W służbie

zabytkóW

pod redakcją

Janusza Hochleitnera

Karola Polejowskiego

Malbork 2017

Kolegium Wydawnicze Muzeum Zamkowego w Malborku:

Mariusz Mierzwiński (Przewodniczący), Janusz Hochleitner, Rafał Mańkus, Janusz

Cygański, Mirosław Jonakowski, Barbara Pospieszna, Karol Polejowski, Aleksandra

Sobczak (Sekretarz)

Recenzja naukowa:

dr hab. Janusz Gołota, prof. UWM w Olsztynie

Opracowanie i redakcja naukowa:

Janusz Hochleitner, Karol Polejowski

Projekt okładki:

Mariusz Stawarski

Opracowanie graficzne:

Jacek Kita

Zdjęcia:

Bożena i Lech Okońscy, Archiwum MZM (albo Autorzy zaznaczyli inaczej)

© Copyright: Muzeum Zamkowe w Malborku 2017

ISBN 978–83–60518–91–5

Wydawca:

Muzeum Zamkowe w Malborku, ul. Starościńska 1, 82–200 Malbork, tel. + 48 55

647 08 02,

fax + 48 55 647 08 03, www.zamek.malbork.pl, e-mail: [e-mail]

Druk:

Drukarnia W&P Malbork, ul. Akacjowa 29, 82–200 Malbork, tel. [phone]

spis treści / Contents

Wstęp / Introduction / 7

Bibliografia prac Mariusza Mierzwińskiego (wybór) / 15

I. Mariusz Mierzwiński w oczach przyjaciół i współpracowników / 19

• tomasz bogdanowicz, Kolega Naczelny

/ 21

• Janusz Cygański, O Mariuszu Mierzwińskim w jubileuszowym tonie, a także

o współpracy Muzeum Warmii i Mazur w Olsztynie z Muzeum Zamkowym

w Malborku – słów kilka

/ 39

• bengt kylsberg, Mariusz Mierzwiński and the Association of Castles and Museums

around the Baltic Sea

/ 51

• Virgilijus Poviliūnas, Troki – Malbork. Virgilijus i Mariusz

/ 53

• Marek stokowski, Telefon z Paryża

/ 59

II. Zakon krzyżacki i Prusy w średniowieczu / 63

• udo arnold, Deutscher Orden und Musik in Preußen

/ 65

• karl borchardt, The papacy and the collation of lower benefices in the four Prussian

dioceses during the 15th century

/ 83

• Wiesław Długokęcki, Urząd mistrza świątyni (der Tempelmeister) w komturstwie

malborskim

/ 95

• tadeusz Jurkowlaniec, Grób wielkich mistrzów w Malborku

/ 101

• Nicholas Morton, Why did some military orders become great international institu-

tions while others remained small scale? (1120–1314)

/ 119

• alan V. Murray, The Devil among the Teutonic Knights: Temptations, Miracles and Spiritual

Armour in the Chronicles of Peter von Dusburg and Nicolaus von Jeroschin

/ 129

• karol Polejowski, Charles of Trier in the Teutonic Order until 1305

/ 139

• Thomas W. smith, An Unknown Fragment of Peter von Dusburg’s Chronicon terrae

Prussiae in Dublin, Trinity College Library MS 516

/ 151

III. Zamek malborski w epoce nowożytnej i współcześnie / 155

• Marian Dygo, „Z Maryjenburskiej wieży zadzwoniono…”: Adam Mickiewicz

o Malborku

/ 157

• Jerzy Litwin, Modele okrętów na zamku w Malborku. Zarys tła historycznego

/ 169

• rafał Panfil, Kontrakt na ekonomię malborską z 1663 r.

/ 189

• barbara Pospieszna, Produkcja kafli w malborskich garncarniach w XVII–XVIII

wieku

/ 201

• Wiesław sieradzan, Początki warsztatu naukowo-konserwatorskiego Bernharda

Schmida (1872–1947). Uwagi na marginesie albumu „Rathaus in Marienburg”

/ 217

• aleksandra siuciak, Biblioteka Muzeum Zamkowego w Malborku – historia i krótka

charakterystyka księgozbioru

/ 231

IV. UNESCO – archeologia, rekonstrukcja, konserwacja / 243

• Marian arszyński, Wczesne przejawy zainteresowania zabytkami Prus – przyczynek

do rozważań nad początkami ich naukowego rozpoznania i konserwatorskiej

ochrony

/ 245

• adrian J. boas, Evidence for Daily Life in Montfort Castle in the Light of Past and

Recent Archaeological Exploration

/ 257

• arkadiusz Dzikowski, Konserwacja, rekonstrukcja, edukacja

/ 271

• ewa Fudzińska, Dorobek Muzeum Zamkowego w Malborku w dziedzinie badań

archeologicznych

/ 283

• andrzej Gołembnik, Współczesna archeologia w przestrzeni muzealnej

/ 303

• Janusz Hochleitner, izabela rekuć, O „ożywianiu historii” i współczesnych rycerzach

na malborskim zamku

/ 321

• Mirosław Jonakowski, Aktywizacja turystyczna wschodnich terenów zespołu zamko-

wego w Malborku: uwarunkowania historyczne i konserwatorskie odbudowy

/ 335

• Marcin kozarzewski, Omne trinum perfectum – triady Kilarskiego

/ 359

• Marian Leśny, Rozwój ruchu turystycznego w polskich obiektach UNESCO na

przykładzie Kopalni Soli „Wieliczka”

/ 375

• armin Mikos v. rohrscheidt, Krzyżowanie szlaków kulturowych – zagospodarowa-

nie potencjału i zarządzanie ofertą

/ 385

V. Varia / 411

• Jarosław Dumanowski, bogdan Gałązka, „Dobry pasztet”. Królewiecka książka

kucharska czytana na dwa głosy

/ 413

• krzysztof Maciej kowalski, Klamry pasów rycerskich w średniowiecznej heraldyce

niemieckiej

/ 423

• błażej Śliwiński, O pogodzie w Polsce w sierpniu i wrześniu 1109 roku

/ 443

Informacja o Autorach / 451

Wstęp

rok 2017 dla Muzeum zamkowego w  Malborku to moment szczególny, albo-

wiem mija 20 lat od momentu wpisania malborskiej rezydencji na Listę Światowego
Dziedzictwa organizacji Narodów zjednoczonych dla Wychowania, Nauki i  kultury
(World Heritage List, united Nations educational, scientific and Cultural organisation,
uNesCo). Dzisiaj, kiedy ten fakt jest dla nas oczywisty, a renoma Muzeum zamkowego
została trwale ugruntowana, trudno jest nam sobie wyobrazić ile należało podjąć działań,
aby ten status uzyskać. Warto więc przypomnieć, że okres związany z przygotowaniem
dokumentacji aplikacyjnej trwał 10 lat i został zapoczątkowany w roku 1987. inicjatorem
owych przygotowań był obecny dyrektor Muzeum zamkowego w Malborku, Mariusz
Mierzwiński, powołany zresztą wówczas na to stanowisko. to Mariusz Mierzwiński
podjął decyzję o powołaniu zespołu merytorycznego do przygotowania dokumentacji.
równolegle organizował liczne spotkania i konsultacje, które miały przede wszystkim
wykorzystać doświadczenie krajowych i  zagranicznych środowisk konserwatorskich
oraz zabytkoznawczych, związanych ze współpracą z uNesCo. W gronie najważniej-
szych partnerów dyrektora Mierzwińskiego w  tym okresie należy wskazać profesora
Mariana arszyńskiego i ówczesnego wicedyrektora, świętej pamięci Mieczysława Haftkę.
Dla ówczesnych malborskich starań ważne znaczenie należy przypisać pisemnej opinii,
sporządzonej przez profesora ernsta badstübnera.

Cel, który wyznaczono w  roku 1987 został osiągnięty 10 lat później (1997) i  od

tego momentu Muzeum zamkowe w Malborku jest częścią światowego dziedzictwa.
W  ciągu kolejnych 20 lat stopniowo ugruntowano nową świadomość, wedle której
zaczęto przypisywać malborskiemu zamkowi nie tylko znaczenie ważnego pomnika
historii oraz wybitnego dzieła architektury średniowiecznej, ale także jednego z naj-
ważniejszych w  europie obiektów kreacji konserwatorskiej. Mariusz Mierzwiński
znając bardzo dobrze dzieje zarządzanego przez siebie obiektu, zaczął ze swoimi
współpracownikami podkreślać, że zamek poprzez swoją długotrwałą odbudowę,
najpierw dwukrotnie w wieku XiX, a potem jeszcze raz w wieku XX i XXi, stał się
w konsekwencji swoistą kolebką wyjątkowej szkoły konserwatorskiej. to tutaj kilka
pokoleń konserwatorów, najpierw niemieckich, potem polskich, doskonaliło zasady,
które dzisiaj uznajemy za wzorcowe. W ten sposób malborski zabytek zaczęto trakto-
wać również jako najważniejszy pomnik światowego konserwatorstwa.

Dziś, gdy możemy bezpośrednio oceniać efekty prowadzonych od ponad 30 lat, i to

na niespotykaną skalę, prac konserwatorskich, nie mamy wątpliwości, iż działalność

8

Wstęp

Mariusza Mierzwińskiego w zakresie ochrony dziedzictwa kulturowego oraz konser-
wacji, należy do najistotniejszych etapów w procesie fachowej opieki nad tym monu-
mentalnym zabytkiem. Należy podkreślić zwłaszcza Jego rolę w odbudowie zamku ze
zniszczeń ii wojny światowej. Działalność Mariusza Mierzwińskiego w tym zakresie
stanowi trwały i ważny rozdział w dziejach polskiej szkoły ochrony zabytków. W tym
miejscu należy wymienić najważniejsze przedsięwzięcia, które w tym obszarze dane
Mu było zrealizować:

• kompleksowa konserwacja zachodniego skrzydła zamku Średniego, co uratowało

od katastrofy budowlanej jeden z najcenniejszych fragmentów średniowiecznej wa-
rowni. Warto podkreślić, że przez prawie 150 lat konserwatorzy niemieccy i polscy
bez rezultatu podejmowali próby ratowania fundamentów Wielkiego refektarza

• projekt „aktywizacja turystyczna wschodnich terenów zamku” tj. rewitalizację wschod-

nich terenów Przedzamcza i  odtworzenie pierwotnego wejścia do zamku z  nowym
budynkiem kasowym, który w zasadniczy sposób podniósł standard obsługi ruchu tu-
rystycznego oraz przygotował specjalną przestrzeń muzealną na działania edukacyjne,
a zwłaszcza markowy już produkt, jakim jest „oblężenie Malborka” (nagradzany m.in.
jako Produkt turystyczny roku w Polsce)

• odbudowa i konserwacja w latach 2014–2016 zespołu kościoła Najświętszej Maryi

Panny na zamku Wysokim, wielokrotnie już wyróżniana specjalistycznymi nagro-
dami, jak „zabytek zadbany”, czy muzealnym wyróżnieniem „sybilla”.
Nie jest wobec tego przypadkiem, że swoim znakomitym doświadczeniem zawodo-

wym w zakresie konserwacji zabytków dzielił się, jako konsultant, w Niemczech, rosji,
na Litwie czy w syrii.

to doświadczenie konserwatorskie tylko wzmacniało jego poczynania muzealne.

Na zaproszenie rządu stanów zjednoczonych ameryki (Departament stanu usa) od-
był staż studyjny w Waszyngtonie, Nowym Jorku, Filadelfii, Cincinnati i Los angeles,
w zakresie zarządzania dużymi muzeami sztuki. Poczynione tam obserwacje i zebrane
inspiracje zaowocowały licznymi przedsięwzięciami muzealnymi na zamku malbor-
skim. Jego menedżerskie zaangażowanie wyniosło Muzeum zamkowe do rangi jednej
z najważniejszych atrakcji turystycznych na świecie.

również obecnie Mariusz Mierzwiński podejmuje nowe inicjatywy, które mają jesz-

cze bardziej uatrakcyjnić ofertę muzealną. Co roku wzbogacana jest oferta dla zwiedza-
jących – trasa rodzinna, próba uruchomienia parku machin oblężniczych, w sezonie
letnim wydłużenie czasu otwarcia muzeum do późnych godzin wieczornych, nocne
zwiedzanie czy organizacja gier rycerskich. Muzeum zamkowe w  Malborku, przy
współpracy z ośrodkiem w Laskach pod Warszawą, jako pierwsze w Polsce opracowało
cykl zajęć dla grup specjalnych, m.in. dla osób niewidomych i niedowidzących. Jeszcze
w ubiegłym stuleciu dyrektor Mierzwiński uruchomił jeden z pierwszych na Pomorzu
ośrodków konferencyjnych w obiekcie zabytkowym, jakim jest karwan. Poza tym wy-
kreował formę wystawienniczą jako produkt turystyczny, poprzez organizację wystaw
zagranicznych. to m.in. dzięki Jego zabiegom kolekcja bursztynu stała się ekspozycją

9

Wstęp

eksportową. zbiór malborskiego bursztynu liczy półtora tysiąca obiektów i należy do
najcenniejszych zbiorów tego typu na świecie. Warto podkreślić, że wolontariuszką
Muzeum w ramach organizacji projektów wystawienniczych za granicą była obecna
następczyni tronu królestwa szwecji, księżna Wiktoria bernadotte. kolekcja burszty-
nów gościła sześciokrotnie w szwecji, trzykrotnie w Niemczech, tyleż samo w Japonii
i dwukrotnie w Wielkiej brytanii. zbiory eksponowano też w stanach zjednoczonych
i we Włoszech.

Należy także uwypuklić zmysł organizacyjny oraz talent Mariusza Mierzwińskiego

w kreowaniu nowych inicjatyw muzealnych na arenie międzynarodowej. to z Jego inicjaty-
wy w 1991 r. powstało w Malborku Międzynarodowe stowarzyszenie zamków i Muzeów
Nadbałtyckich – pierwsza wówczas organizacja skupiająca instytucje kultury z dziewięciu
krajów nadbałtyckich. od tego czasu Malbork jest centralną siedzibą stowarzyszenia, a dy-
rektor Mariusz Mierzwiński jego najważniejszym przedstawicielem.

Mariusz Mierzwiński jest także uznanym badaczem oraz autorem licznych arty-

kułów i książek, które dotyczą dziejów zamku, miasta Malborka i żuław Wiślanych.
i chociaż w wolnych chwilach lubi odwiedzać swoją rodzinną Jelenią Górę, w której
może wspominać przeszłość ze swoją Mamą, a także przetestować okoliczne narciar-
skie trasy zjazdowe, to i tak najlepiej czuje się w malborskim zamku. W życiu zawodo-
wym nadal jest wierny swojemu podstawowemu wykształceniu – archeologii, dzięki
której zrozumiał potrzebę interdyscyplinarnego działania dla osiągnięcia wspólnego
celu. Do dziś w gronie Jego Przyjaciół spotkamy najważniejszych w Polsce i europie
konserwatorów zabytków, muzealników, historyków, historyków sztuki, artystów, foto-
grafów i samorządowców.

Niniejsza książka niech będzie wyrazem upamiętnienia dwudziestej rocznicy wpi-

sania Muzeum zamkowego w Malborku na Listę Światowego Dziedzictwa uNesCo
oraz hołdu dla Mariusza Mierzwińskiego, który uczynił zamek malborski tym czym
jest dzisiaj – zachwycającym pomnikiem historii i żywym centrum kultury i sztuki, do
którego przybywają ludzie z całego świata.

Janusz Hochleitner i Karol Polejowski

introduction

The year of 2017 is a special year for the Malbork Castle Museum as this year we cel-

ebrate the 20

th

anniversary of the Malbork Castle being listed in the World Heritage List

of the united Nations educational, scientific and Cultural organisation (uNesCo).
today, when this fact seems indisputable to us and the renown of the Malbork Castle
Museum has been affirmed, we find it difficult to imagine how much effort it required
to obtain this status. Therefore, it would be worthwhile to recall that the period dedi-
cated to the preparation of the application documentation lasted 10 years and began
in 1987. The initiator of these preparations was the current director of the Malbork
Castle Museum, Mariusz Mierzwiński, who was at that time appointed to this post. it
was Mariusz Mierzwiński who made the decision to create a focus team responsible for
the preparation of documentation. Concurrently, he was organising numerous meet-
ings and consultations on cooperation with uNesCo, which were aimed primarily at
taking advantage of the expertise of Polish and international specialists in the field of
conservation and heritage. During that time, the key partners of Mariusz Mierzwiński
were professor Marian arszyński and then the deputy director, the late Mieczysław
Haftka. of considerable importance to these efforts was the written opinion prepared
by professor ernst badstübner.

The objective which had been set in 1987 was achieved ten years later (1997) and

from that year onwards, the Malbork Castle Museum has been a part of world herit-
age. in the course of the next 20 years, new awareness was proclaimed according to
which the castle began to be perceived not only as a significant historic monument and
outstanding example of medieval architecture, but also as one of the most important
buildings in the field of conservation in europe. Mariusz Mierzwiński, being very well
acquainted with the history of the building under his care, together with his colleagues
began to underline that the castle, through its long-lasting reconstruction – twice in
the 19

th

century and then once in the 20

th

and 21

st

century, has become a certain cradle

of the unique craft of conservation. This is where several generations of conservators,
first German and then Polish, mastered their principles, which today are considered as
the benchmark. in this way, Malbork Castle also began to function as the most impor-
tant monument to the art of global conservation.

today, when we are able to directly evaluate the results of the conservation work

conducted for more than 30 years and on an unprecedented scale, we have no doubt
that the work performed by Mariusz Mierzwiński in protecting cultural heritage and

12

Introduction

conservation can be considered as one of the most crucial stages in the process of pro-
fessional preservation of this monumental complex of buildings.of particular empha-
sis should be his role in the reconstruction of the castle from the destruction of World
War ii. The work of Mariusz Mierzwiński in this area constitutes a permanent and
important chapter in the history of the Polish school of preservation of architectural
heritage. at this stage, we should mention the most important undertakings carried out
by the museum director:

• comprehensive conservation of the west wing of the Middle Castle, preventing an im-

pending construction disaster from taking place, which could have damaged one of the
most valuable sections of the medieval fortress. it should be highlighted that for almost
150 years, both German and Polish conservators had unsuccessfully tried to salvage the
foundations of the Great refectory.

• project entitled “tourism mobilisation for the eastern sections of the castle”, i.e. revitalisa-

tion of the eastern areas of the outer bailey and reconstruction of the original entrance
to the castle with a new building dedicated to the sale of tickets, which to a consider-
able degree improved the standard of providing tourism-related services and created
a special space for educational activities, and in particular the well-known product in
the form of “The siege of Malbork”, recognised, amongst others, as the “best tourism
Product of the year” in Poland.

• reconstruction and conservation in 2014–2016 of st. Mary’s Church at the High

Castle, which has been recognised with specialist awards on numerous occasions,
for instance, with “zabytek zadbany” (Well-cared for Monument) and the “sybilla”
award.
it is therefore not accidental that Mariusz Mierzwiński has been sharing his out-

standing professional expertise on conservation of historic buildings as consultant in
Germany, russia, Lithuania and syria.

His experience in conservation only strengthens his museum-related activities. on

the invitation of the government of the united states Department of state, he com-
pleted an internship on managing large museums of art in Washington, New york,
Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Los angeles. observations and inspirations from his time
in america have resulted in many different museum events at the Malbork Castle. His
managerial involvement gave the Malbork Castle Museum the rank of one of the most
important tourist attractions in the world.

at present, Mariusz Mierzwiński continues to undertake new initiatives which aim

to make the museum portfolio even more attractive. every year, attractions for visi-
torsbecome more numerous – with the addition of a family route, an attempt to open
a park displaying siege engines, extending the opening hours of the museum until late
evening hours, night sightseeing options and organising medieval tournaments. The
Malbork Castle Museum, in collaboration with the institute for the blind in Laski near
Warsaw, was the first in Poland to organise a series of workshops for special groups, for
instance, for blind and partially sighted persons. already in the last century, Mariusz

13

Introduction

Mierzwiński opened one of the first conference centres in a historic building in the
Pomerania region, i.e. karwan Conference Centre. Moreover, he has transformed ex-
hibitions into a product for tourists by means of organising exhibitions abroad. it was
also thanks to his efforts the amber collection became an exhibition sent for export.
The collection of the Malbork amber has one and a half thousand exhibits and is one of
the most valuable collections of this type in the world. it should be mentioned that the
current heiress apparent, Victoria bernadotte, Crown Princess of sweden, was a volun-
teer at the Museum and participated in the organisation of exhibition projects abroad.
The amber collection travelled six times to sweden, three times to Germany and Japan,
and twice to united kingdom. it was also shown in the united states and italy.

another aspect worthy of note is Mariusz Mierzwiński’s organisational skills and

talent in creating new museum-linked initiatives on the international arena. it was
on his initiative in 1991 that the international association of Castles and Museums
around the baltic sea was founded – the first such organisation to incorporate cultural
institutions from nine countries surrounding the baltic sea. since that time, Malbork
has acted as the central headquarters of the association, and Mariusz Mierzwiński is
its most important representative.

The director of the Malbork Castle Museum is also an eminent researcher and au-

thor of numerous articles and books on the history of the castle, the city of Malbork
and the Vistula żuławy. and although in his spare time he likes to visit his hometown
of Jelenia Góra, where he can reminisce on the past with his mother, and put the nearby
ski slopes to the test, he feels best when he is inside the Malbork Castle. in his profes-
sional life, he is faithful to his field of education – archaeology – which has enabled
him to understand that interdisciplinary activities are necessary to achieve a common
goal. His esteemed colleagues include the most renowned specialists both in Poland
and europe – conservators, museum professionals, historians, art historians, artists,
photographers and local government representatives.

Let this book be an expression of recognition for the 20

th

anniversary of the entry

of the Malbork Castle Museum to uNesCo’s World Heritage List and a tribute to
Mariusz Mierzwiński, who has made Malbork Castle what it is today – a spellbinding
monument to history and a living cultural and art centre to which people travel from
all corners of the world.

Janusz Hochleitner and Karol Polejowski

Karol Polejowski

Charles of trier in the teutonic order

until 1305

after the fall of acre in 1291, a new era begun for the military orders which were

the main force in the Latin Christianity interested in reconquering the Holy Land.
undoubtedly, Jerusalem was also the main goal in the policy of the consecutive po-
pes at the end of the 13

th

and at the beginning of the 14

th

century

1

. Military religious

orders played the leading role in all papal scenarios, therefore their headquarters
were located in the Mediterranean for almost 20 years after 1291. The Grand Master
of the templars resided in the kingdom of Cyprus (between 1307–1312 this military
order was destroyed and disbanded), and the Hospitallers were present on Cyprus
and after 1306 they moved to rhodes. The teutonic knights established their head-
quarters in Venice (italy). However, in time it became more and more obvious that
preparations for the new crusade required more money and deeper involvement of
the West european monarchies. The situation remained almost unchanged even after
1307, when the templars’ power was broken. Finally, in 1310 the Hospitallers, now
the main military religious order in the Mediterranean, organised first military ex-
pedition to the east after the fall of acre. They did not reach Palestine, but strengthe-
ned their position on rhodes

2

. The teutonic order focused rather on the area of

southern and eastern coasts of the baltic sea, but the order’s leaders were always
looking towards the Mediterranean as long as they remained in Venice. even after
1309, when order’s headquarters was transferred to Marienburg (today’s Malbork),
they still had to be prepared for the papal call to Levant, in case of launching of such
an expedition.

These two decades, a breakthrough period for the military orders, was the time of

the beginning of career and rise to power of Charles of trier until the moment of his
appointment to the highest position in the teutonic order in 1311. The life and deeds
of Charles of trier have been presented in ulrich Niess’ monograph published in 1992.
in this book, the beginning of Charles’ career was analysed mostly on the basis of the

1

For example Marino Sanudo Torsello, The Book of the secrets of the Faithful of the Cross. Liber Secretorum Fidelium Crucis, trans. P. Lock,

Crusade Texts in Translation, vol 21, Farnham 2011, pp. 416–448, where description of the opportune remedies for keeping the Holy

Land.

2

ex. M. Carr, The Hospitallers of Rhodes and their Alliances Against the Turks, 1306–1348, [in:] Islands and Military Orders, c.1291–

c.1798, ed. e. buttigieg, s. Phillips, Farnham 2013, pp. 167–175; H. Houben, Between Sicily and Jerusalem: the Teutonic Knights in the

Mediterranean (Twelfth to Fifteenth Centuries), [in:] Islands and Military Orders, pp. 155–164; The Crusade in the Fourteenth Century,

[in:]A History of the Crusades, vol. 3: The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, ed. H. W. Hazard, Madison, Wisconsin 1975, pp. 3–11.

Karol Polejowski

140

publications dating back to 2

nd

half of the 19

th

century and the beginning of the 20

th

century. in brief, the state of research is as follows

3

.

Charles of trier was born between 1260 and 1265 as a member of a patrician family

of oeren, strongly connected with trier city. His grandfather Charles of oeren, his
father James (Jacob) and his uncle ordulf, held the function of alderman in this city

4

.

young Charles about 1288 joined the teutonic order and probably became the mem-
ber of its convent (commandery) in trier. in June 1291, as supposed, he became the
commander of the teutonic order’s house beauvoir in southern Champagne. in 1296,
in one of Charles’ charters issued in France, he used the title: commandeur de France

et de Bourgoigne. one year earlier, in 1295, he took the position of the landkomthur
(bailli) of the order's bailiwick of Lorraine, still keeping his position in the French
commanderies of the teutonic order. in 1303 he probably participated in the election
of the Grand Master siegfried of Feuchtwangen during the order’s General Chapter
in elbing (today’s elbląg). at the same time the independence of the Grand Master, as
the chief of the order, was significantly restricted. For example, without the permission
of the General Chapter and the Masters of Germany, Prussia and Livonia he could not
leave the main house of the order in Venice

5

. That might have been a courtesy towards

the faction trying to keep the order in the Mediterranean (and away from Prussia).
at the beginning of the 14

th

century Charles became one of the closest associates of

the new Grand Master. He financed siegfried’s journey across italy in 1303–1304, ta-
king the money from the treasury of the bailiwick of Lorraine in trier. in March 1304
Charles returned to trier, but in autumn of the same year he travelled back to Venice
to take the position of the Grand Commander (Grosskomtur). He held this position for
several months and in the 2

nd

half of 1305 he returned to trier. For next 6 years he held

the position of the teutonic order’s bailli in Lorraine and the commander of beauvoir.
We know nothing about his role of transferring the order’s headquarters from Venice
to Marienburg (today’s Malbork) in 1309. after siegfried’s death, in spring 1311, the

capitulum convened by Markward von Mässing in July and august of 1311 in Malbork
elected him a new Grand Master

6

.

When it comes to Charles’ position among the factions supposed to have existed

at this time within the order, he is often believed to have been a mediator between
the Prussian and Mediterranean parties. Thanks to his diplomatic skills he is be-
lieved to have led to – jointly agreed by both parties – the election of siegfried von
Feuchtwangen, former German Master and commander of the teutonic convent in
Vienna, to the position of the Grand Master, and it was Charles who had pacified the

3

u. Niess, Hochmeister Karl von Trier (1311–1324). Stationen einer karriere im Deutschen Orden, (Quellen und studien zur Geschichte

des Deutschen ordens [hereafter cited: QsGDo] 47), Marburg 1992, pp. 9–33. The conclusions proposed by Niess are still in use and

repeated by other historians, ex. Deutsche Bioghraphische Enzyklopädie (DBE), vol. 5, ed. r. Vierhaus, München 2006, p. 501; k. Conrad,

Karl von Trier, [in:] Die Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens, 1190–2012, QsGDo 40 (2

nd

edition), ed. u. arnold, Weimar 2014, p. 56. see

also: r. schmidt, Die Deutschordenskommenden Trier und Beckingen, 1242–1794, QsGDo 9, Marburg 1979, p. 281–289.

4

u. Niess, Karl von Trier, p. 193 (genealogy).

5

about the position of the Grand Master in the teutonic order in 13

th

and 14

th

centuries recently: s. Jóźwiak, Centralne i terytorialne

organy władzy zakonu krzyżackiego w Prusach w latach 1228–1410. Rozwój-przekształcenia-kompetencje [Central and territorial institu-

tions of the Teutonic Order in Prussia between 1228–1410. Development – transformations – competences], toruń 2012, pp. 35–39, 81–88.

6

u. Niess, Karl von Trier, pp. 35–46.

Charles of Trier in the Teutonic Order until 1305

141

supporters of Geoffrey of Hohenlohe

7

. However, it is interesting to note the fact that

a great career of the Grosskomtur was tempered somehow after 1305. after leaving the
post in Venice Charles returned to trier, where as the landkomtur he administrated the
bailiwick of Lorraine and the teutonic order's property in France. We know nothing,
at the moment, about his role in the most important events in the order between 1306
and 1311. Presented above the course of Charles’ early career in the teutonic order is
widely accepted by the historians.

but it seems that at least some elements of his career before 1305 should be ana-

lysed anew. He was acting in the period when the teutonic order was at war not
only in the area of the south baltic (ex. Polish Pomerania, Lithuania), but also in the
Mediterranean. in the latter case after 1291 the order’s bailiwicks in italy and sicily
kept their significance in its structure for next 20 years

8

.

The first element which must be revised is, in our opinion, the question of the date when

Charles of trier took the position of the commander of beauvoir in south Champagne,
which was exactly when his career began. We must underline that it was his first official
position outside of trier. according to the statement of Heinrich Lempfrid, the author
of 19

th

century monograph of the order’s commandery in Metz, in June of 1291 Charles

was the commander of beauvoir and remained at this post constantly until 1295. in this
year he joined his post in France with the position of the commander of the bailiwick
of Lorraine

9

. The author presented a passage from a charter from German archives in

koblenz, referring to the order’s right of patronage over the parish church in Vaudeville
(diocese of toul), in which Charles’ name had appeared

10

. all historians, after Lempfrid,

who examined the life of Charles of trier, followed this track

11

.

but this document, now in

the French archives Départementales de la Moselle in Metz, requires a re-examination,
first of all as regards of the date of its issue

12

.

The right of the patronage

13

over the Vaudeville parish church was granted to the

teutonic order by the donation of Hugh Chauderon, lord of briaucourt in Champagne,
made in March 1228

14

. in June 1231 the seneschal of Champagne, simon of Joinville,

7

J. Powierski, Studia nad polityką Krzyżaków i ich sąsiadów w początkach XIV wieku, part 2, [in:] Władcy, mnisi, rycerze, (Gdańskie studia

z Dziejów Średniowiecza 3), Gdańsk 1996, pp. 152–153.

8

H. Houben, Die Landkomture der Deutschordensballei Apulien (1225–1474), [in:] Sacra Militia. Rivista di storia degli ordini militari 2

(2001), esp. pp. 127–131.

9

H. Lempfrid, Die Deutschordenscomturei Metz, saargemünd 1887, p. 22.

10

ibid., p. 22 and footnote 4 on this page.

11

For example: r. schmidt, Trier und Beckingen, p. 281; u. Niess, Karl von Trier, p.10; k. Polejowski, Geneza i rozwój posiadłości zakonu

krzyżackiego na terenie królestwa Francji do połowy XIV wieku, Gdańsk 2003, pp. 203–206; DBE, vol. 5, p. 501; k. Conrad, Karl von

Trier, p. 56.

12

With no doubt it refers to the same document, because on his back (verso) we see a stamp of the königlisches staatsarchiv koblenz.

The code of the document in the archives Départementales de la Moselle in Metz is FraD57/H 4694. it is a parchment, measuring

19x16 cm (19x17 cm with repli). u. Niess, Karl von Trier, p. 10, footnote 29 writes that he was not able to find the document in the

archives départementales de la Moselle in Metz. i am of the opinion that the document with the date of June 1291 never existed. on

the page 11, note 32 Niess refers to the entry in the archive register in koblenz and evokes the same charter, at this time with the correct

date: June 1295. it seems that Niess described the same document twice, in the first case repeating the wrong date, given by Lempfrid,

in the second case citing correct date, recorded in koblenz’s Findbuch.

13

by the right of patronage (lat. ius patronatus) is understood a determinate sum of rights and obligations entailed upon a definite person, the

patron, especially in connexion with the assignment and administration of a benefice, see: J. b. sägmüller, Patron and Patronage, in: Catholic

Encyclopedia, vol. 11 (1913), https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_encyclopedia_(1913)/Patron_and_Patronage (accessed: 14.04.2017).

14

Collection des principaux cartulaires du diocèse de Troyes, t. 3: Cartulaire de l’abbaye de Basse-Fontaine. Chartes de Beauvoir [hereaf-

ter cited Chartes de Beauvoir], ed. Ch. Lalore, Paris-troyes 1878, no. 32 (March 1228). Lords of briaucourt (dépt. Haute-Marne, arr.

Chaumont, c. bologne) are mentioned in the sources in the second half of 11

th

c. The member of this family, Haymo (first half of the

Karol Polejowski

142

Hugh's feudal overlord, confirmed this donation

15

. However, Chauderon’s will had re-

mained unexecuted for the next 50 years, as no sooner than in 1281 the brothers from
the commandery of beauvoir received authentication of Hugh’s will, issued by the
bishop of toul, Conrad ii Probus of tübingen

16

. a year later (1282), the commander of

beauvoir William (Willelmus)

17

decided to use his right of patronage and requested the

bishop of toul to accept his own candidate to that position. a teutonic order’s priest
named Conrad (probably identical with Conrad of Menwihre, known from another
document

18

), a member of the teutonic order's house in beauvoir, was installed in the

church in Vaudeville

19

. it seems that Conrad kept this position until his resignation in

august 1290 and his decision was accepted by the bishop of toul, previously mentio-
ned Conrad of tübingen

20

. However, his resignation remained with no effect, because

in December 1291 the same bishop of toul wrote to him a letter, which began with
these words:

Brother Conrad, by God’s Grace bishop of Toul, sends his greetings to brother Conrad

from the Order of the Brothers of the Teutonic House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, the

rector of the church in Vaudeville, in our diocese

21

.

in the further part of the letter the bishop wrote that he had not been able to find an

appropriate candidate for this position (ydoneus servitor) and Conrad was appointed
to carry out this function until the bishop’s revocation. so, by the end of 1291 brother
Conrad was still on his position in Vaudeville and was a priest there, what practically
excludes the possible action of Charles of trier, as the commander of beauvoir, in
June 1291 in favour of priest Henry. bishop’s of toul charter from December 1291 did
not mention about the action of Charles of trier from June 1291. in the light of these
events the Lepfrid's findings in this matter must be treated at least with suspicion. The
document mentioned by him, which had been kept in koblenz (until 1912) and which
is now in archives Départementales de la Moselle in Metz, seems to be crucial for our
considerations.

in this letter, which is rather a bishop’s mandate, addressed to the dean of reynel and

the councillors (scabini) of this place, bishop of toul Conrad wrote, that brother Charles,
commander of beauvoir, presented teutonic’s order candidate to the post of the rector in
the parish church in Vaudeville. Charles’ nominee was teutonic order’s priest Henry. so,
in this situation the bishop asked the dean to allow him to take the position in the parish
and to take over his rights and privileges, mainly financial ones, because brother Henry
had a full right to use the parish's revenues. in the bishop’s mandate we find additional

12

th

c.), took the nickname Chaudron (the great helm), which became the family name in the 13

th

c., see: e. Jolibois, La Haute-Marne

ancienne et moderne. Dictionnaire géographique, statistique, historique et biographique de ce département, Chaumont 1858, p. 90.

15

Chartes de Beauvoir, no. 38, June 1231.

16

ibid., no. 75, 4 June 1281; no. 76, 11 July 1281. Conrad was the bishop of toul between 1272 and 1296.

17

William, commander of beauvoir was identified by Lempfrid as a  member of the noble family of Mörsberg-Dorsweiler, see:

H. Lempfrid, Metz, p. 20 and note 1 on this page. We cannot exclude the possibility that William was the teutonic order’s priest.

18

Menwihre – today’s Mainvillers, dépt. Moselle, arr. Forbach-boulay-Moselle, c. Faulquement. Conrad was a member of the teutonic

order’s commandery in Metz, see: H. Lempfrid, Metz, p. 19.

19

Chartes de Beauvoir, no. 77, 78.

20

ibid., no. 85.

21

ibid., no. 88, December 1291.

Charles of Trier in the Teutonic Order until 1305

143

information that Henry’s predecessor, brother Conrad, voluntarily resigned from his
post. H. Lempfrid read the date indicated on the document as:

Anno Domini M.CC nonagesimo primo, die Dominica ante festum Sancti Johanni

Baptistae [so sunday, 17 June 1291–kP]

22

.

However, after the closer analysis of the document, the date should be read as:

Anno Domini Mo CCo nonagesimo quinto, die Dominica ante festum Sancti Johanni

Baptistae [so sunday, 19 June 1295–kP].

What is more, in other document, issued by Charles of trier on 24 august 1296, we

find information that teutonic order’s brother Henry voluntarily resigned from the
function of the parish priest in Vaudeville

23

. so, in my opinion, it is excluded that in

June 1291 the parish priest in Vaudeville was Henry, presented by Charles of trier, and
held this office until august 1296. if so, how we could explain the fact, that at the same
time (ex. bishop’s document from December 1291) this function was held by Conrad,
teutonic order’s priest.

Therefore we suggest there was a different sequence of events related to the position

in the parish church in Vaudeville. in august 1290 teutonic order’s priest in Vaudeville,
Conrad of Menwihre, resigned from his post. His decision was accepted by the bishop
of toul, but there was no one, especially from the teutonic order, who could replace
him and the bishop ordered him to continue his duties (December 1291). Conrad re-
mained in Vaudeville at least until 19 June 1295, when Charles of trier, the (new) com-
mander of beauvoir, found and presented his new candidate – teutonic order’s priest
Henry. However, after one year, 24 august 1296, Henry voluntarily resigned from the
function in Vaudeville and Charles of trier, now bailli of Lorraine, proposed another
candidate, teutonic order’s priest Thierry of Lucembourc (probably from the teutonic
order’s house in Luxembourg), who was also the rector of the parochial church in
betencourt. From other documents we know that Thierry died before 16 april 1301

24

.

The lack of documents from the years 1292 – first half of 1295, concerning the

teutonic order's right of patronage over the church in Vaudeville, is an additional
argument for above proposed sequence of events. This is particularly evident when
we are taking under consideration that several dozens of such documents have been
preserved. it can be concluded that the source material that have been preserved is
in fact substantially complete. and we are able to explain this lack of documents for
the years 1292 – first half of 1295 by the fact that priest Conrad held his position in
Vaudeville undisturbed and in accordance with the decision of the bishop of toul.
We have no positive evidence for this period to define the role of the commander of
beauvoir in this affair.

However, this is not the end of the analysis of the conserved source material concer-

ning Charles of trier and the beginning of his career. another argument which may
prove that Charles was not the commander of beauvoir before april 1292 is the fact that

22

H. Lempfrid, Metz, p. 22, note 4.

23

Chartes de Beauvoir, no. 95.

24

ibid., nos. 85, 88, 95, 96, 97, 98, 104.

Karol Polejowski

144

in this moment it was teutonic order’s brother named Giselbert. We get information
about this from the document issued by John of Joinville, seneschal of Champagne,
who in april 1292 confirmed the earlier donation made by Hugh of La Fauche, vassal
of the lords of Joinville

25

. The cited document begins and ends with these words, origi-

nally written in old French:

I, John, lord of Joinville, seneschal of Champagne, make it known […] that brother

Giselbert, master of Beauvoir of the Germans, of the Hospital of Saint Mary in Jerusalem,

had brought to Joinville the letters sealed by my father

26

(may God forgive him!) and asked

me to confirm them by my own seal. And because I saw that the seal of my father not

preserved in its entirety, I brought some other documents sealed by my father and, I and

my counselors, we compared the seals. And because we found that it was the seal [of my

father – KP], I sealed this letter, whose content is as follow: [the Latin text of the donation

made by Hugh of La Fauche in October 1224 is cited in extenso – KP].

[...]

To confirm this, I have sealed these letters with my own seal, what happened in Joinville,

Anno Domini M CC IIII

XX

and twelve [1292 – KP], in the month of April

27

.

This may prove that it was Giselbert who was the commander of beauvoir in april

1292, which excludes the thesis that Charles kept the post constantly between 1291 and
1295, although it does not exclude the possibility that he was a member of the convent
in beauvoir. in consequence we have to state that we have no positive evidence for the
Lempfrid’s information that Charles of trier was the commander of beauvoir in 1291
and kept this function constantly till 1295, so we have to reject it. However, we can
examine this problem more deeply and ask the following question – are we able to find
out when exactly Charles of trier took the position of the commander in beauvoir, if
not in 1291? to answer this question we should analyse who was above mentioned
teutonic order’s brother Giselbert. The key to resolve this issue is the analysis of mo-
vement of the teutonic order's brothers between commanderies of the bailiwick of
Lorraine and its French possessions.

The beginning of the teutonic order’s presence in France is related to the events of

the Fifth Crusade (1218–1221). During the crusade in egypt some French noblemen
made the donations, in lands and money, in favour of the teutonic order. in the 1220’s
the first teutonic order’s brothers arrived to France, where they established the first
order’s outposts, especially in Champagne, northern burgundy and in beauce (south-
west of Paris). Probably, by the end of the fifties of the 13

th

century the teutonic order

planned to build in France a separate bailiwick with the Landkomthur, but these plans
were not realised

28

. in the 2

nd

half of the 13

th

century the French possessions of the

25

Hugh iii of La Fauche (? – 1229) – vassal of the lords of Joinville, between 1215–1218 he took part in the civil war in the County of

Champagne, as an adherent of blanche of Navarre and against the pretentions of erard of brienne.

26

simon of Joinville (? – May 1233) – lord of Joinville (1204), seneschal of Champagne (c. 1206), crusader, participant of the Fifth

Crusade (Damietta, 1218–1220).

27

N. de Wailly, Recueil de chartes originales de Joinville en langue vulgaire, „bibliothèque de l'école des chartes”, vol. 28 (1867), pp. 589–591.

28

For more details see: k. Polejowski, The Teutonic Order during the Fifth Crusade and their rise in Western Europe: the French case study

(1218–1258), [in:]The Fifth Crusade in context. The Crusading Movement in the Early Thirteenth Century, ed. L. Mylod, G. Perry, t. W. smith,

J. Vandeburie, abingdon 2017, pp. 195–205.

Charles of Trier in the Teutonic Order until 1305

145

order, including the main French commandery beauvoir, were subordinated to the
teutonic order’s bailli in Lorraine and especially to the commander of trier

29

. it was

obvious that the brothers who had been sent to France must have spoken French. That's
why the teutonic order's brothers in France came mostly from Metz, but also from
trier, Luxembourg or saarburg, so from the bilingual French-German borderland.

The first known commander of the commandery beauvoir was already mentioned

William of Mörsberg-Dorsweiler (1282) who initiated the process of execution of the
right of patronage over the church in Vaudeville by the teutonic order. We don’t know
when exactly he left his position in France

30

but in april 1292 it was brother Giselbert

who was the commander of beauvoir. it seems that it was Giselbert’s first important
position in the structure of the order, so it can be said that in beauvoir his career be-
gan. it is possible that before 27 July 1293 he was appointed to the post of Landkomthur
of the bailiwick of Lorraine and replaced on this position Herman of Veldenz, who
took the position of the commander of the teutonic order’s commandery in Dahn.
as the bailli of Lorraine, Giselbert was also the commander of the main house of the
order in the bailiwick in trier

31

. He held these positions at least until 24 august 1295,

when he was mentioned for the last time in a document issued by himself in the ba-
iliwick of Lorraine

32

. after this date Giselbert disappeared from the teutonic order’s

charters issued in Lorraine. but in 1304, certain brother Giselbert of erzel appeared as
the landkomthur of apulia in southern italy

33

. is it possible that his is the same person,

known from beauvoir and trier? it seems very likely and i am of the opinion that this
is not a coincidence that Giselbert continued his career in italy

34

. We can link his career

up with the career of Charles of trier in this period.

it is virtually certain that Charles of trier took the position of the commander of

beauvoir when Giselbert left it for the post of bailli of Lorraine, so after april 1292 and
before July 1293 (and not before 17 June 1291, as Lempfrid stated). Charles’ first known
charter as the commander in France is dated June 19

th

1295

35

. shortly after, during

the next half a year, he took the position of the Landkomthur of the teutonic order’s
bailiwick of Lorraine. simultaneously, he took over the post of the commander of the
teutonic order’s convent in trier. all this must have happened before 12 December
1295. on that day, the inhabitants of saarburg and the commander and brothers from
the convent made an agreement concerning the situation of the teutonic order’s
hospital in this city. Charles of trier is mentioned as the commander of teutonic
order’s house in trier and Landkomthur of Lorraine

36

. it is indisputable that in the

same time Charles was also the commander of beauvoir in France. in February 1296

29

k. Polejowski, Geneza i rozwój posiadłości, p. 192–194.

30

it is possible that William of Dorsweiler took the position of the teutonic order’s priest in the church of Habkirchen, where the order

had the right of patronage, see: H. Lempfrid, Metz, p. 20, 26.

31

about Herman of Veldenz, see: r. schmidt, Trier und Beckingen, p. 281.

32

ibid., p. 281, note 47.

33

H. Houben, Die Landkomture, p. 129, 140. erzel (erzelbach), near Jülich.

34

in 1290 certain Giselbert was teutonic order’s commander in Corneto, but there is no positive evidence to join Giselbert of erzel with

the commander in Corneto.

35

arch. dép. de la Moselle, 57 H 4694.

36

Codex diplomaticus Ordinis Sanctae Mariae Theutonicorum, vol. 2, ed. J.H. Hennes, Mainz 1861, no. 327.

Karol Polejowski

146

Charles issued a charter in which he took the title grand commandeur de France et de

Bourgoigne and few months later in one of the charters he was named provincialis domus

Theutonicorum per Lothoringiam et Burgundiam

37

. in 1301, 1303 and 1311 Charles was

still provincialis per Lothoringiam, commendator de Bellovisu ordinis Theuthonicorum,

Trecensis diocesis, patronus ecclesie de Waudeville

38

.

The first contacts between teutonic order’s commandery in trier and the French

commandery in beauvoir or more widely, with order’s French possessions, we can
observe in the mid-fifties of the 13

th

century. in 1246 the existence of the teutonic

order’s commandery in trier was confirmed in preserved sources. one year later, in
september 1246, agnes, countess of bliescastel made a donation to the house of the
teutonic order in trier. The teutonic knights were represented by the

Landkomthur

of Lorraine, eberhard (of Mörsberg?) and brother bartholomew. rüdiger schmidt is
of the opinion that the last one was probably the commander of the teutonic house
in trier

39

. in November 1255 certain brother bartolomew,

magister hospitalis Beate

Marie Theutonicorum in Francia, leased teutonic order’s vineyard near brienne-
le-Château

40

. in my opinion teutonic order’s brother from trier (1246) and bailli of

the French possessions of the order in 1255 it's one and the same person. Therefore,
bartolomew was the first teutonic order’s brother from the commandery of trier, who
became master (or

preceptor) of the French possessions of the order. His successors,

Giselbert or Charles of trier, started also their careers in teutonic order’s house in
trier, then they took the office in France, as commanders of beauvoir. and, if we are
not able to state what happened with bartolomew

41

, Giselbert and Charles continued

their career as

Landkomthurs of Lorraine However, after april 1303 Charles of trier

became involved in the "big" politics of the teutonic order. but which factors were de-
cisive in this case – it is still under discussion. The main problem here is lack of written
sources. but it is quite sure that we have to connect his access into “big” politics with the
situation inside the order in the years 1301–1303. it is the time when teutonic order
faced the problem of its further activity. at the beginning of the 14

th

century teutonic

order’s main house, with the Grand Master and other high rank officials, was located
in Venice and we cannot exclude the possibility that order must have taken under
consideration Papal and Venetian plans connected with the eastern Mediterranean,
especially with byzantium. The main figure in these plans was Charles of Valois,
brother of king of France Philip iV, and his intentions concerning that area. in 1301,
Charles married Catherine of Courtenay, titular empress of Latin Constantinople
and Venetians conquered some islands on the aegean sea and plundered territories

37

Chartes de Beuvoir, nos. 92 (5 February 1296), 95 (24 august 1296). about the meaning of this title see: u. Niess, Karl von Trier, pp.

13–14; r. schmidt, Trier und Beckingen, pp. 281–283.

38

Chartes de Beuvoir, nos.

104 (16 april 1301), 105 (5 January 1303), 107 (13 april 1303), 110 (15 March 1311).

39

r. schmidt, Trier und Beckingen, pp. 275–276. about the beginnings of the Lorraine bailiwick see: k. Militzer, Die Entstehung der

Deutschordensballeien im Deutschen Reich, QsGDo 16, bonn-bad Godesberg 1970, pp. 86–87.

40

arch. dép. de l’aube (troyes), 3 H 3538.

41

in December of 1258 the Pope alexander iV issued a bull in which preceptor et fratres hospitalis Sante Marie Theutonicorum in Francia

were mentionned. it is possible that in 1258 bartolomew still held the office in France. after 1258, in preserved sources, the title of

preceptor in Francia never appeared; arch. dép. de l’aube, 3 H 3513; k. Polejowski, Geneza i rozwój, p. 202.

Charles of Trier in the Teutonic Order until 1305

147

around Constantinople. The Pope boniface Viii was deeply involved in organization
of the new crusade with Charles of Valois as the key figure. His first goal was to re-
capture sicily from aragonese, but in 1302 (31 august) in Caltabelotta Charles and
Frederick of sicily signed a peace treaty. Papal-Valois’ plans had to be postponed for
later, but in 1301 we can see the revival of the crusading enthusiasm in europe, inclu-
ding Germany

42

. in 1301 Gerard, the member of the family of the lords of siersburg (in

Lorraine) confirmed the donation of his brother James from the year 1293. James and
Gerard donated some lands in beckingen to the teutonic order and in the text of the
authentication from the year 1301 we find information that the donation was made “to
support of the Holy Land”

(in subsidium terre sancte)

43

. r. schmidt considered this as

an anachronism of the crusading ideology

44

, but we are of the opinion that a few years

after acre had fallen a reverse process was going on – the process of renewed crusade
enthusiasm in Western europe, peaking around 1301 with the plans of Pope boniface
Viii and Charles of Valois. Finally, a few years later in beckingen, a teutonic order’s
commandery subordinated to the commandery of trier

45

was created. Therefore, the

authentication from 1301, with intriguing words about the Holy Land, must have been
known to Charles of trier, who was in this year the commander of the teutonic order’s
convent in this city.

after the treaty of Caltabelotta the new crusade to the east was postponed and we

connect this situation with some reorientation in the politics of the teutonic order.
some authors (ex. r. schmidt, u. Niess) are of the opinion that two parties existed
inside the order: Mediterranean and Prussian (or baltic). if we accept their existence,
and it is very likely, the treaty of Caltabelotta brought benefit to the Prussian party. in
northern europe the brothers of the order still fought against pagans (Lithuanians)
and they needed support. The Grand Master Geoffrey of Hohenlohe was accused by
the brothers from Prussia of neglecting Prussian affairs (1299). between second half of
1302 and october 1303 Geoffrey of Hohenlohe was present in Prussia and in Livonia,
where he brought auxiliary forces from Germany. in mid-october 1303, in elbing,
during the General Chapter of the order, Geoffrey of Hohenlohe resigned from the
function of the Grand Master. The new elected one was siegfried of Feuchtwangen.
ulrich Niess is of the opinion that siegfried was a compromise choice and both parties
accepted him

46

. but the chapter in elbing took some important decisions about the

role and the place of the Grand Master and the teutonic order headquarters in Venice
which was the concession for the Mediterranean party. We do not know anything abo-
ut the role of Charles of trier in these events, but we can infer, although indirectly, that
he could participate in the chapter in elbing. This conclusion is solely based on the fact

42

k.M. setton, The Papacy and the Levant (1204–1571). vol. 1: The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries, Philadelphia 1976, pp. 163–167.

43

Codex diplomaticus Ordinis Sanctae Mariae Theutonicorum, vol. 2, no. 352 (6 august 1301).

44

r. schmidt, Trier und Beckingen, pp.180–181.

45

about the foundation of the commandery in beckingen, see: ibid., p. 177–185.

46

u. Niess, Karl von Trier, p. 20. The problem of the resignation of Geoffrey of Hohenlohe is more complicated; for more details see:

s. Jóźwiak, Centralne i terytorialne, pp. 93–95; J. Powierski, Studia nad polityką Krzyżaków i ich sąsiadów w początkach XIV wieku, part 1,

in: Ludzie, władza, posiadłości, (Gdańskie studia z Dziejów Średniowiecza 1), Gdańsk 1994, pp. 165–171, 184–190.

Karol Polejowski

148

that during the Grand Master’s travel to italy, Charles gave him a loan from the treasure
of the bailiwick of Lorraine. it is possible that Charles accompanied the Grand Master
in his journey not only to Venice, but also to apulia and sicily (1303–1304)

47

. in 1304

teutonic order’s bailli in bailiwick of apulia was Giselbert of erzel, probably Charles’
predecessor in beauvoir and trier. anyway, at the turn of the 13

th

and 14

th

century in

the teutonic order’s commanderies in italy we meet quite a significant group of the
brothers from rhineland, especially from Lorraine. it is worth to mention Frederick
of trier (1290)

48

, James of trier, John of trier, Thierry of trier, Henry of Metz

49

(in

sicily since 1282), simon of Metz

50

, Thomas of Metz (Palermo, 1290–1295)

51

and John

of saarbrück

52

. u. Niess is of the opinion that at the beginning of the 14

th

century the

main role in the italian possessions of the teutonic order played the brothers from
Netherlands, who were the core of the Mediterranean party

53

. if this is justifiable, we

should also add the information that the other group of the teutonic knights clearly
represented in italy at the time were brothers from Lorraine.

However, after a few months, at the beginning of March 1304, Charles of trier was

already in his native trier

54

and after a few more months, in November 1304 he was in

Venice once again and he took the position of Grand Commander of the order. We
do not know anything about his activity in Venice, but he found himself in a rather
friendly environment, when we take under consideration the personal structure of
the italian bailiwicks of the order. Probably in 1305, in the circumstances which are
unknown, Charles resigned from his office in Venice, left italy and returned to trier

55

.

What is interesting, before 21 october 1305 Giselbert of erzel,

landkomthur in apulia,

left his office, because this day the new

landkomthur, Guido of amendolea appeared

56

.

For the next six years (until 1311), we have no positive evidence for his contacts with

Grand Master siegfried of Feuchtwangen, teutonic order’s Headquarters in Venice or
in Marienburg (after 1309).

Conclusions

The career of Charles of trier began in teutonic order’s commandery in beauvoir,

where he probably became the commander before 27 July 1293. in this office, Charles
replaced teutonic order’s brother Giselbert who in the middle of 1293 took the po-
sition of bailli of Lorraine. two years later (2

nd

half of 1295) Charles joined his of-

fice in France with the position of bailli of Lorraine. During next 8 years (till 1303)
he was the commander in beauvoir and in trier and bailli of Lorraine. in the years

47

u. Niess, Karl von Trier, pp. 20–21; J. Powierski, Studia nad polityką Krzyżaków, part 2, pp. 151–153.

48

k. toomaspoeg, Les Teutoniques en Sicile (1197–1492), (Collection de École française de rome, 321), rome 2003, p. 464.

49

ibid., p. 463.

50

ibid., p. 471.

51

ibid., p. 464.

52

ibid., p. 466–467; k. toomaspoeg, Die Brüder des Deutschen Ordens in Italien, „ordines militares. yearbook for the study of the Military

orders”, 19 (2014), p. 105–108 shows the personal structure of the italian commanderies of the teutonic order.

53

u. Niess, Karl von Trier, pp. 32–33.

54

ibid., p. 21, note 76.

55

For more details see: ibid., pp. 24–25.

56

H. Houben, Die Landkomture, p. 140–141. k. toomaspoeg noted, that in 1309 certain Giselbrecht appeared as commander in trient

(trento, commandery in the teutonic order’s bailliwick of bozen), however, it is not certain whether it is the same person.

Charles of Trier in the Teutonic Order until 1305

149

1303–1305 Charles was one of the closest associates of the Grand Master siegfried
of Feuchtwangen who gave him the position of Grand Commander (1304–1305). in
this time the italian commanderies of the order were dominated by the brothers from
rhineland, especially from Lorraine and Netherlands, who could be the core of the
Mediterranean party inside of the teutonic order. in circumstances which are unclear
Charles resigned from his post in Venice and returned to trier (1305). over next six
years he did not hold any high functions in the central structures of the order.

Karol Polejowski

150

Streszczenie

karol z trewiru w zakonie krzyżackim

do roku 1305

karol z trewiru (ok. 1265–1324), pierwszy wielki mistrz zakonu krzyżackiego,

który został wybrany w  nowej stolicy państwa krzyżackiego, swoją karierę zaczy-
nał we francuskiej komturii beauvoir. Do tej pory dość powszechnie uważano, że
funkcję tę objął on przed 17 czerwca 1291 r. Jednakże po dokładniejszej analizie
źródeł okazuje się, że stało się to po kwietniu 1292 r., a przed lipcem 1293 r. Jego
poprzednikiem na tym stanowisku był brat zakonny Giselbert, który przed lipcem
1293 r. został komturem krajowym Lotaryngii. Pod koniec 1295 r. komturem lota-
ryńskim został karol z trewiru, a Giselbert na jakiś czas znika ze źródeł krzyżackich.
być może w 1304 r. sprawował on funkcję komtura krajowego apulii (płd. italia).
W latach 1295–1304 karol łączył funkcję komtura beauvoir, komtura w trewirze
i  komtura krajowego Lotaryngii. być może w  październiku 1303 r. brał udział
w kapitule Generalnej w elblągu, która dokonała wyboru nowego wielkiego mistrza
siegfrieda von Feuchtwangen. W latach 1303–1304 u boku wielkiego mistrza od-
był podróż do Wenecji, apulii i na sycylię, częściowo pokrywając koszty podróży
siegfrieda. Jesienią 1304 r. został mianowany wielkim komturem zakonu w Wenecji,
ale już w 1305 r., w nieznanych okolicznościach, zrezygnował z tej funkcji i wrócił do
trewiru, gdzie przebywał do czasu wyboru na stanowisko wielkiego mistrza (1311).