Polish–Teutonic War (1326–1332)
Encyclopedia
Polish–Teutonic War was the war between the Kingdom of Poland and the State of the Teutonic Order over Pomerelia
, fought from 1326 to 1332.
coast, stretching from the border with the Imperial Duchy of Pomerania
in the west to the Prussian
territory of the Order state at the Vistula
river in the east, had been held by the Samborides
dynasty, liensmen of the Polish Piast
rulers. Przemysł II, King of Poland since 1295, incorporated Pomerelia (Pomorze Gdańskie) into the Lands of the Polish Crown - against the protest of the Imperial Margraviate of Brandenburg
referring to the Treaty of Arnswalde
signed with Duke Mestwin in 1269. The next year, the Ascanian margraves instigated the kidnapping and killing of King Przemysł, probably backed by King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia, who aimed for the Polish crown.
King Wenceslaus II prevailed against his Piast rival Władysław I the Elbow-high and was crowned King of Poland in 1300. He ruled in Pomerelia with the assistance of the local Swenzones
noble family. Upon the assassination of his son Wenceslaus III
in 1306, the Přemyslid dynasty
became extinct and Duke Władysław was able to occupy the Pomerelian lands. The Swenzones, fearing for their assets and sinecures, called for Margrave Waldemar of Brandenburg
, whose troops occupied the territory up to the city of Gdańsk
. Władysław reacted by calling the forces of the Teutonic Order, who under the command of Heinrich von Plötzke
in 1308 re-conquered Gdańsk and most of Pomerelia.
However after the Teutonic takeover
they denied the handover to Władysław, as the duke refused to pay the requested expense allowance. Instead they concluded the 1309 Treaty of Soldin with Margrave Waldemar, whose resistance from the beginning had been relatively weak and who now was willing to sell off his claims to Pomerelia.
. However, he was crowned Polish king in 1320 and forged new alliances with the Kingdom of Hungary
and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
, when he married his daughter Elisabeth to King Charles I
in 1320 and his son Casimir to Aldona of Lithuania, daughter of Grand Duke Gediminas. On the other hand, the Kingdom of Bohemia
, since 1310 under the rule of the mighty House of Luxembourg
, rose again and King John the Blind himself claimed the Polish crown as a heritage from the Přemyslids. The Teutonic Knights supported King John, who joined them in crusades against the pagan Lithuanians, and furthermore were allied with Władysław's enemy in Masovia
, Duke Wenceslaus of Płock
.
In 1326 the forces of King Władysław with Lithuanian support devastated the Brandenburgian Neumark
region and the next year turned against the Teutonic Order, while in the south King John the Blind marched against Kraków
. Though he was urged by King Charles I of Hungary to retreat, he vassalized many of the Duchies of Silesia
. Taking advantage of the weakness of Poland due to the internal fragmentation, the Teutonic knights pillaged and conquered the Polish Kuyavia
n region and the Dobrzyń Land
. King Władysław received help from Lithuanian and Hungarian and in turn pillaged the Kulmerland of Teutonic Prussia up to the Osa
river near Grudziądz
.
The Teutonic Knights counterattacked, taking many towns in Kuyavia and Dobrzyń. A Polish and Lithuanian counterattack in 1330 resulted in a temporary peace, with the Order returning part of military gains to Poland, but over the next year, the fighting continued. After the indecisive Battle of Płowce in 1331, the Order gained the upper hand and retook Kuyavia and Dobrzyń Land. Both sides agreed on an armistice, while King Władysław died in 1333.
The Pomerelian lands and the Polish access to the Baltic Sea remained a matter of conflict: regained as the Polish fief of Royal Prussia
after the Second Peace of Thorn (1466), annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia
in the course of the First Partition of Poland
in 1772, and part of the "Polish Corridor
" created by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles
, the ongoing dispute over the region for centuries put a strain on German–Polish relations
.
Pomerelia
Pomerelia is a historical region in northern Poland. Pomerelia lay in eastern Pomerania: on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea and west of the Vistula and its delta. The area centered on the city of Gdańsk at the mouth of the Vistula...
, fought from 1326 to 1332.
Background
Until the death of Duke Mestwin II in 1294, the Duchy of Pomerelia on the BalticBaltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
coast, stretching from the border with the Imperial Duchy of Pomerania
Duchy of Pomerania
The Duchy of Pomerania was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania ....
in the west to the Prussian
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...
territory of the Order state at 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 in the east, had been held by the Samborides
Samborides
The Samborides or House of Sobiesław were a ruling dynasty in the historic region of Pomerania. They were first documented about 1155 as governors in the eastern Pomerelian lands serving the royal Piast dynasty of Poland, and from 1227 ruled as autonomous princes until 1294, at which time the...
dynasty, liensmen of the Polish Piast
Piast 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...
rulers. Przemysł II, King of Poland since 1295, incorporated Pomerelia (Pomorze Gdańskie) into the Lands of the Polish Crown - against the protest of the Imperial Margraviate of Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
referring to the Treaty of Arnswalde
Treaty of Arnswalde
In the Treaty of Choszczno , signed on 1 April 1269, the Brandenburgian Margraves of the House of Ascania John II, Otto IV and Conrad signed a treaty with Duke Mestwin II of Pomerania in Choszczno...
signed with Duke Mestwin in 1269. The next year, the Ascanian margraves instigated the kidnapping and killing of King Przemysł, probably backed by King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia, who aimed for the Polish crown.
King Wenceslaus II prevailed against his Piast rival Władysław I the Elbow-high and was crowned King of Poland in 1300. He ruled in Pomerelia with the assistance of the local Swenzones
Swenzones
The collective name Swenzones , refers in historical literature to a Pomeranian noble family which at the transition from the Middle Ages to modern times made in the Lands of Schlawe and Stolp and Pomerelia from 1269 to 1357 a remarkable career under various political powers struggling for...
noble family. Upon the assassination of his son Wenceslaus III
Wenceslaus III of Bohemia
Wenceslaus III Premyslid was the King of Hungary , King of Bohemia and the king of Poland ....
in 1306, the Přemyslid dynasty
Premyslid dynasty
The Přemyslids , were a Czech royal dynasty which reigned in Bohemia and Moravia , and partly also in Hungary, Silesia, Austria and Poland.-Legendary rulers:...
became extinct and Duke Władysław was able to occupy the Pomerelian lands. The Swenzones, fearing for their assets and sinecures, called for Margrave Waldemar of Brandenburg
Waldemar, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal
Waldemar of Brandenburg was Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal, the last from the Ascanian House.-Life:He was a son of Conrad, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal and Constance, daughter of Przemysł I of Greater Poland...
, whose troops occupied the territory up to the city of Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
. Władysław reacted by calling the forces of the Teutonic Order, who under the command of Heinrich von Plötzke
Heinrich von Plötzke
Heinrich von Plötzke was an officer of the Teutonic Order during the late 13th and early 14th centuries. Born in Płock in the independent Duchy of Masovia, , he was a descendant of the hereditary dukes of Plock but never took the formal title due to the conflict of his family with the ruling Piast...
in 1308 re-conquered Gdańsk and most of Pomerelia.
However after the Teutonic takeover
Teutonic takeover of Danzig (Gdansk)
The city of Danzig was captured by the State of the Teutonic Order on 13 November 1308, resulting in a massacre of its inhabitants and marking the beginning of tensions between Poland and the Teutonic Order. Originally the knights moved into the fortress as an ally of Poland against the...
they denied the handover to Władysław, as the duke refused to pay the requested expense allowance. Instead they concluded the 1309 Treaty of Soldin with Margrave Waldemar, whose resistance from the beginning had been relatively weak and who now was willing to sell off his claims to Pomerelia.
The battles
Władysław, chafing under his defeat, unsuccessfuly sued the Teutonic Order at the Roman CuriaRoman 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...
. However, he was crowned Polish king in 1320 and forged new alliances with the Kingdom of Hungary
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...
and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
, when he married his daughter Elisabeth to King Charles I
Charles I of Hungary
Charles I , also known as Charles Robert , was the first King of Hungary and Croatia of the House of Anjou. He was also descended from the old Hungarian Árpád dynasty. His claim to the throne of Hungary was contested by several pretenders...
in 1320 and his son Casimir to Aldona of Lithuania, daughter of Grand Duke Gediminas. On the other hand, the Kingdom of Bohemia
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...
, since 1310 under the rule of the mighty House of Luxembourg
House of Luxembourg
The House of Luxembourg was a late medieval German dynasty, which between 1308 and 1437 ruled the Holy Roman Empire, twice interrupted by the rivaling House of Wittelsbach.-History:...
, rose again and King John the Blind himself claimed the Polish crown as a heritage from the Přemyslids. The Teutonic Knights supported King John, who joined them in crusades against the pagan Lithuanians, and furthermore were allied with Władysław's enemy in 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...
, Duke Wenceslaus of Płock
Wenceslaus of Płock
Wenceslaus of Płock was a member of the House of Piast. He was Duke of Płock from 1313 until his death and was a vassal of Bohemia from 1329.- Duke of Płock :...
.
In 1326 the forces of King Władysław with Lithuanian support devastated the Brandenburgian Neumark
Neumark
Neumark comprised a region of the Prussian province of Brandenburg, Germany.Neumark may also refer to:* Neumark, Thuringia* Neumark, Saxony* Neumark * Nowe Miasto Lubawskie or Neumark, a town in Poland, situated at river Drwęca...
region and the next year turned against the Teutonic Order, while in the south King John the Blind marched against Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
. Though he was urged by King Charles I of Hungary to retreat, he vassalized many of the Duchies of Silesia
Duchies of Silesia
The Duchies of Silesia resulted from divisions of the original Duchy of Silesia after 1138.In accordance with the last will and testament of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth, the Kingdom of Poland was, upon his death in 1138, divided into five hereditary provinces distributed among his sons, including...
. Taking advantage of the weakness of Poland due to the internal fragmentation, the Teutonic knights pillaged and conquered the Polish Kuyavia
Kuyavia
Kujawy , is a historical and ethnographic region in the north-central Poland, situated in the basin of the middle Vistula and upper Noteć Rivers, with its capital in Włocławek.-Etymology:The origin of the name Kujawy was seen differently in history...
n region and the 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...
. King Władysław received help from Lithuanian and Hungarian and in turn pillaged the Kulmerland of Teutonic Prussia up to the Osa
Osa
Osa may refer to:*Osa peninsula, a peninsula in Costa Rica*Osa, Allahabad, a village in Allahabad, India*Osa, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship *Osa, Russia, name of several inhabited localities in Russia*Osa class missile boat...
river near Grudziądz
Grudziadz
Grudziądz is a city in northern Poland on the Vistula River, with 96 042 inhabitants . Situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship , the city was previously in the Toruń Voivodeship .- History :-Early history:...
.
The Teutonic Knights counterattacked, taking many towns in Kuyavia and Dobrzyń. A Polish and Lithuanian counterattack in 1330 resulted in a temporary peace, with the Order returning part of military gains to Poland, but over the next year, the fighting continued. After the indecisive Battle of Płowce in 1331, the Order gained the upper hand and retook Kuyavia and Dobrzyń Land. Both sides agreed on an armistice, while King Władysław died in 1333.
Aftermath
In 1343, the territorial claims of the parties were settled in the Peace of Kalisz signed by Władysław's son King Casimir III, formally ending the war. He thereby regained Kuyavia and Dobrzyń, but finally lost Pomerelia. Nevertheless he retained the title of a Pomeraniæ dominus et heres ("Lord and Heir of Pomerania").The Pomerelian lands and the Polish access to the Baltic Sea remained a matter of conflict: regained as the Polish fief of Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia was a Region of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . Polish Prussia included Pomerelia, Chełmno Land , Malbork Voivodeship , Gdańsk , Toruń , and Elbląg . It is distinguished from Ducal Prussia...
after the Second Peace of Thorn (1466), annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
in the course of the First Partition of Poland
First Partition of Poland
The First Partition of Poland or First Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. Growth in the Russian Empire's power, threatening the Kingdom of Prussia and the...
in 1772, and part of the "Polish Corridor
Polish Corridor
The Polish Corridor , also known as Danzig Corridor, Corridor to the Sea or Gdańsk Corridor, was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia , which provided the Second Republic of Poland with access to the Baltic Sea, thus dividing the bulk of Germany from the province of East...
" created by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
, the ongoing dispute over the region for centuries put a strain on German–Polish relations
German–Polish relations
German–Polish relations have a long and complicated history. From the 10th century on, the Kingdom of Poland had relations with the Holy Roman Empire, which were however soon overshadowed by the Polish-Teutonic wars, as a result of which, Prussia became a fief of the Kingdom of Poland. Prussia...
.