John Gabriel Tęczyński (1484 – 21 May 1553) was a Polish nobleman. He was Chamberlain (1515) and

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; , ) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (), situated on the Vistula River near its confluence with the San, in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy ...

(1543),

Castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

(1518) and the governor of

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

, the Speaker of the court of the Crown (1522),

of Wojnicki (1535),

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

(1527).

Family

Born in 1485 into the

Szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

Topór coat of arms Topór (Polish language, Polish for "axe") is a Polish heraldry, Polish coat of arms. It was used by several ''szlachta'' (noble) families in History of Poland in the Middle Ages, medieval Poland and under the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.Alf ...

to mother Anna Konińska of Konin (d. after 25 December 1534) of the

House of Tęczyński A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

and his father Jan Koniński. His Grandfather was Gabriel Tęczyński (b. , d. 1497) and uncles Stanislaus Tęczyński and Andrew Tęczyński (d. 1561) (b. approx. 1480), and four sisters. His wife Dobrochna Sapieżanka h. Fox (died after 1512) was the daughter of Jana Sapiehy a royal secretary and chancellor of Queen Helena, the governor of Podlasie and Marshall of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

. They had a son Stanislav Gabriel Tęczyński (1514–1560/1561) who was

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, and provincial governor of

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, and a daughter Beata Tęczyńską (born ), whose husband was John Zabrzeziński – the son of

Jan Jurjewicz Zabrzeziński Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

. His second wife Anna was the daughter of John and Anna Buczacki.

Early life

In his youth he studied at the Academy of Kraków and grew up at the court in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

where he was a close confidant of Queen Bona; In 1510, together with his brothers and Stanislaw Andrzej he purchased half of

Kraśnik Kraśnik is a town in southeastern Poland with 35,602 inhabitants (2012), situated in the Lublin Voivodeship, historic Lesser Poland. It is the seat of Kraśnik County. The town of Kraśnik as it is known today was created in 1975, after the mer ...

In 1527, Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

granted him the title of Count ''Imperia Sacri Romani'' and Polish King Sigismund I made him ambassador to the kings of Hungary and Czech.

Career

A successful politician at court, Kalendarium XVI w. - regionalista.pl
he was: * standard bearer (1516–1518), governor (1530–1552) and Castellan (1518–1535) for

, * Speaker of the court (1529–1552), * Castellan of Wojnice (1535–1542), * Governor of

(1542–1552) and Lelow (1533–1552). * owner of the village of

where he built a wooden church and a hospital for the poor. In 1541 he granted the town a

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

day. He died on 21 May 1553 and was buried in Kraśnik.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jan Teczynski (1485-1553) 16th-century Polish nobility