Jan Kropidło

Jan Kropidło (1360 or 1364 – 3 March 1421), was an ecclesiastic leader in Poland during the late Middle Ages.

Jan was the eldest son of Duke Bolko III of Strzelce and his wife Anna. Jan was titled Duke of Strzelce (1382–96, with his brothers) and Duke of Opole (from 1396, with his brothers but only formally). His vocation, however, was the Roman Catholic Church, and Jan was appointed as Bishop of Poznań (1382–84), Bishop of Włocławek (1384–89), nominate Archbishop of Gniezno (1389–94), Bishop of Kamień (1394–98), Bishop of Chełmno (Culm) (1398–1402), and again Bishop of Włocławek from 1402 until his death.

Jan was the first child, and eldest son, of Duke Bolko III of Strzelce by his wife Anna, who was probably daughter of Duke Jan I of Oświęcim. The couple had four sons and one daughter. Although Jan was the eldest of the four male siblings, for unknown reasons he was destined for the Church from his early years. His uncle, Duke Vladislaus II of Opole, became guardian to the minor brothers when their father died in 1382 and the four brothers all inherited the Duchy of Strzelce as co-rulers.

In 1379 Jan, while yet a teen-ager, was named a provost of the Spiš Chapterhouse (in northern Hungary, then pawned to Poland), giving him substantial revenues. His rapid ecclesiastic ascent was largely due to the support of his powerful uncle Vladislaus. Despite his new duties, Jan would also study law and theology in Prague and Bologna.

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