Alexander of Masovia tomb effigy in Stephansdom in Vienna

Alexander of Masovia (pl: ''Aleksander mazowiecki''; 1400 - 2 June 1444) was a Polish prince member of the

House of Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branc ...

from the Masovian branch. He was

Bishop of Trento The Italian Catholic Archdiocese of Trento ( la, Archidioecesis Tridentina, German Trient), in the Triveneto, is a Latin Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese named after its see in Alpine Italy, Trento (Tr(i)ent), in Trentino-Alto Adige region. Th ...

since 1425, titular

Patriarch of Aquileia The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certain ...

since 1439,

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

nominated by

Antipope Felix V Amadeus VIII (4 September 1383 – 7 January 1451), nicknamed the Peaceful, was Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and Duke of Savoy from 1416 to 1440. He was the son of Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy and Bonne of Berry. He was a claimant to the papa ...

as titular of the diocese of St. Lawrence at

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

(''San Lorenzo in Damaso'') since 1440, titular

Bishop of Chur The Bishop of Chur (German: ''Bischof von Chur'') is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chur, Grisons, Switzerland (Latin: ''Dioecesis Curiensis'').St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna since 1442, a diplomat. He was the second son of

Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia Siemowit IV (Ziemowit IV), also known as Siemowit IV the Younger (pl: ''Siemowit IV Młodszy''; ca. 1353/1356 – 21 January 1426), was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast from the Masovian branch, from 1373/74 Duke of Rawa, and aft ...

and Alexandra of Lithuania, daughter of

Algirdas Algirdas ( be, Альгерд, Alhierd, uk, Ольгерд, Ольґерд, Olherd, Olgerd, pl, Olgierd; – May 1377) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He ruled the Lithuanians and Ruthenians from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his br ...

Life

Beginning of his ecclesiastical career. Under the care of King Władysław II Jagiełło

Despite being the second son of his family, from early childhood Alexander was destined for a Church career. To this end, he was sent at the court of his maternal uncle, King

Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło ()He is known under a number of names: lt, Jogaila Algirdaitis; pl, Władysław II Jagiełło; be, Jahajła (Ягайла). See also: Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło. ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

, where under his tutelage begin his studies. Thanks to the royal protection, in 1414 he was already named Provost at Gniezno Cathedral. During 1415-1422, Alexander assisted at the

University of Kraków The Jagiellonian University ( Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

, where, however, wasn't an excellent student. In any case, he was unable to finish any study. Nevertheless, at the end of 1422 and thanks to being a relative of the King, he was elected honorary rector, which was contrary to the university laws. In 1422 Władysław II Jagiełło made an unsuccessful attempt to appointed Alexander in the Bishopric of Poznań. However, the King wasn't discouraged by the failure and the following year, he managed to obtain from

Pope Martin V Pope Martin V ( la, Martinus V; it, Martino V; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Otto (or Oddone) Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. Hi ...

a different diocese to him,

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

, who was located on the border between

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. Only then Alexander decided to be ordained as priest and went on the long journey to his new diocese.

Bishop of Trento

Alexander arrived to the capital of his diocese on 25 June 1424; however, for unknown reasons his formal ordination as bishop took place only one year later, on 27 September 1425. As Bishop of Trento, he became the ruler of land strategically located on route in the foothills of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

. The bishopric was widely ambitioned by his powerful neighbors, the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

rulers of

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

, which were formally vassals of both Trento and

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. Besides, the choice of a bishop from a far country was a big surprise for the local people and they had to accept that their new ruler would be surrounded by Polish. The choice of Alexander as bishop probably never happened if previously his sister Cymburgis had married with the Habsburg Duke Ernest I of Austria. It is probable that the ''Wokabularz trydencki'', the oldest preserved

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

- Polish dictionary, was made by orders of Alexander during his tenure as Bishop of Trento.

Political Independence and cooperation with Sigismund of Luxembourg

In order to maintain a relative political independence, Alexander decided to approach to the King of Germany and Hungary,

Sigismund of Luxembourg Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia (''jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in ...

, who began to politically support him. To this end, the Bishop went to Sigismund's court at

Buda Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...

, from where he began tu rule his diocese. In 1431 he took part in the expedition of Sigismund to Italy in order to obtain the imperial crown. For unknown reasons, Alexander decided not being directly involved in Sigismund's coronation at

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, but remained in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, where Sigismund was also crowned King of Italy. In subsequent years, Alexander was politically engaged in the struggle between the supporters of the primacy of the Pope over supporters of the primacy of the

Council of Florence The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in ...

, definitely opting for the latter. With the help of Emperor Sigismund, in 1435 he was able to finally resolve the conflict with Tyrolean ruler Frederick IV: Alexander agreed to recognize the overlordship of Tyrol in return for which was guaranteed the territorial integrity of his Bishopric. Shortly after, his active foreign policy and the designation of several Polish in several of the Bishopric offices, caused the rebellion of the local clergy, and almost lost the power. Only with the help of Emperor Sigismund, Alexander managed to keep the control over Trento. In 1438, Alexander entered into an alliance with

Filippo Maria Visconti Filippo Maria Visconti (3 September 1392 – 13 August 1447)

, Duke of Milan. This treaty did not held little benefit to Alexander; he was entangled in a war against Venice between 1440-1441.

Dispute with the Papacy and support to Antipope Felix V

Alexander's support to the Council of Florence (he even personally attended in the sessions at

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (B ...

in 1433, 1434 and 1442), brought him in December 1439 the title of Patriarch of Aquileia, while he kept the dignity of Bishop of Trento.

didn't have sufficient support to implement this decision, while his opponent,

Pope Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...

appointed to this office another candidate who actually won the power,

Ludovico Trevisan Ludovico Trevisan (November 1401 – March 22, 1465) was an Italian catholic prelate, who was the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, Patriarch of Aquileia and Captain General of the Church. He succeeded his rival Giovanni Vitelleschi, a fellow ...

. Soon after, the Council and Felix V (in order to bring the Jagiellonians and Habsburgs to their side), granted Alexander the title of Cardinal with the diocese of St. Lawrence at Damascus (12 October 1440), the Swiss Bishopric of

Chur , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Churwalden, Tschiertschen-Praden, Domat/Ems, Felsberg, Malix, Trimmis, Untervaz, Pfäfers , twintowns = Bad Homburg (Germany), Cabourg (France), Mayrhofen (Austria), Mondorf-les-Bains (Luxe ...

(March 1442) and finally the rectory of St. Stephen's Cathedral in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. From all this appointments, Alexander was able to really take possession only of the St. Stephen's rectory. In addition to this rich prebends, he also received from the council important diplomatic missions, but the war against Venice prevented him to participate in the ''

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

s'' of

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

and

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

, or in the disputes between

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

for the

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

throne.

The Anti-Turkish expedition. Death

In 1442 he arrived to Vienna, where he clashed with Eugene IV's envoy, Cardinal

Julian Cesarini Julian Cesarini the Elder ( It.: ''Giuliano Cesarini, seniore'') (1398 in Rome – 10 November 1444 in Varna, Ottoman Empire) was one of the group of brilliant cardinals created by Pope Martin V on the conclusion of the Western Schism. His ...

, who tried to encourage the local ruler, King Frederick IV of Germany to join into an anti-Turkish crusade. Being appointed by Felix V as

Legate Legate may refer to: * Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

to Austria, Hungary and Poland, Alexander successfully managed to convince the German King from the unreality of these ideas. The discussion was so fierce that the Piast prince even punched Cardinal Cesarini. After this, Alexander planned a trip to Hungary, where he hoped to persuade King Władysław III about the unreasonability of a war against the Turks. Unfortunately, during the preparations for the trip, he suddenly became ill and died on 2 June 1444. He was buried at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, where in the left of the

Chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

in Frauenchor still remained his beautiful tombstone built into a wall.

Bibliography

*Jan Władysław Woś: ''Beschwerden der Bürger von Trient über ihren Bischof Alexander von Masowien'', “Zeitschrift für Ostforschung”, Jahr 38 (1989), 3. Heft, pp. 364–375. *Jan Władysław Woś: ''Alessandro di Masovia vescovo di Trento (1423-1444). Un profilo introduttivo'', Trento, Civis, 1990. *Jan Władysław Woś: ''Alessandro di Masovia vescovo-principe di Trento (1423-1444). Un profilo introduttivo'', Pisa, Giardini, 1994. *Jan Władysław Woś: ''Alessandro di Masovia, vescovo di Trento e patriarca di Aquileia (1400-1444)'', Trento; Roma, Editrice Università degli Studi di Trento; Istituto Polacco di Roma, 1998. *Jan Władysław Woś: ''Aleksander Mazowiecki – biskup trydencki (1423-1444)'', “Saeculum Christianum”, 6th year (1999), nr 2, pp. 17–31. *Teresa Michałowska: ''Średniowiecze''. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1995, pp. 331–332, seria: Wielka Historia Literatury Polskiej. . *Karol Piotrowicz in: ''

Polish Biographical Dictionary ''Polski Słownik Biograficzny'' (''PSB''; Polish Biographical Dictionary) is a Polish-language biographical dictionary, comprising an alphabetically arranged compilation of authoritative biographies of some 25,000 notable Poles and of foreigner ...

''. vol. 1: Kraków:

Polish Academy of Learning The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning ( pl, Polska Akademia Umiejętności), headquartered in Kraków and founded in 1872, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of scie ...

– Gebethner and Wolff Editorial, 1935, pp. 64–65. Reprint: National Ossoliński Institute, Kraków 1989. {{Authority control Dukes of Masovia 15th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Holy Roman Empire Canons of Gniezno 15th-century Polish cardinals 1400 births 1444 deaths Prince-Bishops of Trent