13th century In 1234, the Teutonic Order assimilated the remaining members of the
Order of Dobrzyń and, in 1237, the Order of the
Livonian Brothers of the Sword. The assimilation of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword (established in
Livonia in 1202) increased the Teutonic Order's lands with the addition of the territories known today as
Latvia and
Estonia. In 1243, the Papal legate
William of Modena divided Prussia into four
bishoprics:
Culm (Chełmno),
Pomesania,
Ermland (Warmia) and
Samland (Sambia). The bishoprics became
suffragans to the
Archbishopric of Riga under the mother city of
Visby on
Gotland. Each diocese was fiscally and administratively divided into one-third reserved for the maintenance of the capitular canons, and two-thirds were where the Order collected the dues. The
cathedral capitular canons of Culm, Pomesania and Samland were simultaneously members of the
Teutonic Order since the 1280s, ensuring a strong influence by the Order. Only
Warmia's diocesan chapter maintained independence, enabling it to establish its autonomous rule in the capitular third of Warmia's diocesan territory (
Prince-Bishopric of Warmia).
14th century Danzig and the Hansa (1331) was a major battle of the
Second Polish–Teutonic War, 19th century painting by
Juliusz Kossak At the beginning of the 14th century, the
Duchy of Pomerania, a neighboring region, plunged into war with
Poland and the
Margraviate of Brandenburg to the west. The Teutonic Knights
seized the Polish port city of Gdańsk in November 1308. The Order had been called by King
Władysław I of Poland to help repel a Brandenburgian invasion; however, the Teutonic Knights themselves began to occupy the city and the region. The Teutonic Knights then carried out a massacre of the inhabitants of the city. Contemporary scholarship places the estimated number of victims of the massacre at approximately 1,000. In September 1309, Margrave
Waldemar of Brandenburg-Stendal sold his claim to the territory to the Teutonic Order for the sum of 10,000 Marks in the
Treaty of Soldin. This marked the beginning of a series of conflicts between Poland and the Teutonic Knights as the Order continued incorporating territories into its domains. While the Order promoted the Prussian cities by granting them extended surrounding territory and privileges, establishing courts, civil and commercial law, it allowed the cities less outward independence than
free imperial cities enjoyed within the
Holy Roman Empire. The members of the
Hanseatic League did consider merchants from Prussian cities as their like, but also accepted the
Grand Master of the Order as the sole territorial ruler representing Prussia at their Hanseatic
Diets. Only merchants from the six Prussian Hanseatic cities of
Braunsberg (Braniewo),
Culm (Chełmno),
Danzig (Gdańsk),
Elbing (Elbląg), Königsberg and
Thorn (Toruń) were considered fully fledged members of the league, while merchants from other Prussian cities had a lesser status. The Teutonic Order's annexation and possession of Gdańsk (Danzig) and the surrounding region was consistently disputed by the Polish kings
Władysław I and
Casimir III the Great – claims that led to the
Polish–Teutonic War (1326–1332) and, eventually, lawsuits in the papal court in 1320 and 1333, which ruled in favor of Poland, however, the Teutonic Knights did not comply and continued to occupy the annexed Polish territories. The Teutonic Knights even invaded Poland further and briefly occupied the regions of
Kuyavia and
Dobrzyń Land. However, the members of the Hanseatic league were undecided whether to unite against him. But when Valdemar IV then captured Prussian merchant ships in the
Øresund on their way to
England, Grand Master
Winrich of Kniprode travelled to
Lübeck to propose a war alliance against Denmark, accepted with some reluctance only by the important cities forming the Wendish-
Saxon third of the Hanse. Since Valdemar IV had also attacked ships of the Dutch city of
Kampen and other destinations in the
Zuiderzee, Prussia and Dutch cities, such as Kampen,
Elburg and
Harderwijk, allied themselves against Denmark. Of the major players, only
Bremen and
Hamburg refused to send forces, but contributed financially. Besides Prussia, three more territorial partners,
Henry II of Schauenburg and Holstein-Rendsburg,
Albert II of Mecklenburg, and the latter's son
Albert of Sweden, joined the alliance, attacking via land and sea, forcing Denmark to sign the
Treaty of Stralsund in 1370. Several Danish castles and fortresses were then taken by Hansa forces for fifteen years in order to secure the implementation of the peace conditions.
English Merchant Adventurers The invasions of the Teutonic Order from Livonia to
Pskov in 1367 had caused the Russians to recoup themselves on Hansa merchants in
Novgorod, which again made the Order block exports of salt and herring into Russia. While the relations had eased by 1371 so that trade resumed, they soured again until 1388. The blockade of English and Flemish imports to Russia interrupted Novgorod's trade and the Hansa negotiated with the Order to prevent any supplies from reaching Russia. Although the blockade was not strictly enforced, it led to the signing of a treaty in 1392, which guaranteed the safety and freedom of Hanseatic merchants. The Order welcomed English
Merchant Adventurers, starting to cruise in the Baltic, competing with Dutch, Saxon and Wendish Hanseatic merchants, and allowed them to open outposts in its cities of Danzig and Elbing. This necessarily brought about a conflict with the rest of the Hansa, which was in a heavy argument with
Richard II of England, over levies of higher dues. The Merchants struggled to achieve an unsatisfactory compromise. When in the same year the Hansa evacuated all their Danish castles in fulfillment of the Treaty of Stralsund, Prussia argued in favour of a renewal of the Cologne Federation for those deeply concerned about the ensuing conflict with England, but could not prevail. The cities preferred to negotiate and take retaliatory actions, such as counter-confiscation of English merchandise. So when in 1388 Richard II finally reconfirmed the Hanseatic trade privileges, Prussia once again permitted merchant adventurers, granting permissions to remain; for this action, they were renounced once again by the Grand Master
Conrad of Jungingen in 1398.
Trading The Order's
Großschäffer was one of the leading functionaries of the order. The word translates roughly as "chief sales and buying officer" with procurement. This officer was in charge of the considerable commerce, import, export, crediting, real estate investment, etc., which the Order carried out, using its network of
bailiwicks and agencies which spanned much of Central, Western and Southern Europe as well as the Holy Land. The other Großschäffer in Marienburg had the grain export monopoly. As to imports, neither was bound to any particular merchandise. From Königsberg, holding the monopoly in
amber export, achieved the exceptional permission to continue amber exports to Flanders and textile imports in return. On the occasion of the ban on Flemish trade, the Hansa urged Prussia and Livonia again to interrupt the exchange with Novgorod as well, but with both blockades Russian and Flemish commodities could not reach their final destinations. while a Hanseatic delegation under Johann Niebur reopened trade with Novgorod in the same year, after reconfirmation of the previous mutual privileges. So only after the cities, led by Lübeck's burgomaster Hinrich Westhof, had liaised the Treaty of Skanör (1395), Albert's defeat manifested, so that Prussia finally sent out its ships, led by
Danzig's city councillor
Conrad Letzkau. Until 1400, the united Teutonic-Hanseatic
flotilla then thoroughly cleared the Baltic Sea of pirates, the
Victual Brothers, and even took the island of
Gotland in 1398.
15th century Konrad von Jungingen At the beginning of the 15th century, the State of the Teutonic Order stood at the height of its power under
Konrad (Conrad) von Jungingen. The Teutonic navy ruled the Baltic Sea from bases in Prussia and Gotland, and the Prussian cities provided tax revenues sufficient to maintain a significant standing force composed of Teutonic Knights proper, their retinues, Prussian peasant levies, and German mercenaries. In 1402, the
Luxembourg dynasty, which ruled the
Margraviate of Brandenburg, reached an agreement with Poland in
Kraków, according to which Poland was to purchase and re-incorporate the region of
New March (Neumark). Later that year, however, the Luxembourgs gave the region in pawn to the Teutonic Order despite prior arrangements with Poland, and the Order kept it until Brandenburg redeemed it again in 1454 and 1455, respectively, by the
Treaties of Cölln and Mewe. Though the possession of this territory by the Order strengthened ties between the Order and their secular counterparts in northern Germany, it exacerbated the already hostile relationship between the Order and the
Polish–Lithuanian union. In March 1407, Konrad died from complications caused by
gallstones and was succeeded by his younger brother,
Ulrich von Jungingen. Under Ulrich, the Teutonic State fell from its precarious height and became mired in internal political strife, near-constant war with the Polish–Lithuanian union, and crippling war debts.
Losses to Poland, Polish suzerainty (1410) marked the start of the decline of the State of the Teutonic Order, 19th century painting by
Jan Matejko of the
Kingdom of Poland In 1408, Conrad Letzkau served as a diplomat to Queen Margaret I and arranged that the Order sell Gotland to Denmark. The Order assigned
Heinrich von Plauen to defend Teutonic-held Eastern Pomerania (
Pomerelia), who moved rapidly to bolster the defence of
Marienburg Castle in
Pomesania. Heinrich von Plauen was elected vice-grand master and led the Teutonic Knights through the
Siege of Marienburg in 1410. Eventually, von Plauen was promoted to Grand Master and, in 1411, concluded the
First Treaty of Thorn with King
Władysław II Jagiełło of Poland. The next major
Polish–Teutonic war was fought in 1431–1435, after the Teutonic Knights invaded Poland again, and was ended in the
Peace of Brześć Kujawski, which was favorable for Poland.
Formation of a new nobility While the Knights of the Teutonic Order formed a thin ruling class by themselves, they extensively used mercenaries, mostly German, from the Holy Roman Empire, to whom they granted lands in return. This gradually created a new class of landed nobility. Due to several factors, among which was the high rate of early death in battle, these lands became concentrated over time in the hands of a relatively small number of noblemen, each having a vast estate. This nobility would evolve to what is known as the
Prussian Junker nobility.
16th century and aftermath Transformation to Ducal Prussia of 1525 established
Ducal Prussia as a vassal duchy of the Kingdom of Poland, in place of the State of the Teutonic Order During the
Protestant Reformation, endemic religious upheavals and wars occurred across the region. In 1525, during the aftermath of the
Polish-Teutonic War (1519–1521),
Sigismund I the Old, King of Poland, and his nephew, the last Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights,
Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach, a member of a cadet branch of the
House of Hohenzollern, agreed that the latter would resign his position, adopt
Lutheran faith and assume the title of
Duke of Prussia. Thereafter referred to as
Ducal Prussia (; ), remaining a Polish fief. Thus, in a deal partially brokered by
Martin Luther,
Roman Catholic Teutonic Prussia was transformed into the
Duchy of Prussia, the first Protestant state. Sigismund's consent was bound to Albert's submission to Poland, which became known as the
Prussian Homage. On 10 December 1525 at their session in Königsberg the
Prussian estates established the
Lutheran Church in Ducal Prussia by deciding the
Church Order. The
Habsburg-led Holy Roman Empire continued to hold its claim to Prussia and furnished grand masters of the Teutonic Order, who were merely titular administrators of Prussia, but managed to retain many of the Teutonic holdings elsewhere outside of Prussia. == Administrative divisions ==