Rüdiger von Elner

Rüdiger von Elner († 1396 ) from the Eller family was a knight of the Teutonic Order .

The Grand Master Winrich von Kniprode appointed him in 1370, as the successor to Henning Schindekopf , who died from his injuries sustained in the Battle of Rudau on February 17, 1370 , as Order Marshal . He held this office until 1374. From 1374 to 1383 he was the Grand Commander's official deputy to the Grand Master.

On May 31, 1380, Rüdiger von Elner concluded the secret Treaty of Daudisken ( Lithuanian : Dovydiškių sutartis; Polish : Traktat w Dawidyszkach; English : Treaty of Dovydiškės) with Grand Duke Jogaila of Lithuania , who from 1386 as Władysław II. Jagiełło was King of Poland . Jogaila had been in armed conflict with his uncle Kęstutis for rule in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1379 , and it was in the interests of the Order to nurture and exploit this conflict. At Daudisken, the representatives of both sides officially met for a joint hunt lasting several days, and over the course of several days negotiated the treaty, which was essentially a non-aggression pact directed against Kęstutis. Both sides were still free to invade Kestutis 'and his sons' territories, while trying to keep peace against one another. For Jogaila this meant that he - without being considered a friend and ally of the order - had directed the military force of the order solely on his rival. The Order, for its part, had now secured part of its Lithuanian border and only had to reckon with part of the Lithuanian armed forces as opponents.

The new Grand Master, Konrad Zöllner von Rotenstein , elected in 1382, appointed Kuno von Liebenstein to Grand Commander in 1383 , and Rüdiger von Elner went to Tuchel as Commander from 1384 to 1391 . However, he continued to maintain great influence in the order and was one of the electors who pushed through the election of Konrad von Wallenrode as Grand Master in 1391 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Johannes Voigt : History of Prussia. Volume 5, Bornträger, Königsberg 1832, p. 397. ( online )
2. ↑ In the Chronica nova Prutenica des Wigand von Marburg , the place where the contract was concluded is referred to as Dowidisken . The text of the treaty itself speaks of Daudiske , and older historical texts write either Daudiske or Daudisken . However, no place with this name can be identified in Lithuania or in East Prussia. There is therefore the assumption that the contract was concluded somewhere between Kaunas and Insterburg or that the place was called Šiaudiniškė ( Szaudiniszki ). Ignas Jonynas: Dovydiškės sutartis. In: Vaclovas Biržiška. Lietuviškoji enciklopedija. VI. Spaudos Fondas, Kaunas 1937, pp. 1341-1344.
3. ↑ On the side of the order, Oberste Spittler Ulrich Fricke was also involved. On the Lithuanian side, Duke Vytautas , the son of Kęstutis , also took part in the hunt, but presumably did not hear about the contract negotiations.
4. ^ Johannes Voigt: History of Prussia. 5th volume, Bornträger, Königsberg 1832, pp. 355-356.
5. ↑ Johannes Voigt , Friedrich Wilhelm Schubert (ed.): Year books Johannes Lindenblatts or Chronik Johannes von der Pusilie. University bookstore, Königsberg 1823, p. 394. ( online )

literature

• Johannes Voigt : History of Prussia. 5th volume, Bornträger, Königsberg 1832, pp. 355-356. ( online )

predecessor	Office	successor
Henning Schindekopf	Order Marshal of the Teutonic Order 1370-1374	Gottfried von Linden
Wolfram von Baldersheim	Grand Commander of the Teutonic Order 1374–1383	Kuno von Liebenstein