Inspiration for the biography of Wawrzyniec Kaszuba Krokowski (died 1497) Cover Image

Przyczynek do biografii Wawrzyńca Kaszuby Krokowskiego (zm. 1497)
Inspiration for the biography of Wawrzyniec Kaszuba Krokowski (died 1497)

Author(s): Agnieszka Nalewajek
Subject(s): Political history, 15th Century
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: Jagiellons; royal court; king Jan Olbracht; Krokowa;

Summary/Abstract: Wawrzyniec Kaszuba Krokowski (Laurentius Cashuba Krokowski), so far better known, based on the family tradition, as Lorenz der Starke or Lorenz Mocny (the Strong), went down in history as the owner of Krokowa in the Puck district, and was a courtier of King Jan Olbracht. According to genealogical reports, he participated in the war of Jan Olbracht for the Hungarian throne in the years 1490–1492. Information concerning this could not be found in document sources and accounting books. The documented ties of Wawrzyniec Kaszuba Krokowski with the royal court of the Polish rulers date back to the end of 1485, when he received a receipt for the payment of 100 florins from Kasimir Jagiellon during the Sejm in Piotrków. On the basis of information obtained from Jan Olbracht’s accounting records, we learn that Wawrzyniec Kaszuba Krokowski was admitted to the royal court in March 1494, before the Jagiellonian dynastic congress in Levoča. He was a court member and served with a 6­horse retinue until the Moldovan expedition in 1497. Krokowski took part in it with an 8­horse retinue. After the expedition, in the light of the royal documents from the end of 1497, he was declared dead. Most likely, he lost his life in the Bukovina forests during the retreat of Jan Olbracht’s military forces from Suceava. Later, in 1504, as compensation, King Alexander Jagiellon bequeathed to the Krokowski family the sum of 500 florins in the royal villages of the Pomeranian land.

  • Issue Year: 2023
  • Issue No: 26
  • Page Range: 121-135
  • Page Count: 15
  • Language: Polish