Zbigniew Oleśnicki (cardinal)

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This article is about Zbigniew Cardinal Oleśnicki (1389-1455). For his nephew, see
Zbigniew Oleśnicki (Primate of Poland)
.
His Eminence

Zbigniew Oleśnicki
Roman Catholic
Coat of armsZbigniew Oleśnicki's coat of arms

Zbigniew Oleśnicki (Polish:

cardinal
.

Biography

Shortly before his birth his father, Jan Oleśnicki, was dispatched by king

Władysław Jagiełło to serve as captain of Vilnius and to bring a detachment of knights there. At the beginning of the Lithuanian Civil War the city was under the governance of the Polish king's brother, Skirgaila, and came under siege by the combined forces of the pagan Samogitians under Jagiello's cousin and rival Vytautas and the army of the Teutonic Order
with their guest crusaders from France, England, and the Holy Roman Empire. He was apparently successful in his mission as, despite repeated sieges, the Teutonic Order was never able to take Vilnius.

At the age of twenty he was secretary to King

council of Basle, where he endeavoured to be on friendly terms with both parties.[1]

In the 1430s he opposed Spytek of Melsztyn in a conflict which led to a short lived civil war and Spytek's death in 1439.[2][3]

On 18 December 1439, he was created

Felix V also made him a cardinal on 20 January 1440.[4]). As cardinal, his influence in Poland was second only to that of the king, and, during the frequent absence of Casimir IV in Lithuania, he transacted the affairs of the State.[1]

Oleśnicki according to a sketch by Jan Matejko

He was recognized as one of the two most important Polish magnates of his time (the other one was magnate Jan Tęczyński [pl]).[5]

In 1449, after the death of

primate of Poland Wincenty Kot, the position was proposed to Oleśnicki, but he refused it. It then passed to his political rival, bishop Władysław Oporowski.[6]

In his conduct of Poland's affairs Oleśnicki entertained far-reaching imperial dreams, which included a complete assimilation of Lithuania into the Polish state and the conquest of Silesia from the Kingdom of Bohemia. In particular, Oleśnicki pursued the idea of a Crusading alliance with Hungary against the Ottoman Turks, with the ultimate aim of extending Poland's boundaries to the Black Sea. This was manifested in promoting Władysław III's taking the Hungarian Crown - to which some Polish magnates were strongly opposed. However, all these aspirations came to naught with King Władysław's death at the Battle of Varna.[citation needed]

Being a man of great learning, he advanced the study of arts and letters in every possible way, and the flourishing condition of the

Minorites to Kraków.[1]

Da Capistrano, whom Oleśnicki invited, was also known for his anti-Jewish zeal, in which he engaged in Poland as in other countries. Oleśnicki's own Anti-

Casimir III. Under Oleśnicki's influence, the 1454 Statutes of Nieszawa included the provisions that Jews' rights be "restricted when they contradict canon law" and that Polish Jews be compelled to wear distinctive clothing. However, this was never enforced in practice.[citation needed
]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zbigniew Oleśnicki.

References

Zbigniew of Oleśnica
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Ott, Michael (1911). "Zbigniew Olesnicki" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  2. ISBN 978-1-00-128802-4
    .
  3. ISBN 978-0-313-33538-9
    .
  4. ^ Konrad Eubel, Hierarchia catholica medii aevi, Münster: sumptibus et typis librariae regensbergianae, 1901), p. 9.
  5. ^ (in Polish) Tęczyńscy Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine, PWN Encyklopedia
  6. ^ (in Polish) Bernadeta Kruszyk, Władysław Oporowski Archived 2011-09-04 at the Wayback Machine, Poczet Arcybiskupów Gnieźnieńskich, Archidiecezja Gnieźnieńska
  7. ^ Godrycz, John (1909). "Jan Dlugosz" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Preceded by
Bishop of Kraków

1423–1455 		Succeeded by
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