Wincenty Kadłubek (; 1150 – 8 March 1223) was a Polish

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

and professed

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

who served as the

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 1208 until his resignation in 1218. His episcopal mission was to reform the diocesan priests to ensure their holiness and invigorate the faithful and cultivate greater participation in ecclesial affairs on their part. Wincenty was much more than just a bishop; he was a leading scholar in Poland from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. He was also a lawyer, historian, church reformer, monk, magister, and the father of Polish culture and national identity. The process of his canonization proved quite slow despite the initial momentum to see him proclaimed as a saint. The cause languished for several centuries until 1764 when

Pope Clement XIII Pope Clement XIII (; ; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. He was installed on 16 July 1758. ...

beatified him.

Early life and education

Little is known about Kadłubek's early life, but we do know he was born around 1160 to parents of elite status. Eleventh and Twelfth century Poland was a complicated and turbulent place, shaping Kadłubek's works and life. This period of time is characterized by territorial divisions between branches of the Piast family and civil war. Kadłubek first studied in

Stopnica Stopnica is a town in Busko County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Stopnica. It lies in Lesser Poland, approximately east of Busko-Zdrój and south-east o ...

before he studied at the cathedral school in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. It was while at the latter that he studied under Mateusz Cholewa, who encouraged Kadłubek to be sent abroad for further studies. He completed his studies in 1185 and returned home where he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood before 1189 and served as the provost for the Sandomierz Cathedral; some sources suggest that he served as the principal of the cathedral school in Kraków. He studied in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

at the

university of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

as well as at the

university of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...

. Some sources suggest that he met the future

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 ...

at Bologna when the two were students and it was further said he once encountered John of Salisbury. Kadłubek was considerably educated for the time period. He was knowledgeable of medieval and classical literature, spoke Greek, French, and Latin, and had a meticulous knowledge of Roman and Canon law. At the time, you could only learn about Roman and Canon law at schools in Paris and Bologna. He was the first known Polish lawyer to contribute to Polish legal scholarship. Kadłubek's ''Chronica Polonorum'' (''Chronicle of Poles'') confirms he was a lawyer. Through this chronicle, he was the first Polish person to chronicle Polish history, making him a cardinal source for the early medieval history of Poland.

Time as a bishop

Kadłubek was elected to be a bishop in 1208. It was after the death of Fulko - the

- that he was chosen to succeed him as the new bishop. This was the first time that the Krakow Chapter elected a bishop on its own, with the help of

, instead of through secular power. Pope Innocent III had to take action because the Krakow Chapter could not decide between Kadłubek and Bishop Gedko of Plok. Kadłubek was eventually chosen to be a bishop because of his avid support of church reforms and potential friendship with Pope Innocent III, as It is possible that Pope Innocent III and Kadłubek met in Paris while studying. Pope Innocent III confirmed the decision in a

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 ...

on 28 March 1208 and Kadłubek received his episcopal consecration from the

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. As Bishop, he took action to make sure the church was independent of the power of the duke. In addition to being the bishop, he was the legislator of the diocese in Krakow and a member of the first Polish delegation to 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 ...

, causing him to affect their reforms and resolutions in Krakow. He participated in diocesan synods and donated to the diocese of Krakow. He also founded and donated to monasteries, in addition to being a benefactor of the Cistercian monastery in Jędrzejów, which was not uncommon for bishops at the time. He was the first in Poland to begin the custom of lighting a vigil lamp prior to the Blessed Sacrament, which he was able to accomplish by allocating funds from the Krakow Chapter to provide wax for the vigil lamp in Saint Wenceslas Cathedral. He also consecrated Saint Florian's Basilica and was said to have once been the chaplain to Casimir II the Just. Kadłubek was ordained as a priest the Dominican

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

Ceslaus. The bishop was noted for his linguistic skills and his charismatic preaching; Kadłubek was known also for his expertise in

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

, his approach to philosophical subjects, as well as for his expertise in rhetoric. He was well educated in the natural sciences since he had learned about them while in Paris and Bologna. Yet, it was while in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

that he started reading into the life and works of

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist. (; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reform of the Benedictines through the nascent Cistercian Order. Bernard was ...

and became enthralled with the charism of the

Cistercians The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

whom he granted favors to as bishop. He followed Gallus Anonymus in further developing the idea of the Latin proverb " vox populi vox dei" ("the voice of the people is the voice of God") and argued that the ruler (king) should follow a council that includes bishops and representatives of clans since not the ruler but the council has higher power originating from the laws that God instituted. He also claimed that the council should elect the ruler and that rulers abusing their power should be removed from their position.

Later life

In 1217, Kadłubek decided to resign from his duties as a bishop. He spent his last years at the Cistercian monastery in Jędrzejów, making him the first Bishop of Krakow to join the Cistercian order after voluntarily abdicating. This also made him the first Polish person in the Cistercian monastery in Jędrzejów, which was composed of exclusively French monks at the time. The fire of the Jędrzejów monastery in 1800 in combination with the turbulence of Polish history at the time makes it difficult to understand the remaining years of his life. He likely continued to write the Chronica Polonorum into this time. Kadlubek died on March 8, 1223, retaining his bishop's pallium, buried in the Jędrzejów monastery, his remains were interred before the high altar of the convent church. His remains were exhumed on 26 April 1633 with his

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : pallia) is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolitan bish ...

found intact though his remains had become skeletal. Measurements were taken and it was surmised that he was of "fair height". His remains were moved to a new location before the high altar on the following 16 August. Kadłubek's remains were again exhumed and reinterred in mid-1765 and some were moved to Sandomierz in 1845 for veneration. Other parts to his remains were moved in 1903 to Wawel and placed in a silver urn.

Beatification

In 1634 the Polish episcopate made a petition to

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

requesting his canonization. In 1650 the Bishop of Kraków Piotr Gembicki appointed a tribunal to hear witnesses for the cause but the commission never began its work which suspended the cause. Bishop Jan Małachowski - in 1683 - petitioned

Pope Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI (; ; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 until his death on 12 August 1689. Political and religious tensions with ...

to canonize the late bishop. Innocent XI requested the Congregation for Rites to begin an investigation which took place from 1688 to 1692. But the congregation concluded that there was no reliable evidence to prove his

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is the translation of a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs. The phrase is used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman a ...

which suspended the cause once again. In 1682 the king Jan III Sobieski petitioned for his

beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...

. The Order of Cîteaux made similar request in 1699 at their General Chapter. The Polish episcopate made another request to

Pope Clement XII Pope Clement XII (; ; 7 April 16526 February 1740), born Lorenzo Corsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1730 to his death in February 1740. Clement presided over the growth of a surplus in the papal ...

to canonize him but the process that the pope requested came to the same conclusion as the previous one. In 1761 the king

Augustus III Augustus III (; – "the Saxon"; ; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as Elector of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire where he was known as Frederick Augustus II (). He w ...

sent two letters to

requesting the canonization which prompted the pope to order another process of investigation. That investigation proved to be successful for Clement XIII issued a papal bull in which he beatified the late bishop on 18 February 1764. On 9 June 1764 the pope issued another bull that allowed for a Mass and the Divine Office to be said in his honor in Kraków and among the Cistercians. He is referred to in Poland as a saint despite the fact that he has not been canonized as such; Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz referred to Kadłubek as a "saint" in 2008. Since 2 January 2016 he has been the patron for Jędrzejów.

Efforts to resume the cause

There had been several efforts since his beatification to resume the cause and achieve his canonization though each attempt failed. Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński and Karol Józef Wojtyła (the future

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

) both supported his cause in 1964 with Wojtyła referring to the late bishop as the "Father of Polish culture". In 1972 the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...

concluded that there was no reliable or available documentation that could confirm Kadłubek's heroic virtues thus suspending the cause which has not continued since.

Works

His best-known work - '' Chronica seu originale regum et principum Poloniae'' (''Chronicles of the Kings and Princes of Poland'') - is a historical compendium of Poland in four volumes. The first three volumes take the form of a dialogue between Archbishop John of Gniezno and Bishop Mateusz. The first volume's sources are legends while the second is based on the chronicle of Gallus and the last two are based upon Kadłubek's own experiences. Writing this work made him the first Polish native to chronicle Polish history. This work had a huge impact on the Polish political doctrine of the 14th and 15th centuries co-authored by Stanisław of Skarbimierz as well as on later works of Wawrzyniec Grzymała Goślicki. These ideas led to the Nobles' Democracy in Poland for it is in his works that for the first time the terms ''

res publica ', also spelled ''rēs pūblica'' to indicate vowel length, is a Latin phrase, loosely meaning "public affair". It is the root of the ''republic'', and '' commonwealth'' has traditionally been used as a synonym for it; however, translations var ...

'' (see

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

and Rzeczpospolita) were used in the context of Poland. Some suggest that the book was written at the request of Prince Casimir II; others suggest that it was made at the request of Prince

Leszek Leszek () is a Slavic Polish male given name, originally ''Lestko'', ''Leszko'' or ''Lestek'', related to ''Lech'', ''Lechosław'' and Czech ''Lstimir''. Individuals named Leszek celebrate their name day on June 3. Notable people bearing the ...

while Kadłubek was a bishop; still others claim that it was not written until after his retirement.

References

External links

Hagiography Circle

Catholic Online

Academia

The forthcoming first English critical edition of the "Chronica Polonorum" on Academia.edu

The forthcoming first English critical edition of the "Chronica Polonorum" on ResearchGate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kadlubek, Wincenty 1150s births 1223 deaths 13th-century Polish historians 13th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Poland 13th-century venerated Christians Bishops of Kraków Burials at Wawel Cathedral Clan of Poraj People from Sandomierz Polish beatified people Polish chroniclers Polish Cistercians Polish male non-fiction writers Polish nobility University of Bologna alumni University of Paris alumni 13th-century jurists Beatifications by Pope Clement XIII