The Thirteen Years’ War (1454–1466)
The Thirteen Years’ War, fought between 1454 and 1466, was the most destructive conflict in the history of the Teutonic Order’s Prussian state. The war was, a civil war: it was fought, in part, between the Order and the Prussian towns and gentry, and it was, in part, between the Order and the Polish-Lithuanian union, which intervened on behalf of the Prussian rebels. The war ended with the Second Peace of Thorn of 1466, by which the Order ceded the western half of the state to the Polish crown and retained the eastern half as a Polish fief. The war was, the decisive event in the long decline of the Teutonic state.
The Origins of the Conflict
The origins of the Thirteen Years’ War were, a long time in the making. The conflict was, in essence, a conflict between the Order and the Prussian towns and gentry, who were, by the mid-fifteenth century, increasingly unwilling to accept the Order’s authority. The conflict was, in part, a conflict of interest: the towns and gentry objected to the Order’s commercial policy, particularly the Pfundzoll and the Kornkäppel, which they regarded as excessive. The conflict was, in part, a conflict of status: the towns and gentry objected to the Order’s claim to be a sovereign, and they argued that the Order should be subject to the same legal and political constraints as the other rulers of the region.
The conflict was, in addition, a conflict of identity. The Prussian towns and gentry were, by the mid-fifteenth century, increasingly aware of their distinct identity as a community of citizens, and they were increasingly unwilling to accept the Order’s claim to be the sole representative of that community. The conflict was, a conflict of political culture: the towns and gentry were committed to a model of political life in which the ruler was subject to the law, and the Order was committed to a model of political life in which the ruler was above the law.
The Prussian Confederation
The crisis came to a head in 1440, with the formation of the Prussian Confederation, an alliance of the principal Prussian towns and of a substantial number of Prussian gentry. The Confederation was, an unprecedented event in the history of the Teutonic state: it was a formal, organised opposition to the Order’s authority, and it was a declaration of the towns’ and gentry’s intent to defend their rights.
The Confederation was formed at Kwidzyn, where representatives of the principal Prussian towns — Danzig, Thorn, Elbing, Königsberg and other centres — met with representatives of the Prussian gentry to draft a common programme. The programme of the Confederation was moderate: the Confederation demanded the abolition of the Pfundzoll, the abolition of the Kornkäppel, the confirmation of the Kulm law, the recognition of the Confederation as a legal entity, and the establishment of a regular system of consultation between the Order and the towns.
The Order, however, refused to accept the programme of the Confederation. The Grand Master, Paul Bellitzer, rejected the demands of the Confederation, and the Order attempted to suppress the Confederation by force. The Confederation, in response, expanded its membership, increased its preparations, and sought the support of the Polish crown.
Casimir IV and the Polish Intervention
The Polish king, Casimir IV Jagiellon, was, sympathetic to the Confederation’s cause. Casimir was a man of considerable political ambition, and he saw in the Confederation’s appeal an opportunity to extend the Polish crown’s authority over the Prussian lands. Casimir was, in addition, a man of considerable political caution, and he was unwilling to intervene in Prussian affairs unless he could be sure of the support of the Confederation.
The Confederation offered Casimir a formal appeal, in 1454, in which the Confederation offered to transfer its allegiance from the Order to the Polish crown. The offer was, an offer to incorporate the Prussian lands into the Polish crown, and the offer was, a decisive moment in the long history of the Teutonic state. Casimir accepted the offer, and the Polish crown declared war on the Order in February 1454.
The Outbreak of War
The war began, in February 1454, with a series of coordinated uprisings in the principal Prussian towns. The towns — Danzig, Thorn, Elbing, Königsberg, and other centres — rose in revolt, seized the Order’s local officials, and expelled the Order’s garrisons. The Order’s response was swift: the Grand Master Ludwig von Erlichshausen assembled a substantial force and marched into the rebellious territories.
The early months of the war were marked by a series of rapid and decisive actions. The Polish-Lithuanian forces, supported by the Prussian militias, captured a number of important towns, including the principal Prussian towns. The Order, in response, attempted to relieve the besieged garrisons, but the Order’s forces were, in most cases, repulsed. The Order’s position deteriorated rapidly, and by the end of 1454, the Order had lost control of most of the western portions of the state.
The Course of the War
The war was, a long and bitter conflict, marked by a series of major sieges, counter-sieges, and raids. The Order’s principal objective was to recover the western portions of the state, particularly the principal Prussian towns; the Polish-Lithuanian objective was to consolidate the Polish position in the western portions of the state and to compel the Order to accept the loss of the western portions.
The war was, fought on three principal fronts. The first front was in the western portions of the state, where the Polish-Lithuanian forces attempted to consolidate their control of the principal Prussian towns and to push the Order back to the eastern portions of the state. The second front was in the eastern portions of the state, where the Order’s forces attempted to hold the Order’s remaining territories and to launch counter-attacks against the Polish-Lithuanian positions. The third front was in the Pomerelian lands, where the Order’s forces attempted to disrupt the Polish-Lithuanian communications and to threaten the Polish-Lithuanian supply lines.
The war was, marked by a series of major sieges, of which the most important were the sieges of Marienburg, the Order’s principal castle and former seat of the Grand Master, and the sieges of Danzig, Thorn and Elbing. The sieges were, in most cases, long and difficult, and they were accompanied by substantial loss of life on both sides.
The Mercenaries
The war was, characterised by the extensive use of mercenaries. Both the Order and the Polish-Lithuanian union employed substantial numbers of mercenary captains and mercenary companies, and the mercenaries were, in most cases, a substantial addition to the regular forces of the two parties. The mercenaries were, in most cases, drawn from the German lands, the Bohemian kingdom, the Silesian duchies, and the Swiss Confederation, and they were, in most cases, experienced soldiers.
The mercenaries were, however, also a substantial financial burden. The mercenaries were, in most cases, expensive, and the two parties to the war were, in most cases, obliged to find substantial sums of money to pay them. The Order, was obliged to find substantial sums of money, and the Order was, in 1457, obliged to sell the castle of Marienburg to a Bohemian mercenary captain, Kaspar Hanau, in exchange for the sum of 190,000 Hungarian gulden. The sale was, however, never completed: the castle was, in 1457, besieged and captured by the Polish forces, and it was incorporated into the Polish crown.
The Peace Negotiations
The peace negotiations began, in 1458, with the intervention of the papal legate, the Cardinal Isidore of Kiev. The negotiations were, in most cases, long and difficult, and they were interrupted, on a number of occasions, by renewed military operations. The negotiations were, in addition, complicated by the political situation in the Empire, the Bohemian kingdom, and the Hungarian kingdom, all of which were, in the 1460s, in a state of political turmoil.
The peace negotiations were, complicated by the Order’s reluctance to accept the loss of the western portions of the state. The Order argued, that the loss of the western portions of the state would reduce the Order to a rump, and the Order argued that the Order should be allowed to retain at least a portion of the western lands. The Polish-Lithuanian union, however, refused to accept the Order’s arguments, and the Polish-Lithuanian union insisted on the cession of the western portions of the state.
The Second Peace of Thorn
The peace was finally concluded, on 19 October 1466, at the city of Thorn. The peace is known as the Second Peace of Thorn, to distinguish it from the First Peace of Thorn of 1411, which had ended the Polish-Lithuanian war against the Order in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Grunwald.
The terms of the peace were, a defeat for the Order. The Order ceded the western portions of the state — including Danzig, Thorn, Elbing, Marienburg, and the Pomerelian lands — to the Polish crown. The Order retained the eastern portions of the state, including Königsberg, but it retained them as a Polish fief, and the Grand Master was henceforth obliged to swear homage to the Polish king for the remainder of the territory. The peace also confirmed the legal incorporation of the Prussian Confederation into the Polish crown, and it established the political framework that would last until 1525.
The Consequences of the War
The Thirteen Years’ War was, a catastrophe for the Teutonic state. The war devastated the countryside, disrupted the trade routes, and led to the loss of the western portions of the state, including the principal Prussian towns. The war also had substantial demographic consequences: the population of the state was, by the end of the war, substantially reduced, and the state never recovered its pre-war population.
The war also had substantial political consequences. The Order’s political standing in the Empire was severely damaged; the Order’s ability to recruit knight-brothers from the western German lands was further reduced; and the Order’s prestige in the Baltic region was permanently compromised. The Order, in the years after the war, was, a rump state, and the Order never recovered its pre-war position.
The war, in addition, had substantial consequences for the Polish crown. The Polish crown acquired, by the war, a substantial territory on the Baltic coast, and the Polish crown became, a major Baltic power. The Polish crown also acquired, by the war, a substantial population of German-speaking burghers, and the Polish crown became, a multi-ethnic state.
The Long Shadow
The Thirteen Years’ War cast a long shadow over the history of the Teutonic state. The war was, the decisive event in the long decline of the state, and the war was, the beginning of the end of the Order as a sovereign power. The Order’s remaining territories — the eastern portions of the state, with Königsberg as their capital — were, after the war, a rump, and the Order’s continuing existence as a sovereign was, a fiction.
The war’s long shadow is, however, also visible in the history of the Polish crown. The Polish crown’s acquisition of the western portions of the Prussian state was, a substantial addition to the Polish crown’s territory, and the Polish crown’s acquisition of the western portions of the Prussian state was, a substantial contribution to the development of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Polish crown’s acquisition of the western portions of the Prussian state was, in addition, a substantial contribution to the development of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth’s Baltic policy.
The war’s long shadow is, finally, visible in the history of the Baltic region. The war established the political framework that would last until 1525, when the secularisation of the Order ended the Order’s remaining territories as a Polish fief and converted them into a secular duchy. The war was, a decisive event in the long history of the Baltic region.
Sources
- Biskup, Marian. Wojna Polski i Litwy z Zakonem Krzyżackim w latach 1409-1411. Olsztyn: Wyższa Szkoła Pedagogiczna, 1969.
- Boockmann, Hartmut. Der Deutsche Orden: Zwölf Kapitel aus seiner Geschichte. Munich: Beck, 1981.
- Kuczyński, Stefan Maria. Wielka Wojna z Zakonem Krzyżackim w latach 1409–1411. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1980.
- Töppen, Max, ed. Acten der Ständetage Preussens unter der Herrschaft des Deutschen Ordens. 5 vols. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1867–1886.
Related Reading
The Second Peace of Thorn, by which the war was concluded, is examined in greater detail in the article on the Second Peace of Thorn, and the earlier conflict over Pomerelia is examined in the article on the Pact of the Bears. For the context of the war, see the main article on the Teutonic state and the article on the economy of the state. For the consequences of the war, see the decline and dissolution of the Order and the article on the secularisation of 1525.