Adam Joachim Vetulani (20 March 1901 – 25 September 1976) was a Polish historian of medieval and

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

, professor of the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

and a General Secretary of the

Polish Academy of Learning The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning ( pl, Polska Akademia Umiejętności), headquartered in Kraków and founded in 1872, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of scien ...

(1957–58).

Biography

He was the son of Polish high school professor, Roman Vetulani, and Elżbieta Kunachowicz, brother of

Kazimierz Kazimierz (; la, Casimiria; yi, קוזמיר, Kuzimyr) is a historical district of Kraków and Kraków Old Town, Poland. From its inception in the 14th century to the early 19th century, Kazimierz was an independent city, a royal city of the ...

, Tadeusz,

Zygmunt Zygmunt, Zigmunt, Zigmund and spelling variations thereof are masculine given names and occasionally surnames. People so named include: Given name Medieval period * Sigismund I the Old (1467–1548), Zygmunt I Stary in Polish, King of Poland and Gr ...

, Maria, and Elżbieta. He attended high schools in Sanok and Cieszyn, in 1917 he passed examination of maturity in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. In 1919 he began studying law at Jagiellonian University. After taking part in Polish–Soviet War in 1920 (for which he was decorated with

Cross of Valor The Cross of Valour ( pl, Krzyż Walecznych) is a Polish military decoration. It was first introduced by the Council of National Defense on 11 August 1920. It is awarded to an individual who "has demonstrated deeds of valour and courage on the fi ...

) Vetulani returned to the university and received

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1923. One of his professors, Stanisław Kutrzeba, had a strong influence on Vetulani's work. Vetulani received his Ph.D., also with Kutrzeba help, in 1925. In scientific work Vetulani was best known for his research on

Decretum Gratiani The ''Decretum Gratiani'', also known as the ''Concordia discordantium canonum'' or ''Concordantia discordantium canonum'' or simply as the ''Decretum'', is a collection of canon law compiled and written in the 12th century as a legal textbook b ...

. He was a teacher and mentor of

Karol Wojtyła Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, who later became pope John Paul II. In 1927 he married Irena Latinik, they had two sons:

Jerzy Jerzy is the Polish version of the masculine given name George. The most common nickname for Jerzy is Jurek (), which may also be used as an official first name. Occasionally the nickname Jerzyk may be used, which means "swift" in Polish. People ...

(1936–2017) and Jan (1938–1965). Adam had also one love-child, daughter Krystyna (1924–2004). He was decorated with

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

(for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

) and twice with Polish

(for

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...

and World War II). He was an

honorary doctor An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

, University of Nancy and

University of Pécs The University of Pécs (UP; Hungarian: ''Pécsi Tudományegyetem''; PTE) is an institution of higher education in Hungary. The modern university was established in 1912 but has its roots in the medieval university founded in Pécs in 1367 by ...

Family tree

Selected works

* ''Lenno pruskie'' (1930) * ''Polskie wpływy polityczne w Prusach Książęcych'' (1939) * ''Dekret Gracjana w świetle najnowszych badań'' (1948) * ''Dzieje historii prawa w Polsce'' (1948) * ''Poza płomieniami wojny. Internowani w Szwajcarii 1940–45'' (1976, memoirs) * ''Z badań nad kulturą prawniczą w Polsce piastowskiej'' (1976)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vetulani, Adam 20th-century Polish historians Polish male non-fiction writers Members of the Polish Academy of Learning 1901 births 1976 deaths People from Sanok Jagiellonian University alumni Academic staff of Jagiellonian University Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Burials at Rakowicki Cemetery Polish people of Italian descent Collaborators of the Polish Biographical Dictionary