Golden Bull of Rimini
Encyclopedia
Golden Bull
A Golden Bull or chrysobull was a golden ornament representing a seal , attached to a decree issued by Byzantine Emperors and later by monarchs in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The term was originally coined for the golden seal itself but came to be applied to the entire decree...
issued by Emperor Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
, at his court in Rimini
Rimini
Rimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...
in March 1226 to confirm the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
' possessions in Prussia
Prussia (region)
Prussia is a historical region in Central Europe extending from the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea to the Masurian Lake District. It is now divided between Poland, Russia, and Lithuania...
. It was the first of three similar documents, followed by the Treaty of Kruszwica (Kruschwitz) in 1230, and the papal Golden Bull of Rieti in 1234.
Background
The PiastPiast dynasty
The Piast dynasty was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. It began with the semi-legendary Piast Kołodziej . The first historical ruler was Duke Mieszko I . The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir the Great...
duke Konrad I of Masovia
Konrad I of Masovia
Konrad I of Masovia , from the Polish Piast dynasty, was the sixth Duke of Masovia from 1194 until his death and High Duke of Poland from 1229 to 1232.-Life:...
had waged several Prussian Crusades and particularly in 1222/23 had tried to conquer Chełmno Land
Chełmno Land
Chełmno land or Chełmno region is a historical region of Poland, located in central Poland, bounded by the Vistula and Drwęca rivers....
(Culmer Land) east of the Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
River from the pagan Old Prussians
Old Prussians
The Old Prussians or Baltic Prussians were an ethnic group, autochthonous Baltic tribes that inhabited Prussia, the lands of the southeastern Baltic Sea in the area around the Vistula and Curonian Lagoons...
. Backed by his Polish cousins Leszek I the White
Leszek I the White
Leszek I the White , also listed by some sources as Leszek II the White, was Prince of Sandomierz and High Duke of Poland from 1194 until his death, except for the short periods following when he was deposed as Polish ruler...
and Henry I the Bearded
Henry I the Bearded
Henry I the Bearded , of the Silesian line of the Piast dynasty, was Duke of Silesia at Wrocław from 1201 and Duke of Kraków and thus High Duke of all Poland - internally divided - from 1232 until his death.-Heir of Wroclaw:...
, he initially was successful, but had to face a Prussian counterstrike and now feared for his Duchy of Masovia
Duchy of Masovia
The Duchy of Masovia with its capital at Płock was a medieval duchy formed when the Polish Kingdom of the Piasts fragmented in 1138. It was located in the historic Masovian region of northeastern Poland...
, which suffered under continuous Prussian attacks. In 1224 the duke began negotiations with the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
to strengthen his forces and to stabilize the situation.
Between 1211 and 1225, the Teutonic Order, led by Grand Master Hermann von Salza
Hermann von Salza
Hermann von Salza was the fourth Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1210 to 1239...
, was present in the Burzenland
Burzenland
The Burzenland is a historic and ethnographic area in southeastern Transylvania, Romania with a mixed population...
region of Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
. Similar to Konrad of Masovia's request, the Knights had been called in by King Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II the Jerosolimitan was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was the younger son of King Béla III of Hungary, who invested him with the government of the Principality of Halych...
to settle, stabilize and protect the eastern Hungarian
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
frontier against the Cuman people. Yet, they were expelled after trying to establish an autonomous state on Hungarian territory, subordinate only to the authority of Pope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III , previously known as Cencio Savelli, was Pope from 1216 to 1227.-Early work:He was born in Rome as son of Aimerico...
. This time von Salza would wait to set out for Prussia, until the Order's claimed possessions were confirmed directly by the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
.
The Bull
The Knights were to be equipped by Duke Konrad I of Masovia in exchange for their support to stabilize his Masovian land:Brother Konrad had offered and promised to furnish brother Hermann, Honorable Master of the Holy Hospital of St. Mary /of the Germans in Jerusalem (Teutonic Order)...with the land of Culm (Chelmno) between his march and the Prussians and equip them (T.O.) well, so they may take Prussia in possession... we recognize the fact, that this land is included in the realm of the empire, we trust the judgement of the Master... we recognize all land in Prussia as an ancient right of the empire ...
This Imperial authorisation was signed by a large number of princes, like the Archbishops of Magdeburg
Archbishopric of Magdeburg
The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Roman Catholic archdiocese and Prince-Bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River....
, Ravenna
Archdiocese of Ravenna
The Archdiocese of Ravenna was a Roman Catholic diocese in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The archdiocese was erected in the 1st century as a diocese, and was elevated to an archdiocese in the 5th century. Among its famous archbishops are Saint Peter Chrysologus, a Doctor of the Church, and Saint Guido...
, Tyre
Archbishop of Tyre
The Archbishop of Tyre was one of the major suffragans of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem during the Crusades and was established to serve the Roman Catholic members of the diocese....
, Palermo
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palermo
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Palermo was founded as the Diocese of Palermo in the 1st Century but was raised to the level of an archdiocese in the 11th century...
and Reggio
Roman Catholic Diocese of Reggio Emilia-Guastalla
The diocese of Reggio Emilia-Guastalla is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It has existed in its current form since 1986. In that year the historical diocese of Reggio Emilia was united with the diocese of Guastalla...
, the Bishops of Bologna, Rimini
Roman Catholic Diocese of Rimini
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rimini is an ecclesiastical territory in Emilia Romagna, Italy. It is a suffragan of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ravenna.It has a surface of 781 km², extending over 28 communes of the area...
, Cesena
Roman Catholic Diocese of Cesena-Sarsina
The Italian Catholic diocese of Cesena-Sarsina, in Emilia Romagna is created on September 30, 1986, after the diocese of Sarsina was united with the historic diocese of Cesenaas a suffragan of the archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia....
, Mantua
Roman Catholic Diocese of Mantua
The Diocese of Mantua is a see of the Catholic Church in Italy. It was erected in 804, and is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Milan. The diocese has produced one Pope and Patriarch of Constantinople, and two cardinals....
and Tortosa
Roman Catholic Diocese of Tortosa
The Diocese of Tortosa is a Roman Catholic diocese in Catalonia and Valencian Country. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Tarragona.-History:...
, the Dukes of Saxony
Duchy of Saxony
The medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
and Spoleto
Duchy of Spoleto
The independent Duchy of Spoleto was a Lombard territory founded about 570 in central Italy by the Lombard dux Faroald.- Lombards :The Lombards, a Germanic people, had invaded Italy in 568 and conquered much of it, establishing a Kingdom divided between several dukes dependent on the King, who had...
, and the Margrave of Montferrat
March of Montferrat
The March of Montferrat was frontier march of the Kingdom of Italy during the Middle Ages and state of the Holy Roman Empire...
.
Later confirmation
Duke Konrad actually had no intention to cede Chełmno Land and therefore established his own military Order of DobrzyńOrder of Dobrzyn
The Order of Dobrzyń or Order of Dobrin , also known as the Brothers of Dobrzyń , was a military order created in the borderland of Masovia and Prussia during the 13th century Prussian Crusade to 'defend against Baltic Prussian raids'.In Latin the knights were known as the Fratres Milites Christi...
(Fratribus Militiae Christi) in 1228, whom he vested with Dobrzyń Land
Dobrzyn Land
Dobrzyń Land is a historic region around the town of Dobrzyń nad Wisłą in Poland, east of the Vistula River and south of the Drwęca, where it borders on the Kulmerland...
. The few brothers however were not able to secure the Masovian borders against the Prussian raids and Konrad faced the threat of loosing his whole duchy.
Treaty of Kruszwica
On 16 June 1230, the Treaty of KruszwicaKruszwica
Kruszwica is a town in central Poland and is situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship , previously in Bydgoszcz Voivodeship .It has a population of 9,412 people .-History:...
(Kruschwitz) was supposedly signed, according to which Duke Konrad ceded the Teutonic Knights under Grand Master Hermann von Salza and the Order of Dobrzyń the lands of Chełmno as well as all other conquests made in Prussia. The text is only known by later references, as the original document is not preserved. According to the historian Max Perlbach (1848-1921), the Knights had forged it to create a legal basis for their secular possessions.
Golden Bull of Rieti
In 1234, Pope Gregory IXPope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino di Conti, was pope from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241.The successor of Pope Honorius III , he fully inherited the traditions of Pope Gregory VII and of his uncle Pope Innocent III , and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy.-Early life:Ugolino was...
issued the Golden Bull of Rieti Pietati proximum, confirming the prior deals, stating that the Prussian lands of the Order were only subject to the Pope, not a fief of any other secular or ecclesiastical power. The Roman Curia
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
had already made a conform promise, nevertheless von Salza had insisted to set it down in writing
The bull was again confirmed by Pope Alexander IV
Pope Alexander IV
Pope Alexander IV was Pope from 1254 until his death.Born as Rinaldo di Jenne, in Jenne , he was, on his mother's side, a member of the de' Conti di Segni family, the counts of Segni, like Pope Innocent III and Pope Gregory IX...
in 1257.