Poland of the Middle Ages

A Story of Two Saints: St. Stanislaw of Cracow and Thomas à Becket

 

 

Stanislaw died 39 years before Thomas à Becket was born in England, but the lives of these two clerics, at times, follow similar patterns. Some have gone so far as to call Stanislaus the Thomas à Becket of Poland.

 

Stanislaw was born into a noble family in the city of Szczepanow near Cracow. He was ordained after he received his education at Gnesen. Bishop Lampert Zula of Cracow gave Stanislaus canonry which made him the Bishop's preacher.

Thomas was born to Gilbert, sheriff of London, and his wife Matilda. Thomas started his education at Merton Priory, studied law in London, and continued his studies at the University in Paris. When his father died around 1141, it left Thomas without means. Thomas soon thereafter joined the household of Theobold of Canterbury. Theobold sent Thomas on mission trips and in 1144 to study canon law. He was ordained a deacon in 1154 and became archdeacon of Canterbury after being nominated by Theobold.

Upon becoming Bishop Zula's preacher, Stanislaw became well known for his preaching and was a sought after spiritual advisor.

 

Stanislaw was successful in his reforming efforts and was named Bishop of Cracow in 1072. Thomas caught the attention of Henry of Anjou when he convinced Pope Eugene III not to recognize the succession of King Stephen of Blois's son, Eustace. This secured Henry's ascent to the throne as Henry II. Thomas was appointed Chancellor of England, which made him the second most powerful man in England, second only to Henry. Thomas soon became known for his life of luxury and even went to war with Henry in 1159 at the head of his own troops.

 

On the death of his mentor, Theobold, Thomas was nominated by Henry as Archbishop of Canterbury. In spite of his protests, Thomas was elected to the post. Up to this point Thomas was an archdeacon, not an ordained priest. He resigned his chancellorship and was ordained a priest the day before his consecration as archbishop. Thomas changed his life completely after becoming archbishop and lived a life of great austerity. His commitment to ordained life soon caused friction with Henry.

 

Soon after becoming Bishop of Cracow, Stanislaw incurred the anger of King Boleslaw the Bold for condemning the king's cruelty and injustices. One painting shows King Boleslaw directing soldiers to take infants from their mothers. The story goes that these women cheated on their husbands while the husbands were fighting in the Crusades. Boleslaus was so outraged by this he ordered the infants (that resulted from the affairs) to be taken from the mothers and be given to female dogs who had a litter of pups to be nursed. The pups were given to the women to be nursed.

 

 

Stanislaw is on the left side of the painting witnessing this exchange. Stanislaw also condemned Boleslaw for kidnapping the beautiful wife of a nobleman. Stanislaus finally excommunicated Boleslaus for his behavior. And when Boleslaw would enter the cathedral while Stanislaw was saying Mass, Stanislaw would stop the service.

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Thomas soon began to clash with Henry especially clerical and church rights.  Thomas refused to accept the Constitution of Clarendon, which among other things, denied the right for clerics to be tried in ecclesiastical courts and to appeal to the Pope.

Thomas appealed to Pope Alexander III but the pope was intimidated by Henry and would not support Thomas. Thomas entered a Cistercian monastery. As a result, Henry threatened to expel all Cistercians from his kingdom. Thomas moved to St. Columba Abbey, which was under the protection of King Louis VII of France. Louis was able to bring about a short-lived truce between Henry and Thomas and Thomas moved back to England. After returning to England Thomas refused to lift his excommunication on the bishops who took part in the coronation of Henry's son, a blatant infringement on the rights of the Archbishop of Canterbury.  Thomas was holding out for the bishops to swear obedience to the Pope.

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In a fit of anger, Henry said publicly that he wished he was rid of this troublesome prelate (Thomas). It is accepted that Henry's meaning was misunderstood and that he didn't want what happened next. Several of Henry's knights murdered Thomas à Becket in his cathedral on December 29, 1170. Thomas was immediately declared a martyr and attained sainthood in 1173. The next year Henry did public penance.

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After Stanislaw stopped mass when Boleslaw entered the cathedral, Boleslaw killed Stanislaw himself,  while Stanislaw was saying Mass in a chapel outside of Cracow on April 11, 1079. Stanislaw, a symbol of Polish nationhood and the primary patron saint of Cracow, was canonized in 1253. His feast day is celebrated April 11.

 

Bibliography

•  Davies, Norman, God's Playground. New York: Columbia University Press, 1982

•  Delaney, John, Dictionary of Saints. New York: Doubleday, 1980

•  Walicki, Michal, Malarstwo Polskie. Warsaw: Zakresu Kultury I Sztuki, 1961

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Article from  SLOVO, The Newsletter of the Slavic Interest Group

Summer AS XLIV (2009)

Volume XIV, Issue 4 (#54)

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