Konrad von Wallenrode

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Konrad von Wallenrode
Grand Master's coat of arms of Konrad von Wallenrode

Konrad von Wallenrode (also Konrad von Wallenrod , Konrad von Wallenrodt ; * between 1330 and 1340; † July 23, 1393 in Marienburg ) was the 24th Grand Master of the Teutonic Order from March 12, 1391 until his death . He came from the Franconian knight family of the von Wallenrode .

Early years and advancement

In 1368 Konrad von Wallenrode was the nurse of Prussian Eylau . Grand Master Winrich von Kniprode referred to him in 1377 as Commander of Schlochau ( West Prussia ). His real career, however, only began when Konrad Zöllner von Rotenstein became Grand Master in 1382.

After the death of Kuno von Hattenstein , Konrad became Order Marshal and Commander of Königsberg . He was primarily entrusted with the task of organizing the campaigns against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . In 1387 he became Commander of Marienburg and Grand Commander of the Teutonic Order . Zöllner died in 1390 and it seemed only a matter of time before Konrad was elected Grand Master. However, he met with great resistance from Walrabe von Scharffenberg , the Commander of Danzig . It was not until August 20, 1391 that Wallenrode became Grand Master with the support of two electors, the supreme Spittler and Komtur von Elbing , Siegfried Walpot von Bassenheim , and Rüdiger von Elner , the Komtur von Tuchel and former Grand Komtur .

The time as Grand Master

Panoramic view of the Marienburg

Konrad's two-year tenure, which began on March 12, 1391, was filled with campaigns against the Lithuanians . Lohmeyer describes Konrad as a “brave and bellicose knight”, and his opponents are said to have given him the nickname “the renegade”. However, the campaigns against Lithuania were unable to achieve sustainable success. In addition, Lithuania under Prince Vytautas and Poland under King Władysław II. Jagiełło came closer to each other (see also Polish-Lithuanian Union ), which in terms of alliance policy could in part also count on the support of the Piastic Dukes of Mazovia and the Dukes of Pomerania .

Konrad began a campaign against Lithuania in 1392 and divided his army into three divisions: the first under the command of Arnold von Burgeln, Komtur von Balga , heading for Mazovia , the other two, under the command of Konrad and Supreme Marshal Engelhard Rabe von Wildstein stood, moved towards Vilna . When they were about to take the city, which was being defended by Polish knights, they were nevertheless forced to retreat - a consequence of a scandal caused by the Grand Master. Von Wildstein is described as a great commander and tactician who enjoyed the respect of his soldiers. Nevertheless, he was deposed as Grand Marshal by Konrad. The reason for this is not fully known, but it is generally assumed that the Grand Master envied his military leader Wildstein's success. This triggered a revolt among the knights of the order, who stood behind Wildstein in large numbers. Nevertheless, Konrad was not dissuaded from his decision and the campaign was abandoned. This helped von Wallenrode to clear up the disagreements in his own ranks, especially in the lower Prussian commanderies of Balga, Brandenburg and Ragnit , which were under the supremacy of the Grand Marshal.

Konrad managed to come into possession of what was previously Polish territory. So he acquired a bridgehead on the left bank of the border river Drewenz ( Drwęca ) and later the Polish duchy of Dobrzin .

The Grand Master's Cross

During his reign he initiated intensive economic and infrastructure measures in Prussia . The promotion of trade by the order also intensified the competitive situation on site and contributed to the image of the order as foreign rule. He gave many lands to Germans and built castles in Gottersweder and Mittenburg. In 1393 he created a new Ryne Commandery . The first Komtur was his brother Friedrich von Wallenrode , later Komtur von Mewe , Strasbourg ( Brodnica ) and supreme marshal and Komtur von Königsberg, who fell in the battle of Tannenberg in 1410 . A nephew of Conrad was Johann V von Wallenrodt , Archbishop of Riga from 1393 to 1418.

In 1392, Duke Władysław Opolczyk Konrad offered to partition Poland under the Holy Roman Empire , the Teutonic Order, Brandenburg , Hungary and the Silesian dukes , but the Grand Master refused. In the same year he began another military operation against Lithuania together with foreign crusaders, including Henry of Derby, who later became King Henry IV of England . Dutch and French knights under Konrad's command attacked Gardinas . This moved Vytautas to a peace conference that was held in Thorn . Ten days after the conference, Konrad probably died of a stroke on July 23, 1393 , according to Lohmeyer due to "severe internal inflammation".

Konrad von Wallenrode is considered to be a powerful personality in the history of the order, even if his figure was later obscured by tendentious and false portrayals of his reign.

coat of arms

The increased coat of arms as grand master is quartered . In fields one and four there is the so-called Hochmeister cross . The coat of arms of the von Wallenrode family is repeated in fields two and three: a square silver belt buckle on a red background, decorated with clover leaves at the corners.

Poem and opera

The Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz wrote a poem called Konrad Wallenrod in 1828 , which takes the name and some dates of the historical Wallenrode. Otherwise, however, a very different story is told that is supposed to fuel Polish patriotism. Konrad is actually of Lithuanian origin and, when he becomes aware of this, deliberately leads the knights of the order into defeat.

The poem was used as a template for the libretti for the following opera: "I Lituani" by Amilcare Ponchielli and "Konrad Wallenrod" by Władysław Żeleński .

literature

Web links

Commons : Konrad von Wallenrode  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Date according to NDB, ADB and BBKL name 25 July 1393.
  2. ↑ a b c d K. Lohmeyer:  Konrad von Wallenrodt . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 40, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1896, p. 732 f.
personal data
SURNAME Konrad von Wallenrode
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wallenrod, Konrad von; Wallenrode, Konrad von; Wallenrodt, Konrad von; Konrad
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
DATE OF BIRTH between 1330 and 1340
DATE OF DEATH July 23, 1393 or July 25, 1393
Place of death Marienburg