. The act arranged for their marriage and constituted the beginning of the Polish-Lithuanian Union. The Union strengthened both nations in their shared opposition to the Teutonic Knights and the growing threat of the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

This was the personal battle flag of the King Wladyslaw of Poland, flown at his camp on the wooded hill at Tannenberg (Grunwald). While the Teutonic Knights and their allies, the flower of the European knighthood, took their battle positions on the hot field of Grunwald and baked in the sunshine in their heavy armor, the cunning Polish king took his time, not rushing to the battlefield and allowing his troops to relax on the tree-shaded hill.

This was another of the Battle flags of the Battle of Grunwald. It was flown into the battle, representing the King. Although, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order took part personally in the actual battle (and got killed), Wladyslaw Jagiello, due to his advanced age, stayed behind on the hill, assessing the situation from the vantage point and dispatching battle orders. The Teutonic knights made the use of artillery for one of the first instances in Europe (if not the first). The new technology was brought to them by the traveling monks from China. It didn't them any good, as the artillery positions were soon overrun by the Tatars and Lithuanians and the cannons were turned against the troops of the Order.

The eventual successor to Warnenczyk III after a three-year interregnum was Kazimier IV (Casimir IV) who fought a long war with the Teutonic Knights and imposed on them the Peace of Thorn in 1466. This treaty resulted in Poland acquiring Malbork (Marienburg) and Gdansk (Danzig) and access to the sea. In 1471, he was able to vindicate his son's claim to the throne of Bohemia, to which the younger Wladyslaw IV later added Hungary.

Royal Prussia originally developed from the medieval Northern March of the Holy Roman Empire, passing to the House of Hohenzollern in 1415. The Duchy of Prussia was created in 1525 when the eastern lands of the Teutonic Knights were seized as a Polish fief by Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach, a member of the Hohenzollern family. While Ducal Prussia was only a Polish fief, until it merged with Brandenburg to form the Kingdom of Prussia, Royal Prussia was a Polish province with substantial autonomy up to the time of the first partition in 1772, when it was taken by the new Kingdom of Prussia which had been just created when the Elector Frederick III assumed the title of Frederick I, King in Prussia, in 1701.

Sigismund I the Old (Zygmunt I Stary) was a highly respected, next to last, Jagiellonian king of Poland. He did reform the fiscal system of the country and waged the successful wars against the Muscovy and the Teutonic Order. He fought the Grand Master Albrecht (his nephew) to force him to pay homage as the vassal of the Polish Crown. Albrecht converted to Lutheranism and secularized the order, becoming the Duke of Prussia.

Last of the Great Jagiellonian Dynasty, Sigismund II August presided over the formal unification of Poland and Lithuania into one state. Under his rule Poland acquired the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia as the vassal state, a fief (today's Latvia), and thanks to that, and by extension, became later a "colonial power" as Courland colonized parts of West Africa (the Gambia) and the Caribbean island of Tobago.

The first elected king of the Commonwealth - and a total disaster. His mother wanted all of her sons on the thrones, any thrones. When her attempts to make Henry the king of Algeria failed, she took the opportunity to gather all possible support to get him elected the king of Poland, country equally exotic to the French as was Algeria.

The next elected king proved to be an excellent choice. He was the Hungarian Prince of Transylvania and appreciated the throne of the Commonwealth offered to him, although part of Polish gentry wanted to see the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor, Maximillian II on it, and it almost came to the civil war.

This is the flag of Wielkie Ksiestwo Litewskie (Grand Duchy of Lithuania). Lithuania was "dynastically" united with Poland in the late 14th century under the Jagiello family and the two states were "constitutionally" linked by the Union of Lublin in 1569.

Zygmunt III Waza (Sigismnund III Vasa of Sweden) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, ruler of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1587 to 1632, and the King of Sweden (where he was known simply as Sigismund) from 1592 until he was deposed in 1599. He is most remembered fot establishing the Uniate Church in 1596, whereby a large body of his Orthodox subjects accepted the supremacy of the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1601, Prince Michael the Brave of Wallachia (Romania today), allied with the Imperial General Giorgio Basta of the Holy Roman Empire, and defeated the army of Prince Sigismund Báthory of Hungary and the Polish King Sigismund III, at Guraslau in Transylvania. The next day, Prince Michael sent to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II, who was at Prague, 110 flags captured during the battle. This was one of those battle standards.

The Banner of Commonwealth of Both Nations 1569 is just another version of the banner of Zygmund III Waza (Sigismund III Vasa), featuring the combined Arms of the Commonwealth and Sweden (with the sheaf of wheat of the Vasas as the heart shield) and surrounded by the chain of the "Order of the Golden Fleece."

In 1562, the "Livonian Order of the Brothers of the Sword" was secularized and the last Grand Master, Gotthardt Kettler became the Duke of Courland and Semigallia and the vassal of the Polish King. The Duchy benefited greatly from its relations with the Commonwealth, being an important outlet for Polish and Lithuanian exports. The Polish rule was benevolent, with little interference into the local affairs.

A Polish Naval War Ensign from the end of 16th century pictured on the painting of the ship "Okret Kosciola" (Ship of the Church) during the reign of Sigismund III Vasa (Zygmund III Waza) 1587-1632.

This was a war flag used in the capture of Moscow (the only successful occupation of the Kremlin in history (1610-12), in the "Deluge" (Swedish invasion) and in Khmielnitsky's Cossack Uprising, among many other campaigns.

This colorful flag was a unique Naval Ensign (or Jack) of the Polish Navy. Poland has had naval traditions since 1558 when the Polish King Sigismund August (Zygmund August) created the first Polish fleet under the command of Admiral Thomas Sierpinek.

Wladyslaw IV Waza (1632-1648) claimed to be the King of both Poland and Sweden. It should be noted, that Wladislaw IV never was king of Sweden. This was only a title of pretence. His father, Zygmunt III Waza, had been king of Sweden, but was disposed when he wanted to turn Sweden catholic.

This is the battle standard of the last Vasa king, John Casimir (Jan Kazimierz) 1648-68. It has the sheaf of wheat, mark of the Vasas, embroidered on the eagle's chest. This banner is now on display in the Military Museum in Stockholm. That standard was used during the Polish-Russian War of 1654-67 and the Swedish invasion known as "The Deluge", when the Swedish troops overrun almost the entire country and brought a tremendous destruction to it.

The Khmelnytskyi Uprising was a Cossack rebellion in Ukraine in 1648-1657 which turned into an Ukrainian war of liberation from Poland. Under the command of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, the Zaporozhian Cossacks allied with the Crimean Tatars, and fought several battles against the armies of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The result destroyed the control of the Polish Commonwealth over the country.

Michal (Michael) Korybut Wisniowiecki was elected king by the Sejm (Parliament) of the gentry after the abdication of John II Casimir (Jan II Kazimierz). He was the son of the famous, albeit controversial, military commander, Prince Jeremi (Jeremiah) Wisniowiecki accused of excessive brutality in trying to subdue the Khmielnitskyi Uprising of the Cossacks. Michael reign was less than successful. His father's military fame notwithstanding, he had lost the war with the Turks and the province of Podolia (Podole). He couldn't reconcile the warring factions of the nobility and was rather poor administrator of the country. After his 4-year, unimaginative reign, a great king was elected - John III Sobieski.

Jan III Sobieski (1674-96) the last great King of Poland. This is his personal battle banner (standard). As the Grand Hetman of the Crown (the highest military rank of the Commonwealth) he did achieve several great victories over the Cossacks, Tatar and Turks (Chocim 1673).

This was the Banner of the Królestwo Polskie (Kingdom of Poland) during the Saxon reign of Poland (1697-1764). It began when the Elector Frederick Augustus I of Saxony was elected King of Saxony and Poland in 1697 as "Augustus II the Strong." However, since the Saxons were allied with Russia, a power struggle developed between Augustus II and the Swedish and French who supported Stanislaw Leszczyński as king. To further confuse things, between 1704 and 1709 Augustus II was forced to renounce his throne when King Charles XII of Sweden marched into the Kingdom of Saxony and Poland during the Great Northern War. Charles forced the Polish nobility to accept Stanislaw Leszczyński as Stanislaw I. In 1709 Charles inturn suffered a defeat from the Russians and lost his throne. Augustus II became King of Poland again. This dynastic tension continued until Augustus' death in 1733, and eventually saw Stanislaw Leszczyński once again ascended to the Polish crown as Stanislaw I with his French and Swedish support.

Stanislaw August Poniatowski (Stanislav II), was the last King and Grand Duke of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1764–95). As a young man, through the influence of Russian Empress Elizabeth and Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin, he joined the Russian court as ambassador of Saxony. At Saint Petersburg he met and befriended the married twenty-six-year-old future Empress Catherine Alexeievna (Catherine the Great). By 1768, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had effectively became a protectorate of the Russian Empire. In 1770, the Council of the Bar Confederation proclaimed him dethroned.

An union of the Polish nobility in the defense of the faith and the independence of the country. It was organized against the king, Slanislus Augustus Poniatowski, and the Russians, who were supporting him. It was the first National Uprising against the foreign meddling in the affairs of the country.

The last state flag of the Commonwealth of the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The flag features the combined Arms of the Crown (Poland) and Lithuania (Grand Duchy). The Polish White Eagle is joined by the charging knight on the horse Vytis (Chaser).

Just before the third and final partition of Poland, General Thaddeus (Tadeusz) Kosciuszko, the National Hero of Poland and the American War for Independence, organized this uprising against Russia, Prussia, the Polish King and the Targowica Confederation (plotting the demise of the rest of independence left after the second partition). Kosciuszko's proclamation, after he assumed the powers of the Commander-in-Chief of all Polish forces, vowed "not to abuse these powers to oppress any person, but to defend the integrity of the borders of Poland, regain the independence of the nation, and to strengthen universal liberties."