Gregory of Sanok

Gregory of Sanok[1] (Latin: Gregorius Sanocensis; Polish: Grzegorz z Sanoka; German: Gregor von Sanok; Sanok, 1403 or 1407 – January 29, 1477, Lviv) left his home at age twelve[2] and went to Kraków, the Polish capital, in which German was the language of the city's urban patriciate. Gregory thus travelled to Germany to learn the language.

After his prolonged studies abroad, he returned and initially studied at University of Krakow serving as choirmaster during his student days. Gregory graduated in 1433, was appointed as tutor to the children of Jan Tarnowski, and journeyed with the family to Italy. He came to the attention of Pope Eugenius IV and studied in Florence. After his return to Poland in 1439 he was a professor of Graeco-Roman poetry and Italian literature at the University of Krakow. He became Archbishop of Lwów (Lviv)in 1451 and a pioneer of Polish Humanism. He gathered groups of scholars and poets to his residence in Dunajow.

Notes

  1. ^ Norman Davies, God's Playground: A History of Poland, in Two Volumes, p. 110. [1]
  2. ^ Harold B. Segel: Renaissance Culture in Poland: The Rise of Humanism, 1470-1543, Cornell University Press, 1989 ISBN 0801422868, 9780801422867 285 pages
    With the Vita of Philippus Callimachus (since that is the name the Italian wrote under) as our guide, then, let us explore the career of Gregory of Sanok and his role in the development of Renaissance humanism in Poland. According to Callimachus, Gregory was from the gentry (a claim generally disputed now by Polish scholars, who find no evidence to back it up) and at age twelve ran away from home because of harsh parental discipline. He came to Krakow to further his education and begin a career, but he found that doors were closed to him because he knew no German, the language of the city's urban and academic patriciate. Determined to remedy the situation, Gregory crossed the Elbe into Germany. He spent the next five years traveling (where, we do not know for certain) and earning his living by tutoring (what, precisely we are also unsure of). He must have spent considerable time in German-speaking lands, because he is eventually credited with knowing German well. It is also possible that his travels took him as far as Italy. In 1428, after ten years of a largely itinerant life, Gregory returned to Poland and enrolled in the University of Krakow as a candidate for the bachelor of arts degree. S. 20
    In 1418, at only twelve years of age, he ran away and traveled from one town to another until he eventually reached Cracow. He spent a few years there and then left for a five- year stay in Germany. When he returned to Krakow in 1428 to enroll at the university, he had behind him ten years of wandering, propelled by the twin hungers of mind and body. S. 31

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