Heinrich Reffle von Richtenberg

Grand Master's coat of arms of Heinrich Reffle von Richtenberg

Heinrich Reffle von Richtenberg (* around 1415 in Swabia; † 1477 in Königsberg ) was the 33rd Grand Master of the Teutonic Order from 1470 to 1477.

Life

Heinrich comes from the Swabian noble family von Richtenberg from the western Neckar area .

First, he was the Kompan the Grand Master Konrad and Ludwig von Erlichshausen and during the Thirteen Years' War, administrator of the Fish Master Office in Puck . In the years 1460 to 1470 he was a major in various positions.

After the Teutonic Order was defeated in the Thirteen Years' War , it was forced to cede West Prussia to Poland and swear allegiance to the King of Poland in the Second Peace of Thorn in 1466. Heinrich's predecessor, Heinrich Reuss von Plauen , delayed this in order not to have to pay homage to the Polish king. After he finally did so, he died on the journey home in 1470.

On October 29, 1470 Heinrich Reffles was elected Grand Master. He immediately initiated strict austerity measures to consolidate the order's finances. Since May 1470 there were serious disputes with the new bishop of Samland , Dietrich von Cuba , about the indulgence trade initiated by him . The dispute escalated in 1474 when the Grand Master learned of a conspiracy by the bishop to overthrow him and had him imprisoned. When the bishop died in custody under unexplained circumstances, this led to a serious conflict with the Curia in Rome .

Another dispute during Heinrich's tenure was the Prussian Pfaffenkrieg , a dispute between the Bishop of Warmia , who claimed the title of Prince-Bishop - conferred by Charles IV a century earlier - against the Polish King Casimir IV Jagiełło . The order successfully supported Bishop Nikolaus von Tüngen .

He died on April 20, 1477 and was buried in Königsberg Cathedral .

literature

Friedrich August Vossberg : History of the Prussian coins and seals from the earliest times to the end of the rule of the Teutonic Order . Berlin 1843, pp. 178-179 .
Erich Weise : Heinrich Reffle von Richtenberg. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 8, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1969, ISBN 3-428-00189-3 , p. 380 ( digitized version ).

Web links

Commons : Heinrich Reffle von Richtenberg - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Data on Heinrich including coat of arms at ordensstaat.de

Individual evidence

↑ Friedrich August Voßberg : History of the Prussian coins and seals from the earliest times to the end of the rule of the Teutonic Order . Berlin 1843, p. 178 .
^ Arno Mentzel-Reuters: Arma spiritualia - libraries. Books and education in the Teutonic Order . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2003, pp. 287–289 ( restricted preview ).
↑ cf. z. B. Otto von Rutenberg : History of the Baltic provinces of Liv, Esth and Kurland from the oldest times to the end of their independence . Volume 2, Leipzig 1860, pp. 200-203.

personal data
SURNAME	Heinrich Reffle von Richtenberg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
DATE OF BIRTH	around 1415
PLACE OF BIRTH	Swabia
DATE OF DEATH	1477
Place of death	Koenigsberg

[1] Friedrich August Voßberg : History of the Prussian coins and seals from the earliest times to the end of the rule of the Teutonic Order . Berlin 1843, p. 178 .

[2] Arno Mentzel-Reuters: Arma spiritualia - libraries. Books and education in the Teutonic Order . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2003, pp. 287–289 ( restricted preview ).

[3] . z. B. Otto von Rutenberg : History of the Baltic provinces of Liv, Esth and Kurland from the oldest times to the end of their independence . Volume 2, Leipzig 1860, pp. 200-203.