![Wg wetzhausen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Wg_wetzhausen.gif)
Martin Truchseß von Wetzhausen zu Dachsbach (c. 1435 – 3 January 1489) was the 34th
Grand Master of 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 ...
, serving from 1477 to 1489.
Von Wetzhausen hailed from a family of
Imperial Knight
The Free Imperial knights (german: link=no, Reichsritter la, Eques imperii) were free nobles of the Holy Roman Empire, whose direct overlord was the Emperor. They were the remnants of the medieval free nobility ('' edelfrei'') and the minister ...
s, later
barons
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...
from the
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg ...
area in
Franconia
Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian languages, Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch'').
The three Regierungsbezirk, administrative ...
. Several members of his family settled 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 ...
and held important posts within the Teutonic Order. Early in his career, he was a monk in
Mewe
MeWe is a global social media and social networking service owned by Sgrouples, a company based in Los Angeles, California. The site's interface has been described as similar to that of Facebook, although the service describes itself as the "an ...
,
Strasburg, and
Elbing.
From 1462 von Wetzhausen became an adviser to Grand Master
Ludwig von Erlichshausen
Ludwig von Erlichshausen (1410–1467) was the 31st Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1449/1450 to 1467.
As did his uncle and predecessor Konrad von Erlichshausen, Ludwig came from Ellrichshausen in Swabia, now part of Satteldo ...
and since 1476 the Komtur of
Osterode. On 4 August 1477 the Order's
Capitulum
capitulum (plural capitula) may refer to:
*the Latin word for chapter
** an index or list of chapters at the head of a gospel manuscript
** a short reading in the Liturgy of the Hours
*** derived from which, it is the Latin for the assembly known ...
elected him Grand Master, despite his having once pledged that "''ehe er welde dem Könige von Polen schweren, er welde ehe in seinem Blutte vortrincken''" (archaic german: "Before he would swear homage to the King of Poland, he would sooner drown in his own blood") — which the Grand Masters had been obliged to do since the
Second Peace of Thorn (1466)
The Peace of Thorn or Toruń of 1466, also known as the Second Peace of Thorn or Toruń ( pl, drugi pokój toruński; german: Zweiter Friede von Thorn), was a peace treaty signed in the Hanseatic city of Thorn (Toruń) on 19 October 1466 betwe ...
.
Von Wetzhausen supported
Nicolaus von Tüngen, a candidate for
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 Bisho ...
, in the
War of the Priests, which had started as a dispute in 1467 when King
Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the m ...
of Poland did not accept his candidature. In 1478, after having gained international support from King
Matthias Corvinus of Hungary
Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several m ...
, but hardly any support from within Prussia, von Wetzhausen took a military stance against Poland and captured
Culm (Chełmno), Strasburg, and
Starogard Chełminski. The Polish army under the command of
Jan Biały and
Jan Zieleziński, supported by
Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia ( pl, Prusy Królewskie; german: Königlich-Preußen or , csb, Królewsczé Prësë) or Polish PrussiaAnton Friedrich Büsching, Patrick Murdoch. ''A New System of Geography'', London 1762p. 588/ref> (Polish: ; German: ) was a ...
and
Danzig, defeated the Order's army quickly and the Grand Master had to paid the
homage to the Polish king on 9 October 1479 in
Nowe Miasto Korczyn.
Afterwards, von Wetzhausen focused on internal policy within the Order and its problematic financial situation. In the summer of 1488, the Grand Master became very ill and he died in early 1489 in
Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...
. He was buried in
Königsberg Cathedral
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, image = Kaliningrad 05-2017 img04 Kant Island.jpg
, image_size =
, alt =
, caption = Front (west side) of the cathedral
, map_type =
, map_ ...
.
References
Further reading
*
Karl Bosl
Karl Bosl (11 November 1908 – 18 January 1993) was a German regional historian. He held the chair for Bavarian regional history at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich from 1960 until his retirement in 1977.
Bosl was elected a full member ...
: ''Bosls Bayerische Biographie. 8000 Persönlichkeiten aus 15 Jahrhunderten.'',
Pustet Verlag, Regensburg 1983,
*
Bernhart Jähnig: ''Martin Truchseß von Wetzhausen: (4.8.1477 - 3.1.1489)''. In:
Udo Arnold (Hrsg.): ''Die Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens 1190-1994''.
Elwert, Marbug 1998, S. 147, (nicht eingesehen)
*
Walther Killy
Walther Killy (26 August 191728 December 1995) was a German literary scholar who specialised in poetry, especially that of Friedrich Hölderlin and Georg Trakl. He taught at the Free University of Berlin, the Georg-August-Universität Göttinge ...
(editor): ''
Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie
The ''Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie'' (''DBE'') is a biographical dictionary published by Walther Killy and Rudolf Vierhaus (from the third to fourth volume), the first edition of which was published from 1995 to 2003 in 13 volumes by K. ...
'', vol. 16, Jubiläumsausgabe,
K. G. Saur Verlag
K. G. Saur Verlag is a German publisher that specializes in reference information for libraries. The publishing house, founded by Karl Saur, is owned by Walter de Gruyter and is based in Munich.
In 1987, K. G. Saur was acquired by Reed Intern ...
, München 1999, ,
*
Karl Lohmeyer: ''Martin T. von Wetzhausen''. In: ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie''.
Duncker & Humblot Duncker is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Alexander Duncker (1813–1879), German publisher and bookseller
* Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Duncker (1781–1869), German publisher
* Franz Duncker (1822–1888), German publisher, polit ...
, Leipzig 1967-1971,
*
Johannes Voigt
Johannes Voigt (27 August 1786 – 23 September 1863) was a German historian born in Bettenhausen, which today is situated in the district of Schmalkalden-Meiningen.
He studied history, theology and philology at the University of Jena, where tw ...
: '' Geschichte des Deutschen Ritter-Ordens in seinen zwölf Balleien in Deutschland''. Berlin 1857 (nicht eingesehen)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wetzhausen, Martin Truchsess von
1430s births
1489 deaths
15th-century German people
German untitled nobility
Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order
Politicians from Würzburg