Władysław Oporowski - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Władysław Oporowski was a Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

medieval political and religious leader. Deputy Chancellor of Poland

Kanclerz

Kanclerz was one of the highest officials in the historic Poland. This office functioned from the early Polish kingdom of the 12th century until the end of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. A respective office also existed in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since the 16th...

(1429–1434), Bishop of Kujawy (1434–1449), archbishop of Gniezno and primate of Poland (1449–1453). It is recognized that he was a much better diplomat and politician than church official.

Biography

Władysław Oporowski was born in 1395 as the second son of the voivode of Łęczyca, Mikołaj z Oporowa. His family coat of arms was Sulima.

He studied at the University of Padua

University of Padua

The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...

and worked in the Royal Chancellery. In 1422 together with Mikołaj Kiczka

Mikołaj Kiczka

Mikołaj Kiczka was a Polish noble, diplomat and priest.In 1421–1422 together with Władysław Oporowski and Mikołaj Trąba he represented Poland and the Polish king Władysław Jagiełło in the process between Poland and the Teutonic Order before the Holy See in Rome. In 1427 he took part in the border...

he represented Poland and the Polish king Władysław Jagiełło in the legal proceedings between Poland and the Teutonic Order before the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

in Rome. Such diplomatic service for Jagiełlo, and than his son, Casimir IV Jagiellon

Casimir IV Jagiellon

Casimir IV KG of the House of Jagiellon was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440, and King of Poland from 1447, until his death.Casimir was the second son of King Władysław II Jagiełło , and the younger brother of Władysław III of Varna....

, gained him political support from the king; he also received numerous prelate

Prelate

A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...

and canon

Canon (priest)

A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....

positions. In 1426 he lectured as the professor of law at the Cracow Academy.

After the death of archbishop and primate Wincenty Kot, the position was proposed to Zbigniew Oleśnicki, but he refused it. After that, Polish king Casimir IV, whose Oporowski's was a strong supporter of, proposed Oporowski's candidature. The candidature passed, although not without objections from the metropolitan chapter.

Oporowski's reign as the archbishop and primate was rather controversial. Soon after he was elected as archbishop and primate, he ordered that all gifts

Gift (law)

A gift, in the law of property, is the voluntary transfer of property from one person to another without full valuable consideration...

and nominations given out by his predecessor are to be taken back. He further offended local church officials by refusing to participate in the traditional ingres

Ingres

Ingres Database is a commercially supported, open-source SQL relational database management system intended to support large commercial and government applications...

(welcoming) in the Gniezno Cathedral

Gniezno Cathedral

Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Adalbert is a Gothic cathedral in Gniezno, Poland. The Cathedral is known for its twelfth-century , two-winged bronze doors decorated with scenes of martyrdom of St. Wojciech and a silver relic coffin of that saint...

, and finally accused many of them of corruption and financial misappropriation following primate's Kot's death. One of his chief political opponents was cardinal Zbigniew Oleśnicki, whose nomination to cardinal few years back was vocally opposed by Oporowski.

Oporowski rarely stayed in Gniezno

Gniezno

Gniezno is a city in central-western Poland, some 50 km east of Poznań, inhabited by about 70,000 people. One of the Piasts' chief cities, it was mentioned by 10th century A.D. sources as the capital of Piast Poland however the first capital of Piast realm was most likely Giecz built around...

, instead preferring his family seat at Oporów. He was not very interested in the issues of the Gniezno diocese; instead he was focused on improving his own political power and wealth. In Oporów, he oversaw the construction of the Oporów Castle. He died on 11 March 1453 in the Oporów Castle, and was buried in the local church.

Biography

Further reading