New Dating of the Trials of Astrologer Henry Bohemus

This essay attempts to determine a new dating of the two trials of Henry the Bohemian, an astrologer acting at the court of Queen Sophia of Holshansk. The above research project was made possible by putting together people who were mentioned in three main sources about the events in question: the legal opinions written by Stanisław of Skarbimierz, the sermon ending the trial delivered by Andrzej of Kokorzyn, and the verdict announced by Zbigniew Oleśnicki, Bishop of Cracow, and Jan the Papal Inquisitor. Until now, it has been assumed that the events concerning the court astrologer took place around 1429. However, the inquisitor in charge of both trials, Jan of Poland, and the witness, Magister Monald, both died in 1428. Another witness, the royal treasurer Henryk of Rogów, lost his life to a plague in 1425 or 1426. The vicar-general in spiritualibus, whose name is unknown, who took part in the first trial, was no longer in office a year later. Based on the list of known vicars of the Bishopric of Kraków from that period, the trials of Henry of Bohemia can only be dated between 1422 and 1424. The previous accepted chronology is upset by the shift in the dates of the events in question. It looks like Henry was first put on trial as a heretic and given a life sentence. But soon after the verdict was pronounced the king released him and he subsequently became the court astrologer to Queen Sophia of Halshany.