He was the uncle of his namesake John à Lasco, the noted Protestant reformer, who helped reform the Church of England, and who was called home by King Sigismund II to effect similar reforms in the Commonwealth. John à Lasco is also famous for his achievement as an auto-didact.[citation needed].
Secretary to the Chancelloredit
He became a priest, and in 1495 was secretary to the Polish chancellor Zawisza Kurozwęcki, in which position he acquired both influence and experience. The aged chancellor entrusted the sharp-witted young ecclesiastic with the conduct of several important missions. Twice, in 1495 and again in 1500, he was sent to Rome, and once on a special embassy to Flanders, of which he has left an account. On these occasions he had the opportunity of displaying diplomatic talent of a high order.[1]
Secretary to the Kingedit
Polish king (left) and Chancellor Jan Łaski
On the accession to the Polish throne in 1501 of Alexander Jagiellon, who had little knowledge of Polish affairs and chiefly resided in Lithuania, Łaski was appointed by the senate the king's secretary, in which capacity he successfully opposed the growing separatist tendencies of the grand-duchy and maintained the influence of Catholicism there.[1]
Chancellor of Polandedit
So struck was the king by his ability that on the death of the Polish chancellor in 1503 he passed over the vice-chancellor Macics Dzewicki and confided the great seal to Łaski. As chancellor Łaski supported the szlachta, or country-gentlemen, against the lower orders, going so far as to pass an edict excluding henceforth all plebeians from the higher benefices of the church. Nevertheless, he approved himself such an excellent public servant that the new king, Sigismund I, made him one of his chief counsellors.[1]
Primate of Polandedit
In 1511, the chancellor, who ecclesiastically was still only a canon of Kraków, obtained the coveted dignity of archbishop of Gnesen which carried with it the primacy of the Polish church. In the long negotiations with the restive and semi-rebellious Teutonic Order, Łaski rendered Sigismund most important political services, proposing as a solution of the question that Sigismund should be elected grand master, while Łaski should surrender the primacy to the new candidate of the knights, Albert, Duke in Prussia, a solution which would have been far more profitable to Poland than the ultimate settlement of 1525. In 1513, Łaski was sent to the Lateran council, convened by Pope Julius II, to plead the cause of Poland against the knights, where both as an orator and as a diplomatist he brilliantly distinguished himself. This mission was equally profitable to his country and himself, and he succeeded in obtaining from the pope for the archbishops of Gnesen the title of legatinati.[1]
In his old age, Łaski's partiality for his nephew, Hieronymus Jaroslaw Łaski, led him to support the candidature of John Zápolya, the protégé of the Turks, for the Hungarian crown so vehemently against the Habsburgs that Clement VIIexcommunicated him, and the shock of this disgrace was the cause of his sudden death in 1531.[1]
Worksedit
Commune incliti Poloniae regni privilegium (1506; Łaski's Statute; in Polish, Statut Łaskiego)
Collections of synodal legislationedit
Statuta provincialia (1512)
Sanctiones ecclesiasticae tam expontificum decretis quam ex constitutionibus synodorum provinciae excerptae, in primis autem statuta in diversis provincialibus synodis a se sancita (1525)
Statuta provinciae Gnesnensis (Kraków, 1527)
De Ruthenorum nationibus eorumque erroribus (Nuremberg)
Łaski, 1456, 1531, protestant, reformer, 1499, 1560, Łaski, Łaski, 1456, Łask, 1531, kalisz, poland, polish, nobleman, grand, chancellor, crown, 1503, diplomat, from, 1490, secretary, poland, king, casimir, jagiellon, from, 1508, coadjutor, archbishop, lwów, Ł. For the Protestant reformer 1499 1560 see Jan Laski Jan Laski 1456 in Lask 19 May 1531 in Kalisz Poland was a Polish nobleman Grand Chancellor of the Crown 1503 10 diplomat from 1490 secretary to Poland s King Casimir IV Jagiellon and from 1508 coadjutor to the Archbishop of Lwow Jan LaskiArchbishop of GnieznoPrimate of PolandInstalled1510 1531Personal detailsBorn1456Lask Kingdom of PolandDiedMay 19 1531Kalisz Kingdom of PolandCoat of armsFrom 1510 Laski was Archbishop of Gniezno and thus Primate of Poland Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Secretary to the Chancellor 1 2 Secretary to the King 1 3 Chancellor of Poland 1 4 Primate of Poland 2 Works 2 1 Collections of synodal legislation 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksBiography editHe was the uncle of his namesake John a Lasco the noted Protestant reformer who helped reform the Church of England and who was called home by King Sigismund II to effect similar reforms in the Commonwealth John a Lasco is also famous for his achievement as an auto didact citation needed Secretary to the Chancellor edit He became a priest and in 1495 was secretary to the Polish chancellor Zawisza Kurozwecki in which position he acquired both influence and experience The aged chancellor entrusted the sharp witted young ecclesiastic with the conduct of several important missions Twice in 1495 and again in 1500 he was sent to Rome and once on a special embassy to Flanders of which he has left an account On these occasions he had the opportunity of displaying diplomatic talent of a high order 1 Secretary to the King edit nbsp Polish king left and Chancellor Jan LaskiOn the accession to the Polish throne in 1501 of Alexander Jagiellon who had little knowledge of Polish affairs and chiefly resided in Lithuania Laski was appointed by the senate the king s secretary in which capacity he successfully opposed the growing separatist tendencies of the grand duchy and maintained the influence of Catholicism there 1 Chancellor of Poland edit So struck was the king by his ability that on the death of the Polish chancellor in 1503 he passed over the vice chancellor Macics Dzewicki and confided the great seal to Laski As chancellor Laski supported the szlachta or country gentlemen against the lower orders going so far as to pass an edict excluding henceforth all plebeians from the higher benefices of the church Nevertheless he approved himself such an excellent public servant that the new king Sigismund I made him one of his chief counsellors 1 Primate of Poland edit In 1511 the chancellor who ecclesiastically was still only a canon of Krakow obtained the coveted dignity of archbishop of Gnesen which carried with it the primacy of the Polish church In the long negotiations with the restive and semi rebellious Teutonic Order Laski rendered Sigismund most important political services proposing as a solution of the question that Sigismund should be elected grand master while Laski should surrender the primacy to the new candidate of the knights Albert Duke in Prussia a solution which would have been far more profitable to Poland than the ultimate settlement of 1525 In 1513 Laski was sent to the Lateran council convened by Pope Julius II to plead the cause of Poland against the knights where both as an orator and as a diplomatist he brilliantly distinguished himself This mission was equally profitable to his country and himself and he succeeded in obtaining from the pope for the archbishops of Gnesen the title of legati nati 1 In his old age Laski s partiality for his nephew Hieronymus Jaroslaw Laski led him to support the candidature of John Zapolya the protege of the Turks for the Hungarian crown so vehemently against the Habsburgs that Clement VII excommunicated him and the shock of this disgrace was the cause of his sudden death in 1531 1 Works editCommune incliti Poloniae regni privilegium 1506 Laski s Statute in Polish Statut Laskiego Collections of synodal legislation edit Statuta provincialia 1512 Sanctiones ecclesiasticae tam expontificum decretis quam ex constitutionibus synodorum provinciae excerptae in primis autem statuta in diversis provincialibus synodis a se sancita 1525 Statuta provinciae Gnesnensis Krakow 1527 De Ruthenorum nationibus eorumque erroribus Nuremberg See also editList of Polish people ReligionReferences edit a b c d e Bain 1911 AttributionOtt Michael 1913 John Laski In Herbermann Charles ed Catholic Encyclopedia New York Robert Appleton Company Bain Robert Nisbet 1911 Laski In Chisholm Hugh ed Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 16 11th ed Cambridge University Press pp 234 235 see para 2 Jan Laski the elder 1456 1531 which in turn cites Heinrich R von Zeissberg Joh Laski Erzbischof in Gnesen Vienna 1874 Jan Korytkowski Jan Laski Archbishop of Gnesen Gnesen 1880 External links editVirtual tour Gniezno Cathedral Archived 2020 07 17 at the Wayback Machine List of Primates of PolandCatholic Church titlesPreceded byAndrzej Boryszewski Primate of PolandArchbishop of Gniezno1510 1531 Succeeded byMaciej Drzewiecki Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jan Laski 1456 1531 amp oldid 1181111115, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
