Laski (or a Lasco), Jan (1499–1560)

Polish religious reformer, who tried to win Poland over to the cause of the Protestant Reformation in the mid-16th century. While in exile in England, he was an associate of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer.

Laski was born at Task, nephew of the Polish archbishop Laski (1456–1531). Studying abroad, he became imbued with the reformist ideas of Zwingli and Erasmus. Nevertheless, he remained in the Catholic Church and became the bishop of Vesprem. However, he was disgraced when it was discovered that he had secretly married, and fled to England. There, he helped Cranmer compile the Prayer Book and Articles of the Church of England. On his return to Poland in 1556, Laski oversaw the translation of the Bible into Polish, but was never able to give Protestantism a firm foundation in his native country.