Die Benennung und Bestimmung der Räume im südlichen Repräsentativteil des Geschosses des zweiten „Hochmeisterpalastes“ auf der Marienburg im Mittelalter im Lichte der Schriftquellen

Nomenclature and intended use of the rooms of the southern (representative) part of the upper floor of the “palace” of Grand Masters in the Marienburg Castle in the Middle Ages on the basis of written sources The analyses carried out in this article concerning the southern part of the upper floor of the new (second) “palace” of the Teutonic Order’s superiors in the late Middle Ages allow to formulate several important conclusions. First of all, the building certainly existed before 11 September 1392, but it cannot be ruled out that it was erected at the beginning of the 1370s. In the fifteenth-century sources, its entire southern representative part (looking from the so-called Low and High Halls) along with five rooms of different sizes located there, were referred to as the “Summer (or, less often, Winter) chamber (gemach)”. This name comes from the most characteristic interiors located there: the “Summer Refectory” / “Great Summer Hall” in the western part and the Winter Refectory in the central part. The thorough analysis of medieval written sources carried out in this article allows for the formulation of the thesis that the chamber located in the easternmost part of the southern part of the “palace”, supported by two columns, should be identified as the “Minor Summer Hall” (aula minor estivalis), which was recorded in the transumpt of 14 May 1456. Thus, all the suggestions concerning this interior and its supposed intended use in the discussed period, hitherto put forward by the researchers who have so far formulated their conclusions in isolation from the written accounts of the period, should be rejected. This name comes from the most characteristic interiors located there: the "Summer Refectory" / "Great Summer Hall" in the western part and the Winter Refectory in the central part. The thorough analysis of medieval written sources carried out in this article allowed for the formulation of the thesis that the chamber located in the easternmost part of the southern part of the "palace", supported by two columns, should be identified as the "Minor Summer Hall" (aula minor estivalis), which was recorded in the transumpt of 14 May 1456. Thus, all the suggestions concerning this interior and its supposed intended use in the discussed period, hitherto put forward by the researchers who have so far formulated their conclusions in isolation from the written accounts of the period, should be rejected.

Environment, Colonization, and the Baltic Crusader States. Terra Sacra I, and Ecologies of Crusading, Colonization, and Religious Conversion in the Medieval Baltic. Terra Sacra II

Environment, Colonization, and the Baltic Crusader States. Terra Sacra I, and Ecologies of Crusading, Colonization, and Religious Conversion in the Medieval Baltic. Terra Sacra II. Edited by Aleksander Pluskowski. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers n.v., 2019. Author’s studies funded by the National Science Centre, Poland’s (NCN) PRELUDIUM grant no. 2016/23/N/HS3/00660.

Werner Paravicini. Adlig leben im 14. Jahrhundert. Weshalb sie fuhren: Die Preußenreisen des europäischen Adels

Werner Paravicini. Adlig leben im 14. Jahrhundert. Weshalb sie fuhren: Die Preußenreisen des europäischen Adels. Tl. 3. Vestigia Prussica 2. Göttingen: V & R unipress, 2020. 807 pp. ISBN: 978-3-8471-1128-3.

Die geographische und familiäre Herkunft der Ordensgebietiger Konrad von Kyburg und Rudolf von Kyburg

The geographical and familial origins of the Teutonic Order’s officials Konrad von Kyburg and Rudolf von Kyburg The researchers of the Teutonic Order have placed the brethren Konrad (before 1336 – 12. April 1402) and Rudolf (before 1337–1404) von Kyburg in the north-eastern part of present-day Switzerland – either in the castle of Kyburg near Winterthur in the eastern Canton of Zurich, or in the Canton of Turgovia, lying in the East of Canton Zurich and to the South of Lake Bodensee. Their family lost those areas by 1265, after a sudden death of Hartmann V von Kyburg (1263) and the childless death of his uncle, Hartmann IV (1264). The only successor, the minor daughter of Hartmann V, Anna von Kyburg, was not able to keep her inheritance, which was quickly taken by her nephew Rudolf IV von Habsburg, latter known as German King Rudolf I. He arranged a marriage between Anna and his relative, Eberhard von Habsburg-Laufenburg, leaving them only Burgdorf and Thun in the nowadays Canton Berne. Their son, Hartmann, had taken the name of the maternal dynasty, calling himself since 1297 Hartmann I von Kyburg. His son, Eberhard II von Kyburg, succeeded him. He was the father of eleven children with Konrad von Kyburg and Rudolf von Kyburg among them. Despite their name, they came from Burgdorf and had joined the Teutonic Order because the poor parents could not guarantee them a subsistence. The carreer of Konrad von Kyburg started in the late 1380s. In 1392 he was promoted to the Comtur of Balga and from 1396–1402 had even reached the high rank of the Great Hospitaller. The carrier of his younger brother, Rudolf, was less impressive for he became 1391–1402 the Comtur of Rehden.

Globale und regionale Aspekte in der Entwicklung des Deutschen Ordens. Vorträge der Tagung der Internationalen Historischen Kommission zur Erforschung des Deutschen Ordens in Würzburg 2016. Herausgegeben von Udo Arnold

Globale und regionale Aspekte in der Entwicklung des Deutschen Ordens. Vorträge der Tagung der Internationalen Historischen Kommission zur Erforschung des Deutschen Ordens in Würzburg 2016. Herausgegeben von Udo Arnold. Quellen und Studien zur Geschichte des Deutschen Ordens 82, Veröffentlichungen der Internationalen Historischen Kommission zur Erforschung des Deutschen Ordens 18. Weimar: VDG, 2019. 221+VIII S. ISBN: 978-3-89739-921-1.

Rafał Simiński. Konflikt – pojednanie – współpraca. Studia nad polityką książąt zachodniopomorskich i biskupów kamieńskich wobec Zakonu Krzyżackiego w Prusach w latach 1320–1423

Rafał Simiński. Konflikt – pojednanie – współpraca. Studia nad polityką książąt zachodniopomorskich i biskupów kamieńskich wobec Zakonu Krzyżackiego w Prusach w latach 1320–1423. Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Chronicon, 2019. 725 pp. ISBN: 978-83-950-4030-6.

Preußisches Landesbewusstsein in Beglaubigungsmerkmalen öffentlicher Notare des 14. und beginnenden 15. Jahrhunderts

Prussian national awareness in certification features of public notaries of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century The signs of Prussian notaries presented in this article fit into the framework of the German type of notary signs, although peculiarities can be recognized that relate to Prussia or to parts of this country. However, examples of this could only be found in small numbers, since the majority of the notarial signs handed down lack any reference to the country. Examples from the years 1417 and 1429 show that public notaries maintained Prussian national awareness even after the great defeat of the Teutonic Order near Tannenberg in 1410.

Between Commemoration and Living Memory: Symbolic Acts of the Teutonic Knights in Light of Cultural Theory

The present article investigates the function of ritual acts as a form of communication vis-à-vis cultural meaning in the life of the Teutonic Knights. As a condensed form of communal expression, rituals exhibit an acute potential to render present collective identity and shape the lives of the communities that practice them. Such potential is manifest in the institutional arrangement of the Teutonic Order in various forms with particular reference to their dual standing in society, insofar as they drew upon the societal models of the oratores and the bellatores. Particularly relevant to the current study, considerations of cultural historian and social analyst Jan Assmann regarding symbolic acts and collective living memory assist in creating the theoretical framework for the study’s deliberations. With Assmann’s insights in mind, ritual is understood as a communicative vector of cultural meaning – so to speak – of living memory. The analysis then turns to an examination of select representative examples from diverse scenarios in the existence of the Teutonic Knights, thereby taking into account internal, public, and participatory contexts of symbolic moments. The study thus explores how, while rituals can commemorate memorialised events from the past, they are also able to enact the living memory of a collective entity, ultimately claiming that the examined symbolic acts exhibited both communicative and transformative potential.

Briefbeförderung des Ordens in Livland. Mit vorläufigen statistischen Bewertung

Delivery of Letters in the Teutonic Order in Livonia. With a preliminary statistical analysisThis contribution is on the organization and efficiency of the delivery of letters in the Teutonic Order in Livonia. Firstly, the scarce data on couriers is presented. Main part of the contribution is discussing the phenomenon of registration of time (hour) and place in some of the stations on the delivery routes of letters. This method, used extensively also in Prussia, was most likely introduced in Livonia in the beginning of the 15th century. It was used in case of most urgent letters and was first of all meant to monitor the efficiency of delivery. The majority of the places of registration of time are in the territory of the Order, but there are also some exceptions, when this was done in episcopal castles or manors. High number of letters of the Masters of the Teutonic Order in Tallinn City Archives is also allowing some preliminary statistical analysis, how the space and time was mastered on the route Riga-Wenden-Reval. It appears, that although the letters were ordered to be carried day and night, the calculated average speed is so low, that there were obviously made also some stops for rest on the road.

Über einige Aspekte des diplomatischen Verkehrs zwischen dem Hochmeister und Kaiser Sigismund von Luxemburg

On some aspects of the diplomatic traffic between the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg The diplomatic traffic between the Grand Master of the Teutnic Order and Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg was carried out according to the common practices of diplomacy in late medieval Europe. Nevertheless, this topic deserves further exploration due to Sigismund’s efforts to impose suzerainty upon the Grand Master and the Teutonic Knights. This issue influenced their mutual relations after Sigismund’s election as Roman-German King in 1410/1411. There are numerous surviving sources, especially in the archive of the Teutonic Order in Berlin (GStA PK), such as legation’s instruction, dispatches and, last but not least, the political correspondence between the Grand Master and Emperor Sigismund. These sources can shed light not only on the complicated diplomatic relation between above-mentioned two entities, but also, due to richness of their content, on late medieval diplomacy in general. Based upon the research findings by Klaus Neitmann, who explored the Order’s legation exclusively, this paper tries to expand the field of research by including the legations of Sigismund. From this perspective only several selected aspects of the topic are examined in the study: 1) defining a legation (foreign mission) and its characteristic features; 2) the diplomatic traffic between the Grand Master and Sigismund of Luxembourg from a prosopographical perspective; and 3) the personal composition and communication at the court of Sigismund. The richness of sources makes new questions possible concerning not only this specific diplomatic traffic, but also late medieval diplomacy in general as well. However, the definite answers might be delivered after compiling a thorough list of all legations from both sides, which in light of the large number of primary sources must be reserved for another study.