Wokół elekcji arcybiskupa Wincentego z Niałka
Around the election of archbishop Wincenty of Niałek

Summary/Abstract: The tenth/eleventh century saw the emergence of the Gregorian movement (named so after Pope Gregory VII) in the so-called Carolingian countries. Established in response to the crisis of the Church, due to its significant dependence on the secular power, the movement sought the reform of the Church. At first unwelcome in Poland, Gregorian ideas began to gain popularity over time. Owing to increased relations with the West and the activities of a number of prominent bishops, the ground for the reform was finally prepared in the twelfth century. In the early thirteenth century, Henryk Kietlicz, the Archbishop of Gniezno, was the one to initiate a decisive struggle for the freedom of the church. He was supported by a group of Dukes, the so-called Junior Dukes. In 1217, the group disintegrated owing to the alliance of the most powerful dukes of the Piast dynasty. Following Kietlicz’s death in 1219, allied dukes, supported by the papal Curia, introduced their own candidate at the archbishopric, notwithstanding the resistance of the supporters of the former archbishop, who feared that the introduced reforms would not last.

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