Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski ( la, Andreas Fricius Modrevius) (ca.1503 – autumn 1572) was a

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 ...

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 ...

scholar,

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

and

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, called "the father of Polish

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

". His book ''De Republica emendanda'' (''O poprawie Rzeczypospolitej'') was widely read and praised across most of

Europe, influencing thinkers such as

Jean Bodin Jean Bodin (; c. 1530 – 1596) was a French jurist and political philosopher, member of the Parlement of Paris and professor of law in Toulouse. He is known for his theory of sovereignty. He was also an influential writer on demonology. Bodin l ...

Hugo Grotius Hugo Grotius (; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Huig de Groot () and Hugo de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, poet and playwright. A teenage intellectual prodigy, he was born in Delft ...

and

Johannes Althusius Johannes Althusius (1563 – August 12, 1638). was a German jurist and Calvinist political philosopher. He is best known for his 1603 work, ''"Politica Methodice Digesta, Atque Exemplis Sacris et Profanis Illustrata"''. revised editions were publi ...

Prof. Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

dr hab. Edmund Kotarski
"Andrzej FRYCZ Modrzewski (Fricius Modrevius)" with bibliography.
''Virtual Library of Polish Literature.'' Retrieved September 28, 2011.

Life

Modrzewski was born in

Wolbórz Wolbórz is a town in Piotrków County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Wolbórz. It lies along National road 8, approximately north-east of Piotrków Trybunalski and s ...

(also known as Woybor, Voibor, Woibor, Wojbor, Woyborz and Wolborz), near

Piotrków Trybunalski Piotrków Trybunalski (; also known by #Etymology, alternative names), often simplified to Piotrków, is a city in central Poland with 71,252 inhabitants (2021). It is the second-largest city situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Previously, it wa ...

, the son of Jakub Modrzewski (1477–1529). Modrzewski family belonged to the gentry (though some authors speak of impoverished nobility), bore

Jastrzębiec coat of arms Jastrzębiec () is one of the most ancient Polish coat of arms. Dating back to the 10th century, it has been used by Poland's oldest szlachta families — Poland's Immemorial nobility — and remains in use today. History Legend of the coat of ...

, and held the hereditary title of mayor (''wójt/

vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

/advocatus'') of Wolbórz. After graduating from the

Kraków Academy 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 ...

, he was ordained a vicar and served under Archbishop Jan Łaski (the Elder), and later under the Bishop of Poznań, Jan Latalski. From 1530 he was connected to the court of Jan Łaski the Younger, the

Primate of Poland This is a list of archbishops of the Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primates of Poland since 1418.Lutheran University he met

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

and other early Protestant reformers in

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...

. He also took care of the library of

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 ...

bought by Łaski. From 1540 onwards, he served as the titular

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

Brzeziny Brzeziny (; yi, ברעזין, ''Brezin'') is a town in Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, about 20 km east of Łódź. It is the capital of Brzeziny County and has a population of 12,326 as of December 2021. It once was a thriving Jewish sht ...

and Skoszewy. In 1541, during his stay in the capital, he met with

Mikołaj Rej Mikołaj Rej or Mikołaj Rey of Nagłowice (4 February 1505 – between 8 September/5 October 1569) was a Polish poet and prose writer of the emerging Renaissance in Poland as it succeeded the Middle Ages, as well as a politician and musician. H ...

. Modrzewski advocated sending a mixed ecclesiastical and secular delegation to the 1545

Ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...

(where he would be sent as a Polish delegate). He supported

Irenicism Irenicism in Christian theology refers to attempts to unify Christian apologetical systems by using reason as an essential attribute. The word is derived from the Greek word ''ειρήνη (eirene)'' meaning peace. It is a concept related to a commu ...

(the importance of unity) and the democratic and ecumenical element in the Church. He became an official at the court of

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus ( pl, Zygmunt II August, lt, Žygimantas Augustas; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler ...

in 1547. Since he was leaning strongly towards the reformist circles (especially Calvinian and

Arian Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...

Polish brethren The Polish Brethren (Polish: ''Bracia Polscy'') were members of the Minor Reformed Church of Poland, a Nontrinitarian Protestant church that existed in Poland from 1565 to 1658. By those on the outside, they were called "Arians" or "Socinians" (, ' ...

), he became in danger of being accused of heresy and was ultimately stripped of his ecclesiastical titles and offices. The king, however, issued a letter of protection for him. In 1553 he retired to his native Wolbórz. Modrzewski debuted as a writer in 1543 with the work called ''Lascius, sive de poena homicidii'' (''On The Penalty for Manslaughter''; or ''Łaski, czyli O karze za mężobójstwo'' in

). In it, Modrzewski criticized the inequality prescribed by the law for different social classes: for example, while the penalty for killing a nobleman ranged from 120 ''grzywna'' – through life imprisonment – to death, the penalty for killing a peasant was only 10 ''grzywna''. Yet it was ''On the Improvement of the Commonwealth'' (''De Republica emendanda'') that brought him eternal and international fame. In it, he advocated a strong monarchy that would protect the rights of all citizens. He postulated equality of all before the law, and criticized the 1565 ban on land-owning by non-nobles. He wrote that peasants should own the soil which they work, and that townsfolk should be able to buy land and be elected to offices (those rights were being reserved only for the nobility back then), demanded the

reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

(

secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

) of education, and division between state and church. This treatise was translated into many European languages and earned him many enemies in the Church. Pope

Paul V Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...

placed the book on the ''

Index Librorum Prohibitorum The ''Index Librorum Prohibitorum'' ("List of Prohibited Books") was a list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former Dicastery of the Roman Curia), and Catholics were forbidden ...

'' (list of prohibited books).

De Republica emendanda

Modrzewski's crowning achievement printed in 1551 was: ''Commentariorum De Republica emendanda libri quinque'' (''Five Books of Commentaries on the Improvement of Commonwealth'', or ''Rozważań o poprawie Rzeczypospolitej ksiąg pięć'' in Polish) published in the printing house of Łazarz Andrysowic. Originally it was to include all five manuscripts: 1. ''De Moribus'' (''On Customs''); 2. ''De Legibus'' (''On Laws''); 3. ''De Bello'' (''On War''); 4. ''De Ecclesia'' (''On Church''), and 5. ''De Schola'' (''On School''). However, as some of Modrevius' theses were considered unorthodox by the Church and opposed, only the three first books were included in the original publication. The first complete edition – consisting of all five beforementioned books, and dialogues entitled: ''De utraque specie Coenae Domini'' ('On the twofold nature of the Lord's Table') – was published in 1554 in

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 (BS ...

Johannes Oporinus Johannes Oporinus (also Johannes Oporin; Latinised from the original German name: ''Johannes Herbster'' or ''Hans Herbst'') (25 January 1507 – 7 July 1568) was a humanist printer in Basel. Life Johannes Oporinus, the son of the painter Hans ...

, after which Modrzewski was forced to leave the capital. The first Polish translation by Cyprian Bazylik was published in Łosk in 1577. The book was widely read and praised across Renaissance Europe. It was translated into German, French, Spanish, and Russian in the 17th century.

Other works

*1543: ''Lascius sive de poena homicidii'' (''On The Penalty For Manslaughter'', Polish title: ''Łaski albo o karze za mężobójstwo'') *1545: ''Oratio Philatelis Peripatetici in senatulo hominum scholasticorum de decreto conventus, quo pagi civibus adimi permittuntur, habita...'' (''The Discourse Of A Truthful Peripatethic spoken among the learned men about the parliamentary decree, which allows country estates to be taken away from townfolk'', Polish title ''Mowa Prawdomówcy Perypatetyka o postanowieniu sejmu zezwalającym na odbieranie mieszczanom wiejskich posiadłości, wypowiedziana w kole ludzi uczonych) *1561: ''Narratio simplex rei novae et eiusdem pessimi exempli...'' (''Simple story considering the curious case and the bad example which it is...'', Polish title ''Prosta opowieść o niezwykłej sprawie stanowiącej zgubny przykład, a zarazem użalenie się na krzywdy i skarga przeciw Stanisławowi Orzechowskiemu z Rusi'') *1590: ''Silvae'', including Modrevius' four theological discourses (''De tribus personis et una essentia Dei'', ''On the three Persons and one essence of God''; ''De necessitate conventus habendi ad sedandas religionis controversias'', ''On the necessity of gathering to cease the religious controversies''; ''De Iesu Christo'' ''On Jesus Christ''; ''De Homousio'' ''On Homousia")''

Lineage

Descendants of Modrzewski's daughter, include Victor Modrzewski, Polish President

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010. Before his tenure as president, he prev ...

and

Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant Mathilde (born ''Jonkvrouw'' Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz ; 20 January 1973) is Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Philippe. She is the first native-born Belgian queen. She has founded and assisted charities to ...

.Mathilde Marie Christine d'Udekem d'Acoz: genealogia (Potomkowie Sejmu Wielkiego)
/ref>

Quotes

*"Without laws there can be no true freedom." (''Bez praw nie może być prawdziwej wolności.'') *"The peasant is not your slave, he is your neighbor."

Notes

External links

Works by Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski
in digital library

Polona Polona is a Polish digital library, which provides digitized books, magazines, graphics, maps, music, fliers and manuscripts from collections of the National Library of Poland and co-operating institutions. It began its operation in 2006. Colle ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Modrzewski, Andrzej Frycz 1503 births 1572 deaths People from Piotrków County 16th-century Latin-language writers Jagiellonian University alumni 16th-century Polish politicians Polish Renaissance humanists Polish Roman Catholic theologians Polish political writers 16th-century Polish nobility 16th-century Polish writers 16th-century male writers 16th-century Polish philosophers