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

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

, professor of the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

and a General Secretary of the

Polish Academy of Learning The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning (, PAU), headquartered in Kraków and founded in 1872, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of sciences (the other being the Po ...

(1957–58).

Biography

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

Zygmunt Zygmunt, Zigmunt, Zigmund and spelling variations thereof are masculine given names and occasionally surnames. It has the same etymology as the Germanic name Zigmund. People so named include: Given name Medieval period * Sigismund I the Old (1467� ...

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

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. 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) Vetulani returned to the university and received

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate 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 prac ...

in 1923. One of his professors,

Stanisław Kutrzeba Stanisław Marian Kutrzeba (1876–1946) was a Polish historian and politician who was Professor of the Jagiellonian University from 1908, and then until the end of his life the Chair of Studies in Polish law. He was chair of the Law Department ( ...

, 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 , also known as the or or simply as the , is a collection of Catholic canon law compiled and written in the 12th century as a legal textbook by the jurist known as Gratian. It forms the first part of the collection of six legal texts, whic ...

. He was a teacher and mentor of Karol Wojtyła, 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. Peop ...

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

Croix de Guerre The (, ''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 awarded during World ...

(for

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

) and twice with Polish Cross of Valor (for

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

and World War II). He was an honorary doctor of

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

, University of Nancy and

University of Pécs The University of Pécs ( , PTE; ) is one of the largest higher education institutions in Hungary. The history of the university began in the Middle Ages, when in 1367, at the request of Louis I of Hungary, King Louis I the Great, Pope Urban V gr ...

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 Hiż family