Sulima is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by several szlachta families in the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Among its most notable users were Zawisza Czarny (a famous Polish knight) and the Sułkowski family. Description The coat of arms consists of a shield split horizontally into two regions, most commonly using the colors of red and yellow. The bottom region is usually depicted as red (rarely blue) with three white stones or crosses adorning it. The top region is depicted as yellow (sometimes described as gold) or less commonly white (also described as silver), adorned with the top half of a right-facing eagle with its wings outstretched. More ornate depictions of the coat of arms include various mantling, for example a helmet on top of the shield, and a further eagle on top of the helmet. Variations used by individual families may change the color scheme, use a different eagle, or otherwise incorporate the entire design as part of a larger coat of arms. History The earliest recorded uses of the Sulima coat of arms are found on three wax seals attached to documents from 1352 and around 1360. One of them was owned by the curator of the collegiate church of St. Michael's Castle - Francis. In its initial form the coat of arms consisted of only the undivided shield. The colors from this period are unknown. Among several images of the seal from the 14th century the most note-worthy is the seal of Stanisław Gamrat from Klimontów impressed under the act of Union of Horodło in 1413. Around the same time Sulima was used by Zawisza Czarny. Fighting with the Turks and performing various missions at the side of king Sigismund, perhaps in reference to the emblem of Germany, he gave the eagle in his coat of arms black color (a cognomen Czarny means "black" in Polish). Associated with the figure of Zawisza is also the first colored version of Sulima. It ended up in St. Christophers Fraternal Book on Arlberg in Tyrol (pol. Księga bracka św. Krzysztofa na Arlbergu w Tyrolu) as a donation to the fraternity for caring for travellers crossing Alps. The arms of the eagle, the top field, and an added girdle on the eagle were silver. Bottom field was red with golden stones in a 2 and 1 distribution. Presumably the Western illustrator was inspired by the eagles