Ludolf König von Wattzau (between 1280 to 1290 - 1348 or later), sometimes referred to as simply Ludolf König in English translations, was the 20th Grandmaster of the Teutonic Order, ruling the order's state in the Baltics from 1342 to 1345.

Biography

He came from a

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

noble family. From 1331 to 1338, he was the chief treasurer of the Teutonic Order, after which, he became Grand Commander of the Teutonic Order, and " komtur" or commander of the Teutonic capital of Marienburg in 1338. Under his tenure, the city of Marienburg and its surroundings underwent large-scale development and

colonization Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

. In January 1342, the Teutonic Order's chapter elected him Grandmaster in the wake of

Dietrich von Altenburg Dietrich von Altenburg was the 19th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1335 to 1341. He came from the Thuringian town of Altenburg in the Holy Roman Empire, where his father held the office of a burgrave of the immediate Ple ...

's death in October of 1341. Ludolf's reign's as grandmaster of the Teutonic Order was highlighted by the 1343 Treaty of Kalisz between the order, and the Kingdom of Poland, under King Casimir III the Great. The treaty formally concluded the Polish–Teutonic War of 1326–1332 and resulted in terretorial exchanges between the two parties. Though there were still disputes (most notably over Pomerelia), the treaty ultimately led to 66 years of peace between Poland and the Teutonic Knights, ending with the Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War of 1409 - 1411. Following in the steps of his predecessors, he pursued a campaign against the

Lithuanians Lithuanians ( lt, lietuviai) are a Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another million or two make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Uni ...

as part of the greater Lithuanian Crusades fought against the still-

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

Lithuanian peoples. The expedition was a disaster for the order, with much of Prussia being razed by the Lithuanians in retaliation. According to some sources, the stress spurred from the war's failure sent Ludolf into mental illness. He resigned as grandmaster, being downgraded to being commander of Engelsburg, or Pokrzywno. He was succeeded by

Heinrich Dusemer Heinrich Dusemer von Arfberg (c. 1280 - 1353), often times known in English simply as Heinrich Dusemer, was the 21st grandmaster of the Teutonic Order. Biography He is first mentioned as a member of the Teutonic Order in 1311. As a youthful kn ...

. He spent the rest of his life at Engelsburg, apparently recovered from his mental illness, and died as early as 1348. He was burried under the chapel of St. Anne in the

Malbork Castle The Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork ( pl, Zamek w Malborku; german: Ordensburg Marienburg) is a 13th-century Teutonic castle and fortress located near the town of Malbork, Poland. It is the largest castle in the world measured by land ...

. He, along with three other Teutonic grandmasters, were found in crypts unveiled by

archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

in 2007 within the chapel of St. Anne.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallenrode, Konrad Von 1380s births 1390s births 1340 deaths Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order German nobility