Paul Beneke, also Paul Benecke, (early 1400s (decade) – c. 1480) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

town councillor of Danzig and a

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

Life

During the

Anglo-Hanseatic War The Anglo-Hanseatic War was a conflict fought between England and the Hanseatic League, led by the cities of Gdańsk and Lübeck, that lasted from 1469 to 1474. Causes of the war include increasing English pressure against the trade of the Hans ...

, Beneke overpowered an English fleet at Zween in 1468. When Beneke was commissioned by

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

, head of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...

, to captain the ship ''Peter von Danzig'', he chose to become part owner instead of taking pay. In 1473 in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

, he followed and boarded the galley ''St. Matthew'', which had a registered owner's name of

Tommaso Portinari Tommaso Portinari (c.1424? – 1501) was an Italian banker for the Medici bank in Bruges. He was a member of a prominent Florentine family, coming from Portico di Romagna, near Forlì; that family had included Dante's muse, Beatrice Portinari. ...

, but was actually owned by England. It was bound for

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Beneke seized, amongst other items,

Hans Memling Hans Memling (also spelled Memlinc; c. 1430 – 11 August 1494) was a painter active in Flanders, who worked in the tradition of Early Netherlandish painting. He was born in the Middle Rhine region and probably spent his childhood in Mainz. He ...

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...

''The Last Judgment''. The painting had been commissioned for the chapel of a branch manager of the

Medici Bank The Medici Bank (Italian: ''Banco dei Medici'' ) was a financial institution created by the Medici family in Italy during the 15th century (1397–1494). It was the largest and most respected bank in Europe during its prime. There are some estima ...

, Angelo Tani,A biography of Tani is provided with images of th
Last Judgement Triptych (in the closed position)
showing Tani and his wife as patrons. and included a head portrait of Portinari. Not surprisingly, the owners objected to the seizure and the issue was taken up in the papal court. Danzig defended Beneke on the basis that the seizure was a legitimate act of war as the

was at war with England at the time. The painting was never returned. Instead, it was donated by three Danzig

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

s, Sidinghusen, Balandt and Niederhof, to the St. George Brothers church in Danzig, whence it came to Danzig's St. Mary's Church. The Burgundian Duke, under whose flag the ''St. Thomas'' had run, brokered a peace between war-weary England and the Hanseatic League, restoring their trading rights. Paul Beneke had a wife named Margreta, and a daughter, Elsbeth.

In popular culture

He is one of the historical characters who appear in

Dorothy Dunnett Dorothy, Lady Dunnett (née Halliday, 25 August 1923 – 9 November 2001) was a Scottish novelist best known for her historical fiction. Dunnett is most famous for her six novel series set during the 16th century, which concern the fictiti ...

's novels ''To Lie With Lions'' and ''Caprice and Rondo'' in the '' House of Niccolò'' series. There is extensive coverage of Paul Beneke in

Gunter Grass Gunter or Günter may refer to: * Gunter rig, a type of rig used in sailing, especially in small boats * Gunter Annex, Alabama, a United States Air Force installation * Gunter, Texas, city in the United States People Surname * Chris Gunter ( ...

' ''

The Tin Drum ''The Tin Drum'' (german: Die Blechtrommel, ) is a 1959 novel by Günter Grass. The novel is the first book of Grass's ' (''Danzig Trilogy''). It was adapted into a 1979 film, which won both the 1979 Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best ...

,'' in the Niobe chapter

References

Paul Beneke from Hanse City Danzig in service for Luebeck, capital of Hanse cities
*

External links

*
wikisource

Speech of Paul Beneke to the crew of ''Peter von Danzig''
(

Low German : : : : : (70,000) (30,000) (8,000) , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = North Sea Germanic , ancestor = Old Saxon , ancestor2 = Middle L ...

and translated into Polish - Akademia Rzygaczy) {{DEFAULTSORT:Beneke, Paul Hanseatic League Politicians from Gdańsk Privateers 15th-century German people 1400s births 1480s deaths Year of birth unknown