Dantiscus, Johannes

▪ Polish author and bishop

(Latin), Polish  Jan Dantyszek , also called  Jan Flachsbinder 

born November 1, 1485, Gdańsk, Poland

died October 27, 1548, Lidzbark Warmiński

      Polish poet and diplomat who was among the first representatives in Poland of Renaissance humanism. Dantiscus wrote, in Latin, incidental verse, love poetry, and panegyrics (formal speeches of praise).

      A courtier to the Polish king Sigismund I, Dantiscus accompanied the king to Vienna in 1515. In 1516 the Holy Roman emperor Maximilian I granted him a certificate of nobility, two doctoral law degrees, and a laurel in poetry. Later in life Dantiscus joined the Roman Catholic church, becoming bishop of Chełmo (1530–37) and then of Warmia (1537).

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