Stanisław Orzechowski

Stanisław Orzechowski

Stanisław Orzechowski, ^[1] also known among others^[2] Stanisław Orżechowski Roxolan,^[2] Stanislaus Orichovius Polonus,^[2] Stanislaus Orichovius Ruthenus,^[2] Stanislai Okszyc Orzechowski Roxolani,^[3] Stanislas Orzechowski and Stanislaus Orzechowski (1513–1566) was a Ruthenian and Polish political writer. The son of a Catholic father and an Orthodox mother,^[4] he was a strict Roman Catholic for much of his life but at one stage, probably the 1540s, he appeared to have turned to Protestantism, which he later detracted from.^[5] He was highly critical of Protestant reformer Francesco Stancaro and authored a critique of him in around 1550, by which time he had turned his back on the Protestants.^[5] He is considered to be an early champion of Polish nationalism and in his writings often defended the Golden Liberty and privileges of the Polish nobility.^[6][7]

Biography[edit]

Born in Galicia. He was born in 1513 in the village Orikhivtsi (Przemyśl Land of the Ruthenian Voivodeship) in the family of a Ruthenian Catholic nobleman, Stanislav Orikhovsky (Orzechowski), a courtier at the court of King Jan I Olbracht. Later Stanislav Orikhovsky became a clerk of the Przemysl land. The mother is a noblewoman, Yadviga Baranetska, the daughter of an Orthodox priest. According to the researchers, he could have up to 12 siblings.^[8]

He received his primary education at the cathedral school in Przemysl, where he received “the beginnings of writing and all sorts of sciences appropriate to the boyish years”, marked by “quick wit and good memory”.

In 1526 he continued his education at the University of Krakow (inscribed on the metric on August 5, 1526).^[9] Dissatisfied with the scholasticism that prevailed here, he devoted much time to private studios. He then studied in Vienna (1527), where his mentor was a renowned humanist and poet, Professor at the University of Vienna Alexander Brasikan.

In 1529 he moved to study at the University of Wittenberg. There he comes under the influence of the renowned Church Reformer Martin Luther and his fellow humanist Philip Melanchthon. His father, not wanting him to convert to the Protestant rite, soon enough ordered him to leave Wittenberg.^[9]

Subsequently Stanislav goes to Italy. There he attended lectures at Padua University (1532) and the University of Bologna (1540), improving his education in Rome and Venice.