Iwo Odrowąż (died 21 August 1229) was a medieval Polish humanist, statesman, and bishop.

Life

Iwo was very probably born in

Końskie Końskie () is a town in south-central Poland with 20,328 inhabitants (2008), situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. Historically, Końskie belongs to the province of Lesser Poland, and since its foundation, until 1795 (see Partitions of P ...

, son of Szaweł Odrowąż and a member of the noble family of Odrowąż. He studied in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, maintained contacts with a number of Western European intellectuals, and developed for himself a reputation as a "splendid representative of medieval Latin culture", though no writings of his survive. He later served as chancellor to

Leszek I the White Leszek the White (; c. 1184/85 – 24 November 1227) was Prince of Sandomierz and High Duke of Poland in the years 1194–1198, 1199, 1206–1210, and 1211–1227. During the early stages of his reign, his uncle Duke Mieszko III the Old and cou ...

from 1206 to 1218, and as

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

from 1218 to 1229. Although designated by

Pope Honorius III Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of importa ...

in 1219 as

archbishop of Gniezno This is a list of archbishops of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gniezno, Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primate (bishop), primates of Poland since 1418.Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

. In 1215, he took part in the

Fourth Lateran Council The Fourth Council of the Lateran or Lateran IV was convoked by Pope Innocent III in April 1213 and opened at the Lateran Palace in Rome on 11 November 1215. Due to the great length of time between the council's convocation and its meeting, m ...

together with Archbishop Henryk Kietlicz. After the death of Leszek he supported

Henry I the Bearded Henry the Bearded (, ; c. 1165/70 – 19 March 1238) was a Polish duke from the Piast dynasty. He was Dukes of Silesia, Duke of Silesia at Wrocław from 1201, Seniorate Province, Duke of Kraków and List of Polish monarchs, High Duke of all Kin ...

against

Konrad I of Masovia Konrad I of Masovia (ca. 1187/88 – 31 August 1247), from the Polish Piast dynasty, was the sixth Duke of Masovia and Kuyavia from 1194 until his death as well as High Duke of Poland from 1229 to 1232 and again from 1241 to 1243. Life Konrad w ...

. In the years 1220–1224 while he was Bishop of Kraków, he built a church dedicated to

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

in the village of

and established a parish there. In 1229 he funded a church in Daleszyce. In 1223, thanks to his endeavours, the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

sent friars from

to Kraków, the first Dominican presence in Poland, with the first Polish Dominican friar Jacek Odrowąż, his kinsman, who in the year 1594 was canonised. In 1220 Iwo brought the

Order of the Holy Ghost The Order of the Holy Ghost (also known as Hospitallers of the Holy Spirit) is a Catholic religious order. It was founded in 1180 in Montpellier by Gui of Montpellier, the son of William VII of Montpellier, for the care of the sick by groups of ...

(''Ordo Fratrum Canonicorum Regularium Sancti Spiritus de Saxia'') to

Prądnik Biały Prądnik Biały is one of 18 districts of Kraków, located in the northwest part of the city. The name ''Prądnik Biały'' comes from a village of the same name that is now a part of the district. According to the Central Statistical Office da ...

, where he entrusted them with the care of the hospital. Iwo is thought to be the probable founder of the church in Wysocice at the beginning of the 13th century. In 1222 in Kacice near

Słomniki Słomniki is a town in southern Poland, situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Słomniki lies north of Kraków, among the hills of Lesser Poland Upland. On December 31, 2010, its population was 4,365, and the town is a center of commerce and ...

he established a Cistercian monastery, which later moved to Mogiła near Kraków and became known as Mogiła Abbey. He developed campaigns for settlement on the estates of the bishops of Kraków. He provided endowments for the Cistercian monasteries of

Sulejów Sulejów is a town in central Poland with 6,130 inhabitants (2020). It is situated in Łódź Voivodeship. Sulejów gives its name to the protected area known as Sulejów Landscape Park. History The origins of Sulejów are associated with a vi ...

and

Wąchock Wąchock is a town in Starachowice County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland, near Starachowice, within the historical region of Lesser Poland. In 2006, it had 2,777 inhabitants. History Wachock received its town charter in 1 ...

as well as the

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...

monasteries in Hebdów and Imbramowice, an ancestral foundation of the Odrowąż family, where the bishop's sister was abbess. He also founded two churches in Kraków: the Church of the Holy Spirit and the Church of the Holy Cross. He died near

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, while on a visit. His remains, through the agency of

Wincenty of Kielcza Wincenty of Kielcza (c. 1200 – after 1262) was a Polish canon, poet, and composer, working in Kraków and writing in Latin. He was a member of the Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Or ...

, a family connection, were buried in the Dominican church in Kraków (now the Basilica of the Holy Trinity, Kraków). Iwo was the owner of the oldest known Polish private library (containing 32

codices The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...

purchased abroad), which he left in his will to

Wawel Cathedral The Wawel Cathedral (), formally titled the Archcathedral Basilica of Stanislaus of Szczepanów, Saint Stanislaus and St. Wenceslas, Saint Wenceslaus, () is a Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it ...

Bibliography

* ''Kościół SS. Norbertanek w Imbramowicach pod wezwaniem św. Apostołów Piotra i Pawła''. Wydane przez SS. Norbertanki.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odrowaz, Iwo 13th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Poland Bishops of Kraków Iwo People from Końskie County 12th-century births 1229 deaths