Palman Bracht

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Palman Bracht ( lat. Palmanus Teutonicus Capitanus gentis armigens , * around 1290 in Styria , † after 1355 ) was the leader of a mercenary army in Serbia in the 14th century , which at least in its initial phase consisted of Germans . In the Serbian tradition, this mercenary army is also known as Palman's knight ( Serbian Palmanovi vitezi ).

Life

Palman Bracht was born in Styria at the end of the 13th century. From birth he had a so-called rabbit lip or harelip , a split in the upper lip. He spent the early years in his father's castle, and at 13 he became a courtier . At 16 he was a squire in the service of Heinrich III. , with which he stayed until 1310 when his father died. Palman took over his father's inheritance and entered the service of the Habsburgs . He was knighted under the Habsburgs. At the age of 27 he had his crooked lip operated on in Venice because of the unrequited love of a countess. Since he could not win the love of this countess even with this, he spent his next years as an adventurer and at numerous tournaments throughout the Holy Roman Empire , in which he lost a finger. When after these "tokens of love" his love was still not returned by the countess mentioned, Palman decided to move to the Holy Land . Traveling through Serbia he met the Serbian Tsar Stefan Dušan with his companions and entered his service around 1331 as the leader of a German mercenary troop (allegedly up to 300 men), as "Kapetan der Alemannischen Guard". In some sources this Alemannic guard is also referred to as Dušan's bodyguard.

In Serbia he was also involved in the battle of Porodimlje between Stefan Dušan, at the time still co-regent and heir to the throne, and his father Stefan Dečanski ; after this battle Stefan Dušan was crowned King of Serbia. His troops were also involved in the suppression of an uprising by local nobles in the Zeta and northern Albania . In 1336 Dušan planned to separate from his wife Jelena, the sister of the Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Alexander , because the marriage with her remained childless. A marriage with Elisabeth, the daughter of Frederick the Beautiful , was held out in prospect . Palman was sent as a matchmaker because of his German language and previous services to the Habsburgs. Palman's advertisements were fruitless because Elisabeth died early. In alliance with the Byzantine regent Johannes Kantakuzenos , Dušan conquered large parts of Byzantium, and Palman's troops were stationed in Veria in Thrace . Veria was captured by Kantakuzenos with a ruse in the same year. Palman's people were given safe conduct while Serb soldiers were held hostage. Around 1354 Palman was sent to help Stefan Dušan's sister Jelena, who ruled as a widowed Šubić Bribirski in northern Dalmatia and was threatened by Hungary . Stefan Dušan died in 1355, and there has been no trace of the Palman and his troops ever since. It is believed that Palman either stayed at Jelena's court and died there, or returned to his home in Styria.

Trivia

One event stayed alive in the memory of the Serbs over the centuries. In the 1350s Stefan Dušan negotiated with the Pope about a church union between the Orthodox Church in Serbia and the Roman Catholic Church . The aim of the church union was on the one hand to provide support in future disputes with the Turks - Dušan foresaw the threat from the Turks and wanted the Pope to appoint himself "captain of Christendom in the fight against the infidels" - on the other hand, he promised himself protection from attacks by Catholic rulers like them the Hungarians. When Hungary began a campaign against Serbia in 1355, Dušan saw no real political gains in church union and then banned all Catholics at his court from participating in church mass. At that time, the papal envoy Peter Thomas was at Dušan's court. Palman and his men ignored the ban and attended the mass. When asked, Palman replied that Stefan Dušan could dispose of their bodies, but not their souls. Dušan was so impressed by this bold attitude that he finally let Palman and his people have their way.