Heinrich von Staden

This article is about the German diplomat and writer of the 16th century. For the German-American classical philologist and medical historian, see Heinrich von Staden (medical historian) .

Heinrich von Staden (* 1545 in Ahlen ; † unknown; after 1578), also called Genrich Staden , was a German adventurer, writer and diplomat .

Life

Portrait of Ivan IV, woodcut from the 17th century

Staden wanted to become a priest, but stabbed a classmate to death in an argument and emigrated to Livonia via Lübeck in 1560 to avoid prosecution in his home country. In Riga he stayed with relatives, who gave him a position as administrator. After being involved in fighting against Russia on the Polish side in Dorpat for a short time , he switched to the service of the Russian Tsar Ivan IV in 1564. Staden was one of the few foreigners who belonged to the oprichniki , the terrorist command of Ivan the Terrible . As an opritschnik, he witnessed the interrogation of Johann Wilhelm von Fürstenberg and took part in the punitive expedition against Novgorod in 1570 .

After the dissolution of the oprichnina, Staden resigned from the service of the tsar in 1572 and remained as a merchant in Russia, where, in addition to real estate and fur trading, he earned money by serving alcohol, which was only allowed to foreigners.

From probably 1578 he entered the service of Count Georg Johann I von Pfalz-Veldenz as a diplomat . The circumstances of his death are not recorded.

plant

At the suggestion of Rudolf II , he wrote his report from Westphalia to Moscow. My service in the terror troop of Tsar Ivan. In addition to his notes on the Moscow state , which also includes an autobiography, it is his main work.

literature

• Peter Alberts: From Westphalia to Moscow. My service in the terror troop of Tsar Ivan. Heinrich von Staden. Hamburg 1998, ISBN 3-932208-05-6
• Fritz T. Epstein: Heinrich von Staden. Records of the Moscow State. Based on the handwriting of the Prussian State Archives in Hanover. Treatises from the field of foreign studies . Hamburg University, Volume 34, Hamburg 1964.

Web links

• Literature by and about Heinrich von Staden in the catalog of the German National Library