Ex commisso nobis, more commonly known as the Bull of Gniezno [1] , was a papal bull issued on July 7, 1136 by Pope Innocent II. The bull split off the Bishopric of Gniezno from the Archbishop of Magdeburg. From a historical perspective, the bull is especially important as it contains the earliest written record of the Polish language. [2] Slavic language scholar Aleksander Brückner called the document "złota bulla języka polskiego" ("the golden bull of the Polish language").
The election of Pope Innocent II in 1130 prompted a schism in the Roman Catholic Church. The Polish church supported the appointment of the Antipope Anacletus II, while Saint Norbert of Xanten, Archbishop of Magdeburg, remained faithful to Innocent. In Norbert's last years, he was chancellor and adviser to Lothair II, the Holy Roman Emperor, and persuaded him to lead an army to Rome to restore Innocent to the papacy in 1133.
Following Norbert's death, Lothair pressured Innocent to issue an order rejecting the independence and authority of the Archbishop of Gniezno, and affirming the Archbishop of Magdeburg's authority over the Archdiocese of Gniezno and, by default, the entirety of the Polish church. As a result, the Polish prelates swore fealty to the Antipope.
In August 1135, in exchange for the independence of the Polish episcopate, Bolesław III Wrymouth, Duke of Poland, declared himself a vassal of Emperor Lothair and agreed to pay tribute to the Holy Roman Empire. On July 7, 1136, Pope Innocent upheld the independence of the Polish church from the Archdiocese of Magdeburg in a papal bull entitled Ex commisso nobis.
During World War II, the archdiocesan archives in Gniezno were plundered by Nazi Germany, and the bull, along with numerous other artefacts, were moved west towards Germany. The Nazis were intercepted by the Soviet Red Army, however, and the bull was taken to Moscow. The document remained in the Russian capital for fifty years before being returned to Gniezno.
Upon the document's return, the National Library of Poland performed a series of tests on the bull under the authority of Professor Andrzej Wyczański. The scientists discovered that when viewed under ultraviolet light, the document showed traces of different washed-out text. Due to the lack of adequate testing facilities, the library abandoned further research efforts, which have not been resumed since.
Pope Innocent II, born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as pope was controversial and the first eight years of his reign were marked by a struggle for recognition against the supporters of Anacletus II. He reached an understanding with King Lothair III of Germany who supported him against Anacletus and whom he crowned as Holy Roman emperor. Innocent went on to preside over the Second Lateran council.
Pope Lucius II, born Gherardo Caccianemici dal Orso, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1144 to his death in 1145. His pontificate was notable for the unrest in Rome associated with the Commune of Rome and its attempts to wrest control of the city from the papacy. He supported Empress Matilda's claim to England in the Anarchy, and had a tense relationship with King Roger II of Sicily.
The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Roman Catholic archdiocese (969–1552) and Prince-Archbishopric (1180–1680) of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River.
The Congress of Gniezno was an amicable meeting between the Polish Duke Bolesław I the Brave and Emperor Otto III, which took place at Gniezno in Poland on 11 March 1000. Scholars disagree over the details of the decisions made at the convention, especially whether the ruler of Poland was pledged the king's crown or not.
Łowicz is a town in central Poland with 27,436 inhabitants (2021). It is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship ; previously, it was in Skierniewice Voivodeship (1975–1998). Together with a nearby station of Bednary, Łowicz is a major rail junction of central Poland, where the line from Warsaw splits into two directions - towards Poznań, and Łódź. Also, the station Łowicz Main is connected through a secondary-importance line with Skierniewice.
Kuyavia, also referred to as Cuyavia, is a historical region in north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of Vistula, as well as east from Noteć River and Lake Gopło. It is divided into three traditional parts: north-western, central, and south-eastern.
Norbert of Xanten, O. Praem (Xanten-Magdeburg), also known as Norbert Gennep, was a bishop of the Catholic Church, founder of the Premonstratensian order of canons regular, and is venerated as a saint. Norbert was canonized by Pope Gregory XIII in the year 1582, and his statue appears above the Piazza colonnade of St. Peter's Square in Rome.
Anacletus II, born Pietro Pierleoni, was an antipope who ruled in opposition to Pope Innocent II from 1130 until his death in 1138. After the death of Pope Honorius II, the college of cardinals was divided over his successor. Unusually, the election was entrusted to eight cardinals, who elected Papareschi. A larger body of cardinals then elected Pierleoni, which led to a major schism in the Roman Catholic Church. Anacletus had the support of most Romans, including the Frangipani family, and Innocent was forced to flee to France. North of the Alps, Innocent gained the crucial support of the major religious orders, in particular Bernard of Clairvaux's Cistercians, the Abbot of Cluny Peter the Venerable; and Norbert of Xanten, the Archbishop of Magdeburg who established the Premonstratensians and held a high rank in the Court of the German Emperor Lothar III.
The Archdiocese of Gniezno is the oldest Latin Catholic archdiocese in Poland, located in the city of Gniezno. The ecclesiastical province comprises the suffragan dioceses of Bydgoszcz and Włocławek.
Albero de Montreuil was Archbishop of Trier from 1132 to 1152 and is the subject of the Gesta Alberonis.
The Archdiocese of Berlin is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The archepiscopal see is in Berlin, with the archdiocese's territory extending over Northeast Germany.
Mikołaj Trąba, of Trąby coat of arms, was a Polish Roman Catholic priest, Royal Notary from 1390, Deputy Chancellor of the Crown 1403–12, bishop of Halicz 1410–12, archbishop of Gniezno from 1412, and first primate of Poland 1417–22.
The Bishopric of Cammin was both a former Roman Catholic diocese in the Duchy of Pomerania from 1140 to 1544, and a secular territory of the Holy Roman Empire (Prince-Bishopric) in the Kolberg (Kołobrzeg) area from 1248 to 1650.
Adalbert of Pomerania was the first bishop of the 12th century Pomeranian bishopric, with its see in Wolin. He was a monk of the Michaelsberg Abbey, Bamberg and former chaplain to Bolesław III Wrymouth of Poland, whence he knew the Pomeranian language of the temporarily Polish-subjugated West Slavic population, whereas the Joms Vikings and other Germanic inhabitants of the Pomeranian coast understood his old German language.
Józef Kowalczyk is a Polish Roman Catholic prelate, canon lawyer and diplomat who, from 1989 to 2010, served as the first apostolic nuncio to Poland since World War II. He later served as archbishop of Gniezno and primate of Poland until his retirement in 2014.
Jakub of Żnin was an early archbishop of Gniezno in Poland. He was archbishop from c. 1124 until 1148.
Henryk Kietlicz was Archbishop of Gniezno from 1199 to 1219 was the main architect of the changes that allowed the Polish church to gain independence from the secular authorities.
Sarnowa, formerly a town in its own right, is a historic neighbourhood and administrative district in Rawicz, Poland, located in the northeastern part of the town.
The Council of Pisa, was convened by Pope Innocent II in May 1135. An extraordinary number of prelates, archbishops, bishops, monks, and abbots attended the council, including a large number of Italian clergy. The council addressed simony, schismatic clerics, heresy, as well as donations to the Templar Order. Pisa would be the third council Innocent would convene to address issues within the Catholic Church.