Nicholas of Banz, also known as Nikolaus von Banz, was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

and an important mediator in the dynastic struggles of 13th century

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and for a time was administrator of the

diocese of Wroclaw In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

. Bishops of Wroclaw
at GCatholic.org. Nicholas came from a patrician family and by 1305 AD was a canon in the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wrocław The Archdiocese of Wrocław (; ; ; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church centered in the city of Wrocław in Poland. From its founding as a Diocese, bishopric in 1000 until 1821, it was under the Arch ...

. From 1308 to 1315 he was

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

Legnica Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. Le ...

and from 1326 to his death he was

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

at ''Breslau Cross pen''. Nicholas was a skilful negotiator and acted as a mediator on several occasions. Following the death of Bishop Henry of Würben in 1319 no bishop sat in Wroclaw for 7 years. This was due to the conflicting claims of two candidates (Vitus Habdank and Lutold of Kremsier) so during this time Nicholas acted as administrator. As diocese administrator Nicholas was an advisor to Henry VI. His support for Henry VI lead to Nicholas being abducted by forces loyal to Henry's brother

Bolesław Bolesław or Boleslav may refer to: People * Bolesław (given name) (also ''Boleslav'' or ''Boleslaus''), including a list of people with this name Geography * Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland * Bolesław, Olkusz Coun ...

and he was held till 1327. Nicholas mediated the conflict between his successor Bishop

Nanker Nanker (born Jan Kołda; also known as Nankier; ca. 1270–1341) was a Polish nobleman of Oksza coat of arms as well as bishop of Kraków (1320–1326) and bishop of Wrocław (1326–1341). Supporter of King Władysław I the Elbow-high, Ladisl ...

and

John of Bohemia John of Bohemia, also called the Blind or of Luxembourg (; ; ; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland. He is well known for having died while fighting ...

. Skilful negotiations by Nicholas, removed monetary claims of the

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

s, Peter of

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France. As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...

and Galhard de Garceribus.

References

13th-century Polish Roman Catholic priests 14th-century Polish Roman Catholic priests 13th-century births 14th-century deaths {{Poland-reli-bio-stub