Janusz Tarnowa


Archbishop Janusz Tarnowa was Archbishop of Gniezno, Poland.
He was appointed Archbishop 20 May 1258 and he died in office 1271. Brave, educated and well versed in political matters, he skilfully ruled the Archdiocese in the troubled and difficult times of the second invasion of the Tatars, and the Lithuanian pillaging of Mazowsze.
Little is known of his life. Jan Długosz maintains that he was from Grzymałów, but this remains un-established, as is the hypotheses he belonged to the Knights of Tarnawów's.
A trusted official and collaborator for 20 years, of Pełka, he was unanimously supported as his replacement and was appointed archbishop on May 20, 1258. One of the most momentous events of his tenure was the canonization in 1266 of Jadwiga Śląska by Pope Urban IV and as Archbishop he convened several provincial councils.
Historians do not agree on the date of his death but it was probably 1271 or 1272.