The Peace of Thorn or Toruń of 1466, also known as the Second Peace of Thorn or Toruń (; ), was a

peace treaty A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...

signed in the Hanseatic city of Thorn (Toruń) on 19 October 1466 between the Polish king Casimir IV Jagiellon and the Teutonic Knights, which ended the Thirteen Years' War, the longest of the Polish–Teutonic Wars. The treaty was signed in the Artus Court, and afterward a mass was held in the Gothic

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary to celebrate the peace treaty.

Background

The treaty concluded the Thirteen Years' War which had begun in February 1454 with the revolt of the Prussian Confederation, led by the cities of Danzig (Gdańsk), Elbing (Elbląg), Kulm (Chełmno) and

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

, and the Prussian

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

against the rule of the Teutonic Knights in the Monastic State, in order to join the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

. Both sides agreed to seek confirmation from Pope Paul II and

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Frederick III, but the Polish side stressed (and the Teutonic side agreed) that this confirmation would not be needed for validation of the treaty. The peace talks were held in Nieszawa (present-day Mała Nieszawka) from 23 September 1466,Górski, p. LXXIV and in the final stages moved to Toruń.

Terms

In the treaty, the Teutonic Order renounced any claims to the territories of Gdańsk/Eastern Pomerania and Chełmno Land, which were integrated with Poland, and the region of Elbing (Elbląg) and Marienburg (Malbork), and the Bishopric of Warmia, which were also recognized as part of Poland.Daniel Stone, ''A History of East Central Europe'', University of Washington Press, 2001, p. 30,
Google Books
/ref> The eastern part remained with the Teutonic Order as a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

and

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

of Poland, also considered an integral part of the "one and indivisible" Kingdom of Poland. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Chełmno became a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Gniezno. From now on, every Grand Master of the Teutonic Order was obliged to swear an oath of allegiance to the reigning Polish king within six months of taking office, and any new territorial acquisitions by the Teutonic Order, also outside

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

, would also be incorporated into Poland. The Grand Master became a prince and counselor of the Polish king and the Kingdom of Poland.

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

were to be admitted to the Teutonic Order. The Teutonic Knights were obliged to help Poland in the event of war, and were forbidden to wage war against Catholics without the consent of Polish kings. Any prisoners of war on both sides were to be released. The treaty also dismissed any possibility of releasing the Teutonic Order from dependence to Poland or of any revision of the terms of the treaty by referring to any foreign authority, including imperial and papal.

Outcome

The territories directly held by Poland were already organized into three voivodeships ( Chełmno, Pomeranian, Malbork) and the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia, all of which formed the province of Royal Prussia (later also part of the larger Greater Poland Provincen), which was considered the exclusive property of the Polish king and Polish kingdom. Later, some disagreements arose concerning certain prerogatives that Royal Prussia and the cities held, like Danzig's privileges. The region possessed certain privileges such as the minting of its own coins, its own Diet meetings (see the Prussian estates), its own military, and its own administrative usage of the

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

. A conflict over the right to name and approve Bishops in Warmia, resulted in the War of the Priests (1467–1479). Eventually, Royal Prussia became integrated into the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, but retained some distinctive features until the

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

in the late 18th century. In 1525, the Order was ousted from their territory by its own Grand Master when Albert, Duke of Prussia adopted

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

and assumed the title of duke as hereditary ruler under the overlordship of Poland in the Prussian Homage. The area became known as the Duchy of Prussia.

References

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External links