The Golden Bull of Rimini was a
decree
A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used ...
issued by
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Frederick II in
Rimini
Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...
in March 1226 that granted and confirmed the privilege of territorial conquest and acquisition for 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 ...
in
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
. According to historian
Tomasz Jasiński, the bull was backdated and had actually been issued in 1235. It represents the first of a series of three documents, that include the
Treaty of Kruschwitz of 1230 and the
Papal Golden Bull of Rieti
''Pietati proximum'' (3 August 1234), more commonly known as the Golden Bull of Rieti was a papal bull by Pope Gregory IX which confirmed the Teutonic Order's domination of the Chelmno land east of the lower Vistula, and of any other lands conquer ...
of 1234.
Background
The
Piast
The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great.
Branche ...
duke
Konrad I of Masovia
Konrad I of Masovia (ca. 1187/88 – 31 August 1247), from the Polish Piast dynasty, was the sixth Duke of Masovia and Kuyavia from 1194 until his death as well as High Duke of Poland from 1229 to 1232 and again from 1241 to 1243.
Life
Konrad wa ...
had since 1209 engaged in several military campaigns against the
pagan Old Prussians
Old Prussians, Baltic Prussians or simply Prussians ( Old Prussian: ''prūsai''; german: Pruzzen or ''Prußen''; la, Pruteni; lv, prūši; lt, prūsai; pl, Prusowie; csb, Prësowié) were an indigenous tribe among the Baltic peoples that ...
. In 1217
Pope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of impor ...
authorized bishop
Christian of Oliva
Christian of Oliva ( pl, Christian z Oliwy), also Christian of Prussia (german: Christian von Preußen) (died 4 December(?) 1245) was the first missionary bishop of Prussia. [Prussian Crusade
The Prussian Crusade was a series of 13th-century campaigns of Roman Catholic crusaders, primarily led by the Teutonic Knights, to Christianize under duress the pagan Old Prussians. Invited after earlier unsuccessful expeditions against the Pr ...]
. In 1222/23 Konrad attempted to subdue the Prussian territories of the
Culmer Land east of the
Vistula
The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland.
The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...
River. Backed by his
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
cousins
Leszek I the White
Leszek the White ( pl, Leszek Biały; c. 1184/85 – 24 November 1227) was Prince of Sandomierz and High Duke of Poland in the years 1194–1198, 1199, 1206–1210, and 1211–1227. During the early stages of his reign, his uncle Duke Mieszko I ...
and
Henry I the Bearded
Henry the Bearded ( pl, Henryk (Jędrzych) Brodaty, german: Heinrich der Bärtige; c. 1165/70 – 19 March 1238) was a Polish duke from the Piast dynasty.
He was Duke of Silesia at Wrocław from 1201, Duke of Kraków and High Duke of all Pol ...
, he initially was successful, but was eventually confronted with relentless Prussian counter attacks and incursions across the borders into his Masovian lands. The
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
Order of Dobrzyń
The Order of Dobrzyń ( pl, Zakon Dobrzyński) or Order of Dobrin (german: Orden von Dobrin), also known as the Brothers of Dobrzyń ( pl, Bracia Dobrzyńscy), was a military order created in the borderland of Masovia and Prussia (today's Dobrzy ...
, founded by bishop
Christian in 1225 (or 1228) lacked strength and numbers to successfully contain the Prussians and was soon destroyed. Prussian forces at last threatened the integrity of Konrad's
Duchy, attacking his residence at
Płock
Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...
Castle. Konrad took up negotiations with 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 ...
in 1226 to have them join his forces and stabilize the situation.
The Teutonic Order, under the command of Grand Master
Herman of Salza, had been on campaign in the
Burzenland
Țara Bârsei, Burzenland () or Barcaság is a historic and ethnographic area in southeastern Transylvania, Romania with a mixed population of Romanians, Germans, and Hungarians.
Geography
The Burzenland lies within the Southern Carpathians m ...
region of
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
since 1211. The Knights of the order had been called in by King
Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II ( hu, II. András, hr, Andrija II., sk, Ondrej II., uk, Андрій II; 117721 September 1235), also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1205 and 1235. He ruled the Principality of Halych from 11 ...
to settle and stabilize the eastern
Hungarian frontier and protect it against the
Cumans
The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many so ...
. In 1225 King Andrew expelled the order after they had attempted to establish an autonomous monastic principality on Hungarian territory, subordinate only to the authority of
Pope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of impor ...
. Now, von Salza would wait to only set out for Prussia, after the Order's claimed possessions were confirmed directly by the
Holy Roman Emperor.
The Bull
The Knights were to be supported by Duke Konrad I of Masovia in exchange for their conquest and subjugation of the heathen Prussian tribes:
...our trusty Brother Herman, the worthy Master of the Sacred House of the Hospital of St. Mary of the Germans in Jerusalem .e., the Teutonic Orderhas explained ... that our devoted Konrad (''Chünradus''), Duke of Masovia and of Kujawy (''Cuiaviae''), has promised and undertaken to provide for him and to his brethren from that land, which is called the Chelmło Land (''terra quae vocatur Culmen''), and in that other land, that is to say, between his borderland (''marchiam'') and the territories of the Prussians (''confinia Prutenorum''), that they may thus indeed take up the task and readily embark upon the invasion and obtaining of the land of Prussia (''terram Prusciae'') for the honor and glory of the true God.
We hat is, Frederick himselftherefore... especially because the land itself is held under the sole rule of the Empire (''sub monarchia imperii''), trusting also in the judgment (''prudentia'') of the same Master, because he is a man mighty both in deed and word and through his own and his brethren's perseverance is mightily undertaking and manfully carrying out the conquest of that land... even though many, vainly besought with numerous exertions in this business, gave up (''defecerunt'') just when they seemed about to set forth, grant the land of Prussia to the same Master along with the forces of his order and with all those who think to invade t..
This Imperial authorisation was signed by a large number of princes, such as the Archbishops of Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...
, Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...
, Tyre, Palermo and Reggio, the Bishops of Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
, Rimini
Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...
, Cesena
Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and ''comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. ...
, Mantua
Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name.
In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...
and Tortosa
Tortosa (; ) is the capital of the '' comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain.
Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buinaca, one of the hig ...
, the Dukes of Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
and Spoleto
Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome.
History
Spolet ...
, and the Margrave of Montferrat.
Later confirmation
Treaty of Kruszwica
Duke Konrad actually had no intention of ceding the Chełmno Land and initially supported bishop Christian of Oliva establishing the Order of Dobrzyń
The Order of Dobrzyń ( pl, Zakon Dobrzyński) or Order of Dobrin (german: Orden von Dobrin), also known as the Brothers of Dobrzyń ( pl, Bracia Dobrzyńscy), was a military order created in the borderland of Masovia and Prussia (today's Dobrzy ...
(''Fratres Militiae Christi''). Konrad vested the few brethren with the Dobrzyń Land
Dobrzyń Land ( pl, ziemia dobrzyńska) is a historical region in central-northern Poland. It lies northeast of the Vistula River, south of the Drwęca, and west of the Skrwa. The territory approximately corresponds with the present-day powiats ...
, who however, were not able to secure the borders of Masovia. The Teutonic Order would only join Konrad after receiving a ducal guarantee and the procurement of a papal bull. On 16 June 1230, 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 ...
was supposedly signed, according to which Duke Konrad ceded the lands of Chełmno as well as all other conquests in Prussia to the Teutonic Knights
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 o ...
, represented by Grand Master Hermann von Salza. The Livonian Brothers of the Sword
The Livonian Brothers of the Sword ( la, Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae, german: Schwertbrüderorden) was a Catholic military order established in 1202 during the Livonian Crusade by Albert, the third bishop of Riga (or possibly by Theoderi ...
and the Order of Dobrzyń
The Order of Dobrzyń ( pl, Zakon Dobrzyński) or Order of Dobrin (german: Orden von Dobrin), also known as the Brothers of Dobrzyń ( pl, Bracia Dobrzyńscy), was a military order created in the borderland of Masovia and Prussia (today's Dobrzy ...
were incorporated into the Teutonic Order in 1237. The text of the document is only known by later references, as the original has not been preserved. According to the historian Max Perlbach (1848-1921), the Teutonic Order had in fact forged this document to strengthen the legal basis of their secular possessions.
Bull of Rieti
In 1234, 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 ...
issued the Golden Bull of Rieti
''Pietati proximum'' (3 August 1234), more commonly known as the Golden Bull of Rieti was a papal bull by Pope Gregory IX which confirmed the Teutonic Order's domination of the Chelmno land east of the lower Vistula, and of any other lands conquer ...
(''Pietati proximum''), that presents the written authorization of all previous verbal consent given in August and September 1230 after the Treaty of Kruszwica and confirms all prior agreements. It asserts the Teutonic Order's domination of the Chelmno land east of the lower Vistula River and of any other territory conquered by Teutonic Order in Prussia ("to eternal and absolute ownership"). These territories are not to become a fief of any other secular or ecclesiastical power. The Roman Curia had already announced that the Order is to answer exclusively to the papal sovereign, nevertheless, von Salza had insisted on written promulgation.
The bull was re-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 ...
in 1257.
See also
* Prussian Crusade
The Prussian Crusade was a series of 13th-century campaigns of Roman Catholic crusaders, primarily led by the Teutonic Knights, to Christianize under duress the pagan Old Prussians. Invited after earlier unsuccessful expeditions against the Pr ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Text of the Golden Bull of Rimini
*
Entry at the ''Regsta Imperii''
* {{LBALink, 90439
1220s in law
1220s in the Holy Roman Empire
1226 in Europe
13th century in Poland
Rimini
Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...
Prussian law
Legal history of the Holy Roman Empire
Rimini
State of the Teutonic Order
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor