Andrzej Krzycki of the Kotwicz

heraldic clan A heraldic clan (''ród herbowy''), in Poland, comprised all the noble (''szlachta'') bearers of the same coat of arms. The members of a heraldic clan were not necessarily linked by consanguinity. The concept was unique to Polish heraldry. His ...

(also Andreas Cricius) (Krzycko Małe, 7 July 1482 – † Skierniewice, 10 May, 1537) was a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

writer and archbishop. Krzycki wrote in Latin prose, but wrote poetry in Polish. He is often considered one of Poland's greatest humanist writers. He earned an education at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

studying under prominent humanists, and started a career in church hierarchy in 1501. In 1512, Barbara Zapolya married King

Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old ( pl, Zygmunt I Stary, lt, Žygimantas II Senasis; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the ...

. Krzycki wrote a verse to commemorate this marriage, and became Zapolya's secretary the same year. When the king won the victory of Orsza, he again wrote a poem, and sent verses purporting to be from the queen to her absent husband after the model of

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

's ''Epistolae Heroidum''; these, in a letter to Krzycki,

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...

praised enthusiastically. After Barbara's death he continued to be chancellor in the household of

Bona Sforza Bona Sforza d'Aragona (2 February 1494 – 19 November 1557) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Sigismund I the Old, and Duchess of Bari and Rossano by her own right. She was a surviving member of ...

, Sigismund's second wife. He took orders and managed to obtain rich benefits, and even a

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. The Reformation, then rapidly spreading, filled him with dismay, and was the occasion of the most serious work that he produced, ''Religionis et Reipublicae quaerimonia'' (1522). When

Albert of Brandenburg Cardinal Albert of Brandenburg (german: Albrecht von Brandenburg; 28 June 149024 September 1545) was a German cardinal, elector, Archbishop of Mainz from 1514 to 1545, and Archbishop of Magdeburg from 1513 to 1545. Biography Early career Bo ...

, Grand Master of the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

, became a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

, and Sigismund I recognized him as his vassal and Duke of

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

, Krzycki in a letter written to Baron Pulleon, tried to explain and justify this action of his sovereign. He finally rose to the highest clerical office in his country, that of Primate Archbishop of

Gniezno Gniezno (; german: Gnesen; la, Gnesna) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. One of the Piast dynasty's chief cities, ...

. He was a patron of youthful talent, as in the case of

Klemens Janicki Klemens Janicki (Janiciusz, Januszkowski, from Januszkowo) ( la, 'Clemens Ianicius') (1516–1543) was one of the most outstanding Latin poets of the 16th century. Biography Janicki was born in Januszkowo, a village near Żnin, Poland, to a peasa ...

. His last work, ''De Asiana Dieta'', was a criticism of the Polish diets or assemblies common in his time.Janusz Pelc "Jan Kochanowski "Poeta renesansu" Warszawa 1988

References

External links

Short Biography
*
List of Primates of Poland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krzycki, Andrzej 1482 births 1537 deaths 16th-century Latin-language writers 16th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Poland 16th-century writers Archbishops of Gniezno Bishops of Płock Bishops of Przemyśl Polish nobility Polish poets Polish male writers New Latin-language poets

See also

References

External links