First Peace of Thorn

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Original document of the peace treaty (most of the seals are missing)

The First Peace of Thorn on February 1, 1411 was a peace treaty negotiated in Thorn on an island in the Vistula, in the middle of the border between the Order and Poland, between the Teutonic Order on the one hand and the Polish King Władysław II Jagiełło and his allied Grand Duke Vytautas von Lithuania on the other hand. He ended the military confrontation, which in 1410 in the Battle of Tannenberg was culminating.

Terms of contract

Despite the catastrophic defeat of the Teutonic Order, after the unsuccessful siege of Marienburg by the allies, Grand Master Heinrich von Plauen was able to negotiate tolerable peace provisions for the militarily weakened order in this contract: the territorial existence of the order was essentially preserved, but this had to be in the treaty of Sallinwerder the Order on suitable Samogitians back to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania shall be assigned, and minor border adjustments in the south, primarily the return of Dobrzyń country to the Kingdom, partly under arbitration reservation, were charged to the Order. The transfer of ownership to Schemeiten was only to last for the lifetime of Grand Duke Vytautas and King Jagiello. The dukes Janusz and Semowit of Mazovia as well as Duke Bogislaw VIII of Pomerania-Stolp , to whom the king, ironically before his defeat at the siege of Marienburg, had already transferred some commanderies of the Teutonic Order , were expressly included . The Archbishop of Riga , Johannes von Wallenrode , and Bishop Johann I von Würzburg are also named as witnesses .

For the release of the prisoners and evacuation of the castles of the Order by Polish-Lithuanian garrisons as well as the withdrawal of mercenaries of the Polish king, the Grand Master had to undertake to pay 100,000 shock Bohemian groschen , payable in four installments of 25,000 groschen on predetermined dates. This meant that the Teutonic Order had to raise 22,200 kilograms of silver. This amount almost exhausted the financial strength of the order and was one reason for the decline of the order's rule that began after 1411.

consequences

In particular, the immense financial burden resulting from the contract turned out to be fatal for the order. As a result of the armaments of the previous years and direct losses through acts of war, the originally excellent financial resources of the order had been significantly damaged. In addition, there were losses resulting from declining trade and the devastation of the Prussian land. The theater of war extended almost exclusively to districts that belonged to the Teutonic Order state. Furthermore, the personnel situation was precarious due to the losses in the Battle of Tannenberg and numerous mercenaries of the order demanded their remuneration.

Grand Master Heinrich von Plauen was therefore forced to raise a special tax, the so-called lap , which aroused considerable dissatisfaction in the country. The contradictions that had been latent for some time between authoritarian rule and the Prussian estates broke out openly. In addition to the increased taxation, the weakening of the order as a whole by the defeat was decisive here. In return, the estates, cities and landed gentry demanded extensive autonomy and a say in fiscal and political decisions. The Grand Master felt compelled to announce the establishment of a so-called regional council , which in turn resulted in considerable indignation among his own knights.

It was possible to raise the first installment of 25,000 shock Bohemian groschen on time. Significant difficulties arose when the next batch was due. A postponement for the third installment by Wladyslaw II Jagiello could only be granted by the Grand Master with considerable diplomatic effort under the intercession of the Hungarian King Sigismund and the French King Charles VI. can be achieved. After Heinrich von Plauen got into ever greater distress, among other things caused by an increasingly threatening attitude of the King of Poland, he was removed from his office on October 13, 1413 at a general chapter. His successor Michael Küchmeister did not succeed in clearing up the internal contradictions and in satisfying the claims of the King of Poland through diplomatic channels. The result were further Polish war campaigns through the Order's land, which only came to a temporary end with the peace of Lake Melno in 1422.

literature

Contemporary chronicles

Source edition

Scientific literature

  • Sven Ekdahl: The battle near Tannenberg 1410 Source-critical investigations. Volume I: Introduction and sources. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, 1982. From: Berlin Historical Studies , Volume 8. Review , online in the Google book search
  • Stephen Turnbull: Tannenberg 1410 , Osprey Publishing, Campaign 122, Oxford 2003, ISBN 1-84176-561-9 ( online in Google book search)
  • Wolfgang Sonthofen: The German Order ; Weltbild, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89350-713-2
  • Dieter Zimmerling: The German Knight Order ; Econ, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-430-19959-X

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dieter Zimmerling: The German order of knights. P. 260
  2. ↑ In the chronicle of Johann von Polge it says: "... sunder the land czu Samaythin sulde remain the Koninge of Poland and Duchess Witowt czu mad beyder lebin, sy welden is denne give the ordin for your good sake." In chronicle of Johann von Polsilge; Theodor Hirsch, Max Toeppen, Ernst Strehlke: Scriptores rerum Prussicarum. The historical sources of the Prussian prehistoric times up to the fall of the order. Volume 3, p. 325.
  3. ↑ The Commanderies Schlochau, Hammerstein, Brandenburg, Friedland and Schivelbein in: Theodor Hirsch, Max Toeppen, Ernst Strehlke: Scriptores rerum Prussicarum. The historical sources of the Prussian prehistoric times up to the fall of the order. Volume 3, p. 325.
  4. ^ Theodor Hirsch, Max Toeppen, Ernst Strehlke: Scriptores rerum Prussicarum. The historical sources of the Prussian prehistoric times up to the fall of the order. Volume 3, p. 325.
  5. ^ For example, the Rehden Order Castle was occupied by Bohemian mercenaries under Jan Žižka ; in: Dieter Zimmerling: The German Knight Order. P. 259
  6. ↑ "In the chronicle of John of Posilge it says ... and dy prisoner who had koning, czwen herczogin (NB .: Duke Konrad VII." Old White " of Oels and Casimir, younger son of the Duke Swantibor III. Of Pomerania-Stettin ) and vil good knights and servants the ordin had to give the king a hundred tous a day of chocolate "in the chronicle of Johann von Polsilge; Theodor Hirsch, Max Toeppen, Ernst Strehlke: Scriptores rerum Prussicarum. The historical sources of the Prussian prehistoric times up to the fall of the order. Volume 3, p. 325.
  7. ^ Dieter Zimmerling: The German order of knights. P. 260
  8. ↑ A Bohemian groschen corresponds to 3.7 grams of silver; since one shock is equivalent to 60 pieces, the order had to raise 22.2 tons of silver
  9. ^ Dieter Zimmerling: The German order of knights. P. 262
  10. ^ Dieter Zimmerling: The German order of knights. P. 262
  11. ^ Dieter Zimmerling: The German order of knights. P. 263