''Pietati proximum'' (3 August 1234), more commonly known as the Golden Bull of Rieti was a papal bull by

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

which confirmed the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

's domination of the Chelmno land east of the lower Vistula, and of any other lands conquered by Teutonic Order in Prussia ("to eternal and absolute ownership").(De)Perlbach, Max, ''Preussische Regesten bis zum Ausgange des dreizehnten Jahrhunderts'', (Ferds. Beyer vormals Th. Theile's Buchhandlung, 1876), 41. The German Orders should answer exclusively to the sovereignty of the Pope. The Bull of Rieti presented the written authorization of a previous verbal consent given in August and September 1230. The Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights,

Hermann von Salza Hermann von Salza (or Herman of Salza; c. 1165 – 20 March 1239) was the fourth Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1210 to 1239. A skilled diplomat with ties to the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope, Hermann oversaw the expansio ...

, had stubbornly insisted on a written document. The Bull of Rieti corresponds to the

Golden Bull of Rimini The Golden Bull of Rimini was a decree issued by Emperor Frederick II in Rimini in March 1226 that granted and confirmed the privilege of territorial conquest and acquisition for the Teutonic Order in Prussia. According to historian Tomasz Jasiń ...

of 1226, with the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and the

Treaty of Kruszwica The Treaty of Kruszwica (German: ''Vertrag von Kruschwitz''), signed on 16 June 1230, was concluded between Konrad I of Masovia and the Teutonic Knights. According to this agreement, the Duke of Masovia transferred to the Teutonic Order the lands o ...

of 1230 with the Polish Duke Conrad of Mazovia. On 26 July 1257 this Bull was confirmed by

Pope Alexander IV Pope Alexander IV (1199 or 1185 – 25 May 1261) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 December 1254 to his death in 1261. Early career He was born as Rinaldo di Jenne in Jenne (now in the Province of Rome), he ...

Notes

{{reflist 13th-century papal bulls Documents of Pope Gregory IX 1234 in Europe 13th-century Christianity