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

Trąby coat of arms Trąby (, "French horn, Horns") is a Polish heraldry, Polish coat of arms. It was used by many ''szlachta'' (noble) families under the History of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. History The origin of the horn ...

, was a Polish

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest, Royal Notary from 1390, Deputy Chancellor of the Crown 1403–12,

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of Halicz 1410–12, archbishop of

Gniezno Gniezno (; ; ) 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. The city is the administrative seat of Gniezno County (''powiat'') ...

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: ; , ) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (), situated on the Vistula River near its confluence with the San, in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy ...

, 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. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

(''

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

'').

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 Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

, Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło), becoming his

confessor In a number of Christian traditions, including Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism, a confessor is a priest who hears the confessions of penitents and pronounces absolution. History During the Diocletianic Persecut ...

in 1386 and accompanying him during the baptism of Lithuania 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 distin ...

from 1390 and Deputy Chancellor of the Crown from 1403 to 1412. In 1391 with the help of queen

Jadwiga of Poland Jadwiga (; 1373 or 137417 July 1399), also known as Hedwig (from German) and in , was the first woman to be crowned as monarch of the Kingdom of Poland. She reigned from 16 October 1384 until her death. Born in Buda, she was the youngest daught ...

he was allowed by

Pope Boniface IX Pope Boniface 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 during the Western Schism.Richard P. McBrien, ''Lives of t ...

to undertake higher

Holy Orders In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...

. He was known for his opposition to the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

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

Vytautas the Great Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...

. Trąba accompanied the king into many battlefields, including the

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald 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 respectively by King Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila), a ...

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

of Halicz 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 an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church that was held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance (Konstanz) in present-day Germany. This was the first time that an ecumenical council was convened in ...

(1414–1418) (along with Andrzej Łaskarz, Jakub z Korzkwi Kurdwanowski, 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 ( , , , ), traditionally known as Constance in English, is a college town, university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the Baden-Württemberg state of south Germany. The city ho ...

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

papacy The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

, 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 (died 22 December 1419) was Pisan antipope as John XXIII (1410–1415) during the Western Schism. The Catholic Church today regards him as an antipope in opposition to Pope Gregory XII, whom it recognizes as the rightful succ ...

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

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1369 – 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 Czechs, Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and t ...

, 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 and criticized his rival, the Archbishop of Lwów, 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 Great Occidental Schism, the Schism of 1378, or the Great Schism (), was a split within the Catholic Church lasting from 20 September 1378 to 11 November 1417, in which bishops residing ...

over the good of his country. In 1418

Pope Martin V Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born 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. His election effectively ended the We ...

was elected to that office, and quickly annulled

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

s 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 most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

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 '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

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

interrex The interrex (plural interreges) was an extraordinary magistrate during the Roman Kingdom and Republic. Initially, the interrex was appointed after the death of the king of Rome until the election of his successor, hence its name—a ruler "betwee ...

'').

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 , to teach) is a wikt:commandment, commandment, instruction, or order intended as an authority, authoritative rule of action. Religious law In religion, precepts are usually commands respecting morality, moral conduct. Chris ...

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 denotes ...

Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1437. He was elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) in 1410, and was also King of Bohemia from 1419, as well as prince-elect ...

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

by the

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

, 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, ) is a Brick Gothic cathedral located in the historic city of Gniezno that served as the coronation place for ...

. 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