Second Peace of Thorn 1466
The Second Peace of Thorn, concluded on 19 October 1466 at the city of Thorn (Toruń) in what is now northern Poland, ended the Thirteen Years’ War between the Teutonic Order and the Polish-Lithuanian union. The peace was a decisive moment in the long history of the Teutonic state: it reduced the Order to a rump, ceded the western half of the state to the Polish crown, and established the political framework that would last until the secularisation of 1525.
The Background of the Negotiations
The negotiations were a long and difficult process. The war had begun in 1454, with the formation of the Prussian Confederation and the Polish crown’s intervention, and the war had been fought, on and off, for twelve years. By 1466 both parties were exhausted and prepared to negotiate.
The Polish crown was interested in formalising its acquisition of the principal Prussian towns — Danzig, Thorn, Elbing, and other centres — and in securing the Order’s recognition of the incorporation of the Prussian Confederation into the Polish crown. The Order was interested in ending the war, in retaining at least a portion of the Order’s Prussian territories, and in securing the Order’s continuing status as a sovereign.
The Negotiations
The negotiations were conducted, on the Polish side, by the Polish king Casimir IV Jagiellon, and on the Order’s side, by the Grand Master Ludwig von Erlichshausen and a delegation of the Order’s senior officers. The negotiations were facilitated by the papal legate, the Cardinal Rudolf of Rüdesheim, who was anxious to bring the war to a conclusion and to assemble a unified Christian front against the Ottoman Turks.
The Order, was reluctant to accept the loss of the western portions of the state, and the Order attempted, on a number of occasions, to secure more favourable terms. The Polish crown, however, refused to accept the Order’s arguments, and insisted on the cession of the western portions of the state.
The Terms of the Peace
The peace was concluded on 19 October 1466. The Order ceded, in perpetuity, the western portions of the state to the Polish crown. The ceded territory included the principal Prussian towns — Danzig, Thorn, Elbing, Marienburg, and other centres — and the Pomerelian lands. The ceded territory was, in effect, the wealthier and more populous portion of the Order’s Prussian state.
The Order retained the eastern portions of the state — including Königsberg — but the Order retained them as a Polish fief. The Grand Master was henceforth obliged to swear homage to the Polish king for the remainder of the territory, and the Grand Master was henceforth obliged to provide military service to the Polish king in time of war. The Order’s continuing sovereignty was, a limited one, and the Order’s continuing sovereignty was, a fiction.
The peace also confirmed the legal incorporation of the Prussian Confederation into the Polish crown. The Confederation’s principal demands — the abolition of the Pfundzoll, the abolition of the Kornkäppel, the confirmation of the Kulm law, and the recognition of the Confederation as a legal entity — were, in effect, granted by the peace.
The Significance of the Peace
The Second Peace of Thorn was a decisive moment in the long history of the Teutonic state. The peace reduced the Order to a rump, and it established the political framework that would last until 1525. The peace was, a substantial defeat for the Order, and a substantial victory for the Polish crown.
The peace was, in addition, 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 a substantial addition to the Polish crown’s territory, and a substantial contribution to the development of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth’s Baltic policy.
The peace was, finally, a substantial contribution to the development of the duchy of Prussia. The Order’s remaining territories were, after the peace, a rump, and the Order’s continuing existence as a sovereign was, a fiction. The Order’s remaining territories were, in 1525, converted into a secular duchy by the secularisation of 1525, and the secular duchy became, in due course, the basis for the Kingdom of Prussia and the German Empire.
The Aftermath
The aftermath of the peace was a long and difficult process. The Order was reluctant to accept the terms of the peace, and the Order attempted, on a number of occasions, to secure a revision of the terms. The Polish crown established, in the ceded territory, a system of starosties, and the Polish crown attempted to integrate the ceded territory into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Prussian towns had secured a substantial degree of autonomy, and the peace confirmed the autonomy of the principal Prussian towns.
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.
Related Reading
The Second Peace of Thorn is examined in the context of the main article on the Thirteen Years’ War, and the earlier conflict over Pomerelia is examined in the article on the Pact of the Bears. For the context of the peace, see the main article on the Teutonic state and the article on the economy of the state. For the consequences of the peace, see the decline and dissolution of the Order and the article on the secularisation of 1525.