Institute of History

Historical documents describe a period of religious turmoil during the Christianization of the last pagan European state, Lithuania. At the end of 14th century, the Lithuanian Grand Duke Jagiello was crowned King of Poland. He introduced Christianity in his homeland, which was brought under formal Polish sovereignty by personal dynastic union. A feud arose between Poland and the Teutonic Knights, based on different approaches to Christianization: the Polish ideal of a peaceful conversion stood against the Teutonic Order’s hard line. The issue was brought before the Council of Constance, where spokesmen from each side argued the rightfulness of their claim. Countering the Order’s old-fashioned ideology, Cracow University’s rector Paulus Vladimiri (Paul Vladimir/Pawel Wlodkowic) stressed the idea of religious tolerance toward non-Christians. After explaining the historical and ideological context, this paper explores how Vladimiri managed to defend his King’s methods through his speeches. By looking at the ideas he expressed, I discuss whether one should emphasize the modernity of his approach, and how his experience may reflect a specific “Polish” tradition of religious freedom. Finally, my goal is to give modern readers a historically supported insight of the particular religious situation of late medieval North-Eastern Europe.

The religious tolerance prevailing in Poland and Lithuania during the early modern era is widely recognized amongst historians; fewer know what happened at the end of the 14th century, when the Lithuanian prince Jagiello accepted the Polish crown and brought the Catholic faith in Lithuania. This particular situation gave birth to an important rise of political thought in Poland. In this paper, I will explore some ideas of one of the most important thinkers of Jagiello’s time, Pawel Wlodkowic (Paulus Vladimiri), who defended the Polish views on Christianization before the council of Constance, during a trial against the Teutonic Order. I will point out a few interesting elements of Wlodkowic’s work, especially those related with contemporary issues: the forbiddingness of mass-murders, the failure of an authoritarian government and some reflections about what we may call a “pre-democratic” thought. Thus, the reader will discover how the ideas of a 15th century Polish author are still accurate in the beginning of the 21th century.

The political crisis which occurred after the Christianization of Lithuania (1387) between King Jagiello’s Poland and the Teutonic Order provoked a crucial debate concerning the religious tolerance and the just war’s question. The issue was brought before the Council of Constance (1414-1418), where spokesmen from each side argued the rightfulness of their claim. Basing his speeches on the Polish school of “ius gentium” and on Christian authorities (mainly Innocent IV and Cardinal Zabarella), Cracow University’s rector Paulus Vladimiri (Pawel Wlodkowic) opposed the Order’s propaganda by showing the unjustness of the war waged by the Teutonic Knights on Lithuanian “infidels” and Polish “traitors”. Going further, he attacked the Order’s ideology and practices, stressing that hiding a cruel behaviour behind Christian disguise was nothing but lie, crime and heresy. Therefore, he asked for the Order to be dismantled, its men to quit and its subjects to rise up; thus, resisting this unjust and even heretic foe would become legitimate. Exploring his speeches and recalling the historical and ideological context, this paper shows that a peculiar right of resistance can be found in Vladimiri’s political thought, and analyses how such a theory emerged in early 15th century Poland, during the war against the Teutonic Order.

Important events concerning the religious history of Europe are going on in the beginning of the 15th century. In 1387, the Lithuanian prince Jagiello, who became King of Poland, proclaims the Christian faith the official religion of Lithuania. The last pagan state in Europe is thus Christianized, with exception of Samogitia, a Lithuanian province then controlled by the Teutonic Order. Since a long time disputed to Lithuania, this province is officially given to the Teutonic Knights in 1398. Those, who were set in the 13th century on the Baltic shore to bring the Christian faith, do not attempt to christen the Samogitians, whom revolt in 1409, which results in the war leading to the Polish-Lithuanian victory at Tannenberg/Grunwald (1410). Winners take back the control of Samogitia, which is officially baptized in 1413. The conflict with the Teutonic Order still being unset, one decide to bring the whole case at the council of Constance.

The aim of this article is to show, though the particular case of Samogitia, two manners of dealing with the religious difference: the polish-lithuanian power preferred a smooth Christianization, respectful of local freedoms, while the Teutonic Order thought they had to subdue the pagans before they could christen them. We will see through two examples what was the polono-lithuanian point of view on this matter: first, a 1409 letter of the Grand-Duke of Lithuania, who supported the Samogitians and explained that the Teutonic Knights did not fulfill their goal, because they let the pagans in the “errors of paganism” while oppressing them; and a talk pronounced at Constance by a Samogitian embassy, which denounce the Order’s misdeeds and asked to be christened by Lithuania’s new bishops. Then, one comes from a kind of cohabitation where the Teutonic Knights governed the Samogitians without christening them, to a clever Christianization led by Poland and Lithuania.

The aim of this article is to describe a research project about the use of history in the debate on the rights of unbelievers, from the Christianization of Lithuania up to the Council of Constance. The geopolitical rivalry between the Order of the Teutonic Knights, King Jagiello’s Poland and Witold’s Lithuania was supported by an intensive “war of words” centered on the question of the rights of unbelievers and the legitimacy of the crusade against Lithuania.  The use of historical topics during this “battle of idea” may have influenced the European elite in regard of the relations between Christian powers and non-Christian peoples as well as on the issue of the Teutonic Order’s activities.

In the first part of this article, I ask how history was used by Polish and Lithuanian delegates in Constance to defend the idea of the unbelievers’ freedom. Alongside with the legal arguments based mainly on medieval law, came the recalling of historical facts, which was supposed to prove that the Teutonic Order had no legitimacy in fighting against Baltic pagans. The second part of this article is dealing with the sources available for shaping a “Polish-Lithuanian” writing of the history of the Baltic conquest by the Teutonic Knights.

The third part of the article is presenting two prospect researches about the use of history in the debates on the rights of unbelievers. The first is dedicated to the “long scale” history of the Baltic conquest by the military orders; it is shown that similar problems regarding the rights of the pagans or converts already came to the surface in the 13th or 14th centuries. The second research idea is focusing on pagan Samogitia. As Lithuania was trying to take over this province, local history was used by Polish and Lithuanian diplomats to prove that, by their evil behavior, the Teutonic Knights failed to bring baptism to Samogitian pagans.

http://hm.kasaty.pl/vol-4-2014-en/

Once grand-duke Jagiello of Lithuania had been crowned King of Poland and proclaimed the baptism of his native country in 1387, Poland got involved in a long lasting war against the Order of the Teutonic Knights, who used to invite knights coming from all over Europe twice a year to wage war on its enemies. This situation went on even after the famous battle of Grunwald (1410) and the council of Constance (1414-1418). French noblemen were among the more assiduous “guests” of the Order. Their testimonies concerning the so-called “reysen” against Lithuania let us understand how this type of crusade were lived by the noblemen taking part in it, which shed a new light on the perception of the conversion of Lithuania in Western Europe as well as the persistence of the Lithuanians as an archetype of “Saracen” villains.

In this article, I use some French written sources (mainly Philippe de Mézières’ Songe du Vieil Pelerin and the deeds of French crusaders compiled by various chroniclers) concerning the crusades against Lithuanians or the Turks to show that the Lithuanian crusade was mainly seen as an aristocratic activity, disconnected from conversion goal, and that this phenomenon was hardly criticized by Philippe de Mézières – one of the rare French author who mentioned the Christianization of Lithuania as early as 1389. Thus, according to the French sources, the enthusiasm for the Baltic crusades declined between the battles of Nicopolis (1396) and Grunwald, which is showed by the experiences of the last French crusader, Guillebert de Lannoy. In conclusion, I question whether the accusations launched by the Polish and Lithuanian ambassadors at Constance are corroborated by the French perception of the crusade, and to which extent the downfall of the Order’s Baltic crusade was linked with the Constance trial and the growing perception of Lithuania as a Christian country.

This paper investigate the quarrel over the possession of Samogitia, the last pagan region of Europe, from the peace treaties of Sallinwerder (Salynas, 1398) and Raciazek (1404), up to the Council of Constance. When Lithuania and Poland had to surrender this strategic region to the Teutonic Order's state, the rights of its pagan inhabitants has been passed over. After the battle of Grunwald/Tannenberg (1410), Samogitia was won back to Lithuania; an important polemic arose, for Polish jurists and diplomats aimed to convince whole of Europe that Samogitians (who has been Christianized in 1413) had their own rights, which had to be defended.

"Crusade or Christianization? The polemic against the Teutonic Knights in light of French travelers’ accounts of the late Middle Ages"

As a continuation of the political unrest opposing the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand-Duchy of Lithuania to the Order of the Teutonic Knights, the conversion of the last Baltic pagans was among the cases debated by the council of Constance (1414–1418). While the Teutonic Knights used to storm Lithuania twice a year, with the help of knights coming from all over Europe, Polish spokesmen intended to prove that no baptism could be achieved this way. The aim of this paper is to use narratives relating the experiences of some French travelers (crusaders or diplomats) who had the opportunity to encounter the Baltic reality. A comparative study of the texts read during the council of Constance
with the writings of Guillaume de Machaut, Philippe de Mézières or Guillebert de Lannoy enable the researcher to see this quarrel in a new light. Looking at these foreign sources leads us to understand that some of the facts used by the Polish and Lithuanian spokesmen in Constance to darken the Teutonic Order’s image were already known by a few people in Western Europe. In particular, Cracovian rector Paulus Vladimiri (Paweł Włodkowic)'s characterization of the Teutonic raids as worldly and disconnected from Christian ideals match the critics formulated by Philippe de Mézières on the noblemen’s crusades. Vladimiri’s questioning of the effectiveness of the Order’s methods to bring baptism to Baltic pagans was also raised in at least two French travelers’ testimonies. However, if the remnant of paganism within the territory held by the Teutonic brothers was noted by some visitors, it was not explicitly disapproved of; for these Frenchmen mostly interested
in chivalric activities and honorable deeds, the conversion of unbelievers was far less important than it was for the Polish and Lithuanian diplomats at Constance. Whilst the same facts were observed by both, their interpretation differed heavily.

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http://apcz.pl/czasopisma//index.php/OM/issue/view/679

The aim of this paper is to compare the perception of the Baltic pagan religion in sources produced in late medieval France and by the Sword Brothers and the Teutonic Order. Despite much historiography which seeks to characterize the last pagans in Europe as the archetypical »Other«, we show that the clerical authors writing in Latin as the aristocratic ones writing in French had little condemnation for paganism ipso facto. The earlier Latin chroniclers of the Baltic conquest were concerned with the moral values and Biblical models of the fighting monks, but mostly as defenders of Christians in a classical »just war« sense. The later chronicler Hermann von Wartberge has a more chivalric tone, nearer to Philippe de Mézières and Guillebert de Lannoy. By the end of the Middle Ages, Lithuanian paganism is often reduced to interesting customs for the aristocratic writers who went on the Baltic to support the Teutonic Order in their war against Lithuania.

À l’instar du roi Jean l’Aveugle et du poète Guillaume de Machaut en 1329, des chevaliers de toute l’Europe traversent chaque hiver les forêts glacées de Prusse pour mettre à feu et à sang la Lituanie, où vivent les derniers païens d’Europe. Dans la foulée des croisades en Terre sainte, des seigneurs de France et d’Angleterre prennent les armes pour affronter les « Sarrasins » de la Baltique. La plupart y vont pour l’honneur ; certains rapportent des impressions personnelles sur ces pays lointains et leurs habitants.
Tout au long du Moyen Âge, de nombreux auteurs suivent la progression de la foi dans les provinces baltes et commentent le rôle de l’Ordre teutonique, fer de lance de la lutte contre les païens d’Europe du Nord. Les Baltes sont considérés comme des adversaires nobles, et pas uniquement comme des ennemis à convertir ou à tuer. L’on s’intéresse à leurs moeurs et l’on tente de comprendre leur spiritualité. Plus qu’un combat à mort entre christianisme et paganisme, la croisade balte est une étape clef dans la formation d’une culture européenne du rapport à l’Autre, faite à la fois de volonté d’assimilation, de respect et de curiosité. À partir des sources narratives produites en France et en Angleterre entre le XIIe et le XVe siècle, cet ouvrage explore la représentation de cette épopée nordique en Europe occidentale.

https://www.alphil.com/index.php/auteurs/chollet-loic/les-sarrasins-du-nord.html

To cohabit on the frontier: the Teutonic Order and its Livonian subjects at the beginning of the fourteenth century

At the start of the fourteenth century there was a fierce rivalry for the control of Livonia between the Order of the Teutonic Knights and the Archbishop of Riga, Frederick of Pernstein. Having taken refuge in Avignon, the latter asked in 1312 that a legate, Francis of Moliano, was sent to investigate the conduct of the Teutonic Knights based in Livonia. The reports given to the legate reveal a behavior that is at first sight amazing for a military order that had been charged with the defense and propagation of the Christian faith: hindrance to missionary work, selling of weapons to the pagans, soothsaying and even burning of the dead. If some of these practices belong to the catalogue of stereotypes against “bad Christians”, an in-depth look at the testimonies collected by the papal investigator nonetheless allows the researcher to better understand the role that the Teutonic Knights intended to play in Livonia, and also to have a greater understanding of the cohabitation that prevailed between the Natives and the members of the Order in this frontier zone.

Au début du XIVe siècle, une rivalité féroce pour le contrôle de la Livonie oppose l’Ordre des Chevaliers teutoniques à l’archevêque de Riga, Frédéric de Pernstein. Réfugié à Avignon, celui-ci obtient qu’un légat, François de Moliano, soit dépêché en 1312 pour enquêter sur le comportement des Chevaliers teutoniques basés en Livonie. Les rapports remis au légat révèlent un comportement à priori étonnant de la part d’un ordre militaire chargé de la défense et de l’expansion de la foi : entrave à la mission, vente d’armes aux païens, recours aux devins et même crémation des morts… Si certaines de ces pratiques appartiennent au catalogue des stéréotypes contre les « mauvais chrétiens », un regard attentif aux témoignages recueillis par l’enquêteur pontifical permet néanmoins de se faire une idée du rôle que les Chevaliers teutoniques pensaient jouer en Livonie, mais aussi de mieux saisir la cohabitation qui prévalait entre les natifs et les membres de l’Ordre dans cette zone frontière.