Bernhart von Zinnenberg

Bernhart von Zinnenberg-Schönberg († January 7, 1470 in Kulm ) was a noble mercenary leader of the Teutonic Order . He was lien holder of Kulm and Strasburg an der Drewenz .

family

Bernhart's father was Mikeš Divuček von Jemništ (Miksch von Czimburg), royal Bohemian mint master († before 1449), the mother probably came from the Bohemian noble family Wartenberg . Half-brothers were Heinrich von Waldstein auf Stepanitz, Benedikt von Waldstein and Johannes von Waldstein .

Bernhart came from an influential family in Bohemia and Moravia . At a young age, the father was part of the Sigismund community as a “secret advice” . Known for his good relations with the Teutonic Order, in 1444 he had offered the Grand Master 300 good horsemen as mercenaries. The city of Breslau had recommended him to the Grand Master before the outbreak of the Thirteen Years' War (1449). Bishop Paul von Miličin and Talmberg emphasized from his own knowledge Bernhart's commitment to the old church against the Hussites . The city of Brno extensively praised Bernhart's character, skills and actions.

Life

After the outbreak of war in February 1454, Bernhart, coming through the Marches of Brandenburg , approached the land of the Order with recruited mercenaries. In September he was significantly involved when the order was able to victoriously shape the only major field battle of this war with the Battle of Konitz . Bernhart took part in the order's attempts to turn the course of the war into a favorable turn through this military success, which ultimately did not succeed. Since the Grand Master could not reward his mercenaries, the Marienburg and the rest of the Order were pledged with the help of Bernhart on October 9, 1454 . When Bernhart went to Thorn to negotiate at the turn of the year , he was temporarily detained there. When the Grand Master tried (unsuccessfully) to take the city in February 1455, Bernhart was already outside it. The Bohemian mercenaries, who were dissatisfied because of the lack of payment of wages by the order, soon threatened to sell the pledged Marienburg and other castles to the war opponent - that is, to the Crown of Poland . Bernhart tried to oppose this. He was in captivity when the Bohemian mercenaries occupied Malbork Castle in May 1455 because the payment date had passed. The Bohemian mercenaries, led by Ulrich Czerwenka , wanted to sell the Marienburg under all circumstances because they wanted power and money. So they prevented an exchange of prisoners with Bernhart, because they feared his energy in freedom. When ambassadors from the Livonian branch of the order came to Marienburg for negotiations in April 1456 about the required monetary payments, Bernhart was still in captivity, which the Grand Master, in view of his commitment, also deplored financially. The Bohemian mercenaries let the negotiations fail. Shortly thereafter, Bernhart had "vacation" from his detention in Thorn to join the negotiations. During the negotiations between the Bohemian mercenaries and Poland about the amount of the sales price, he tried to impede the sale by making excessive demands on himself. The German mercenaries did not want to participate and urged Bernhart to influence the Bohemians. It was in vain. The sale took place in August 1456. Poland and the cities shared the sales amount. Because these were also in financial difficulties, the order repeatedly tried, with the assistance of Bernhart, to prevent an execution. To Bernhart's dismay, Czerwenka and the Bohemian mercenaries were satisfied with a lower payment from the Danzigers in October 1456 in order not to allow the order to return, although he could prove his solvency. After further payments had been made by the King of Poland and above all Danzig, the Poles moved into Marienburg in June 1457. The Grand Master could only leave the castle under extremely unworthy conditions.

As early as February 1457, Bernhart turned to his Bohemian sovereign with a complaint against the other Bohemian mercenary leaders. At that time he had to remain in custody until the Marienburg was handed over to the enemy. He also had to deal with a counterclaim. Among other things, the change of the throne in Bohemia delayed the matter. The Teutonic Order was also hesitant, so that in early 1959 Bernhart had to urge the Grand Master to finally take action in order to maintain his reputation. After the official indictment had been sent in December 1459, the verdict was passed in Prague in June 1460. The illegality of the sale was found and led to the temporary imprisonment of Czerwenka and others.

Even after the loss of the Marienburg, Bernhart was the most important military leader on the side of the Teutonic Order, who was feared by his opponents in an intellectual sense and because of his energy. His attempt, with the help of the city of Marienburg on 27./28. Taking back the castle in September 1457 was unsuccessful; but soon after, on October 24, 1457, he was able to take the city of Kulm. It has not been possible to clarify whether treason was involved. The urban society was politically divided. Despite his personal economic hardship, Bernhart succeeded in establishing a rule of the city that lasted beyond the end of the Thirteen Years' War. He acted as the governor of the Grand Master and demanded a corresponding oath of office from the newly appointed city council. The main political opponent was the city of Thorn, which had started the war and now opposed all attempts to find a compromise. Nevertheless, on October 8, 1458, an armistice ("Beifriede") came about, which was followed by peace negotiations on March 4, 1459 in Kulm. These failed because of procedural issues and above all because of the unwillingness of the cities of Thorn and Danzig to compromise with Bernhart and the Order. They saw it as more advantageous for their own interests to allow the country to be devastated in seven more years of war. Even the representatives of the order did not want to agree to an anticipation of the later provisions of the Second Peace of Thorne .

For reasons that were not clearly clarified, Bernhart traveled to Bohemia in 1460, where he recruited mercenaries for a mission in Prussia. On the way back he heard about the fall of Marienburg and the death of the mayor Bartholomäus Blume . After several military operations west of the Vistula, he returned to Kulm in early September. In the following three years there were various military measures with varying successes until the lack of support from the Grand Master and Order prompted Bernhart to conclude a separate peace with the King of Poland ( Casimir IV. Andrew ) and Duke of Mazovia on December 13, 1463 that lasted until the end of the war. This gave Bernhart an exceptional position for Kulm and other castles he had occupied; for this he should not give the order any further assistance until the end of the war. When the peace negotiations then began, the order of Kulm, Althaus and Strasburg, i.e. Bernhart's possessions, counted among his own. The actual peace negotiations in September / October 1466 were promoted by Bernhart, who represented the order. Since he still saw his mercenaries unsatisfied after the peace agreement, he was not yet able to restore the city of Kulm to a new level of prosperity. After more than three years, he died impoverished on January 7, 1470. Bernhart was a gifted military leader who lacked a financially strong client for resounding success; the Teutonic Order was no longer in its day. Another very restless decade followed for the city; because Kulm remained in the possession of Bernhart's half-brothers until November 10, 1479 because he was childless.

literature

• Franz Schultz : Bernhard von Zinnenberg, a military leader in the thirteen-year city war. In: Journal of the West Prussian History Association. 22, 1887, pp. 71–158 - Regesta historico-diplomatica Ordinis S. Mariae Theutonicorum 1198–1525, arr. with and. v. Erich Joachim , ed. v. Walther Hubatsch , Pars I, Volume 1/2, 2, Pars II, Register, Göttingen 1948–1965
• Wilhelm Rautenberg: Bohemian mercenaries in the Order of Prussia. Phil. Diss. Hamburg 1953.
• Wilhelm Rautenberg: The sale of the Marienburg 1454-1457. In: Ernst Bahr (Hrsg.): Studies on the history of the Prussian country. Festschrift for Erich Keyser. Marburg 1963, pp. 119-150.
• Marian Biskup : Trzynastoletnia wojna z Zakonem Krzyżackim 1454–1466. [The Thirteen Years War with the Teutonic Order 1454–1466]. Warszawa 1967, in the index under Szumborski (von Schönberg) Bernard.
• Bernhart Jähnig : The journey of the order envoys to the Kulm negotiation day in March 1459. In: Prussia. 38, 2000, pp. 46-60.

Web links

• GoogleBooks
• Secret State Archive of Prussian Cultural Heritage
• The sale of the Marienburg. An episode from the Thirteen Years City War.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Benedikt von Waldstein (* around 1440, † March 18, 1505 at Hohenstadt Castle ), was provost of Olmütz, later bishop of Kammin.
2. ↑ Johannes von Waldstein († before 1467) was lord of Ostrov in the Dubicko reign .
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Bernhart Jähnig: Three supplements to the "Old Prussian Biography". 2017.
4. ^ Old Prussian biography. P. 62 f.