Andrzej Wolan (, ; 1530 in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

– 1610 in Wolanów) was a secretary to the

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

and an eminent

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

theologian. Volanus was involved with controversy about both

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

and the Ecclesia Minor or Polish Brethren.

Fausto Sozzini Fausto Paolo Sozzini (; ; 5 December 1539 – 4 March 1604), often known in English by his Latinized name Faustus Socinus ( ), was an Italian Renaissance humanist and theologian, and, alongside his uncle Lelio Sozzini, founder of the Nontrinit ...

's ''De Jesu Christi natura'' (1584) is a reply to Volanus.

Biography

Andrzej Wolan was born around 1531 in

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. The bound ...

, in the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

, into a noble family originating from

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

. In 1544, he began his studies at the

University of Frankfurt (Oder) European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) () is a university located at Frankfurt (Oder) in Brandenburg, Germany. It is also known as the University of Frankfurt (Oder). The city is on the Oder River, which marks the border between Germany ...

. After returning to Poland, he lived with his relative Baltazar Strzeźmiński, a land judge, where he gained knowledge of legal practice and civic responsibility. He then traveled to

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

to the court of his uncle Hieronim Kwilecki, who recommended him to

Mikołaj Radziwiłł the Red Mikołaj Radziwiłł, nicknamed the Red (Polish language, Polish ''Rudy'', Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Radvila Rudasis;'' 1515 – 27 April 1584), was a Polish people, Polish-Lithuanian nobleman, voivode of Vilnius, Grand Chancellor of Li ...

. Around 1550, he became Radziwiłł's secretary. However, he soon left for

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

, where he studied at the local academy for three years. He later took the position of honorary secretary to King

Sigismund Augustus Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...

and began his philosophical and literary work. He was active in writing against what he felt was unfair criticism of

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen B ...

of England's persecution of Catholics, for example exaggerating, "There were days under

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

when more victims were burnt than during the 24 years of Elizabeth’s reign." His debut was the poem ''Do Polaków i Litwy'' (), while his most important work was the political treatise ''De libertate politica sive civili libellus lectu non indignus'' (), published by

Maciej Wirzbięta Maciej Wirzbięta (alternatively ''Wierzbięta''; (b. 1523 Kraków, d. June 1605) – Polish printer, translator and bookseller based Kraków. He printed the works of Mikołaj Rej, Jan Kochanowski, Łukasz Górnicki, and Andrzej Frycz Modrzewsk ...

's printing house in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. Wolan was married three times and left behind numerous offspring. He died in 1610 on his estate called Wolanów,

Ashmyany Ashmyany or Oshmyany is a city in Grodno Region, Belarus. It is located from Vilnius in Lithuania, and serves as the administrative center of Ashmyany District. The river Ashmyanka passes through the city. As of 2025, it has a population of 16 ...

Works

* Caecitas et poena ecclesiae, libellus lectu dignissimus 1608 * Francisci Turriani ... Contra Andream Volanum ... de sanctissima eucharistia ...1577 * Paraenesis Andreae Volani ad omnes in regno Poloniae, Magnoque Ducatu Lituaniæ. 1582 * Andreæ Volani Ad beatissimum patrem, D. Hippolytum Aldebrandinum ... Oratio 1593 * De dignitate ordinis ecclesiastici regni Poloniæ 1582 * De libertate politica 1572

Bibliography

References

1530 births 1610 deaths Lithuanian Calvinist and Reformed Christians 16th-century Polish male writers 17th-century Polish male writers {{Poland-bio-stub