Albrecht Giese (10 February 1524 – 1 August 1580) was a councilman and diplomat of the city of
Danzig (Gdańsk). He was a member of the Hanseatic League, and part of an important merchant family who had offices in London and Danzig.
Biography
Giese was born in
Danzig, in the
Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to:
Historical political entities
* Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031
* Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...
, to the influential and wealthy merchant
Patrician
Patrician may refer to:
* Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage
* Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...
family Giese (or Gisze). The Giese family had emigrated from Unna, near Giesen, Cologne in 1430. They were part of the
Hanseatic League, that had come to dominate European trade in the 14th and 15th-centuries. The Giese family maintained offices in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, at the ''
Steelyard'', where Hanseatic and foreign merchants congregated and his sons appear to have managed the London branch.
Albrecht studied at the Universities of
Greifswald
Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (german: Universitäts- und Hansestadt Greifswald, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rosto ...
,
Wittenberg
Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north o ...
and
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
. As was the custom of the time for
Hanseatic
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=German language, Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Norther ...
merchants, he toured
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
for several years to learn different languages after his formal studies, as was necessary for a long-distance trader. In 1564, on his return to Danzig, he married Elisabeth Langenbeck, whose uncle, Johann Ferber, had been the Mayor of Danzig. The following year, Giese became a councilman. Over the next six years, he was Danzig's delegate at several Hanse meetings in
Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...
.
Open conflict between the Polish king and the city council broke out when the city council was arrested for opposing the loss of certain privileges according to the terms of the declared
Union of Lublin
The Union of Lublin ( pl, Unia lubelska; lt, Liublino unija) was signed on 1 July 1569 in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. It replaced the per ...
, which the city had not agreed to. Negotiations between the city and the king took place in 1568/69, initially at
Piotrków Trybunalski
Piotrków Trybunalski (; also known by alternative names), often simplified to Piotrków, is a city in central Poland with 71,252 inhabitants (2021). It is the second-largest city situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Previously, it was the capita ...
. Giese was a member of a delegation, led by the mayor of the city,
Johann Brandes in negotiations. Despite being subjected to severe pressure and incarceration for a year at
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, the delegation refused to submit to the king's terms, thereby upholding independence, Giese and Councilor
Georg Kleefeld were eventually released in 1570 against a ransom of 100,000
guilder
Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' " gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Emp ...
s.
Giese ultimately became Mayor of Danzig. In 1579, Giese was named royal
burgrave
Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from german: Burggraf, la, burgravius, burggravius, burcgravius, burgicomes, also praefectus), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especia ...
of Danzig by the Polish king, a position that entailed the supervision of the judiciary system of the city.
Albrect and Elisabeth Giese had at least seven children.
[Gassendi, P. and Thill, O., ''The Life of Copernicus (1473-1543),'' p. 179] Two of his sons enjoyed prominent careers. One of his older sons,
Tiedemann Giese
Tiedemann Giese (1 June 1480 – 23 October 1550), was Bishop of Kulm (Chełmno) first canon, later Prince-Bishop of Warmia (Ermland). His interest in mathematics, astronomy, and theology led him to mentor a number of important young scholars, in ...
, became the
Bishop of Chełm
The Archdiocese of Lublin ( la, Lublinen(sis)) is an archdiocese located in the city of Lublin in Poland.
History
* 1375: Established as Diocese of Chełm
* 1790: Renamed as Diocese of Chełm and Lublin
* September 22, 1805: Renamed as Diocese ...
(Culm) and later,
Prince-Bishop of Warmia
This is a list of Bishops and Prince-Bishops of the Diocese of Warmia ( pl, link=no, Diecezja warmińska, la, link=no, Dioecesis Varmiensis, german: link=no, Bistum Ermland), which was elevated to the Archdiocese of Warmia in 1992.
The Bishop ...
(Ermland), while one of the younger sons,
Georg Giese became a merchant and who is noted for having his portrait painted by
Hans Holbein the younger.
Albrecht Giese died in 1580 in Danzig.
References
External links
List of Royal Burggraves of DanzigList of Burgomasters of Danzig
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giese, Albrecht
1524 births
1580 deaths
Mayors of Gdańsk
University of Greifswald alumni
People from Royal Prussia
Businesspeople from Gdańsk