Mszczuj of Skrzynno (; also Mściwoj of Skrzynno; Polish: ''Mszczuj ze Skrzynna''; died in 1446) was one of the Polish knights of Władysław Jagiełło who took part on July 15, 1410 in the Battle of Grunwald against the Teutonic Knights.Jan Długosz, "Bitwa Grunwaldzka"
/ref> He was a knight of the royal household regiment of the

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

(cubiculariorum). He bore a Łabędź, or ''Swan'', as a coat of arms. According to the Polish chronicler Jan Długosz, Mszczuj was part of the third

Rota Rota or ROTA may refer to: Places * Rota (island), in the Marianas archipelago * Rota (volcano), in Nicaragua * Rota, Andalusia, a town in Andalusia, Spain * Naval Station Rota, Spain People * Rota (surname), a surname (including a list of peop ...

, a unit of cavalry of the royal household under the leadership of Andrzej Ciołek of Żelechowo and Jan Odrowąż of Sprowa. Długosz relates that Mszczuj was the knight who defeated and killed the Grand Master of the Order, Ulrich von Jungingen during the Battle of Grunwald. Długosz offers two pieces of evidence for this. First, Mszczuj's squire, Jurga, acquired and handed over a valuable

reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...

with holy relics that had previously belonged to von Jungingen, as well as the Grand Master's battle cloak. Second, the locating of the Grand Master's body was made possible thanks to the directions given by Mszczuj, which indicates that the two knights definitely engaged each other on the field of battle. On September 10, 1410, Mszczuj took part in a follow-up battle against the Teutonic Knights at Koronowo and contributed to the Polish-Lithuanian victory. In 1412 he was part of the delegation and personal escort of Władysław Jagiełło to the Kingdom of Hungary, where he took part in tourneys and

jousts Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying to strike the opponent w ...

. In 1428 he took part in the expedition against Great Novgorod carried out by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas. In 1431 he participated in Władysław Jagiełło's offensive against the rebel Švitrigaila in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

and was present at the siege of Lutsk. A year later he led the reinforcements for the new Grand Duke

Zygmunt Kiejstutowicz Zygmunt, Zigmunt, Zigmund and spelling variations thereof are masculine given names and occasionally surnames. People so named include: Given name Medieval period * Sigismund I the Old (1467–1548), Zygmunt I Stary in Polish, King of Poland and Gr ...

in his war against Švitrigaila. He owned large tracts of land in Volodymyr. A 15th-century church, purportedly built by Mszczuj can be found and visited in Opoczno.Opoczno City Page
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mszczuj Of Skrzynno 1446 deaths Polish knights 15th-century Polish nobility People in the Battle of Grunwald Polish courtiers