Mikołaj Trąba (; 1358 – 2 December 1422), of

Trąby coat of arms Trąby (, " Horns") is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by many ''szlachta'' (noble) families under the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. History The origin of the horn motif lies in the extent of lands conceded being ...

, was a Polish

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest, Royal Notary from 1390,

Deputy Chancellor of the Crown Chancellor of Poland ( pl, Kanclerz - , from la, cancellarius) was one of the highest officials in the historic Poland. This office functioned from the early Polish kingdom of the 12th century until the end of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwea ...

1403–12,

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Halicz Halych ( uk, Га́лич ; ro, Halici; pl, Halicz; russian: Га́лич, Galich; german: Halytsch, ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; yi, העליטש) is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the ...

1410–12, 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, ...

from 1412, and first

primate of Poland This is a list of archbishops of the Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primates of Poland since 1418.Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Provi ...

, he was the son of priest Jakub of Collegiate Chapter, and was adopted into the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

(''

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...

'').

Confidant to Władysław Jagiełło

He was one of the advisors of

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 ...

, Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło), becoming his

confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.baptism of Lithuania The Christianization of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos krikštas) occurred in 1387, initiated by King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Władysław II Jagiełło and his cousin Vytautas the Great. It signified the official adoption of Christianity ...

in 1387. At court he held the titles of Royal

Notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

from 1390 and

from 1403 to 1412. In 1391 with the help of queen

Jadwiga of Poland Jadwiga (; 1373 or 137417 July 1399), also known as Hedwig ( hu, Hedvig), was the first woman to be crowned as monarch of the Kingdom of Poland. She reigned from 16 October 1384 until her death. She was the youngest daughter of Louis the Great, ...

he was allowed by

Pope Boniface IX Pope Boniface IX ( la, Bonifatius IX; it, Bonifacio IX; c. 1350 – 1 October 1404, born Pietro Tomacelli) was head of the Catholic Church from 2 November 1389 to his death in October 1404. He was the second Roman pope of the Western Schism.Richa ...

to undertake higher Holy Orders. He was known for his opposition to 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 ...

, and become trusted advisor of the king who often would discuss his plans only with him and his cousin

Vytautas the Great Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

. Trąba accompanied the king into many battlefields, including the

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald, Battle of Žalgiris or First Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respec ...

in 1410, where he was one of his chief clerks and officials. Because of Jagiełło's support, he became the

from 1410 to 1412, and later an

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

from 1412 onwards.

Council of Constance

As the leader of the Polish delegation to the

Council of Constance The Council of Constance was a 15th-century ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance in present-day Germany. The council ended the Western Schism by deposing or accepting the res ...

(1414–1418) (along with

Andrzej Łaskarz Andrzej Łaskarz (Laskary) from Gosławic of the Godziemba coat of arms (1362–1426) was Bishop of Poznań from 1414 to 1426, diplomat, doctor of rights, participant of the Councils, and reformer. Biography His father was Łaszcz z Gosławic fr ...

Jakub z Korzkwi Kurdwanowski Jacob is a common male given name and a less well-known surname. It is a cognate of James, derived from Late Latin ''Iacobus'', from Greek ''Iakobos'', from Hebrew (''Yaʿaqōḇ''), the name of the Hebrew patriarch, Jacob son of Isaac and R ...

, Paweł Włodkowic and

Zawisza Czarny }), he was revered as a brave knight. A monument to Zawisza at Golubac Fortress bears the inscription: "In Golubac, his life was taken by the Turks in 1428, the famous Polish knight, the symbol of courage and honor, Zawisza the Black. Glory to the ...

), he was part of the larger German delegation. After they arrived in

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...

in 1415, Trąba was, according to Ioannes Longinus, briefly considered as one of the candidates for

papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, although historians still debate the reliability of this information. Certainly Trąba temporarily abandoned his support for the Polish cause, supporting pro-Teutonic candidate Oddone Colonna, the future Pope Martin V against pro-Jagiełło

Antipope John XXIII Baldassarre Cossa (c. 1370 – 22 December 1419) was Pisan antipope John XXIII (1410–1415) during the Western Schism. The Catholic Church regards him as an antipope, as he opposed Pope Gregory XII whom the Catholic Church now recognizes as ...

. This would later cause him problems in Poland, as well as his lack of criticism of the sentence on

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the inspir ...

, which caused further questions about his loyalties in Poland and Bohemia, especially when contrasted with strong defence of Hus by Włodkowic. He also strongly criticized the marriage of king Jagiełło to 45-year-old

Elisabeth of Pilica Elizabeth Granowska or Elisabeth Pilecki ( pl, Elżbieta Granowska z Pileckich / Elżbieta z Pilczy; – 12 May 1420 in Kraków) was Queen consort of Poland (1417–1420) as the third wife of Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila), Grand Duke of L ...

and criticized his rival, the

Archbishop of Lwów The Latin Archdiocese of Lviv ( la, Archidioecesis Leopolitanus Latinorum) was erected on August 28, 1412 in the city of Lwów (today Lviv). It serves as a metropolitan see of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine. The principal patron of the Arch ...

, Jan of Rzeszów, who remained in Poland. Some speculate that his stance was motivated by a desire to become pope, and that he hoped that after his election he would be able to reverse all the damage he had caused; others, that he put the elimination of the

Western Schism The Western Schism, also known as the Papal Schism, the Vatican Standoff, the Great Occidental Schism, or the Schism of 1378 (), was a split within the Catholic Church lasting from 1378 to 1417 in which bishops residing in Rome and Avignon bo ...

over the good of his country. In 1418

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 ...

was elected to that office, and quickly annulled

's papal bulls supporting Poland against the

. Mikołaj and other members of the Polish delegation felt betrayed and demanded reparations, at one point forcing an entry into a papal audience. Eventually Martin condemned some of the more vocal and "anti-Polish" declarations of the Teutonic Knights, particularly that of Johannes Falkenberg. He offered Trąba the title of

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, the ...

as a consolation, however Mikołaj refused, not willing to become a such close servant of the new Pope, accepting in exchange the honorary title of

primate of Poland This is a list of archbishops of the Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primates of Poland since 1418.archbishops of Lwów. In Poland, the title of primate gained much importance, as the primate presided over local

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

s, crowned kings and even ruled if no king was present (as an ''

interrex The interrex (plural interreges) was literally a ruler "between kings" (Latin ''inter reges'') during the Roman Kingdom and the Roman Republic. He was in effect a short-term regent. History The office of ''interrex'' was supposedly created follow ...

'').

Further controversy

Upon his return to Poland, Trąba was faced with many challenges, among them the accusation of treason, especially from the angry nobility (''

'') eventually, he succeeded in clearing his name; ironically, he was defended by his rival, whom he had criticized at

, Archbishop Jan of Rzeszów.

Legacy

He ordered the creation of the manuscript ''Cronica conflictus Wladislai regis Poloniae cum cruciferis, Anno Christi 1410'', and promulgated the Statutes of Trąba in 1420. The statutes became an important body of legal

precept A precept (from the la, præcipere, to teach) is a commandment, instruction, or order intended as an authoritative rule of action. Religious law In religion, precepts are usually commands respecting moral conduct. Christianity The term is en ...

s lasting for many centuries. While on a

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor 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 ...

, he died on 2 July 1422 in Hungary; his body was brought back to

by the

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

, Jan of Tuliszków. Trąba is buried in

Gniezno Cathedral The Royal Gniezno Cathedral (The Primatial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Shrine of St. Adalbert, pl, Bazylika Archikatedralna Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Marii Panny i Sanktuarium św. Wojciecha) is a Br ...

. On 22 April 2017 the postcard Cp 1772 "600th anniversary of the Primate in Poland" was issued by Poczta Polska, which in the illustrative part shows Archbishop Mikołaj Trąb, according to a graphic from the catalog of Jan Długosz, from the collection of the National Library in Warsaw.

References

External links

Virtual tour Gniezno Cathedral

List of Primates of Poland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Traba, Mikolaj 1358 births 1422 deaths People from Sandomierz Archbishops of Gniezno Archbishops of Lviv 15th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Poland People in the Battle of Grunwald Clan of Trąby 14th-century Polish nobility 15th-century Polish nobility Crown Vice-Chancellors