The Lizard Union or Lizard League (german: Eidechsenbund; pl, Związek Jaszczurczy) was an

organization An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...

of Prussian

nobles Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

and

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s established in Culmerland (Chełmno Land) in 1397. Its declared goal was to combat lawlessness, although it discreetly sought the transfer of Culmerland from 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 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

.Turnbull, p. 79 The union was founded by

Nicholas von Renys Nicholas von Renys (german: Nikolaus von Renys; pl, Mikołaj z Ryńska) (1360–1411) was a secular member of the Teutonic Knights and a participant in the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War (1409–1411). The Knights blamed him as a scapegoat for ...

, John of Pulkow, Frederick of Kitnow, and Nicholas of Kitnow. It was named after its emblem, a

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

(german: eyne eydechse), and expanded its influence to other provinces. During the

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald, Battle of Žalgiris or First Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respec ...

in 1410, Nicholas von Renys carried the banner of the Culmerland troops for the Teutonic Order, but lowered the banner prematurely, which was considered a signal for retreat. Some chroniclers of the time said that this contributed to the defeat of the Knights, which Heinrich von Treitschke's thesis ''Das deutsche ordensland Preussen'' popularized, but this lacks historical support. It is also possible that von Reyns didn't intentionally lower the banner early, and that it moved out of sight or fell when a bearer was killed. After their defeat at Grunwald, the Order sought to use the Lizard League as a scapegoat; the League was also believed to have been behind messages sent from Kulm advising the Order's surrender, when at the time its capital Marienburg was under Polish siege. Renys was executed by the Order after the war, causing the remaining members of the Lizard Union to flee to Poland.Turnbull, p. 80 The Union was declared illegal by

Pope Gregory XII Pope Gregory XII ( la, Gregorius XII; it, Gregorio XII; – 18 October 1417), born Angelo Corraro, Corario," or Correr, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 November 1406 to 4 July 1415. Reigning during the Western Schism, he was oppose ...

and Emperor

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

, and was subsequently dissolved. It laid the foundation, however, for the later

Prussian Confederation The Prussian Confederation (german: Preußischer Bund, pl, Związek Pruski) was an organization formed on 21 February 1440 at Kwidzyn (then officially ''Marienwerder'') by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia, to oppose the a ...

, which requested the annexation of the

State of the Teutonic Order The State of the Teutonic Order (german: Staat des Deutschen Ordens, ; la, Civitas Ordinis Theutonici; lt, Vokiečių ordino valstybė; pl, Państwo zakonu krzyżackiego), also called () or (), was a medieval Crusader state, located in Centr ...

into Poland in 1454. __NOTOC__

Notes

References

External links

Eidechsenbund Meyers Lexikon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lizard Union (Medieval) 1397 establishments in Europe 14th-century establishments in Poland State of the Teutonic Order

See also

Notes

References

External links