Jaksa Gryfita, Jaksa z Miechowa or Jaxa Gryfita (1120–1176) of the Gryfici family was a medieval ''możnowładca'' (

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

) in

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...

crusader Crusader or Crusaders may refer to: Military * Crusader, a participant in one of the Crusades * Convair NB-36H Crusader, an experimental nuclear-powered bomber * Crusader tank, a British cruiser tank of World War II * Crusaders (guerrilla), a C ...

and fundator of the Monastery of the Holy Sepulchre in

Miechów Miechów is a town in Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, about north of Kraków. It is the capital of Miechów County. Population is 11,852 (2004). Miechów lies on the Miechówka river, along European route E77. The area of the town is , a ...

, son-in-law of

Piotr Włostowic Herb ŁabędźPiotr Włostowic (or Włost; 1080 – 1153), also known as Peter Wlast, was a Polish noble, castellan of Wrocław, and a ruler (''możnowładca'') of part of Silesia. From 1117 he was voivode (''palatyn'') of the Duke of Poland Bol ...

. According to some historians this is the same person as

Jaxa of Köpenick Jaxa of Köpenick (sometimes ''Jaksa'' or ''Jacza of Copnic'', , Jaksa being an early Sorbian and/or Polish form of ''James'') (fl. 1151–1157) was a prince of the West Slavic Sprevan Principality of Copnic. He was an opponent of Albert the B ...

(''Jaksa z Kopanicy''), Prince of the Sprevane.Cetwiński, Marek (1980). Rycerstwo Śląskie do końca XIII w. Pochodzenie. Gospodarka. Polityka. Wrocławskie Towarzystwo Naukowe. p. 70.

Bibliography

* A. Małecki, Studya heraldyczne, t. II, Lwów 1890, s. 59−64. * G. Labuda, Jaksa z Kopanicy – Jaksa z Miechowa, Polski słownik biograficzny, t. X, Wrocław 1962-1964, s. 339–341. * L. M. Wójcik, Ród Gryfitów do końca XIII wieku. Pochodzenie — genealogia — rozsiedlenie, "Historia" CVII, Wrocław 1993, s. 12–23. * S. Wrzesiński, Polscy krzyżowcy. Tajemnice średniowiecznych krucjat, Warszawa 2007.

References

1120 births 1176 deaths Polish knights Christians of the Crusades Gryfit family {{Poland-noble-stub