Laski Family

The Laski family produced a number of outstanding churchmen, diplomats, and supporters of humanism* in Poland. Jan Laski (1455–1531) was the leading Polish diplomat of the early 1500s, becoming the kingdom's grand chancellor under King Aleksander Jagiellonczyk. He also served as archbishop of Gniezno and head of the church in Poland. An expert in political affairs and a champion of legal reform, Laski was largely responsible for publication of the set of Polish laws known as the Statut Laskiego. He fought the spread of the Lutheran faith in Poland and was a patron* of humanist scholars and writers.

Jan Laski provided for the education of his three nephews. Hieronim (1496–1542) played a key political role in Poland, and Stanislaw (ca. 1500–1550) served two Polish kings as a diplomat. Perhaps the most accomplished of the nephews was Jan Laski the Younger (1499–1560), a scholar who traveled widely and held several church offices during his life. Jan attracted a circle of young humanists devoted to the ideas of Erasmus.

In the 1520s Jan Laski the Younger became interested in Protestantism, preferring the moderate approach of Philipp Melanchthon to the more radical ideas of Martin Luther. Jan moved for a time to Louvain in Belgium. In 1541 he returned to Poland and swore to be faithful to the Catholic Church. He soon broke his promise, however, and went to England to help archbishop Thomas Cranmer set up the Protestant Church of England. Laski fled England in 1553 when Mary I, a Catholic, became queen. Returning to Poland again, he became actively involved with the Protestant movement there and translated the Calvinist* version of the Bible into Polish. He also helped establish an academy for non-Catholics. In addition, he had great influence on other Protestant reformers in Poland, especially his nephew, Olbracht.

(See alsoPoland. )

* humanism

Renaissance cultural movement promoting the study of the humanities (the languages, literature, and history of ancient Greece and Rome) as a guide to living

* patron

supporter or financial sponsor of an artist or writer

* Calvinist

member of a Protestant church founded by John Calvin