Tomicki was born in 1464 near Poznań, the son of Mikołaj of
Tomice, a
Chorąży (standard-bearer) from
Poznań, and Anna of
Szamotuły. After his father's death in 1478, he went to the court of his uncle, Andrzej Szamotuły, then governor of Poznań. He studied at the cathedral school in
Gniezno, before moving to
Leipzig around 1486, and shortly after to the Kraków Academy, where he earned his
bachelor's degree in 1490, and his
magistrature in philosophy three years later in 1493. That same year he travelled to
Bologna to study law, finishing his
doctorate in 1500. Immediately after graduation he began working in the
Roman Curia, becoming chancellor of Cardinal
Fryderyk Jagiellończyk, who gave him a number of ecclesiastical benefices, including the
archdeaconry of Kraków, despite Piotr's not being a
clergyman. After the death of Cardinal Fryderyk, Piotr went to the court of
Jan Lubrański, the bishop of Poznań, where he remained between 1503 and 1506. Then he went to the office of the crown of King
Sigismund I the Old, in whose service as secretary he repeatedly traveled as envoy to
Hungary,
Wallachia, and
Pomerania. In 1511 Piotr was ordained a priest, and in 1514 he was consecrated Bishop of
Przemyśl. One year later he became
Vice-Chancellor of the Crown, an office which he held until his death. In 1515, together with Chancellor
Krzysztof Szydłowiecki, he became the main benefactor of a settlement with the
Habsburgs. After the death of Jan Lubrański in 1520, he became bishop in Poznań and renounced the bishopric of Przemyśl. He resided in
Wielkopolska for a while, devoting his time to politics and working for the royal court. In 1525, he became bishop of Kraków, while still bishop of Poznań, as well as
Apostolic Nuncio, and collector of papal tributes. In 1526 he abdicated his position as bishop in Poznań. In that same year he conducted an amicable agreement between the king and
Albert Hohenzollern. Tomicki served as both Bishop of Kraków and Vice-Chancellor of the Crown from 1525, which was inconsistent with the Polish law of
Incompatibilitas. It was one of the main reasons for opposition near Szydłowiec during the
Execution movement. Piotr Tomicki died in Kraków on 19 October 1535. He was buried in
Wawel Cathedral in a chapel that he himself founded. He is one of the characters on the famous painting by
Jan Matejko,
Prussian Homage. ==See also==