Jaksa Gryfita, Jaksa z Miechowa or Jaxa Gryfita (1120–1176) of the
Gryfici family was a medieval ''możnowładca'' (
magnate
The magnate term, 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 ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a s ...
,
crusader 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 , ...
, son-in-law of
Piotr Włostowic
Herb ŁabędźPiotr Włostowic ( 1080 – 1153), also known as Peter Wlast or ''Włost'') 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 ...
.
According to some historians this is the same person as
Jaxa of Köpenick
Jaxa of Köpenick (sometimes ''Jaksa'' or ''Jacza of Copnic'', pl, Jaksa z Kopnika or Jaksa z Kopanicy, Jaksa being an early Sorbian and/or Polish form of ''James'') ( fl. 1151–1157) was a prince of the West Slavic Sprevan Duchy of Kopanica ...
(''Jaksa z Kopanicy''), Prince of the
Sprevane
The Sprevane or Sprevani (; Slavonic: ''Sprevjane'') were a Slavic tribe who lived around the river Spree, where Berlin is now, in the Brandenburg area of eastern Germany. They were first recorded in 948 and again in 965 as living in the territ ...
.
[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
Gryfici (Świebodzice)
{{Poland-noble-stub